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Tennessee Titans may have their next great edge rusher in former Michigan Wolverine star after Week 2 of preseason
By Travis May,
2 days ago
The Tennessee Titans have been hoping that one of their young edge rushers would step up this entire offseason. Yes, Harold Landry and Arden Key make for a strong duo, but outside of those two the team returned very little proven experience at one of the most important position groups on the team. The good news is, thanks to general manager Ran Carthon, the Titans may have found what they're looking for.
After their Week 2 preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks it seems that the Titans may have their third edge rusher finally emerging. Former Michigan Wolverines standout Jaylen Harrell, the Titans' seventh round pick in this spring's NFL Draft, grabbed two sacks against the Seahawks in impressive fashion on Saturday night. The first sack ended with Harrell throwing a 310-pound offensive lineman to the ground (as you can see in the Titans' post below).
Harrell began the snap using his quick twitch speed to get four yards into the backfield. Then once he had the left tackle on his heels converted that speed to power as he twisted and threw him to the ground before leaping at the quarterback to finish the impressive play.
That speed-to-power approach was a staple for Jaylen Harrell in his time with the Michigan Wolverines as he racked up a dozen sacks in his final two collegiate seasons. Harrell pressured opposing quarterbacks nearly 15% of the time on pass rush attempts in his junior and senior seasons as he became one of the most pivotal parts of Michigan's defense in their national championship run.
His second sack on the night was just as impressive, but for different reasons. Harrell actually lost the initial attack off the edge as he tried to run right through the offensive tackle, but successfully stiff-armed his way towards the center of the pocket to take PJ Walker down for the sack.
Harrell has flashed throughout camps, practice, and now in live game action, looking more promising by the day. He still has his work cut out for him if he wants to truly earn the third edge rusher spot for the Titans, but head coach Brian Callahan was clearly impressed and happy to see the production in his post-game comments.
It was good to see Jaylen [Harrell] with some production tonight. That was great. I'll know more when I watch tape tomorrow...Any time that you've got depth that you can build, and guys that [you can elevate when you need them]...those are the guys we're looking for, as many of those as you can find."
When the Titans mix Harrell's ascension with the incredible news that Arden Key will in fact not be serving a six-game suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy, it's clear the defense is going to be in a great spot as the season begins a few short weeks from now.
And if you want to watch some of the plays from his Michigan career that made the Titans want to add Jaylen Harrell to the team this spring just check out the video below!
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