"Violence" headlines the Titans 2024 NFL Draft class

NASHVILLE -- The Tennessee Titans 2024 NFL Draft class is officially in place. General manager Ran Carthon and coach Brian Callahan added five defenders and two offensive players over the course of the three days.

A theme that is easy to identify with Tennessee's new crop of rookies: Violence.

"I think we have some guys that will come in and compete to start, and I think we have some guys that will come in and compete for spots and make us a team with some depth," Carthon said in the draft recap on Saturday. "And know there's still some holes to fill, and we're going to get to it. Left some open roster spots instead of filling it up with just all college free agents. We want to be able to have some flexibility to sign some vets and not have to just cut people."

Left tackle JC Latham (No. 7) and nose guard T'Vondre Sweat (No. 38) are two such players expected to contribute right away.

Latham was a brawler at the right tackle spot for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Covering up SEC pass rushers in protection, Latham possesses exactly the kind of nastiness that Tennessee's offensive line room has lacked since Taylor Lewan was anchoring the group as the eleventh overall pick in 2014. His power is elite, but the question is primarily about his footwork to slide over to the left side.

Carthon said the Titans plan is to start Latham immediately at left tackle.

Sweat is a mountain of a man at 6-5, 366 lbs. He was the Outland Trophy winner and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Sweat will be paired with star Tennessee defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and offseason acquisition Sebastian Joseph-Day.

The Texas defensive lineman was arrested for a DWI earlier this month, but Carthon and Brian Callahan both vouched for the person they believe Sweat to be.

"We were (Sweat's) first visit after the incident occurred," Carthon said. We brought him in and spent the day with him. If you know him, he's a jovial kid. He's got a great personality. Fun-loving. But you can see that he was extremely affected when we brought him in. We spent a lot of time talking about it. I know he was ready to talk about it with anybody that wanted to listen, and he was forthright and honest.

"But something that's not documented or that has been reported is we actually went down to visit with him and the family because we wanted to know more and spend time with not only him but see the family and people he surrounds himself with. So, myself, Cally (Brian Callahan), Tracy Rocker and Anthony Robinson, we flew down to his hometown and spent the morning with him and his mom and his brother and his grandfather and really got to know him as a person and kind of what the expectations would be for us if he was here and kind of put that on the line."

If Sweat gets his weight and self-discipline in line, he projects as a nasty running mate for star Tennessee defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons.

Outside of undersized slot receiver Jha'Quan Jackson in the sixth round, that kind of physical edge is what highlights this Titans rookie class. Fans had an expectation that the franchise might take a more finesse approach under Callahan in Year 1, given the coach's offensive background and proclivity for skill position talent. What Carthon and Callahan did instead was go for the more meat and potatoes approach.

Fortifying the trenches, adding to numerous holes on defense and identifying players who can thrive on special teams immediately were all boxes that Tennessee needed to check.

"It's different when you spent 16 years executing someone else's vision and then you get into that first year and it's yours, now you realize everything falls on you, no matter what people are saying, you have to make that decision and pull those cards off," said Carthon. "This year I was more comfortable in that, and especially being able to anticipate runs on positions and using all the different tools we have available."

The Titans are expected to hold rookie minicamp in the second week of May.

Related: An old friend is set to become one of JC Latham’s toughest tests as a Titan

Featured Image: USA TODAY Sports.