The Titans hope top NFL draft pick Cam Ward can lead them back to winning

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans hope picking a quarterback in the first round for the third time in 15 NFL drafts proves to be the charm.

The Titans took Miami’s Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall selection Thursday night after turning down trade offers throughout the draft process.

“I just think that if you identify a franchise quarterback, there’s really not a price you can pay for that in my mind,” said new Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi, who was part of the staff in Kansas City that traded up to draft Patrick Mahomes in 2017.

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Ward grew on the Titans as the evaluation process unfolded, impressing both coach Brian Callahan and Borgonzi. The general manager noted the Titans had made up their mind that Ward would be their pick about three weeks ago.

“We felt comfortable when we made that decision,” Borgonzi said. “The talent was there. I think the one thing that stood out to me when I first started watching him was — a lot of quarterbacks have great arm talent coming out — but the one thing that really stood out to me was really just his instincts and his processing ability, the spatial awareness he has on the field, his pocket awareness.”

As for Ward, who was a zero-star recruit to Incarnate Word out of high school, he believed in himself through his college journey from Incarnate Word to Washington State and Miami and then through the draft process to the Titans.

“I thought I was their guy all along,” Ward said. “I let the tape do a lot of the talking, but I think once they finally got to meet me face-to-face and watch film with me, it just helped my case.”

Callahan will be tasked with developing Ward into the Titans’ first true franchise quarterback since they drafted Steve McNair 30 years ago.

“I’m excited about Cam. He is a fantastic young man and a very talented quarterback. He has all the qualities that you look for in the position. Everything about him as a person and a player fits everything that we’re looking for,” said Callahan.

Ward joins Jake Locker, as the No. 8 pick overall in 2011, and Marcus Mariota, at second overall in 2015, in the franchise’s attempts to find a winner at that position in that span.

That doesn’t count the Titans’ other draft whiffs in later rounds. Sixth-round pick Zach Mettenberger in 2014 lost all 10 of his starts before being waived after two seasons. They traded up for Malik Willis at No. 86 in the third round in 2022 only to trade him away after two seasons and three starts in 11 games.

Will Levis had been the franchise’s highest pick at quarterback since Mariota when the Titans traded up to No. 33 and took him out of Kentucky in 2023. But he is 5-16 as a starter with more turnovers (26 interceptions and fumbles lost combined) than touchdown passes (21). Callahan benched the turnover-prone Levis during the 2024 season, his first as the Titans coach.

General manager Ran Carthon, who traded up for Levis, was fired after two seasons. A 3-14 finish netted Tennessee the No. 1 pick overall for the first time since the 2016 season, a selection traded two weeks before the draft. The Titans turned that draft into an eventual 2,000-yard rusher in Derrick Henry and a two-time All Pro safety in Kevin Byard.

Borgonzi and Chad Brinker, the Titans’ president of football operations, spent the offseason studying top prospects ranging from Ward to Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter of Colorado and Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter.

With Callahan’s system, the Titans appeared to quickly settle on Ward as their top choice for the coach to build around. Taking a quarterback became obvious once Tennessee signed a pair of journeymen in Brandon Allen, who worked with Callahan in Cincinnati, and Tim Boyle.

Levis remains on the roster for now, with the Titans insisting he’ll be given a chance to compete. Callahan talked at the March owners’ meetings about how they asked Levis to work with Jordan Palmer on his lower body mechanics and footwork. Though the Titans have tamped down trade talk, it is not out of the question that Levis could be moved in a deal.

Ward , 6-foot-2, 219, finished fourth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy after his lone season at Miami, where he completed 67.2% of his passes for 4,313 yards with an FBS-best and program-record 39 touchdown passes. Ward also had only seven interceptions. That followed two seasons at Washington State, where he threw for more yards and TDs in each season while dropping his interceptions from nine in 2022 to seven in 2023.

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