Akeem Ayers

After not getting much playing time in Tennessee in the first half of 2014, a midseason trade to New England rejuvenated Ayers a bit. He ended up with 20 tackles, four sacks and an interception in 10 games of work. With James Laurinaitis already the starter at middle linebacker, Ayers is moving over and starting training camp as the presumptive starter at strong side linebacker.

Ayers -- who recorded 49 tackles (37 solo) and one sack last year in 16 games -- had a pair of offseason surgeries to repair the patella tendons in both of his knees, but he's in line to be healthy come training camp and the 2011 first-rounder slots in as the team's starter at left outside linebacker.

Ayers is a talented athlete who would be significantly higher on the list if he played a pure linebacker role for the Titans, but his IDP reliability is harmed by Tennessee's habit of moving Ayers to defensive end on passing downs. Using Ayers at end hurts his IDP value for two reasons. The first is that it's obviously harder to pile up tackles at end than linebacker, but the second and more important reason is that it's more physically demanding than linebacker, meaning he gets subbed out more often as a result. Ayers played just 861 snaps on defense last year and, while he still produced as an IDP (104 tackles, six sacks), his upside will always be capped if he's spending almost half of his snaps at end.

Versatile linebacker who may end up starting in his rookie season. Could have a nice impact on the Titans defense.