Titans fill cornerback hole with ‘Pac-Man’ Jones

They worked their way through their list Saturday, and general manager Floyd Reese said he thinks they collected at least two new starters and doubled their receiving corps with their first four picks.

“The way it’s turned out, I think we feel really good about it,” Reese said.

The Titans made cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones of West Virginia the first defensive player taken in the draft with the sixth pick overall. The only team with eight picks in the first 150 selections swapped second-round spots with Detroit to add an 11th selection overall.

Four spots later, they passed up Khalif Barnes of Washington and selected 6-foot-7, 320-pound Michael Roos of I-AA Eastern Washington, who emigrated to the United States from Estonia in 1992 and has played football only since his senior year in high school.

Both Jones and Roos have the chance to start immediately because the Titans released four starters in February as they trimmed $27 million off their salary cap, including cornerback Samari Rolle and right tackle Fred Miller.

“We definitely addressed a need at the right tackle spot,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “We feel like Michael can come in and play and contribute and has left tackle potential, and that was the key.”

Adding receivers hasn’t been as much of a priority as it might seem with only two receivers after cutting the NFL’s leading receiver, Derrick Mason, in February. They finally addressed that need in the third round, taking Indiana’s Courtney Roby with the 68th pick and Brandon Jones of Oklahoma with the 96th.

“Hopefully, I can fill that void,” said Roby, a cousin of the late Reggie Roby who punted for this franchise in 1996 and 1997.

The Titans talked about Mike Williams and Troy Williamson before their first pick, but they decided to start patching a defense missing four starters off a unit ranked 27th overall in the NFL, giving up 237.9 yards passing last year.

And it was Jones’ 4.38 speed in the 40-yard dash that gave him the edge over the taller Antrel Rolle of Miami.

“He’s a playmaker,” Fisher said. “He’s aggressive. He’s active. He’s a contact player, and he makes things happen. He has a live personality, which you have to have on defense.”

Jones led West Virginia with 76 tackles last year, two sacks and three interceptions despite being just under 5-foot-10. He makes up for his size with his speed, but he disputed his size in a conference call with reporters, saying he’s not 5-9 but 5-10 1/2.

He believes he will thrive in a league where receivers keep getting taller every season.

“I’ve been playing against taller receivers all my life. I’m a competitor. I don’t want to get beat in anything I do. I don’t care if it’s spitting across the street, I’m going to try to spit farther than you. So it’s just the swagger that I have won’t let me do that,” Jones said.

That’s the kind of attitude the Titans are lacking on a very young defense.

“You need a guy other people rally around,” defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “You need a guy who can make plays in the end zone and take the challenge of a Marvin Harrison, Andre Johnson and Jimmy Smith in our division.”

Jones also has the added plus of returning kicks and punts. He averaged 23.4 yards per kickoff return and 14.6 yards with a touchdown on punt returns, something the Titans desperately need after rating 30th on kickoffs and 32nd on punts. Jones said he is ready to handle both if asked.

“I play without a seat belt, and I’m going to try to get everyone around me to play to the level that I’m going to compete at. I just love the game. I can’t even explain it. I love playing football,” Jones said.

The Titans had an edge in deciding to select Roos. Former lineman Tom Ackerman has been assisting coaches at Eastern Washington, and he helped Titans assistant Mike Munchak assess a player who switched to offensive line in 2002.

Munchak, a Hall of Fame lineman, pointed out he spent only two years on the line at Penn State before being drafted. He said he was impressed with Roos’ intelligence and his play at the Senior Bowl against Marcus Spears of Louisiana State, a first-round pick by Dallas.

“I see it almost as an advantage. He hasn’t gotten beat up,” Munchak said.