INDIANAPOLIS – Mike Borgonzi is at the NFL Combine for the first time as general manager of the Tennessee Titans.
And, he's armed with the first overall pick.
So, of course the first question he was asked after stepping up to the podium here on Tuesday morning centered on potential interest in trading the pick.
"Any time you have the No.1 pick, it's always going to be a topic of conversation," Borgonzi said. "I would say we've had some phone calls, yeah. And I'll keep those phone calls to the vest. But we've had some phone calls."
Here's a look at the hot topics from Borgonzi's 15-minute session with reporters at the podium, as well as his spillover session with Nashville media:
-Asked about "generational talent" in this year's draft class, Borgonzi said "there's a handful of players, any time at the top of the draft, that you would deem generational talents, and we certainly feel that way is year as well."
As for how he'd describe a player with "generational talent," Borgonzi said: 'It's a rare skill set of talent, an impact player who can take the team to another level, whatever position it is. And they have to have the character makeup as well to go with it."
-Borgonzi was asked about the strengths of this year's draft class: "I'd say obviously defensive line, specifically the edge players, it's a really deep draft. I would say running backs, it's a good draft. There's some good tight ends in that position group. I think it's a good draft overall, but there's certainly some positions that have more strength and a little bit more depth in the middle to later rounds as well."
-Borgonzi on the idea that you have to take a quarterback with the top overall pick: "Sure, I mean, you can think that way. But at the end of the day, we have to make the best decision at this point for the Titans. And if we deem taking a quarterback is the most important thing right now, then we'll do that. But we have to go through this process here. So, this is like one touch point in the process. We've gone through the whole evaluation part. Now we're finally getting to sit down and meet with these guys and talk with them. We'll have pro days, we'll have 30 day visits. We have to go through the whole process really to make that decision."
-Bongonzi was asked if it's important for the team to stay in the range to select a "generational talent" should they trade down: "Well, that's part of the strategy that you have to put together. Just like we're going to have a free agent strategy, there's going to be a draft strategy too. So, we'll get together as a group and think through all that. But you certainly don't want to pass up on one of those players if you think they're there. And an opportunity to trade back, depends how far you can go back to get that player. So, to your point, there's a strategy to it."
-Borgonzi said, "We could sign a quarterback in free agency and also draft a quarterback as well."
-Borgonzi on Penn State edge Abdul Carter: "Abdul's a very good player. I don't want to go into many evaluations of the players, but like I said, there's certainly some players at the top there that fit that description of generational talent."
-Borgonzi on Colorado cornerback Travis Hunter: "He's a special player. Yeah, for sure. We were watching him, and I don't know if there's anybody that's actually done what he's done in the modern-day football, playing both offense and defense during the course of a season. So he's definitely a special player."
-Borgonzi said Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders has sufficient arm strength: "To answer your question about Shedeur, I think he has plenty of arm strength. Some of the (anticipation) throws sometimes make up for lack of arm strength, we've seen quarterbacks over the years that are able to do that because they anticipate better. And a lot of that has to do with field instincts too."
-Borgonzi on the team's strengths: "I think we have some good interior guys right now with (T'Vondre) Sweat and (Jeffery) Simmons. There's some pieces on the roster. Calvin's (Ridley) still a good receiver. But, we have to get better throughout the offensive line. And that's going to be a priority for us. That's part of the process here, too, as we're evaluating this roster, is try to figure out where are the weak points right now? Where do we really have to improve? But there are some pieces on the roster that we can build on, and certainly that interior defensive line is one of them."
-Borgonzi on how long it will be before they can compete in the division: "Our hope is to compete every year for division. But, it's a process. So, hopefully we're in contention this year. You always want to manage expectations, though. So, as we go through this process, we're going to acquire players. I think we'll have a better idea as we head into the season."
-Borgonzi on the importance of solidifying the quarterback position: "Yeah, I've been there before. I mean, it's arguably the most important position in sports, the quarterback position. So you have to get that right. We have to solidify that position. And we have Will (Levis) on the roster right now and he's going to compete with whoever we bring in. We have one quarterback on the roster, so we're bringing people in and Will will compete with them as well."
-Borgonzi said "Phase One" of the draft board has been set. "And I try to tell the scouts, listen, this isn't the final process. We have a lot of information to gather, medical information, character information, measurables, testing, but we do have an initial board set right now," he said. "We try not to make drastic changes on it. But some of the medical information, obviously, will affect that. Some of the testing does move guys up and down the board a little bit. But, we try not to make drastic measures. We want to be a tape-driven team and really not just depend on these other variables that come in."
-Borgonzi on his expectations for a return from teams looking to trade up to No.1: "Any time you are trading up to the No.1 pick, you expect a big return. I think that's our expectation."
