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2021 NFL draft grades: Titans’ class gets high marks from experts

How did experts view the Tennessee Titans 2021 NFL draft class?

Now that the 2021 NFL draft is in the rearview mirror, experts have begun sending out their grades for all 32 teams, including the Tennessee Titans.

And, from the expert grades we’ve gathered, the Titans had a successful draft in which they added eight players, some of which come at positions of need.

That’s great news for general manager Jon Robinson, who saw a disastrous 2020 draft class that was marred by off-the-field issues (Isaiah Wilson) and injuries (Darrynton Evans and Kristian Fulton).

Of course, all of these grades are very premature and are only based on the player chosen and how they fit rather than how they actually perform in the NFL. The real story of the 2021 NFL draft class will be told in the years to come.

But for now we can bask in the glory of the Titans not having received lower than a “B-” among the experts we checked in with. Let’s see who gave what.

Knicks at Rockets: Prediction, point spread, odds, over/under, betting picks

New York (-11) enters as a significant favorite, having won 10 of their last 11 games. Houston is also on night two of a back-to-back.

In the second game of a home back-to-back, the Rockets host the New York Knicks on Sunday night at Toyota Center. Houston enters coming off Saturday’s blowout loss to Golden State.

Led by All-Star forward Julius Randle, the Knicks head into town with plenty of momentum, having won 10 of their last 11 games to rise to No. 4 in the Eastern Conference standings. However, they will need to navigate their own back-to-back, since they play at Memphis on Monday.

New York is the better team on paper and also has more to play for, since three teams are within two games of them for that No. 4 spot in the East and home-court advantage in the first round of the 2021 playoffs. However, the Rockets have been a lively underdog of late, as evidenced by Thursday’s victory over Milwaukee — the team just in front of the Knicks in the tightly packed East standings.

In the only other meeting between the teams this season, New York routed Houston on February 13 at Madison Square Garden, 121-99 (recap). The Rockets shot just 8-of-43 (18.6%) on 3-pointers that night in the fifth loss of what would become a historic 20-game losing streak.

The lines, courtesy of BetMGM

  • Point spread: Knicks -11
  • Money line: Knicks -600 / Rockets +425
  • Over-under: 216.5
  • Player scoring props: Julius Randle 26.5, RJ Barrett 19.5; Houston TBD

Place your legal, online sports bets in VA, CO, IA, IN, NJ, PA, TN and WV at BetMGM.

As usual in an injury plagued 2020-21 season, the Rockets will be quite short-handed. For Saturday’s game, John Wall (right hamstring) DJ Augustin (left ankle), Sterling Brown (left knee), Dante Exum (right calf), Eric Gordon (right groin), Danuel House Jr. (right ankle), and David Nwaba (right wrist) were all out. Houston won’t issue Sunday’s injury report until hours before tipoff, due to the back-to-back. The Knicks are far healthier, listing only Mitchell Robinson (out, right foot surgery) on their report.

Advice and prediction

New York is expected to start Elfrid Payton, RJ Barrett, Reggie Bullock, Julius Randle, and Nerlens Noel, while Houston will likely stick with its recent starters of Kevin Porter Jr., Armoni Brooks, Jae’Sean Tate, Kelly Olynyk, and Christian Wood.

The Knicks have more to play for, but they also have to be mindful of a game on Monday, whereas the Rockets don’t play again until Wednesday. That may provide a path for Houston to cover the large number late.

Prediction: Knicks 115, Rockets 105

Get more betting analysis and predictions at Sportsbook Wire.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Bellator 258: Make your predictions for Juan Archuleta vs. Sergio Pettis

We want your predictions for Friday’s Bellator 258 event in Connecticut.

We want your predictions for Friday’s Bellator 258 event in Connecticut.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Wednesday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the Bellator 258 main card staff predictions we release Thursday ahead of the event. Bellator 258 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Make your picks for the fights below.

2021 PFL 3: Make your predictions for Fabricio Werdum, Kayla Harrison fights

We want your predictions for Friday’s 2021 PFL 3 event in Atlantic City, N.J.

We want your predictions for Friday’s 2021 PFL 3 event in Atlantic City, N.J.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Wednesday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the 2021 PFL 3 main card staff predictions we release Thursday ahead of the event. 2021 PFL 3 takes place Friday at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. The main card airs on ESPN2 following prelims on ESPN+.

Make your picks for the fights below.

Titans’ winners and losers from the 2021 NFL draft

Which Titans emerged as “winners” and “losers” from the 2021 NFL draft?

The Tennessee Titans officially added eight players to their roster following the three-day 2021 NFL draft, and as a result some Titans players emerged as both “winners” and “losers” from it.

For reference, here’s a look at the Titans’ 2021 NFL draft haul:

Round 1: CB Caleb Farley, Virginia Tech

Round 2: OT Dillon Radunz, North Dakota State

Round 3: LB Monty Rice, Georgia

Round 3: DB Elijah Molden, Washington

Round 4: WR Dez Fitzpatrick, Louisville

Round 4: EDGE Rashad Weaver, Pittsburgh

Round 6: WR Racey McMath, LSU

Round 6: S Brady Breeze, Oregon

With some of these picks, there will be Titans players who see their chances of starting or even seeing a semblance of playing time take a hit, while the lack of selections at some positions will boost others.

With all that in mind, let’s see which Titans players who were on the roster before the 2021 NFL draft came out smelling like a rose and who didn’t.

How experts viewed Titans’ Dillon Radunz in pre-draft scouting reports

What did experts think of Titans OT Dillon Radunz before the draft?

The Tennessee Titans appear to have their right tackle of the future after drafting North Dakota State offensive lineman, Dillon Radunz, in the second round (No. 53 overall) of the 2021 NFL draft.

It wasn’t clear if the Titans would take another swing at a tackle in this year’s draft after striking out on 2020 first-round pick and offensive tackle, Isaiah Wilson, but general manager Jon Robinson wasted no time in trying to find Tennessee’s long-term solution at the position once again.

Now, Radunz, who has also been tabbed as a possible guard at the next level by some experts, will compete for the starting right tackle job against fellow offensive linemen Kendall Lamm and Ty Sambrailo.

So, what intrigued the Titans enough to draft Radunz in Round 2? We can get a better idea by taking a look at the pre-draft scouting reports for Tennessee’s newest offensive lineman, which point out both positives and negatives about the rookie.

2021 NFL draft grades: How experts viewed Titans’ Day 3 picks

Did our own grades for the Titans’ Day 3 picks match up with the experts?

The Tennessee Titans finished off the 2021 NFL draft on Day 3 by making four picks on Saturday, two in the fourth round and two in the sixth round.

In the fourth round, the Titans came away with wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick (No. 109) after a trade up with the Carolina Panthers, and EDGE Rashad Weaver (No. 135).

In the sixth round, the Titans drafted a pair of special teams aces in wide receiver Racey McMath (No. 205) and safety Brady Breeze (No. 215).

For those picks, we gave the Titans a “C+” for Fitzpatrick, an “A” for Weaver, a “B+” for McMath and an “A” for Breeze.

But do the experts agree with us? Find out now as we take a look around what they’re saying about the Titans’ Day 3 picks.

Tracking the Titans’ 2021 undrafted free agent signings

Now the process of signing undrafted free agents begins for the Titans.

The 2021 NFL draft might be over but the Tennessee Titans aren’t done adding rookies just yet, as the team will now be taking a look at and signing some of those players who weren’t drafted in this year’s event.

Undrafted free-agent signings are nothing to blow off, either. Tennessee has seen some impactful additions through this process in recent years.

The latest examples come in the form of defensive lineman Teair Tart and offensive lineman Aaron Brewer, both of whom who saw some significant snaps during the 2020 season.

Tart appeared in seven games and made one start in his rookie season, while Brewer also made one start and played in 12 games.

With all that in mind, we’re going to be tracking all of the latest rumored undrafted free-agent signings by the Titans right here. Follow along as we update this article frequently.

Note: these are rumored signings and aren’t official until the team confirms them.

UFC on ESPN 23 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC on ESPN 23 in Las Vegas, featuring Dominick Reyes vs. Jiri Prochazka.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 23 event, and you can join us for live play-by-play and official results beginning at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT).

UFC on ESPN 23 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+.

In the main event, former 205-pound title challenger Dominick Reyes (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) meets Jiri Prochazka (27-3-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC). In the co-feature, Giga Chikadze (12-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) takes on Cub Swanson (27-11 MMA, 12-7 UFC) at featherweight.

Follow along with our round-by-round updates and official results beginning at approximately 7 p.m. ET for the prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+ and 10 p.m. ET for the main card on ESPN2/ESPN+.

To discuss the show, be sure to check out our UFC on ESPN 23 discussion thread. You can also get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporters John Morgan (@MMAjunkieJohn) and Ken Hathaway (@kenshathaway) on Twitter.

Enjoy the fights, everyone.

Place legal, online bets on today’s fights in CO, IA, IN, MI, NJ, PA, TN, VA, WV at BetMGM Sportsbook. New customer offer: Risk-free first bet. Bet now! Please gamble responsibly.

Titans ‘working through’ contract restructures, could make more FA signings

Robinson isn’t ruling out contract restructures in order to free up money for more signings.

The Tennessee Titans are officially done with the 2021 NFL draft but now must turn their attention to fleshing out the rest of their roster, which could include free-agent signings and/or trades.

However, making any free-agent signings will be difficult at the moment, as the team is strapped for cash after spending big during an offseason in which they already started out with limited funds.

One way the Titans can open up more cap space is to restructure contracts with some of their higher-priced players.

Not only did Robinson not rule out the team making more signings in free agency to fill holes, he also stated that the team is “working through” some contract restructures.

Three big needs that remain are tight end, kicker and nose tackle. Robinson addressed two of those spots, saying the team could consider bringing back MyCole Pruitt.

When talking about the kicker situation, the Titans GM did mention 2020 UDFA Tucker McCann, but not 2020 starter Stephen Gostkowski.

As far as inside linebacker Rashaan Evans’ fifth-year option is concerned, the Titans have until Monday to make their decision. Robinson says the Titans are still “working through” that, also.

The expectation is that the Titans will decline Evans’ fifth-year option, and that only gained more traction after the Titans selected inside linebacker Monty Rice in the third round of this year’s draft.

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