It’s no secret that the Tennessee Titans have a major decision on their hands for this offseason’s draft with their number-one selection to help direct the future of this franchise. Yet, as to who will ultimately be the guy that falls into the top spot remains clouded.
The wide-ranging expectation is that Tennessee will land on a quarterback to help iron out their situation under center. However, in a class that doesn’t expect to be as prestigious at the position as previous years, it raises an interesting dilemma for the Titans to potentially take a prospect that isn’t a signal caller, and rather go with best player available.
And in Yahoo! Sports’ latest mock from Nick Suss, the Titans do just that.
Instead of going with a top-ranked quarterback prospect like Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward at number-one overall, Suss pins the Titans to pick up Colorado’s Travis Hunter as a potential star on both ends of the field.
“Maybe it’s a reach to say Hunter’s destined to be the NFL’s Shohei Ohtani. But … what if it’s not?” Suss wrote. “There are essentially two positions that matter in the modern NFL, and Hunter has the talents and almost-preternatural stamina to potentially profile as a star at two of them. It’s a proposition too tantalizing to pass up, even if the Titans are already pretty deep at cornerback. Don’t forget: the last time the Titans bet on a Heisman Trophy winner with a wholly unique skill set who had questions about usage and projectability in the pros, it worked out pretty well.”
It’s not the popular decision for the Titans to roll with a wide receiver/cornerback-hybrid instead of a quarterback, but it could be the safest bet to secure one of the best talents in the class.
Hunter took home this year’s Heisman trophy as one of, if not the best player to step on the college field this season. He finished his campaign with 96 receptions on 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns, while also impacting the defensive side with 11 passes defended, four interceptions, and 35 total tackles.
As mentioned by Suss, cornerback isn’t quite the highest need on the board for the Titans. Wide receiver wouldn’t be either.
Regardless, in such a unique class of prospects, it remains possible that Tennessee and their new front office regime led by Mike Borgonzi could roll with a best player available strategy over entertaining the risky game of reaching for a quarterback at the top of the draft.
Players in the mold of Hunter don’t come around often. But neither do first-overall selections. With that in mind, perhaps the Colorado athlete deserves more attention for that top spot than he’s currently getting.
The most likely scenario still plugs in a quarterback at number one for the Titans. However, extensive time remains in the scouting process for the landscape to change. If Hunter shows out during the combine, or pre-draft workouts and interviews, the one-of-a-kind athlete could jump further up the board than he’s already gotten.
Could his stock get as high as the number-one pick? That remains to be seen. But, it’s an intriguing idea nonetheless.
