Turron Davenport, ESPN 5y

Led by Harold Landry, Titans rookies finished on a strong note

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- What initially seemed like a subpar rookie class for the Tennessee Titans finished the season with the arrow pointing up. General manager Jon Robinson only made four selections in the 2018 draft, but three made significant contributions, and some undrafted free agents managed to stick on the roster.

Grade: Average

Best rookie: Outside linebacker Harold Landry was the standout rookie for the Titans. He finished the season with 4.5 sacks and established himself as the Titans' best pass-rusher. He showed a knack for coming up with a big sack when Tennessee needed it the most, including a timely sack that gave the Titans the ball back late in the season finale against the Colts. Despite his 6-foot-2, 252-pound frame, Landry developed into a player who aggressively set the edge in run defense. He was also asked to drop into coverage at times and became a complete player who will only get better as he adds more moves to his pass-rushing tool box.

Most improved rookie: Inside linebacker Rashaan Evans made great strides after missing his first NFL training camp with a hamstring injury. Evans became more comfortable in the defense and began to flash the closing speed to the football that made him one of the best linebackers in college. His ability to diagnose a play and blow it up became a routine occurrence on game day. Evans' best play came on a goal-line stand against the Jaguars in Week 14 when he stopped running back Leonard Fournette behind the line of scrimmage leading to a turnover on downs. He also filled in as a pass-rusher coming off the edge later in the season.

Jury is still out on: Guard Aaron Stinnie was an undrafted free agent, but found his way onto the 53-man roster. He was rarely activated on game day, but should get a chance to challenge for a spot during training camp. There's a good chance Tennessee will experience some turnover at guard which could open up a spot for Stinnie, a former tackle at James Madison who makes the move inside.

Undrafted rookie evaluation: The undrafted rookie class was a bright spot for Robinson and the Titans. The group was headlined by outside linebacker Sharif Finch. He finished the season with 1.5 sacks and appears to have locked down a spot in the team's rotation of outside linebackers. Defensive back Josh Kalu made his way to the active roster after spending time on the practice squad. Running back Dalyn Dawkins was also on the active roster after veteran back David Fluellen injured his knee. Wideout Devin Ross was a practice squad player the team used to prepare for some of the shifty wideouts they faced late in the season.

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