NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The likelihood of the Tennessee Titans selecting a quarterback with the No. 1 pick Thursday has gradually increased heading into the 2025 NFL draft, and all signs are pointing toward Miami’s Cam Ward.
The move would mark just the fourth time that the Titans have used a top-10 pick on a quarterback since the organization relocated to Tennessee in 1997, but it would be the first time the team selected one with the No. 1 pick — a pick which the Titans made clear on Tuesday they do will not trade away.
The Titans selected Vince Young at No. 3 in 2006, Jake Locker at No. 8 in 2011 and Marcus Mariota No. 2 in 2015. Yet, Tennessee has made six postseason appearances in the last 19 years, and only two of those happened with those quarterbacks — Young in 2007 and Mariota in 2017.
So why should there be a belief the organization will find success this time?
“Having a plan for the quarterback and creating an environment for that player to succeed is part of it,” said Mike Borgonzi, who was hired as Tennessee’s general manager in January. “Sometimes you have to help these players along. That’s why coaches are there and the front office has to get him the players to succeed.”
Former Titans scout Blake Beddingfield was with the team when it selected Locker, Young and Mariota, and according to him, staying healthy and having a stable foundation will be the biggest keys to help set up a quarterback for success.
“You’ve got to build around that quarterback, and you’ve got to put the pieces in place,” Beddingfield said. “But everyone is so eager to change coaches, change coordinators constantly, changing personnel.”
The Titans have seen a lot of turnover over the last three seasons. It started with general manager Jon Robinson being fired in 2022, followed by Titans controlling owner Amy Adams-Strunk firing coach Mike Vrabel before the 2024 season and general Ran Carthon in January.
That puts the pressure on Brian Callahan going into Year 2 after going 3-14 in his first season as a head coach. Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker said he believes in Callahan but acknowledged the need for the coaching staff to find ways to improve.
“Pressure is a bit of a privilege,” Callahan said. “You get a chance to work with a great player when you pick him at the top of the draft. I’m fully aware of the expectation that comes along with that, and I embrace it.”
Beddingfield feels the organization should be patient with Callahan if they select a quarterback with the first pick, but the pressure is most certainly on for Callahan to turn things around.
“If I was in that room, I would say if we’re going to take a quarterback, we cannot change coaches next year,” Beddingfield added. “We can’t change coaches in 2026. We have to be married to the head coach along with the quarterback and build the personnel around that quarterback and do what he does best.”
Having spent 17 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs — where Andy Reid has been the coach since 2013 — before coming to Nashville, Borgonzi understands the need for stability, and that helped play a critical role in developing three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes.
“It’s very important having that environment and stability around the quarterback,” Borgonzi said. “Coaches, the front office, that’s a vital part of the process is to have the right environment and stability for the player.”
COMING OFF A collegiate national championship, Young showed flashes of being the guy to lead the Titans in his first two seasons with Norm Chow as the offensive coordinator. Young was named Rookie of the Year in 2006, and he followed that up by leading the Titans to the sixth seed in the AFC playoffs in 2007.
Chow’s previous experience working with college quarterbacks Steve Young, Phillip Rivers, along with Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart was the kind of tutelage Vince Young needed early in his career — especially under defensive-minded coach Jeff Fisher.
Chow wanted to emulate his success as the offensive coordinator in 2004 at USC when they won a national championship. So he urged the staff to find a speedy running back and an X receiver, but was fired after 2007.
New offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger was brought aboard in 2008 to help maximize Young’s potential, but a knee injury in the first game opened the door for veteran quarterback Kerry Collins to take over. Young missed three games, but Fisher named Collins the starter for the remainder of the season after a 24-7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2, where Collins helped guide Tennessee to a 13-3 record.
Young returned to the starting lineup after an 0-6 start under Collins in 2009 and finished third in NFL Comeback Player of the Year voting, but the Titans got off to a 4-5 start with Young at quarterback in 2010 before being ruled out with a torn flexor tendon in his right thumb. Young threw his shoulder pads into the crowd as he left the field, had an altercation with Fisher in the locker room and stormed out.
The Titans released Young three months after selecting Locker No. 8 overall that same year. Locker signed a four-year contract worth $12 million the day after Young was cut.
Locker served as a backup to Matt Hasselbeck during his rookie season before being named the starter in 2012. His growth was stunted in his first season as a starter after suffering a separated shoulder in Week 4 which caused him to miss five games. Locker returned to the lineup in Week 10 and finished the season with 2,176 yards passing, 10 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.
Various injuries to his right wrist and thumb, a dislocated left shoulder, and a Lis Franc injury to his right foot caused Locker to miss 18 games over the final two seasons of his career.
“All of his injuries were severe,” Beddingfield told ESPN. “It wasn’t a hamstring pull, it was a subluxation of the shoulder, his hip came out, a broken this, a broken that. He had some serious injuries.”
Locker’s 9-14 record as a starter and extensive injury history caused the Titans to decline Locker’s fifth-year option before the 2014 season. Instead of becoming a free agent, Locker announced his retirement from the NFL in March 2015 at the age of 26.
Former Titans wide receiver Nate Washington spent time with Locker throughout his years in Nashville. Washington acknowledged the injuries had a negative impact, but he also felt the instability on offense didn’t help.
“The constant coaching changes,” Washington told ESPN. “I think he dealt with three different offensive coordinators. A lot of complexities in that situation when you’re dealing with a young guy still trying to find his footing of being an NFL quarterback.”
Some of the same issues surfaced with Mariota, whose early career was also derailed by injuries. An MCL sprain in Week 15 cut Mariota’s rookie season short in 2015. Mariota posted a career-high 3,426 passing yards with 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions the following season, but he suffered a season-ending fractured right fibula in Week 16.
Vrabel named Ryan Tannehill the starter in 2019 after a 2-4 record under Mariota, who wound up playing for four coordinators in five seasons in Tennessee.
“I truly feel like that instability has hurt not only the quarterback position, but the ability to compete year in and year out,” Washington said.
Mariota is still active and has had the longest career of the bunch. He’s bounced around as a backup since 2020, most recently re-signing with the Washington Commanders on a one-year, $8 million contract this offseason.
DATING BACK TO when the franchise was the Houston Oilers, it did find success drafting quarterbacks.
Dan Pastorini was the No. 3 pick by the Oilers in 1971, and he led them to back-to-back AFC Championship Games in 1978 and 1979 before being sent to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for Ken Stabler.
Steve McNair was the No. 3 pick in 1995 and helped create some of the most successful seasons in franchise history. McNair guided the Titans to two of their three 13-3 seasons and the only Super Bowl appearance in franchise history in 1999, a 23-16 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
McNair had more stability with four offensive coordinators over his 10 seasons with the Titans. Former Titans general manager Floyd Reese surrounded McNair with Pro Bowl players like running back Eddie George, wide receiver Derrick Mason, offensive lineman Brad Hopkins and tight end Frank Wycheck.
The current Titans appear to be following a similar model to Reese’s successful tenure with McNair. They plan to secure the quarterback and continue putting the pieces in place that will allow him to flourish.
Despite being in the position for just over three months, Borgonzi has gotten off to a good start in Beddingfield’s opinion, and analysts have also applauded the Titans for some of the moves they’ve made. He likes how Borgonzi fortified the offensive line by signing free agent left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and guard Kevin Zeitler.
“You’ve got to start building the receivers and another tight end with good length and size to be an outlet,” Beddingfield said. “If you look around the league, the most successful teams in the league offensively all have tight ends.”
This Titans group has the luxury of having seen it done correctly before. Borgonzi helped implement the structure that set Mahomes up to lead the Chiefs to three championship seasons. Callahan was part of a Bengals team that went to the Super Bowl one year after drafting Joe Burrow No. 1 in 2020.
Callahan plans to rely on his previous experience and Borgonzi’s as well. He feels they’ve already begun to lay a solid foundation for the next quarterback.
“I’ve been a part of a quarterback picked No. 1 overall pick coming into a team,” Callahan said. “I think we’ve added the right players in free agency and have good young players here. … I feel good about where we’re at and where we’re headed and how we’re gonna get there.”
Despite Callahan saying, “We have a chance to add a really good player with the first overall pick,” Borgonzi knows there’s work to be done beyond changing the narrative of a franchise that hasn’t succeeded with drafting a quarterback in the top 10.
“You want to surround the young quarterback with talent, to provide an environment for him to succeed,” Borgonzi said. “But at the same time we’re building a team here. Of course, we’d like to go out and give that player everything he needs, but our thinking is right now, there’s a lot of holes on this roster, and we have to make sure we make the best decision for the team.”
Who knows, maybe the Titans picking a quarterback at No. 1 could be just what is needed in Tennessee.
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