Titans Draft Countdown: Morgan, Williams, Verner, Mariani Highlight 2010

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Six players selected by the Titans in the 2010 NFL Draft remain with Tennessee, including a player who was selected in each round the team had a spot.

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The Titans selected Derrick Morgan in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft with the 16th pick. Click here for a slideshow from that year's selections.

The Titans tabbed defensive end Derrick Morgan at the 16th overall position. Morgan is the only defensive player selected by the Titans in the first round of the past five drafts. He has gotten better each season after suffering an ACL injury that cost him the final 12 games of his rookie campaign.

Morgan has started 26 of the past 31 games, including all 16 in 2012 when he set career highs with 66 tackles (35 solos), 6.5 sacks, five tackles for loss and five passes defended. He also recorded 19 quarterback pressures and showed he is capable of defending the run and rushing passers.

Tennessee traded its second round selection in 2010 for New England's third-round pick in 2009 to draft tight end Jared Cook, which enabled a fascinating exchange of picks that affected several players.  The Patriots sent the 47th pick to the Cardinals for their second (58th) and third-round (89th) picks, then traded the second to Houston for its second (62nd) and fifth-round picks (150th) and sent the third-round pick to Carolina for its second round selection (33rd) in 2011.

Arizona drafted Daryl Washington, Houston drafted Ben Tate, New England drafted Brandon Spikes and Zoltan Mesko, respectively in 2010, and Ras-I Dowling in 2011, and Carolina drafted Armanti Edwards in 2010.

The Titans drafted Damian Williams and Rennie Curran in the third round. Williams has played in 44 games in three seasons and caught 75 passes in the past two. He caught all five of his touchdowns in 2011 when he started 13 games and caught 45 passes for a career-best 592 yards. Williams is one of the best on the roster at making leaping catches and landing with both feet in bounds on the sideline or in the end zone.

The Titans executed a trade with the Seahawks in 2010 that landed them with Alterraun Verner and Rusty Smith. Tennessee moved up seven spots in the fourth round and nine spots in the sixth after sending its 111th and 185th overall selections to Seattle with LenDale White and Kevin Vickerson.

Verner has played in all 48 games and made 31 starts, including 16 in 2012. He has 231 tackles (171 solos and 10 for loss), six interceptions, 31 passes defensed, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and 19 tackles on special teams. He is one of **four fourth-round picks selected by the Titans** in the past three years on the roster. Smith is preparing for his fourth season as a backup with Tennessee. Robert Johnson, who was **drafted in the fifth round**, played in 12 games last season after spending most of his first two years on the practice squad.

The Titans found some **seventh-round magic** at the 222nd overall spot when they drafted Marc Mariani out of Montana. Mariani made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season as a return specialist after he set the franchise record for total punt and kick return yards (1,859) in a season and became the second player in Titans/Oilers franchise history to return a kick and punt for touchdowns in the same season (Billy Johnson in 1975 and '77 (Darius Reynaud also accomplished the feat last year). Mariani missed all of 2012 after suffering a compound fracture in a preseason game and has been rehabbing the injury.  

The Titans have the 10th overall pick on Thursday in this year's NFL Draft and are scheduled to make nine selections during the course of the three-day event. Click here to visit Titans Draft Central.

The chart below shows the selections made by the Titans in the 2010 NFL Draft:

2-pick traded to New England for third-round pick (89 — used to select Jared Cook) in 2009 NFL Draft

3b, 6c, 7b-picks awarded as compensatory selections 4a, 6a-picks acquired in trade with Seattle for RB LenDale White, DT Kevin Vickerson, fourth (111) and sixth-round (185) picks