Former Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon was in charge of the last two drafts for the team.
He was beginning to prepare for his third go-around before the Titans fired him back in January.
While he doesn't currently hold a job in the NFL, Carthon knows a lot about this year's class and compared one of his former players to Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe.
"Cathon [sic] said that as a pure quarterback, he would compare Jalen Milroe to Malik Willis. But looking for a comparison for a player who is "dynamic" and "so explosive with the ball in his hands," he would go with Taysom Hill. Wilson noted that he has concerns about Milroe when it comes to pure pocket passing, but nobody can debate his elite athleticism," CBS Sports contributor Shanna McCarriston writes.
"Carthon added that Milroe has the same deficiencies that Willis had, with their processing being a step off. Their strengths are also similar, being able to squeeze the ball into tight windows. Quarterbacks with lesser arm strength than them have to be a "little more anticipatory," Carthon explained.
"When it comes to the Hill comparisons, the two are athletic and can do a lot with the ball in their hands. Milroe could find himself as a member of a quarterback room where he may not be the starter, but the team may work him into packages without forcing him into the game."
Willis was the team's incumbent starting quarterback when Carthon took over, but he drafted Will Levis to unseat him as the starter in his first draft with the team.
Carthon ultimately traded Willis to the Green Bay Packers just before the start of the season. In his first year with the Packers, Willis went 2-0 in his starts with the team.
Now, the Titans find themselves looking to draft their third quarterback in four years.
Where Would Titans QB Prospect Go In Last Year's Draft?
The Tennessee Titans are approaching the NFL Draft very quickly, but the choice for the No. 1 overall pick is becoming more clear by the day.
The Athletic insider Nick Baumgardner believes that Cam Ward from Miami will be chosen by Tennessee, but he doesn't believe that should be the case.
"To be clear, I would not do this. Same time, there’s too much smoke to ignore that first-year GM Mike Borgonzi’s priority is a quarterback, and if you’re going to take one this high, it’s absolutely Ward," Baumgardner writes.
"I do not think he’d have gone higher than Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye last season, but it’s possible — given the QB desperation league wide — he’d have been a top-10 pick in 2024."
There were six quarterbacks taken in the top 12 picks last year. Had Ward gone into the draft a year ago, he would have been coming off his second season with Washington State, where he threw for 3,736 yards, 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Assuming Baumgardner is right with his assessment that Williams, Daniels and Maye would have gone before Ward, there's a chance that he could have been the fourth-best quarterback prospect.
Instead, Michael Penix Jr. was chosen by the Atlanta Falcons with the No. 8 overall selection. Penix had just led the Washington Huskies, a rival of Ward's, to the national championship, and the Falcons showed a lot of desire to add him, so there's a good chance he goes before the Titans prospect.
J.J. McCarthy went No. 10 overall to the Minnesota Vikings, and it would be hard to justify taking Ward over the quarterback who led his team to a national championship.
Ward may have been chosen over Bo Nix out of Oregon, but he proved himself in his rookie year, helping lead the Denver Broncos to the playoffs after being chosen No. 12 overall.
There's an argument to be had that Ward may have been the seventh-best quarterback taken in last year's draft, so it's a bit of a challenge to justify him going with the No. 1 overall pick.
That being said, he has looked great throughout the pre-draft process and the Titans could feel confident making him the No. 1 overall pick.
