Christion Abercrombie doesn’t remember the day he and Mike Vrabel became friends. It was a Friday last October, and Vrabel spent their first conversation talking about the draft. Whenever you want to come in and watch film with us, Vrabel suggested, you can help us find some good linebackers to pick.
Linebacker was the position Abercrombie played for Tennessee State, and the one Vrabel played during his 14-year NFL playing career. That common ground was an easy jumping off point in a circumstance that was anything but. When Vrabel talked, the 20-year-old’s heart rate would spike, and that made the Titans head coach a bit nervous.