Tennessee football: Ranking Vols by NFL landing spots after 2022 draft

It was the most successful NFL Draft for Tennessee football in five years. But who’s actually set up for success based on where they went? Five Vols were drafted, and a sixth has signed with a team, so it’s safe to say there are plenty of chances for players from Josh Heupel’s first team to find some success in the pros.

However, the player best set up depends on a combination of his talent and the situation he went to. This post is going to analyze the latter part of that. Order of draft and projected skills at the pro level are irrelevant here. Those have already been addressed with the draft itself.

Instead, this post will solely focus on how good the place they ended up at is for them. What type of career will those spots bring for each player? How will they stack up against each other. Let’s break all of that down here. This is a ranking of all six former Tennessee football players based on their landing spots after the 2022 NFL Draft.

Round 6; Pick 204

Yes, his story is still a feel-good story, and it’s not like the Tennessee Titans don’t need help in the secondary, but honestly, Theo Jackson could have used some better spots. Amani Hooker is still there at safety, Kevin Byard had a few years left on his contract, and there are multiple young defensive backs behind Hooker for when he becomes a free agent.

In Mike Vrabel’s scheme, nickel is not that heavily emphasized, so Jackson was brought in likely for versatility and depth. He can play cornerback, but it’s not his most natural position. As a result, there will be more adjustments required with fewer spots available for him to emerge.

Now, being from Nashville, Jackson will certainly have a good amount of fan support. Tennessee football players in general get that support with the Titans, but Jackson doubly gets it since he’s from the city. Also, there are still available spots for him to emerge. He just has a more difficult path than other Vols in the draft.