NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Chad Brinker, Mike Borgonzi and Brian Callahan took questions Tuesday in advance of the NFL Draft, which they’ll kick off with the No. 1 pick Thursday night.
Borgonzi said they’ve reached a consensus on what they are doing with that selection, that they are staying put and that there is no need for other teams to call about a trade.
He didn’t say the pick will be used on Cam Ward, but it will be. And the Titans will launch a new era with the draft’s top quarterback, who will bring great promise paired with some big questions.
To give Ward the best chance to succeed, the Titans will need to upgrade a receiving corps that
currently includes Calvin Ridley, Treylon Burks, Van Jefferson, Bryce Oliver and Colton Dowell. That’s an underwhelming group after Ridley.
The team is also desperate for an edge rusher. Their top three are Arden Key, Dre’Mont Jones, and Lorenzo Carter, none qualifying as a consistent threat.
It would seem those two needs would have the gravitational pull of the sun on the Titans' decision-making, if not their board.
Won't quarterback have just done that?
Do we really think they judged Cam Ward to be a better football player than Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter? I know several personnel executives with other teams who do not believe Ward is worth the pick. Perhaps the Titans do. Perhaps they don't and are rounding him up because he's a QB. Perhaps they've convinced themselves he is, something that often happens for bad teams at the top of the draft who need a signal-caller and face of the franchise.
Either way, Borgonzi and Brinker said the team has a broad array of needs, and best-player-available will dictate how they handle their draft starting at No. 35.
"That’s part of staying true to the board, trying to marry up the need with the value,” Borgonzi said. “You never want to force a need in the draft. And for us, we do have a lot of needs and I think it’s important for us to stay true to the board. And really take the best available player with that pick. We don’t want to force needs here and force a pick.”
Said Brinker: “You want to take the best player available, everybody says that, not everybody follows that,” Brinker said. “There are times earlier in my career when I’ve seen we’ve made mistakes or even with my mentors, where you reach on a player based off need. Like Mike has said, we’ve got a lot of needs. We’re going to trust the process, trust the board, let the board talk to us. The work has been done. We’re prepared.”
They are starting off making a need pick, so saying they are focused on best player available from there will mark a major change in approach. If they do go BPA, they will only do so after what seems a huge carve out for THE biggest pick in the draft.
I think need and best player will conveniently overlap.
I don’t expect they will overthink things. Get to a spot where they’ve got multiple players graded similarly and the Titans will move horizontally, and it’s horizontally where needs can get weighted.
That’s where they should emphasize edge, where they have no one who will scare a blocking scheme, and receiver, where Ward won’t find more than one go-to guy.
“You want to surround a young quarterback with as much talent and have the environment for him to succeed,” Borgonzi said. “But at the same we’re building a team here as well. We have to do what’s best for the team at that point. Of course, we would like to go out and give that player everything he needs.
"But our thinking right now is there (are) a lot of holes on this roster and we have to make the best decision for this team in terms of the value of that player.”
