Needy Titans ready to start filling holes
“For the first pick, it’s not going to be a need pick I can tell you that right now,” general manager Floyd Reese said Thursday.
“We’re going to pick the best player. From that point on, it may be different. Now if we’re lucky enough to get a need and get a player, then we’ve got a real bonus.”
Of course, for the Titans any pick should fill some hole or provide key depth.
Reese and the Titans’ scouts met with reporters Thursday to discuss the top prospects in the draft, which starts Saturday. As a result of going 5-11 last season, the Titans are picking in the top 10 for only the second time since 1988.
When this franchise selected Steve McNair with the third pick overall in 1995, the then-Houston Oilers were coming off a 4-12 season and faced with rebuilding a team under the new salary cap.
The Titans still have McNair at quarterback, with plenty of pieces like linebackers Keith Bulluck and Peter Sirmon, defensive tackles Albert Haynesworth and Randy Starks and offensive linemen Benji Olson, Justin Hartwig and Zach Piller to build around.
But they have no depth behind running back Chris Brown, who has yet to prove he can stay healthy for a whole season.
Receivers Drew Bennett and Tyrone Calico are promising, but Bennett struggled last season with the extra attention from defenses before settling in as the second starter behind Derrick Mason, now in Baltimore. Injured knees kept Calico from improving his consistency.
And the defense is missing its starting cornerbacks with Samari Rolle also in Baltimore and Andre Dyson reportedly signing with Seattle.
In previous years, teams drafting in the top 10 might have the phone ringing off the hook with other franchises interested in moving up. Reese said he hasn’t had a call yet but will be waiting to see if the direct lines to the other 31 teams light up Saturday.
New offensive coordinator Norm Chow apparently has been doing his best to lobby Reese into selecting receiver Mike Williams with the No. 6 pick.
“At one end of the table, there’s a big dent because Norm has been jumping up and down on the table, ‘Mike Williams, Mike Williams,'” Reese said. “Mike Williams is a great kid. … I think he’s very fond of him as a personally, athletically, his production and everything.”
Reese said there’s still no consensus in the NFL about who will be the top 10 picks. Luckily, he sees great depth at offensive tackle, wide receiver and cornerback — all major needs for the Titans.
“This draft is as thick as it’s been,” the general manager said.
But remember one thing. This franchise shunned picking Randy Moss in 1998 because of questions about his character and issues off the field. Reese and his scouts spent a day checking test scores and character, discarding prospects that didn’t measure up.
“We have certain standards that we just won’t accept,” Reese said.