GENERAL MANAGER RUSTON WEBSTER
(opening statement)
We are very happy to have Kendall with us. It has been great being able to spend a little bit of time with him when he wasn't with you guys today. We are just looking forward to a great career here. It is our first pick with me as GM and I couldn't think of a better guy.
WR KENDALL WRIGHT
(on how often he played slot compared to outside receiver while at Baylor)
I played both equally, so I enjoyed slot when I was in slot and the outside when I was outside. It is fun playing both.
(on how the last 24 hours have been)
It has been crazy and very exciting. I'm glad to be a part of this organization.
(on if he has ever been to Nashville before)
No I haven't, only on my visit. I heard it is a great place, so I'm glad to be in this great place.
(on what the coaches have said on how he will fit in with the team)
Just playing slot or on the outside and being versatile. If I can help on special teams then I can do that too, kick returns or punt returns or whatever. Just anything I can do to help the team.
(on why he didn't return many kicks or punts in college)
I did a little bit of it, but coach he didn't want me to do much of it. Most of the team when I didn't do it was because the game was close and they really needed me on offense.
HEAD COACH MIKE MUNCHAK
(on how he plans to use him in the return game)
That is something to be determined. I think we just take it slow and get him into practice and OTAs and learn the offense first. Obviously, we will work on catching and keeping his skills good at catching punts and kicks and things like that. We will see how things develop throughout the preseason and go from there.
WR KENDALL WRIGHT
(on if playing quarterback in high school helped with route concepts)
Playing quarterback helped a lot. It helped me read and know what the defense was doing most of the time. Now as a receiver I know what the quarterback is thinking and when he is going to throw it and how he is going to throw it and things like that.
HEAD COACH MIKE MUNCHAK
(on how important it is to get him on the field as quickly as possible)
We are excited. Obviously, we think he can be a lot of help this year and that is why we chose him with the 20th pick. All the rest of that is to be determined. We feel like he gives us a lot of options to use him a lot of ways. We will do some things maybe as an offense that we haven't done in a while and maybe as consistent. It is more or less just getting together. That is what is nice about having the offseason. He will be able to come back in the middle of May and spend about seven weeks with the whole team and get a good feel for the offense. We will get a good feel for what he is. I think the most important thing we do with most positions is you come in and not try to do too much, don't overwhelm the guy, let Kendall play one spot, learn him learn that, learn our offense, build confidence and you just try to go from there. We just take it one step at a time and then the next step is training camp and you kind of pick up where you left off in camp and preseason games and then you see what he is ready for, how he fits and how we go forward as an offense.
(on the depth of the receiver position on the roster and if it is the best it has been in a while)
We hope so. We just want to be productive. We want to score points. We know that is what it comes down to in this league, putting more points on the board. We feel we will be able to dictate more and kind of do what we want to do. There may be games where we can play three wide more and maybe some four wides more, maybe some two tight ends the whole game. I think it just gives you more options that you can go into each game and decide what is the best personnel to put on the field to win that particular Sunday. Having someone like Kendall also us to do more things than maybe we have done in the past.
(on where he envisions Wright playing initially)
We haven't really talked about it. I think it just depends on practice, who's healthy and who we have out there at practice time when we start. That is why we always try to tell you guys when we start training camp, don't get too excited where we are playing guys because it may be outside, it doesn't mean we are deciding the outside spot is his best position. Like we all know, he can play all the spots for a receiver, so I think it will be depending on who we have at practice and talking with Chris (Palmer) and seeing exactly where we want to start Kendall if it outside or inside or a little bit of both. We just want to keep it kind of simple and let him learn to offense and see how much of it carries over from what he did in college to what Chris has for him. Just kind of take it step-by-step knowing that we have plenty of time to answer all those questions.
WR KENDALL WRIGHT
(on any players on the Titans roster he played with or against)
I played against James Kirkendoll when he was at Texas, and on my visit I met Michael Griffin. He's another Texas guy. I feel like I can get along with those two guys.
GENERAL MANAGER RUSTON WEBSTER
(on comparing Wright to other receivers in the draft like Justin Blackmon and Michael Floyd)
I think they're just different styles. I think Floyd and Blackmon are a little bit different. They're bigger guys, but he, as we said last night, is excellent after the catch and has the speed to get deep. He brings something totally different than them. They're all three good players, and this was a highly productive guy that can make things happen on the field. In that way, they're similar.
(on what Wright brings to the receiving corps that is different )
I really think that Kendall has some special traits. We have a lot of good receivers, just like I said last night. But we've added another playmaker to the group. We have some nice playmakers. When you include our tight ends and our running back, Kendall is just another one.
WR KENDALL WRIGHT
(on how he compares to Justin Blackmon and Michael Floyd)
It's different. They play outside. They play really one position, and I play both slot and outside. It's not really comparable like that. We're all different receivers, and they're obviously good receivers.
(on the adjustment of going from the spread offense at Baylor to the Titans offense)
I could just use what I learned from the spread, put it into this offense that I'm about to be running and try to take some of the same things I used and add it to what I'm going to learn.
HEAD COACH MIKE MUNCHAK
(on whether the selection of Wright affects the quarterback competition)
I think they're both just really excited. Any time for a quarterback you add a weapon, they're excited. It shouldn't change at all as far as those two guys battling it out. It just gives them another opportunity to make big plays.
(on whether he has shared any advice as a former first-round draft pick)
I haven't had a chance to. He's been pulled around so much since he's gotten in the door. The media has grown a lot more. Back when I came in, I got together with the media for about 15 minutes and was done. So we haven't had a chance to talk yet, but I'm looking forward to that. It seems a long, long time ago that I had this moment also. It's special. I think we talked about it actually when he was in for his visit back a couple weeks ago to enjoy the process. I know it's a lot of hassle. Going to New York, I think is a once-in-a-lifetime thing to be part of. He had the opportunity to do that, which I think is special for him and his family. So we talked about some of those things before the draft. It's interesting to hear it because it brings me back, remembering those days when I went through something similar. We didn't go to New York back then, but it still was a very exciting day. It's a once-in-a-lifetime moment for your family and for yourself. You're off to a new adventure.
WR KENDALL WRIGHT
(on having a head coach who was also a first-round draft pick)
We talked when I came on my visit. He just told me enjoy the process, stay positive, and when I can, get a workout in. Stay in shape. It's hard to stay in shape and get a lot of workouts in when you're always on the road.
GENERAL MANAGER RUSTON WEBSTER
(on whether the college spread offense makes it more difficult to evaluate a receiver)
For me, the thing is you just look at the physical traits. Does it necessarily transfer? No, but I think you still look at the talent and the physical abilities that the player has and try to decide if that fits into what you're going to do offensively. So their athletic ability, their quickness, their speed and those type of things, that usually will transfer. The other thing that's something that Kendall has is instincts and a feel for playing the game, which is a big part of it. Those type of guys should be able to adapt to any offense.
WR KENDALL WRIGHT
(on if he grew up a Cowboys fan)
I didn't even grow up watching football. I was a Michael Jordan fan (laughing).
GENERAL MANAGER RUSTON WEBSTER
(on how fortunate the Titans were that Wright was available with the 20th pick considering a report that the Browns planned on drafting Wright)
Truthfully, I was sweating it. Mike knows I was a little nervous at the time. We did feel real fortunate. You know, you hear those things the day after. You don't know them for sure while the draft is going on. It actually always makes you feel good about your pick when you hear something like that. Yeah, we were very fortunate, and I was very nervous.
WR KENDALL WRIGHT
(on meeting any Titans players since being drafted) I'm going to meet them down the road. I haven't met any yet, but I'm ready to learn from them. Learn from them and take any advice that they give me and be ready to play alongside those guys.
