The Tennessee Titans hosted a pre-draft press conference on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the team's strategy ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.
During the presser, GM Mike Borgonzi and President of Football Operations Chad Brinker made an intentional effort to do the exact opposite of what Ran Carthon used to.
Best player available
For starters, the Titans are adopting the "draft and develop" organizational philosophy that lends itself to taking the best player available in the draft. "We're going to do our best to stay true to the board, draft the best player available, not really reach for needs at this point," said Borgonzi on Tuesday. This line of thinking is something Carthon talked about doing, but very rarely actually followed during his tenure as GM.
While Carthon was the GM, the Titans traded up in the second round to get Will Levis because they felt pressure to draft Ryan Tannehill's successor. The Titans took a running back (Tyjae Spears) in the Top 100 because they felt pressure to draft Derrick Henry's successor and then replaced him after one season.
Setting the expectations low
The Titans new front office acting in stark contrast to what Carthon used to do doesn't stop there. The Titans also made it clear that they are not going to try and fill every hole in one offseason. They are setting the expectations low. They have been all offseason. Mike Borgonzi has warned Titans fans that this is going to be a multi-year rebuild. He forecasted Tennessee's lack of big splash free agent signings.
Ran Carthon got aggressive during the 2024 offseason and the organization's messaging really came back to bite them. He publicly paraded the idea that he got a list of roster needs from the coaching staff and "he filled all of them." He spent big on Calvin Ridley and Lloyd Cushenberry, paid Chidobe Awuzie, traded for L'Jarius Sneed and then gave him a lofty contract extension.
The Titans were not just trying to give Will Levis everything he needed to succeed in his second NFL season, they were also making an effort to be competitive. They made that clear...and then finished 3-14.
Borgonzi, on the other hand, is less focused on giving Cam Ward everything he needs to thrive as a rookie. He's worried about what's best for the football team and building a contending roster that has longevity.
"You want to surround the young quarterback with as much talent and have the environment for him to succeed, but at the same time, we're building a team here too as well," he said. "So, we have to do what's best for the team at that point. Of course, we'd like to go out and give that player everything he needs, but our thinking is right now there's a lot of holes in this roster and we have to make the best decision for the team in terms of value of that player."
This should encourage Titans fans that want to see the organization change it's ways. That's not a guarantee that any of this will work. And it's a certainty that this will take some time. But watching the Titans do things very differently from Ran Carthon before the 2025 NFL Draft leads me to believe that Mike Borgonzi knows what he's doing. He has been an integral piece of a well-run organization for years. It's time to bring that culture and sound process to Tennessee.
