Tennessee football in NFL Draft: Derrick Mason believes in Vols WRs

A former Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens star backs Tennessee football Volunteers wide receivers Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway in the NFL Draft.

Although Tennessee football is losing its top two wide receivers, and although both could be selected in the NFL Draft, there is a question as to how much they lost. After all, Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway aren’t coming off as surefire first-rounders or even guys who will be taken in the first two days.

However, a former two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver with the Tennessee Titans, Derrick Mason, was able to give them a fair evaluation. If his word is to be taken at face value, then the news for both of them is good.

Mason, who played for the Titans from 1997 to 2004, the Baltimore Ravens from 2005 to 2010 and then the New York Jets and Houston Texans in 2011, spoke with Vince Ferrera of WNML-FM’s 99.1 The Sports Animal about the NFL Draft. He was objective about both Tennessee football receivers but still had praise for them.

When it came to Jennings, Mason did talk about the drawback of his 40-time and the issues with his past, which include a marijuana citation and his dismissal and then reinstatement to the team. However, Mason noted that he had none of those issues his senior year and then discussed his proven production to offset his 40-time.

"“He was probably the one sole thing that kept that Tennessee offense together. The way he played game in and game out. He brought an attitude to the field. And he has one thing that you just can’t teach, and that’s the dog in him. He has this ability to go out there and just be a grown man.”"

Callaway, on the other hand, is a bit of a different story. Mason tempered his expectations for the receiver by saying he won’t be able to star immediately in a system. However, he did express confidence in Callaway’s future as a long-term project and noted that his abilities to double as a punt returner, which Mason did in Tennessee, can be a big advantage.

"“Don’t look at a guy like Marquez Callaway to come in and in his first two years light the NFL up. No, he’s a guy that is going to take some time. It might take him two, three years to really grasp how the NFL is ran. It might take him that long to really get comfortable playing at this level. But I do see him as a guy being productive.”"

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