Titans pick Alabama OT JC Latham at No. 7 of NFL draft 2024. Our scouting report

Nick Suss, Nashville Tennessean

The first pick of the Brian Callahan era for the Tennessee Titans is in.

The Titans drafted Alabama offensive tackle JC Latham with the No. 7 pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, continuing a busy offseason of change. Latham joins a Titans roster that also has added wide receiver Calvin Ridley, cornerbacks L’Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie, running back Tony Pollard and center Lloyd Cushenberry, among others, to reinvent a team moving on after the end of the Mike Vrabel, Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill eras.

The Titans own six more picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, including No. 38 in the second round. The team doesn’t have a third-round pick but has two in the seventh round.

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JC Latham scouting report

Latham, 21, was a two-year starter at right tackle for the Crimson Tide. He allowed only two sacks in nearly 1,000 snaps as a pass blocker. At 6-foot-6 and 342 pounds, Latham is one of the biggest and strongest prospects in this draft class, but he’s still surprisingly nimble, as evidenced by his quick feet in pass protection.

The former five-star recruit grew up in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and transferred to football factory high school IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Latham never took a snap as a left tackle in college despite his talents and physical profile. In the buildup to the draft, various analysts fueled speculation about Latham’s positional fit, pondering if he might make more sense as a guard in the NFL than at tackle.

Unlike many of his peers, Latham didn’t participate in any testing activities such as running a 40-yard dash at the NFL combine or his Alabama pro day.

Tennessee Titans NFL draft history

Latham is the sixth offensive lineman the Titans have picked in the first round since 2013, and the second in as many years. The Titans used the No. 11 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on guard Peter Skoronski, who started 14 games. Like Olumuyiwa Fashanu, Skoronski won the Rimington-Pace Award his final year of college.

Beyond Skoronski, the Titans’ other returning or incoming offensive linemen include center Lloyd Cushenberry III, guard Daniel Brunskill and tackles Dillon Radunz, Nicholas Petit-Frere, Jaelyn Duncan and Leroy Watson.

The Titans allowed sacks on 11.5% of their dropbacks last season, the second-highest rate in the NFL. Andre Dillard, the left tackle who started 10 games last season, was released in March.

JC Latham height, weight

Latham is 6-6 and 342 pounds.

Latham is the first Alabama product the Titans have drafted since picking linebacker Rashaan Evans in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He’s the second Alabama offensive lineman the franchise has drafted in the first round, joining guard Chance Warmack from 2013.

Tennessee Titans NFL draft order, picks

  • Round 1, pick 7: Alabama OT JC Latham

  • Round 2, pick 38:

  • Round 4, pick 106:

  • Round 5, pick 146:

  • Round 6, pick 182:

  • Round 7, pick 242:

  • Round 7, pick 252:

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Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Titans pick OT JC Latham in Round 1 of NFL draft. Expert analysis

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