Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson has drawn the ire of fans and media alike for the debacle that was his selection of offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft.
But during an episode of the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast, left tackle Taylor Lewan defended his general manager, saying Robinson doesn’t deserve blame for the epic failure that was the pick of Wilson (H/T Michael Hogan of Sports Illustrated).
“I think a lot of people are upset with Jon Robinson for picking him in the first round,” Lewan said. “However, I think with the Zoom stuff and how the draft went, it’s really hard to get a good feel on guys. There’s a big difference between shaking somebody’s hand and the Zoom thing popping up and having a real conversation. It’s easy to fake that stuff. I don’t think Jon’s to blame at all.
“I think the kid [Wilson] needs help.”
Wilson played four snaps during his one season with the Titans and ran into a slew of issues, leading to the team cutting ties with him via a trade with the Miami Dolphins this offseason.
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The Dolphins would go on to release Wilson just three days after the trade was made official on March 17 after the 22-year-old showed up late to his physical, team orientation, and didn’t show for voluntary workouts he had previously committed to.
Like the Titans, the Dolphins offered the Georgia product help at every turn, but those offers were declined.
While there’s no question that evaluating prospects last year was more difficult than ever and nobody could have foreseen just how bad things would turn out with Wilson, a general manager is always going to foot at least some of the blame in a situation such as this.
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