INDIANAPOLIS – The NFL Combine kicked off here on Tuesday, and Titans General Manager Mike Borgonzi and head coach Brian Callahan were peppered with questions about the team's No.1 pick, and some of the draft's top prospects.
Borgonzi, for the record, said he's received calls from teams interested in the pick.
If the Titans get a deal they can't pass up, presumably they'd trade it.
In the meantime, the Titans are locked in on learning as much as they can on the prospects here at the combine.
Right now, four players have been discussed more than others as potential options for the Titans – quarterbacks Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, edge rusher Abdul Carter, and cornerback Travis Hunter. In the most recent mock draft roundup here on TennesseeTitans.com, all 25 draft analysts had the Titans taking one of these players.
Neither Borgonzi nor Callahan tipped their hand when asked about those four players here on Tuesday.
But they did discuss all four, and here's what they said when asked specifically about each one:
Miami quarterback Cam Ward
Ward set an NCAA record with 158 touchdown passes in his career, and he threw for 18,184 yards in his five college seasons at Incarnate Word (two seasons), Washington State (two seasons) and Miami (one season).
"It's a positive that he has that grit and determination to prove other people wrong," Borgonzi said of Ward's success after being a lightly recruited player coming out of high school. "Every place he was at, he performed at a high level – that's something you certainly take into account when you see someone that plays with that chip on their shoulder."
Borgonzi said Ward's leadership skills are also "impressive."
Callahan said both Ward and Sanders are deserving of being considered among the draft's top players.
"They're both worthy of the conversation they're in," Callahan said. "They're both good players and have both earned the right to be in the conversation."
"As far as where I see them, where I stack them," Callahan said with a smile. "That's for me."
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders
Sanders was the Big 12 Offensive Player of Year in 2024, when he threw for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns.
"To answer your question about Shedeur," Borgonzi said, "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."
Callahan didn't discuss Sanders specifically on Tuesday.
Here's what he said previously on Sanders:
"The thing that stands out the most is his toughness," Callahan said of Sanders after meeting him at the Shrine Bowl. "He took some pretty big shots and he kept rolling. He can stand in the pocket and deliver it. He can move and create a bit, he has some ability to move out the pocket, and he does create on his own. He's not a high-end dynamic scrambler necessarily, but he is productive when he does. And he really has a good feel for anticipation and timing, you can tell he's been coached in that regard. Those things show up on tape."
Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter
Carter was a first-team All-America performer at Penn State in 2024, when he tallied 23.5 tackles for a loss, and 12 sacks.
"Abdul is a very good player," Borgonzi said. "I don't want to go into many evaluations of the players, but there are certainly some players at the top that fit that description of generational talent."
Colorado cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter
Callahan said it's "very realistic" to think Hunter could play on both sides of the football in the NFL.
Hunter, last year's Heisman Trophy winner, was a first-team All-Big 12 performer at cornerback at receiver at Colorado, where he averaged 111.5 snaps per game in 2023-2024.
"He's a unique player," Callahan said. "There's not a whole lot of other players you could compare to what he's done. There's not many guys who have played that many snaps on both sides of the ball. And you watch his tape and see his ability to play both at a really high level."
While Callahan said Hunter has the ability to play on both sides of the football, he anticipated he'd start at cornerback in the NFL and "then you find ways to interject him into the offense as he gets more comfortable, he plays more and more offensively."
Borgonzi called Hunter "a special player, for sure."
"We were watching him, and I don't know if there's anybody who has ever done what he's done in the modern day football, playing both offense and defense during the course of the season," Borgonzi said of Hunter. "He's definitely a special player."
