Britt becomes the 1st ever Knight to land in the first round....

The higher rated wide-outs had finally been removed from the board, and the hometown NY Giants were on the clock.  It was all working out perfectly.  Clearly this was where former Rutgers WR Kenny Britt would land, a Bayonne guy, playing for his local team.  But the Giants jumped at the chance to grab North Carolina's Hakeen Nicks, and their loss was the Titans gain.

The Tennessee Titans selected Britt with the next pick, 30th overall, and made him the first ever player from Rutgers to be drafted in the first round.  In a draft full of talent from New Jersey and at the wide-out position, Britt became the 6th WR drafted, and the 7th player from NJ drafted in the 1st round.

The Titans finished last season with the NFL's best record at 13-3 behind veteran quarterback Kerry Collins.  But they struggled all year to establish a solid passing game, finishing 28th overall in passing offense, and fell in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs 13-10 to the Baltimore Ravens.  Here's a quick look at Tennessee's receiving leaders from last season:

The Titans lacked a consistent big play threat, and they've addressed that need with Britt.  I think that Tennessee is a good fit for him, and should afford him the opportunity to step in and contribute right away.

Mycentraljersey.com's Paul Franklin was on-hand at the Britt residence covering the draft party and had an opportunity to talk to Britt about landing in Tennessee:

"It's really hard to digest," he said, long after the celebration of friends and family spilled out the front door and onto the spacious front lawn. "It's still lingering in my throat right now and it's hard to swallow. It really hit me when I was hugging my mother. That's when the tears started dropping and everything. All I can do now is follow my dream."

 

And even though he was happy to be playing in the NFL, and happy to be a Titan, there was a sense of disappointment that the Giants passed him over:

I would have been excited for my family to stay home and be close to them, and I know everyone had it in their heart, building it up and building it up and everything, and I know they were a little disappointed when I dropped down a little bit. But I knew God had already selected me for a team, so I was calm."

 

Day 2 of the draft continues today with Round 3-7 beginning at 10:00 AM.  Today should provide some intrigue for RU fans as S Courtney Greene and WR Tiquan Underwood are expected to be selected.  I'll have my thoughts on RU's draft days later tonight.