The Tennessee Titans hold the No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL Draft, but there’s still no clarity on who they’ll select. Most fans believed the team was deciding between Cam Ward and Abdul Carter, yet recently, head coach Brian Callahan named two other players in contention.
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The mixed signals from the team have forced fans to decode what the decision-makers are planning — by studying their actions rather than their words.
Recently, Callahan noted that the team is “getting closer” to deciding who they want. This isn’t a new strategy, as teams often avoid revealing their intentions to prevent those picking behind them from adjusting their strategies. So, instead of just naming Ward and Carter as contenders, Callahan also tossed Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter into the mix.
“I think it’s a short list at No. 1 for sure, it’s all the guys that I think are worthy of it, the ones that everyone talks about out there, and between Travis (Hunter) and Shedeur (Sanders) and Cam (Ward) and Abdul Carter, I think those are, that’s the top of the draft for me, those are the most elite players in the draft,” the head coach told Tom Pelissero.
Many assumed Hunter and Shedeur weren’t on the radar of the Titans’ front office, but Callahan’s statements dispel those rumors. As many have noted, Hunter might be the best overall athlete in the draft. And Shedeur could be the next great face of the league. They should indeed be in contention despite the love that Ward and Carter have received.
However, Redditors aren’t buying into the mixed signals. Instead, they’re analyzing the team’s actions to gauge genuine interest in a prospect.
One such theorist pointed out, “It’s worth noting they skipped out on Abdul Carter’s pro day to have a private workout with Ward. Even though Carter didn’t work out at his pro day, it’s still surprising the head honchos didn’t show up to talk with him in person again at the pro day.”
Someone responded to the comment, saying, “It basically feels [like] a done deal [Titans-Ward] at this point, and the NFL just likes teams not to admit who they’re picking number 1 overall before the draft. They want to be able to say on draft night, ‘maybe the Titans pick Carter or Shedeur.’”
This person genuinely wanted to know what the Titans would do: “We all know Cam Ward is going #1, Brian. What we don’t know is if it’ll be your organization picking him, or punting till next year, and trading down?”
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It’s interesting to consider what the Titans will do with the pick. They could select Ward and move forward with him as the face of the franchise, or they could take Carter, tank with Will Levis at quarterback for another season, and aim for a different prospect next year, like Arch Manning.
The Titans might also receive a compelling offer from a QB-needy team, trade down, and then try to grab Shedeur or another quarterback later. Tennessee’s GM, Mike Borgonzi, still believes anything is possible.
“I would say everything is still on the table,” Borgonzi said during Miami’s Pro Day. “From the beginning, I said I wanted to go through the whole process, and I felt like our priority was to build the offensive line first, and we added (tackle) Dan Moore and (guard) Kevin Zeitler. Now we’re going through the process here with the college quarterbacks. But I’d say everything is still on the table right now.”
All that said, Ward, Shedeur, Hunter, and Carter each bring different skill sets and could help teams in various ways. This is shaping up to be one of the more exciting draft nights in recent memory. As the Titans’ brass says, everything is still on the table, and anything could happen. Get ready for D-Day, folks, and expect the unexpected.
