Chance Warmack is going to have a new advantage virtually anywhere he winds up in the NFL.
The Alabama guard is a projected top 10 pick. Popular opinion says he will go inside the top 10 to Arizona seventh, Buffalo eighth, the New York Jets ninth or Tennessee 10th.
All four of those teams have offensive line coaches who played offensive line before becoming coaches.
The Titans, of course, have Hall of Fame offensive lineman Mike Munchak as their head coach, and Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews as their offensive line coach.
“I’ve never been coached by an actual offensive lineman before,” Warmack said. “That alone will escalate my play to a phenomenal level. Most of my coaches played tight end. My offensive line coach in college (Jeff Stoutland, now with the Philadelphia Eagles) played linebacker. They couldn’t really relate to what an offensive lineman does.
“They did a good job coaching me, but with those two (in Tennessee) it would be a whole 'nother level of learning the position. I was more attracted to hearing those two guys being on the same team and to know that it was three hours away from my college. It would be like a dream come true for me.”
Many evaluators are rating North Carolina’s Jonathan Cooper ahead of Warmack, but both could go in the top 10 or 12 picks.
The Titans have gone too long counting on Munchak, who was offensive line coach before he got the top job in 2011, to develop linemen without making major investments in talent.
That's changing now. They signed free-agent Andy Levitre to play left guard, and have told Warmack he would be their right guard if they draft him.
If Warmack’s not off the board when the Titans pick at 10 and they go another direction, it sounds like he’ll be disappointed. It shouldn’t last long, as his name will be called soon after.
But it sure looks like it could be a wonderful marriage if he’s available and the Titans tab him to be their right guard.