Titans selected Alabama OT JC Latham with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
A true super-heavyweight LT prospect who checked in at 6’6/342 at the NFL Scouting Combine, Latham boasts raptor-like 35’.125” arms and a pair of massive 11” hands that helped him stifle even the most dominant SEC opponents. He was rated as the top tackle prospect and fifth best player overall from the 2021 recruiting class, but spent his freshman year at RG before making a permanent move to RT as a sophomore. Latham took to his new position quickly, improving his blocking efficiency rate from 96.4%-to-98.8% while allowing zero sacks and just one QB hit in 486 pass reps. The transition RT wasn’t without some growing pains though, as Latham committed 11 penalties which was the second-most of any Power Five tackle in 2022. His play elevated to All-American levels in 2023, with Latham leading the Tide with a superb 0.6% blown block rate on run plays while allowing three hits and two sacks on 429 pass reps. He slashed his penalties from 11-to-7 and earned a career high 81.9 PFF overall grade while anchoring a young Alabama OL that started a true freshman at LT, Kadyn Proctor, for the first time in HC Nick Saban’s illustrious career. Though Latham didn’t record any testing at the Combine, he smoothly navigated a series of positional drills that quelled any concerns teams may have had about Latham’s athletic bonafides. With a double-wide XXL frame, Latham has unnatural mirroring ability and explosiveness for his size. He does have a tendency to lean into contact and can be beaten with speed around the hoop, leaving him vulnerable to inside counters against upper-echelon pass rushers. A difference-making road grader in the run game with a hybrid guard/tackle build, Latham is a top flight offensive lineman and fills a desperate need for Tennessee.