President of Football Operations Chad Brinker and General Manager Mike Borgonzi
(opening statement)
CB: Welcome everyone. I appreciate you adjusting your schedules and coming out here on a Monday. That was my decision. I know we normally have our post-draft press conference on Saturday night, but I just felt it was a long three days. And with the post-0draft process being so important to us, we needed that time to do the work that we needed to do. So we moved the post-draft press conference to today. And with that being said, we're not going to comment on any of the undrafted free agents at this time. We're still working through a lot of things. They'll be available to you here at rookie minicamp, so you'll get plenty of time to talk to those guys and learn about them as well. They've got to go through a lot still, we've got physicals and signing contracts, so we're just not going comment on them at this time. Also, you may be wondering with the new regime change, wondering about staff changes. We're still working through all that. So we don't have anything to comment regarding the staff at this time as well, but we are working through those things. But speaking of the staff, I thought the group did an outstanding job. It's been a long three months. We spent a lot of time in what we call 'the cave' together, watching a lot a tape. This was a new process. A lot of people weren't familiar with it. It's rigorous, it can be tiring, it's a lot of late nights and I really commend Mike Borgonzi and his staff for the work that they put in and what they have done and I think it showed over the weekend. Mike, he led this draft process. And this is the first time I've worked with Mike and we've worked together and it just felt like we've been working together for many years, it was really seamless. It was good dialogue throughout. I think you can go into a draft in peace knowing when you put the work in on the front end. And you're able to, like a good quarterback does, when you get thrown something at you, you weren't expecting, you have all that training in your background to adjust and try to make the right decision in a split second. And I saw some of that from Mike over the weekend as well, and I just was really impressed with him. And I think you all had an opportunity to talk to Dave (Ziegler) and Reggie (McKenzie) and also our two national scouts, Sam (Summerville) and Mike (Boni), and hopefully you got a little bit of a glimpse of what our staff looks like. And hopefully, you're impressed with them because this is a really good group that works really well together. We went into this season, I think we had five draft picks. And then by the end of the draft, we ended up with nine players. Eight of those nine came from the Power Four schools. We're just really excited about what we were able to add over the weekend. It's important to us that we were going to build this thing with a strong foundation and I think it was well documented on the character of these individuals that we brought into this football team. Now, it's going to be upon them, they've got to come in here—the NFL is a tough business, and we expect them to come in and learn how to be a pro and be the guys that we think they can be to really help change the culture around here. And I know that takes some time, but it starts with getting really good football players in here who are also really good people. So we're excited about the guys we drafted. We'll go ahead and turn the questions over to you all and whoever you want to talk about, we'll hit on all those for you, both Mike and I. Thank you.
(on broad characteristics that were presented throughout the draft class along with the character he mentioned)
CB: Yeah; big, fast, tough football players who love winning more than anything else. I mean, that's a Titan. I really want—I think over time as you see how this unfolds, you might be able to draft them for us ahead of time because you're going to see, 'Oh, that looks like a Titan.' There's definitely a DNA we're looking for in our players and I think everybody wants that, but it's hard to find. You've got to do a lot of work and hopefully, those guys that we're bringing in here will prove us right.
(on how quickly he expects the draft class to develop and start to contribute)
MB: I mean, our expectation is these guys come in and compete right away, no matter what position it is here. I think it's important they come in here with the right mindset, which they will. I think that was a big part of the traits and characteristics that we were looking for. Smart, tough, competitive guys, and usually that will help in the developmental part. Because like I said, all these players need to get better, they need to develop. But if you have those traits, usually that takes you over the edge to really compete and get better. So that's a big part of it. All these guys are going to have to develop though. But when you have these high-end character traits, the work ethic that they put in, the time, weight room, film study, time in the film room, I think that helps them develop.
(on what that means for expectations for the coaching staff)
MB: Like we said, we want to develop these guys. So the expectation is that we have a vision for these players. I think that was a big part of it, coming in and getting the coaches involved in the process. There's a vision for these players, they know where they need to get better. And we have great coaching staff here, so I have full confidence in them that they're going to develop these guys into players that we think they can be.
(on how Borgonzi went about familiarizing himself with the preferred traits from the coaching staff and how Brinker helped in that process)
MB: The first thing when I got in here when we were meeting with the college scouts is—actually during the lunch break, I would meet with each position group every day, and that went on for about two weeks. And really just to go over the scheme, the characteristics, and the traits that they look for in each player. Because you have to have a vision for the player, how they're going to fit into the scheme whether that's offense, defense, or special teams, we went through that. And as we went to the evaluation of these players, that's a big part of it, discussing these players, where they need to elevate and get better in their game. So working hand-in-hand with the coaching staff is a big part of this process, just to know what plays in our offense, defense, and special teams, and then what do we have to do to develop these guys moving forward.
CB: Obviously, Mike (Borgonzi) led this entire process, and that's why we hired Mike, to lead the draft, free agency, building the roster, and I have complete trust in him. And how I helped; there's a lot of other people in this building that I've got to care for and be there, and other departments that I got to run. So one of the nice things about this setup was that while they're in the draft room, there were times where I had to get pulled away for various meetings for an hour or two, and I'd come back and Mike would say, 'Hey, we looked at these five players, but you really need to focus on these three.' So it really helped my workload to be able to know what to focus on and have the full trust in Mike that I believe in him. He's a really good evaluator, and the humility that he has is just tremendous, and it helped me still be involved in the process. But ultimately, my trust is in Mike. I mean, I think he's outstanding and I'm glad we have him.
(on Dave Ziegler and Reggie McKenzie helping in the draft process)
CB: You can never have enough good people and if—this structure works when you have the right people. Reggie (McKenzie) and I worked together up in Green Bay. I think you all met Reggie. I mean, how can you not like Reggie? Reggie, he's the best. Tremendous evaluator and all he cares about (is) the team. He cares about winning. Just really good as a mentor for young scouts, too. And then Dave (Ziegler), I've known for a long time in this league, and I know Mike (Borgonzi) and Dave have been good friends for a long time. And Dave has done a lot of good things in this League over the years. And, and he's another guy. He's from Ohio, grew up in Cleveland. I'm from Ohio. We had a lot familiar connections and it just kind of, it just clicks. I don't really know how to explain it, it's just working. I think it's because it's—I talk about it a lot, high-impact, low-ego, that's what we want. We want people with low ego but we expect—you've got to perform when you're in this business. We know how hard it can be. I thought it worked really well. Go ahead, Mike.
MB: Echo some of the stuff that Chad (Brinker) said. I've known Dave for a long time in this League and I've known Reggie. Of course, Chad worked with Reggie and that's the whole idea is to get really good people in here that are selfless, low-ego people and they certainly fit that. And they had a lot of experience in this League and we had some great conversations during the draft and the meetings. I mean, we'd be in there all day, all night sometimes, late into the night watching tape. They've been great for me. Chad has, Reggie and Dave, the whole support system here has been great. I throw Jon Salge in there too. He was in the meetings with us a lot there too. So you can't have enough good people in the room that are really good evaluators and that's what they are.
(on some of the draft picks being team captains and leaders in college and how much they can help change the culture with the Titans)
MB: Like we said, those are the type of people we're trying to bring in here, high-character people. Some of them were captains on teams, but that helps elevate the culture in here. When those people come in here and they work, there's a standard that we want to set here in this organization in terms of work ethic, accountability, being a good teammate. And all those guys check the box there. Look back to some of the free agents we brought in too. Like I said, if you keep on stacking those type of players in the locker room, that's going to change the culture.
(on favoring the developmental prospects over some of the more pro-ready options)
MB: Well, like I said, they all have developmental things that they have to go through here. But then once you start getting into the mid to later rounds and some of these guys, you're looking at some traits. Speed at the receiver position with Elic (Ayomanor) and (Chimere) Dike. Marcus Harris is a guy that played really one big year of football at Cal. But you saw the traits on film, the quick-twitch athlete that can develop. And the same thing with (Kalel) Mullings too, you're looking at a guy that played linebacker for two years when he first came in, and last year was really his first really workload of carrying the football. But you saw a big body there that runs hard, and you saw lot of upside with him, and we were able to get him later on in the sixth.
(on what they saw in the draft that they waited until day three to draft pass catchers and the addition of Tyler Lockett)
MB: Yes. You're looking at the value of the board for these guys. And where we took Chim(ere Dike) and Elic (Ayomanor) at that point, we were looking for young guys with some speed and they both fit that. Chim's a guy that has return ability as well. He's done punt returns, he's done kick returns. Elic's a big body receiver, X receiver that's strong, physical at the catch point. He gives a good catch radius for the quarterback. So those are some of the things we were looking at with those two guys when we took them.
(on Chimere Dike's speed)
MB: He certainly has speed to stretch the field. And he's competitive downfield, he's smart, versatile. He can line up in a bunch of different spots on offense. And the one thing that we liked about him is just his competitiveness after the catch as well. So you've got a guy that's smart, tough, dependable, can lineup and he also has a big catch radius too. So those are the things we liked about him. And then going back to Tyler, too, Lockett. He's a big addition for us as a veteran wide receiver that really—he's dependable, can get open, he's got great instincts and he's going to be great for this locker room as well
(on Chimere Dike's one down year productive wise in college)
MB: I think he was just going—he had those few years at Wisconsin and then came in. He's one of those guys that just got better every year you watched him on tape from Wisconsin to Florida. And those are the intangibles that we look for. Guys that they continue to get better.
(on how the drafting of skill position players can factor into Cameron Ward's development)
MB: Yeah, any time you get some young receivers in here and working with the quarterback, and really the whole quarterback room, they have to develop. They have to develop a rapport in here. So, we're trying to get young guys in here that can develop and grow as we build this roster.
(on how the drafted receivers fit with Cameron Ward's playing style)
MB: Well, going back to (Tyler) Lockett, he's a guy that—a lot of extended plays that Cam (Ward) has, or any of these quarterbacks, really, when they work outside the pocket, Tyler's one of those guys, he can just find those open areas in those scramble drills. And you saw that over the years with Russell (Wilson), as well. (Chimere) Dike is a guy who can stretch the field. Elic (Ayomanor) is a bigger receiver. He's productive in the red zone. Big catch radius. And then Gunnar Helm that we took as well, too. Big, savvy route runner, good in the red zone, also provides a quarterback a big catch radius as well. And he's got good run after the catch, too.
(on if there was ever a consideration to move up in the third round to grab one of the receivers on the board)
MB: No, at that point we felt good where we were at. There were a couple of receivers on the board I think at that time that might have got taken right before. But we felt good about—there was probably three or four players at that point where we were at pick 82, I believe it was, that we felt good about taking.
(on how valuable it was to be able to draft Kevin Winston Jr. in the third round)
MB: Yeah, it was big value because really before the injury he was at the top of the second round for us. He's one of the top safeties in the draft. He's going to be fine. He had the injury early on in the season. We were fortunate enough to get him there at that spot.
(on the philosophy on taking guys coming off of injury)
MB: You just have to look at, really, the whole history of the medical history of the player. Injuries are part of the game. These guys that are young and then that's why we have full confidence in our training staff and our medical staff that we work through these meetings and talk about these players and injuries moving forward. And that's why we'll make the best decision based on the information that we get, and we felt comfortable taking those guys.
(on playing Jackson Slater at guard or center)
MB: He can do both. We saw him do a little bit at Sac(ramento) State and at Senior Bowl when I was there, he did both. So I think he'll take reps at both guard and center.
(on if they see Chimere Dike as a primary returner)
MB: Yeah, he can do that. He'll get thrown in the mix there as a punt returner and kick returner. He's productive at Florida doing that. He's one of those guys who just catches it and gets upfield. And that's what you like about him and he's got speed as well.
(on the value of Will Levis provides the team)
MB: It's a lot of value. I think there's going to be competition in every room, and he elevates the competition in that room. That's what we're trying to do here as we get into training camp, is have the best 90-man roster, best competition in every room. And Will (Levis) certainly provides that.
(on if there was an attempt to move Will Levis during the draft)
MB: There was not.
(on having four quarterbacks in the room)
MB: It's a great room we have right now with those four guys. And that'll be up to Brian (Callahan) and his staff in terms of reps as we go through the off-season and get into training camp. But we'll take it step-by-step here. And that will be up Brian (Callahan) in terms of who takes what reps at some point. So we're not going to name any starters here, though, right now here in the off-season.
(on evaluating Kalel Mullings with a limited sample size)
MB: Yeah, I mean, he certainly jumped off the tape when I watched him in the fall. He provides a different back in the room that we have right now. He's a six-foot, 230-pound back. Like I said, he was a former linebacker and it's impressive the way he just kind of hits the hole and gets upfield. He's physical and he'll provide us that short yardage, four-minute type back.
(on the plan for a rookie quarterback as it relates to reps and workload)
MB: We've had a lot of discussions with Brian (Callahan) about that. And I think as we head into the offseason here, like I said, it's going to be a competition. And these guys are going to get equal amount of reps right at the beginning. And they'll separate themselves here as we head into training camp. But the idea here is to have competition in the room. And Brian and his staff, as we go through the offseason and get into training camp, I'm sure the reps will change, at some point when people separate themselves.
(on Cameron Ward's communication with the new draft picks)
MB: I mean that's the type of teammate Cam (Ward) is. And that's everything we heard about him through the process is that he's one of the guys. I think that's why a lot of his teammates gravitate towards him. But yeah, he was tweeting right at them right after that, but that just shows you his leadership, his team ability, that's why guys gravitate toward him.
(on the relationship and dialogue they had with Cameron Ward's father, Calvin, throughout the process)
MB: The first time I actually met his parents was before the pro day at the dinner. First time I really sat down and talked with him. And it was great. I mean, he has a great family. Just learning about him growing up and that dad always being there for him, pushing him, and then being at his games over the years, which was tremendous. He never missed a college game that he had. And just the support system that he has there with his parents is impressive.
(on how Cameron Ward was so quick to congratulate his new teammates after they were drafted)
MB: He was actually texting me, but yeah. Yeah, he's on it pretty quick.
(on Cameron Ward finding his way as a leader in a locker room full of older veteran players)
MB: A lot of that was, we talked with him before the draft, he's got great awareness in terms of where he's at. And he knows that stepping into an NFL locker room, he's going to have to earn the respect of everybody in that locker room. And just first building relationships with everyone on the team is a big part of it. But that's one of the special things about him that we kind of learn through the process is that he has great awareness. I think he knows that he has to earn the respect of everyone here.
(on if they saw anything that accounted for Gunnar Helm's huge last season)
MB: Yeah, he was another guy that just continually got better. He was a former receiver in high school that made the transition to tight end at Texas. And I think that was part of—you're looking for these guys that continue to get better. Like I mentioned with (Chimere) Dike and with (Gunnar) Helm, they got better every year. And he had a big season last year. But those are the traits that you look for. And that's what you hope to continue here when they get to the league.
(on if they felt they got their guys in the draft versus picking for potential)
MB: Yeah, I mean, we build a front board that consisted of about 169 players on the front board. And we felt good about all those guys in certain spots. So as we were continually going through the draft, we felt about every guy that we took at that spot. And you never know how they're going to fall off the board. Usually when you get to the third round, every team has a little bit of a different draft board. But we felt pretty good even heading into the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds that we still had guys on the board that we wanted to add to the roster.
(on if the Titans have been an attractive destination for undrafted free agents)
CB: Yeah, I think so. I think Nashville is an attractive place and I also think with how the draft went over the weekend, I'm sure that made it attractive to some guys as well. But this is a good place to live. It's a good organization. And Brian Callahan being our head coach, he's got a lot of relationships out there too. And it's an exciting place to be, although I know we got a lot of work to do.
(on if they feel like they executed the game plan of gaining more picks to the best of their ability)
CB: Yeah, I think I was trying to get more. I just couldn't get anybody to get a trade partner there. But yeah, that was important to us. It was well-documented. We're not bashful about it. We understand when you're a draft-develop team that you build the core of your roster through the draft. So, you want to get as many of those picks as you can possibly get. And like I said in the beginning, going from where we started the season at five to finishing with nine, and even in that draft, to be able to get that third-round pick was a big deal to get that. And then also making the trade up to get a receiver we really wanted and not lose a pick in the process was really important. But I think moving forward, you're going to continue to see that as we build this team. You start having a success, I'd like to get in the position where we get into the comp picks. Where we got so many good players, we can't pay them all and some of them have to leave and they get paid by somebody else and then we get a comp pick in return, that's when you become one of those elite franchises.
(on Treylon Burks)
CB: Yeah, Treylon, he's rehabbing, he's working and he's trying to get back.
(on his fifth-year option being out of the question)
CB: We're still discussing all that, but yeah, probably not.
(on the conversations with Amy Adams Strunk on their draft plan)
CB: Yeah, I've had a lot of conversations with Amy (Adams Strunk) since January, and I'll just say this, Amy's fully on board with the plan. She wants to become one of the elite franchises of the league. She believes in what we're doing. I really appreciate her and her support and how she's really empowered us to do our jobs. I'm speaking on her behalf right now, and we hired Mike (Borgonzi) to lead that process, particularly building this football team. I think she really believes in what we're doing, and we want to make her proud. So, we're working hard to do that.
(on the signings of Brenden Jaimes, Sam Mustipher and Olisaemeka Udoh)
MB: Those are veteran guys that have all lined up and played and started games. So, we felt like they are three players in that room that can help and provide competition and depth here through training camp. And like I said, they've all played before. They're all good football character guys, too. They're going to add a lot to that room.
