Tennessee Titans: Five 2020 NFL Draft late-round sleeper targets

After sending Jurrell Casey to Denver, the Tennessee Titans are in need of a versatile defensive lineman to try to fill that role. It will be incredibly tough to fill the shoes of a perennial Pro Bowl player and leader of the defense, but someone is going to have to do it.

Now I am certainly not saying that James Lynch is going to step in and be Jurrell Casey. There aren’t many players in the game that can do what Casey does, and Lynch is considered a “late-round sleeper”. So expectations should be tempered. But Lynch is a very good football player.

Playing on the end of a three-man defensive front at Baylor, Lynch would likely take on a similar role as a versatile 3-4 defensive end in Tennessee. Obviously he is far from the level of play of Casey, but the two do many similar things.

Lynch is excellent at shooting gaps and making his way into the backfield.  As a senior, Lynch racked up 13.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss. Adding 41 tackles, five pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles and a Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award, you can see how dynamic and productive he can be.

Like Casey, Lynch isn’t limited to just one position. He can bounce inside and grind as a nose tackle and has very good traits on the edge as well. He uses his hands well and has good get off and bend for a guy that is nearly 300 lbs.

Lynch still has some improving to do and certainly a long way to go before he is in the same conversation as Jurrell Casey as an NFL player, but he has the versatility, grit and production to be a serviceable fill in.