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Rashaan Evans says the Titans plan for him to play inside

TicketsBar2Evans3NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Rashaan Evans likes staying close to home (Auburn, Ala.) and school (Tuscaloosa, Ala.). He likes reconnecting with his good friend Derrick Henry as Titans' teammates. And he likes how the team that drafted him made him feel about their 

After Mike Vrabel was on the field with him during his pro day drills on March 7 and he then sat down with the Titans. After that,Evans said, he felt “they really saw something they were looking for.”interest.

During the draft his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told him that the Titans were a possibility, despite the fact that he did not visit the team. Jon Robinson’s first three first-round picks were spent on players who had visited.

(Photo courtesy Alabama.)

“I was like, ‘That would be perfect if they did,’” Evans said. “It’s just a coincidence that right even before then, Derrick actually predicted it.

“I’m feeling amazing right now.”

Evans said the Titans want him to play inside. The expectation would be that a first-rounder start and be on the field for three downs.

"He aggressive, plays fast, he’s instinctive," Mike Vrabel said. "When you look at where he came from, I mean, this is a guy that really played defensive end when he got to Alabama. They put him on the end of the line of scrimmage. And so he developed into an inside linebacker, and you see a lot of those instincts in the run game. Then, obviously, like Jon (Robinson) mentioned, the versatility to play at the edge of the line of scrimmage and do some things to allow us to be multiple."

Tennessee could pair him with veteran Wesley Woodyard, using free-agent addition Will Compton for situational work against the run and second-year man Jayon Brown as a situational pass defender.

Those two would offer the prime depth as well, following the departure of incumbent starter Avery Williamson, who got a big free-agent contract from the Jets.

The Titans' trade up really “let me know that they truly wanted me,” Evans said.

TicketsBoxIt also suggested that Robinson and Vrabel suspected the Patriots or Panthers truly wanted him too, because the Titans moved down 90 spots from 125 in the fourth to 215 in the sixth with the Ravens to make sure they got Evans.

“I think it’s a match made in heaven,” Evans said. “The proximity is very close to where I stay anyway and not only that but I’m playing with a guy that I’ve been playing with on college as well.”

A lingering groin injury prompted his doctor to advise he and his parents for him not to run a 40 in the build-up to the draft. That led to some consternation about his speed.

But he and his brother have chased horses, and he laughed that the adventure should have been enough.

“If I am catching a horse, there is no reason to question the speed,” he said.

Said Vrabel: "Jon and I watched a lot of tape, and when you press play he looked like he was moving. When he got there, he looked like he was hitting pretty hard."

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