Salary cap-strapped Titans fill needs in draft
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The Titans came into the draft needing to replace free agent departees Jevon Kearse and Robaire Smith on the defensive line, and they also wanted a tight end after Frank Wycheck retired. A handful of players to build depth would be a bonus.
Tennessee accomplished all three goals by trading out of the first round to add three more draft picks for a league-high 13 selections, which the Titans used to fill needs.
“We feel really good about the people we got right to the end,” general manager Floyd Reese said Sunday.
Tennessee took Florida tight end Ben Troupe with its first pick at No. 40 overall, then used four of its next five on defensive linemen starting with Hawaii’s Travis LaBoy (No. 42), Antwan Odom of Alabama (57), tackle Randy Starks of Maryland (71) and end Bo Schobel of TCU (103). In the seventh round, they added Iowa tackle Jared Clauss.
“We actually had a lengthy discussion (choosing) between Bo and Antwan,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “We had Will Smith and (Kenechi) Udeze (rated as the top two defensive ends), then we had (Laboy, Odom and Schobel). … To think we got the whole entire group here was impressive.”
The Titans plan to use the group en masse to replace the production of Kearse, who led the team in sacks four of his five seasons before leaving for Philadelphia last month, or Smith, their most dominant tackle now in Houston.
“To bring in a whole new group of guys, healthy guys is really kind of exciting,” Reese said. “That kind of threw the balance off with all the defensive linemen. If it had not been for all the defensive linemen, it probably would’ve been a lot more balanced.”
This franchise hadn’t had this many picks in a single draft since 1993 when the draft went 12 rounds. The Titans added three Saturday when they dropped out of the No. 27 slot overall and picked up Houston’s second-, third- and fourth-round picks while swapping spots in the fifth round.
“The luxury of the 13 picks is that you do have an opportunity to fill some holes,” Reese said.
The Titans used eight of the picks on defense, also taking cornerback Rich Gardner of Penn State (third round), cornerback Michael Waddell of North Carolina (fourth round) and linebacker Rob Reynolds of Ohio State (fifth round).
The offense wasn’t completely forgotten as the Titans added depth at fullback and running back by taking hometown favorite Troy Fleming of Tennessee and nearby Franklin, and picked up a running back/tight end in Penn State’s Sean McHugh.
They tried to boost depth on the offensive line with Miami of Ohio tackle Jacob Bell (fifth round) and center Eugene Amanno of Southeast Missouri (seventh round).
Picking Fleming might help the Titans pressure Eddie George into renegotiating his contract, which will pay him $3.25 million on top of a $1 million bonus he received last month. He refused in February when the Titans needed to free up space under the salary cap, and they can ease the cap hit if they decide to release him after June 1.
List of 2004 Tennessee Titans draft picks
2 (40) Ben Troupe, te, Florida.
2 (42) Travis LaBoy, de, Hawaii.
2 (57) Antwan Odom, de, Alabama.
3 (71) Randy Starks, dt, Maryland.
3 (92) Rich Gardner, db, Penn State.
4 (103) Bo Schobel, de, TCU.
4 (124) Michael Waddell, db, North Carolina.
5 (138) Jacob Bell, ot, Miami (Ohio).
5 (165) Robert Reynolds, lb, Ohio State.
6 (191) Troy Fleming, rb, Tennessee.
7 (230) Jared Clauss, dt, Iowa.
7 (239) Eugene Amanno, c, Southeast Missouri.
7 (241) Sean McHugh, rb, Penn State.