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Tuesday afternoon, Tennessee Titans GM Ran Carthon and HC Brian Callahan met with the media to discuss the NFL Draft, just two days away. They discuss their Draft board, their plans, what they see in the #7 pick, potential trade partners, and plenty more.
*Titans GM Ran Carthon and HC Brian Callahan discuss 2024 NFL Draft plan*
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0:00
All right, good afternoon and welcome
0:03
We thank everyone for joining us today. It's an exciting week across the NFL where every organization is preparing for the NFL draft
0:13
Heading into this week, we want to take the opportunity for you all to be able to speak with our general manager and our head coach
0:20
the two men that are leading our draft process. There are so many people that are involved across football operation to allow this process to be successful
0:31
And we want to thank those individuals in every single department under football operations for their contributions
0:38
I mean, to put it quite simply, it takes all of us to make this happen
0:44
But to build a sustainable roster in the National Football League, you must draft well
0:51
And we tell our scouts all the time that they get the opportunity to shape the future of our organization by the players that we ultimately bring into our building
1:04
You know, it's a very important job, and scouts are often the unsung heroes behind the scenes
1:12
To give you some context, the scouting process started back in June of last year
1:20
When we get the NFS data, the summer scouting reports is followed by 566 school visits were made by our area scouts this fall
1:32
They had written somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,400 scouting reports during the fall, and they interviewed players
1:41
Maybe somewhere around 400 interviews were conducted throughout the process. For all intents and purposes, it's done
1:49
We're going to get, Callahan and I are going to get together this afternoon to kind of fine-tune a couple little things
1:54
maybe watch a couple guys here and there to kind of settle some ties, if you will
2:00
But, yeah, by all intents and purposes, it's done. Ryan, when you look at your pick at seven
2:04
have teams been nosy, as you would call it? Are you guys open for business? No, it's still, people are nosy
2:10
And I think we owe it to our organization. I owe it to Coach Callahan and his staff to listen to all calls
2:18
no matter where they fall, just to see if it's anything enticing, if it's anything that's going to blow us away to make us really want to trade back
2:26
But we're just listening at this point. I appreciate you guys being here
2:31
Our scouts and our coaches have come together very seamlessly to put this process together
2:38
after we hired Coach in January and we went through the process the first thing we did and what I appreciate Cali for is just putting their main focus on not the scheme not the playbook but how we going to acquire players and what that going to look like
2:55
And so our coaches went all in on evaluations of players from free agents right
2:59
into the college process. And so not only our pro scouts doing their part with the free agency process
3:07
But our college department in our area scouts led by John Salgi and
3:13
Anthony Robinson, those guys hit the ground running. Those guys are actually downstairs now, working with the coaches to shore up
3:20
the undrafted process. So position say like a brought bowels at tight end
3:24
How does that fit into the equation of evaluating versus elite positions
3:30
No, we consider it all. And like I said, whether we see it as a position of need or not
3:36
We know every single player on the board, but we also have to have an understanding of what fits in our system
3:43
offense, defense, special teams, how we're going to use those people. And so although some positions may have higher value for some people
3:50
it may not carry the same value for us just based on how they're going to be using our schemes
3:54
What traits physical and personality-wise have you guys been looking forward to kind of parse through them
3:59
I mean, obviously this game is about protecting the quarterback, so you want guys that can protect the quarterback
4:05
But I think the coolest thing for me, and I'll let Callie, you know
4:08
follow up, you know, with his answer on it. The cool thing for me is, like, getting these guys in the building
4:13
these really, really young guys. Some of these guys are barely 21 years old
4:18
And to see them have the curiosity to want to work with, you know
4:23
with big coach, you know, with Bill. And it's kind of funny to me because, you know
4:28
most of the young guys now doesn't have the same sense of history. You know, I sound like an old head, like my generation, you know, did
4:35
But it's cool to see them recognize him and what he's been able to do throughout his career
4:39
and want to be a part of it. How much would you like to find
4:44
I'll just say the thing about bringing these guys in too for us is we have the evaluation of the tape
4:52
We know what they look like as players on the field. And the thing that's the most important to us is what type of person are they
4:59
what type of football intelligence do they have. It's been really fun to get to know all the guys in the class that we brought in
5:06
particularly offensive linemen. There's some really talented, really fantastic kids in this draft
5:11
And that part, when you bring them in in the building, is where you've garnered the most information about who they are and
5:18
what they stand for. And we want guys that align to our values as well
5:22
And I think that all these guys do, but that's been the enjoyable part is you get
5:26
get to know some of these guys on a more personal level and not just the school that they played for and where they come from Just as their hometown you get a little bit bigger picture for what they are as a person and a human So in my opinion a blue player is genuinely like a guy that gonna come in day one
5:46
and like they say, plug and play, and you start them. A bunch of us in the scouting community, we talk that when you turn on the tape
5:54
a blue player is a blue player. You never have to second guess. You never have to make sure you go watch the LSU game if you want to
6:02
Those guys stand out from the moment you turn on the tape to the moment you turn it off
6:06
Those are usually the guys that come in that you plug and play them
6:10
They're day one starters, and they go on and play a long time in this league. Do you guys think you have an emphasis early in the draft on trying to find guys that can come in and be impactful immediately
6:19
I think that's always the plan, to have guys, particularly when you're picking them early
6:24
particularly when you're picking as high as seven. You know you hope that the player you draft is a player that you come in you plug them in and get them get them to work and
6:33
They're starting for you. So those early picks and even into the later rounds you can find guys
6:38
I remember playing with the guy at the Colts. He was a seventh round pick Antoine
6:42
That was a day one starter at free safety a position he had never played before and he was a day one starter
6:48
So you can find those guys all throughout. I mean, it's it's easy to
6:52
to project trying to get back in or out of a round
6:56
but you've got to have partners, right? And so we won't know if we have a partner until, you know
7:00
we're on the clock. And whenever we're on the clock, it's like I said before, we're going to listen to see where the value is
7:06
And, you know, of course, you'd always like to add more draft picks if you can, but you've got to have a partner, and it's got to make sense
7:12
Where are you guys on the both of you? In the class, draft class
7:17
Yeah, just draft class. I mean, just from my point of view
7:21
it's a bunch of good players. There's probably more offensive linemen than there has been in past classes
7:30
This feels deep in terms of the talent that's available. The same thing with the receivers
7:35
I think the receiver classes are pretty similar these days where you're going to have a handful of high-end talent
7:40
that's probably going to go in the higher parts of the rounds
7:44
and there's going to be some depth in the class that's got a lot of different options for what you're looking for in the receiver
7:49
So that part's been a little consistent, I think, with previous years
7:54
But you're always going to find depth in the receiver classes, I think, overall. There's always going to be good players available
8:00
And this, I think, is a pretty strong offensive line class. I think we'll see where it all shakes out
8:05
But evaluation-wise, there's some really good players there. I see the same
8:10
We were looking at the numbers yesterday. The numbers are pretty consistent
8:14
The O-line is a little deeper for us in particular. And I think a lot of it has to do with what you doing schematically and how these different players fit into your scheme You know there was a time where college offenses were pro style offenses and then kind of went
8:30
more spread and you're starting to see a little bit more of the pro concepts coming back
8:34
So you have a little bit more guys that fit right in on what you want to do
8:38
So yeah I think both positions are deep. So is it so different for the lesser player that would make up the gap
8:46
So the way we set the board, we set it vertically and then horizontally
8:51
So there are a bunch of players that are on the same plane in terms of grade
8:55
from a vertical standpoint. But if you look at it horizontally, there's a differentiator in there
9:02
Like I said, we have a strategy. We know what should be available for us
9:08
particularly in the early roundup of where we're picking and have an idea of what we want to do
9:14
So the way we separated is basically looking at the board, letting the board speak to us
9:19
But then there's other factors that go in, you know, football character, the personal character, the medical, you know
9:25
all those things. So, you know, when you pick that early, you want as clean a player as possible
9:30
Guys that we've done the research on, just didn't think that they would be a fit for our building
9:36
And not only our building, but the city and the state. And, you know, so we, and it's not a lot, you know
9:43
but we have removed some players because of that. And how deep are those positions in the draft for you to potentially be
9:50
Yeah, again, we're always looking to find guys throughout. Callie and I, we were talking downstairs, and we're going to get to this point
10:00
but if you look at, and I hate to keep leaning on this, but this has just been my experience, you look at the 49ers roster
10:07
and you look at some of the guys that they have as starters on defense or offense
10:11
and those guys were acquired in the fifth, sixth, and seventh round. And so, you know, we've challenged the scouts
10:17
we've challenged the coaches to make sure that we have that board probably as fine-tuned as the top half to make sure we know those guys
10:25
and not only know those guys but know which guys fit schematically for exactly what we want to do
10:31
So we're going to be able to look to address as many positions as possible
10:35
you know, all throughout, you know, all of our picks. You kind of have a sense already of how you think things might shake out
10:43
Yeah, that's a part of the process. I think every team has that process
10:47
and that's a part of the team needs that Brian Gardner and his staff have done
10:52
knowing who needs what above you, below you, and all the possibilities we've
11:07
Thank you
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