Detroit Free Press Staff Reports

Here's a sampling of how the football pundits on the two networks covering the NFL draft reacted to the Tennessee Titans picking Michigan State offensive lineman Jack Conklin with the eighth overall pick:

ESPN

Chris Berman: “I was told by several GMs, Louis, Mel, that if you’re looking Week 1, maybe not the ceiling of the other tackles, but Conklin maybe has the best chance of all.”

Mel Kiper, Jr.: “Zero red flags. He’s one of the ten guys who you could argue would be the No. 1 player in this draft.” He also labeled him as being “really old school.”

Jon Gruden: “I think he’s the number one offensive lineman hands down in this draft. Reminds me a lot of Brandon Scherff, who the Redskins took last year out of Iowa. This kid is nasty. He can down block. Watch the punishment that he can deliver with his strong hands and long arms. He can play left tackle, right tackle, he can play guard. He’s going to be an outstanding Tennessee Titan. If you like nastiness, you like Conklin. Look at him hustle to the pile and peel these defenders off the ballcarrier, I love this pick. Way to go, Tennessee! They made a great trade, and it paid off for them. That’s good business.”

Louis Riddick: “No matter where you put him, he’s going to play a very prominent role. Let me just remind you of this, even if he goes to the left side from the right side, remember this, the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl by wrecking the right side of the Carolina Panthers’ offensive line. Von Miller had a field day over there. If you watch some tape last year of the Tennessee Titans, Marcus Mariota almost had his career ended. So all this distinguishing between left tackle and right tackle is really old school. All you have to do is take your best rusher and move him to the other side of the line, and he’s going to feast on your quarterback. This guy is a throwback. He’s an animal. I’m very happy to see Tennessee take a good football player here and ignore all the other noise about taking good athletes. They watched the tape. They took the best player.”

NFL Network

Mike Mayock: "I think Taylor Lewan's job is safe for now. If Tunsil had gone there, they could have kicked Taylor Lewan to right tackle. with his kid, I think Lewan stays to the left, Conklin goes to the right and you've got your bookend tackles for Mariota."

Steve Mariucci: "This makes sense for Mariota, protecting with your tackles. Maybe their next pick will be wide receivers and then they're off and running."

Mayock: "And they knew if they stayed at 15, Conklin would be long gone."

David Shaw: "We all talk about Tunsil, let's not forget this is a very, very good football player. I talked to a lot of people that had this guy as their No. 1 tackle in the draft. They thought a lot of him on and off the field and his ceiling is very high."

Mariucci: "Interesting thing about Jack Conklin at Michigan State, he was a walk-on. He earned himself a scholarship, ends up to be an All-American. This guy's really something."

Day 1 NFL draft coverage