2015 NFL Mock Draft: With The Twelfth Pick, The Tennessee Titans Select...

It is with sincerest, deepest, most humblest of apologies that I post this pick for our dear friend Huggy the Bear. Without further delay...

With the 12th pick in the 2015 BRB Mock Draft, the Tennessee Titans select Shane Ray (OLB -- Missouri)

With my first pick in the draft, I begin the arduous task of improving the Titans' defense (surprisingly ranked 15th overall. 18th in sacks.)  to something that doesn't resemble a steaming pile of [content removed by Tim]. It's a tall task, to be sure. But after watching his highlights, I'm buying into Shane Ray. Ray jumps off the tape to me. Shane Ray will come in day one and start. Statistics aside, the only players that currently resemble a threat in the Thumbtacks' paper-thin LB corps is Brian Orakpo and maybe Derrick Morgan, and with Orakpo's injury history, the Tits would be insane to hedge their bets on him. Which brings us to Ray.

Ray is an explosive athlete, and will give the offense fits trying to contain him. Ray has elite size, strength and speed, and is a great fit for Ray Horton's 3-4 defense. Ray is the reigning SEC Defensive Player Of The Year (in the SEC!!) and has displayed fantastic instincts and a relentless motor throughout his college career. When Ray hits you, you stay hit.

Apparently some were disappointed with his showing at the Spandex Olympics, but I am not one of those people. I could care less what a player does in spandex. That kind of thinking is what leads The Failure and Blake Bortles to being drafted ahead of Teddy Bridgewater. It's that kind of thinking that has some people ranking Kevin White ahead of Amari Cooper and DeVante Parker. Rating a player's performance in spandex ahead of their actual gameplay is why the Raiders (Al Davis version) and the Browns are who they are.

- Al Davis would disagree with me here (and take Chris Conley #4 overall),

- Skip Bayless would tell me to trade this pick to sign Tim Tebow,

- Stephen A Smith would call me prejudiced using words he doesn't really understand,

- Pancakes would call my analysis "pathetic",

- Braddock would have sources indicating that I'm wrong,

- Vince Young couldn't read this,

- OneManBlitz would write a 45 paragraph post about how Khalil Mack is a better player than Clowney,

- and the late, great BO$$MAN would threaten me with the mo$t $evere of CON$EQUE$E$ for my dissidence.

Which pretty much proves that I'm right. [Content removed by Tim] the combine and pro days. They are worth about as much as Johnny Manziel as an NFL QB. Which is to say that they're useless, detrimental, even! But I digress.

Ray is not without faults, of course. From what I've read in scouting reports and seen on tape, Ray does tend to rely a bit too much on his athleticism to make plays, rather than technique, so he will have to be coached up a bit. But Ray Horton should have no problem with that. He was also ejected from the SEC championship game for launching himself at the QB, but that is the last thing I'd be worried about if I was scouting him. With Andrew Luck in the division, premium pass rushers are...well...a premium. Ray's also from the SEC, which automatically makes him a bazillion times more impressive than any non SEC defender.

Ray is a tremendous value at pick 12, and if the Titans actually made this pick, i'd be worried. Ray has all the makings of a perennial first team All-Pro. With the right coaching, he will be a beast. I'm honestly surprised he's still here for me to pick. I could be overrating him, but I honestly don't think that I am. Brett will probably agree with me, and if he doesn't, then he's wrong. I mean, what does he know? Unless he agrees with me, in which case he's a genius.

Selecting Ray gives the BESFs some semblance of an identity on defense, something they are desperately lacking at the moment. With Ray in the fold, teams might actually have to game plan for the Titans, rather than having the NFL version of bad movie night with the Titans game film. The Thumbtacks are in full rebuild mode, and Ray and whoever else they (I) choose in the 1st round could be the cornerstones for the future. Although as long as Whisenhunt remains their HC, you can all continue laughing at the Titans

Awesome write-up, good sir. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I look forward to OneManBlitz's thorough rebuttal. Don't know much about Shane Ray? You can read up on him here in Stephen White's film breakdown.

With that, UTBawse23 and the New Orleans Saints of Louisiana is on the cl--AND THE PICK IS IN!  Stay tuned later today!