Titans send overwhelming message about 1st round pick decision at NFL combine
INDIANAPOLIS — What the Tennessee Titans choose to do with the 7th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft is still anybody's guess. The current roster has holes all over the place and given the expected run on quarterbacks at the top of the draft, the Titans should have plenty of game changing players to […]
INDIANAPOLIS — What the Tennessee Titans choose to do with the 7th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft is still anybody's guess.
The current roster has holes all over the place and given the expected run on quarterbacks at the top of the draft, the Titans should have plenty of game changing players to choose from by the the time they're on the clock.
Tennessee could select an offensive tackle with their first round pick and nobody would bat an eye. But after hearing from Titans GM Ran Carthon and head coach Brian Callahan at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, I think a wide receiver is more likely.
Depth at offensive line
Luckily for the Titans, the 2024 draft class appears to be deep at both wide receiver and offensive line in a year that the Titans need to add both. "I think we're really deep at receiver in this draft and offensive line as a whole – which are two areas that we're going to be focusing on," said Carthon at the podium on Tuesday morning.
That depth not only bodes well for Tennessee in the later rounds of the draft, but also opens up more options for them with the 7th overall pick.
Carthon has always been a "trust your board" guy. If his 2023 draft strategy is any indication, I'd expect him to draft the best player available before he drafts for a specific need. But as he would discuss on Tuesday, the Titans may need to factor in the positional depth of the draft class when making their first round selection.
"If you look at it strategically, it's about the value," said Carthon. "If you're sitting there and there's a receiver there, knowing that there's a deep OLine class it's like 'Okay, where can we supplement this position later?' It's about playing those two parts off each other. Whether that's in free agency as well as in the draft, it's about trying to mix and match those two pieces."
If the Titans are bullish on the offensive line depth in this draft class and feel they can get a quality player with pick 38, taking Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, or even Marvin Harrison Jr. (doubtful) with the 7th pick makes a lot of sense. I suppose you could apply that same logic to the depth at wide receiver, but I find it interesting that Carthon used the specific example of waiting to draft an offensive linemen.
I'd also like to remind everybody that the Titans now have Bill Callahan on their coaching staff. He's one of the best offensive line coaches in the league. Could his ability to develop players shift their draft philosophy?
Bill Callahan's impact
Later in his press conference, Carthon referred to Titans offensive line coach Bill Callahan as "one of the best in the business." According to Carthon, Callahan has put on a "clinic" while presenting profile tape to the front office and coaching staff over the last few weeks.
"For a guy like that who has been such a strong developer of talent at the OLine position, it gives us a little leeway to bring some guys in and him having a plan on how to develop those guys and get them out on the field," Carthon said.
Perhaps the Titans have such confidence in Bill Callahan developing young offensive linemen that they would still feel comfortable without landing a Joe Alt or Olu Fashanu in the first round.
While Brian Callahan acknowledged the importance of elite talent in the trenches during his media availability, he too referenced the possibility of fixing the offensive line with development pf players taken in later rounds.
"You can never replace elite talent. The better players you have, the better coach you are. I will never pass up on elite talent just because we have a great coach. A great coach with elite talent is special," said Callahan. "But I will say, there are times when you can take players that maybe are not at the top of the draft or for top dollar in free agency, but when you can develop players quickly and they can contribute for you. As we all know , you are going to have multiple sets of players playing up front. Very rarely do you stay with the same five for the course of the season, so that depth and development is going to be important.
Brian Callahan's preference
Brian Callahan has been in this same position before, albeit he was in a different role with a different organization at the time. But when the Cincinnati Bengals selected Ja'Marr Chase with the fifth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, it was another instance of an organization prioritizing weapons (Chase) over protection (Penei Sewell) for their young quarterback.
That philosophy seems to be one that Callahan is carrying with him to Tennessee.
"When all things are equal, guys that can score touchdowns tend to make more of an impact," said Callahan when asked about how he weighs the value of offensive linemen and wide receivers at the top of the draft.
To me, the Titans sent an overwhelming message from the NFL Combine on Tuesday. Of course, this is the season of lies and smokescreens, but from what was said at the podium, I have a hard time seeing Tennessee not land a wide receiver in the first round.
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