The Tennessee Titans decision-makers talked to the media at the NFL Combine on Tuesday, and they had some enlightening quotes.
While press conferences under Mike Vrabel felt like being waterboarded by coachspeak, the whole interaction between the media and both Ran Carthon and Brian Callahan was refreshing and informative. I encourage everyone reading this to take the time to go to listen to those press conferences.
The biggest takeaways that I had from the press conferences were:
1. Carthon and Callahan acknowledge that team speed is an issue and are committed to fixing that this year.
2. Both guys want to take the best wide receiver or offensive lineman available at 7, which would fill a need and align with the best talent in this class.
3. Bill Callahan is an elite offensive line coach and both Carthon and Brian Callahan are going to value his input highly.
4. Carthon said that having a coach like Bill Callahan can allow the Titans to take chances on guys later in the draft that other teams might not take because the Titans have a coach who can refine raw prospects with tools.
5. Brian Callahan likes wide receivers in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round of the NFL Draft. So much so that I believe they could look at hitting the position twice in this draft.
6. Callahan doubled down on his quote from earlier in the offseason where he said that if the the grades are even, he prefers taking a guy who can score a touchdown instead of a guy who can't (WR>OL).
Looking at all of that has changed my opinion of what the Tennessee Titans will do in the 2024 NFL Draft. Free agency could change things (and Ran Carthon said that the Titans expected to be active in free agency), but as things stand right now here is what I believe the Titans will do with their first three selections.
Round 1, pick 7: Malik Nabers WR, LSU
Everyone knows that the 2024 NFL Draft is going to start with Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and Marvin Harrison Jr. as the first four picks in some order. In this mock draft, the L.A. Chargers drafted Joe Alt and the New York Giants drafted Rome Odunze.
The Odunze/Nabers debate has gotten more interesting recently with both players firmly cementing themselves inside the top-7 on nearly every big board. When you combine the big boards of Dane Brugler, Daniel Jeremiah, and Matt Miller, Nabers comes out as the 3rd best player in the class and Odunze comes out as the 4th best player in this draft class, so you really can't go wrong here.
In this mock the Titans land Nabers who has the slight edge on Odunze, and they get a guy who has everything that Carthon and Callahan talked about at the combine. Aside from elite height, Nabers has it all, speed, big play ability, toughness, and elite production to go with that.
He would be the perfect addition to an offense that has size in guys like DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks, and remember that Will Levis led the NFL in aDOT last season. Levis loves to throw the deep ball and Nabers led the NCAA in explosive plays, it is a match made in heaven.
Round 2, pick 38: Troy Fautanu OT, Washington
Fautanu is the perfect guy to roll the dice on for the Tennessee Titans if he is available in the second round. While most project him inside to guard, it isn't the same situation that happened with Peter Skoronski last season.
Unlike Skoronski whose arm length was an issue, Fautanu should hit all of the thresholds to be a starting tackle in the NFL, but he isn't perfect. He is shorter than your average Pro Bowl left tackle and he is aggressive to a fault, but he has all the tools to be a successful tackle if he is refined correctly, and that is where Bill Callahan comes in.
Callahan isn't a miracle worker, but he is as close to a miracle worker as we have seen in the NFL and he could get Fautanu ready to be an NFL starter by Week 1. If he can, Fautanu would add a physicality to this line that they haven't had since the young version of Taylor Lewan. He would help get Skoronski out of his shell and help bring some real attitude to an offensive line that needs to get their mojo back.
Round 4, pick 107: Ricky Pearsall WR, Florida
I said before that one of the big takeaways from the pre-combine quotes was that Brian Callahan made it seem like he was looking to come away from this draft with multiple receivers in this draft class and he specifically mentioned the fourth round as a place where there were talented pass catchers.
Pearsall has been a thorn in the side of SEC teams for the last two seasons because he always seemed to be the guy keeping drives alive or making impressive catches. He is one of those players that you want to get the ball to in situations where you need to keep a drive alive, and he delivered in those moments.
Looking at the Tennessee Titans offense through the lens of what the Cincinnati Bengals were when Brian Callahan was there, Malik Nabers is the big threat on the boundary that is always just one target away from a huge play. DeAndre Hopkins is the guy who wins with size and great hands at the catch point like Tee Higgins. Pearsall would fit in perfectly as the guy who keeps the chains moving and who sets those guys up for success, like what Tyler Boyd has done for years.