Receiver, cornerback? Titans doing best to keep everyone guessing

“I’m sure he’s thinking it, though,” general manager Floyd Reese said.

Derrick Mason, McNair’s favorite target the past few seasons and the NFL’s leading receiver in 2004, is now in Baltimore after the Titans cut him and three other starters and slashed $27 million off their salary cap.

Mix that with offseason departures by free agents, and Tennessee has a grand total of two receivers on the roster.

Drew Bennett set a career high with 80 catches for 1,247 yards, but most of his production came in the final month last season. Tyrone Calico is the other penciled-in starter, and he spent last season healing after knee surgery. Kevin Wolcott technically is a third, but he was signed in January and immediately assigned to NFL Europe.

So it might be an obvious choice for the Titans to take Mike Williams with the No. 6 selection overall. It would reunite the 6-foot-5, 229-pound receiver from Southern California with his former offensive coordinator, Norm Chow, and give McNair a trio of receivers who are 6-4 and taller.

“You can’t lose a player of the caliber of (Mason) and not do something to try to replace him — simply because Derrick was so good and so productive for us, and, of course, he and Steve had a great relationship. We’ve got to find someone to try and pick up some slack,” Reese said.

Not so fast.

The Titans hold a draft pick in the Top 10 for only the second time since 1988 and the first since taking McNair third overall in 1995. But this franchise hasn’t had much success recently drafting receivers early.

Tennessee has taken only three receivers in its 40 first-round picks, and the last was Kevin Dyson in 1998. He became known more for being picked ahead of Randy Moss, and for two plays in the 2000 playoffs — the Music City Miracle and the reception that came up short of the end zone in the Super Bowl.

The Titans found Mason with a fourth-round pick in 1997, and Bennett was a free-agent signee out of UCLA.

Coming off a 5-11 season, the Titans have plenty of holes to fill after releasing the four starters in February and trading a fifth to Kansas City for a fifth-round draft pick. Both cornerbacks are gone, so Miami’s Antrel Rolle could help fill one starting slot.

Tennessee has 10 picks for the fourth time in team history and is the only NFL team with eight picks among the first 150 selections. The Titans would be willing to add another choice or two by trading down, then add depth at linebacker, cornerback, running back and tight end.

“As high as we will be picking, you have to get the sixth-best player in the country whoever it is and whatever position that is. That will be our objective. You hope it fits a need. If it doesn’t, so be it,” Reese said.

“If it doesn’t, you need to be able to trade down and find a quality player and fill a need and kill two birds with one stone.”

Trading down could help the Titans fill their right tackle slot with either Alex Barron of Florida State or Washington’s Khalif Barnes. Fred Miller, their starter the past five seasons, was released, and this will be the 13th season for left tackle Brad Hopkins, the last offensive lineman taken in the first round in 1993.

The Titans also have been studying running backs and will draft someone to back up the injury-prone Chris Brown, who played in only 11 games last season.

Reese and his scouts checked out every player possible, even quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers of California and Utah’s Alex Smith. It’s all part of Reese’s plan to keep other teams from figuring out exactly which player they will draft.

“That’s just the way we want it,” he said.