INDIANAPOLIS — Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi worked a no-daylight schedule for most of February to arrive at the NFL Scouting Combine with his draft board set.
“Phase 1,” Borgonzi said Tuesday morning at the Indianapolis Convention Center of the first step in a long road to deciding how — and whether — to use the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Still open for business, the Titans are focusing first on free agency — that board of available players is finalized, too — and numerous needs prior to the official start of the 2025 league year next month.
“Offensive line is going to be a priority for us,” said Borgonzi, who was hired in January to replace Ran Carthon and get on the same page with returning coach Brian Callahan.
The new Titans’ braintrust has been meeting during lunch hours to go over “profiles” for every position, described by Borgonzi as the athletic, physical and mental makeup of a player. He said the Titans won’t pass on a special player because he doesn’t fit their preferred prototype. Asked directly about one familiar talent in this draft pool, Colorado’s wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter, Borgonzi grinned.
“He’s special,” Borgonzi said. “I don’t know if we’ve seen in modern football a player who could (play) both at a high level.”
A self-scout of the roster he inherits is largely complete, Borgonzi said, noting he really likes the interior defensive line in place and that he spent time with coaches to find out more about who players might be in meetings and on the practice field. He mentioned wide receiver Calvin Ridley, the big-ticket signing last March on a four-year, $92 million deal, and defensive tackles Jeffery Simmons and T’vondre Sweat as returning veterans who can help drive the team’s turnaround from 3-14.
Discipline was a buzzword throughout the 20-minute session, and in repeating the Titans are very early in their evaluation process, Borgonzi said third-year quarterback Will Levis remains on the roster to compete but acknowledged the position is one the Titans must “get right.” This week won’t play a major role in shifting the first-phase draft board in Nashville and only “small changes” would be necessary based on speed scores and other testing.
Even so, all indications from his second session with national media since joining the Titans from the Kansas City Chiefs’ front office is the Titans are open to dealing the No. 1 pick for additional draft capital.
“We’re always going to try to gather as many picks in the Top 100 as we can,” Borgonzi said.
–Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media
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