My Two Cents: Carthon's Homework Complete on Quarterbacks, But Will He Pull the Trigger?

The Tennessee Titans currently own the No. 11 pick in the first round of Thursday night's NFL Draft. They have plenty of needs, including a quarterback of the future. Do they move up to get one, or wait and hope? General manager Ran Carthon has done his due diligence, which should make for a ton of drama.

NASHVILLE — There's a long-standing rule in the NFL that if you don't have a quarterback, you better damn well get yourself one. Because you're not winning anything without someone good at that position.

With the NFL Draft just a few days away now — the Carolina Panthers will make the first pick a little after 8 p.m. ET on Thursday night — the Tennessee Titans are in a bit of that quarterback no-man's land. 

They have a quarterback, sort of. Ryan Tannehill, the 35-year-old who's been the starter here for four years, has one year left on his pricy contract. They have a backup quarterback, too, in second-year pro Malik Willis. He's in ''sort of'' range too, but the third-round pick in 2022 wasn't all that impressive when he filled in for the injured Tannehill last year.

With no solid plans for the future, there's been plenty of talk about the quarterback position as the Titans prepare to make a pick on Thursday. They are slotted at No. 11 right now, and there's been plenty of rumors floating around that they might move up at a hefty cost to grab a QB, or stand pat and hope the right one falls to them at No. 11.

They might even move back for draft capital and pick one later. Or they could go in a completely different direction and take a wide receiver or offensive lineman, which are both positions of need, too.

There's a lot to digest for first-year Titans general manager Ran Carthon and his staff. They feel like they're ready to go, and he's sure they'll pick a good player come Thursday night.

But will it be a quarterback? It's rare to be picking this high for the Titans, and Carthon hopes it never happens again.

"You'd rather be picking at 32 every year, or at least 31-32 every year,'' Carthon said. "For this organization to be picking at No. 11 with all the success they've had here is kind of unprecedented. Ultimately picking that high, you want to pick a player to come in and contribute to you immediately with the hopes of never having to pick this high again.''

The Titans have a lot of needs. They could use help at offensive line and wide receiver as well, and there's plenty of talent at both positions.

But the quarterbacks drive the bus, and they've been all the talk for months. Here's what we know as of now.

It looks fairly clear that the Panthers will take Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, at No. 1. The consensus for many months has been that Young and Ohio State's C.J. Stroud are the two quarterbacks who are NFL ready now. 

The Houston Texans, who need a quarterback, seemed locked in on Young or Stroud for months, but now there's been plenty of rumors that they might go defense — maybe Alabama's Will Anderson Jr.? — or trade out of the pick. That means they probably have some sort of reservations about Stroud if Young isn't available.

The two other intriguing quarterbacks in the first round are Kentucky's Will Levis and Florida's Anthony Richardson. But are physical talents, but have both flaws and inexperience.

There are many NFL scouts and coaches who love them both, though, and there are plenty of teams who would love to move up to get one of them.

The Titans might be one of those teams. They've visited with all four quarterbacks, and Carthon has done all the prep work. So when things start to happen on Thursday night, it's going to be interesting to see what the Titans do. Do they just wait it out and see what happens at 11, or do they get aggressive and move up to get the guy they want?

"It's a crazy and exciting week coming up, with our first draft together as a staff,'' Carthon said. "The process has been great, and very collaborative. We've spent a lot of time together, probably too much time.

"We're always looking to add good football players to our team. With Ryan and his respective position, the same thing can be said of every position. We have to evaluate everyone and due our due diligence on every position to improve. It's on an indictment on Ryan or anyone else on this roster. We have to know how we can make ourselves better at every position.''

Getting to know the person as much as the player is a big thing for Carthon. It's a must, he said.

''With the quarterback position, you really need to be in front of them to get a feel for them,'' I went to Kentucky (and Ohio State) this year, but I didn't to Alabama or Florida. I think it's key to see them in their environment, in their comfort zone. That's where you get to see the quarterbacks and their leadership skills.''

For some of the quarterbacks, the college offensive schemes don't correlate directly to the NFL.  There's a learning process. It takes getting used to being a huddle, getting play-calls in your helmet, changing things on the fly,

That's what makes the analysis so different. You have to be able to project what they already know — and how quickly they can learn the new stuff.

"You have to have an understanding of what they're trying to do offensively, because there could have been a million things that led to that turnovers,'' Carthon said when asked about Levis' 23 turnovers the past two years. "That's why it good to talk to the guys, and see what they say about those situations and what happened, and get their explanations for it.

''You don't evaluate differently, you just see what concepts carry over. Mostly you look for the carryover in schematics and concepts. Some of these guys have never really operated in the huddle. If they can process that and have the attributed to be a good quarterback, they should be fine. When you can get your hands on them, and the more exposure you can get to the player, the better off you are. None of these guys are playing any more football (before the draft), so the tape is the tape. I'd rather get to know the person.''

Mostly, you do all the work and then just hope and pray that you get it right. Especially with quarterbacks, there are never any guarantees.

''This is all predictive. We're all taking shots and playing the lottery and hoping that you hit on someone,'' Carthon said. "Quarterbacks are wired differently. Everybody many not be a Hall of Fame quarterback but I think there's some level of success that can be had.''

Draft night is going to be a blast, that's for sure. What always makes it must-see TV is that things change by the minute, and when there's movement in front of you, Carthon and his staff will have react quickly in real time. 

Drama. It's a very cool thing. 

Related stories on NFL Draft 

• PLENTY OF RECEIVER TALENT: Regarding the wide receiver position in this week's NFL Draft, Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon sees value "everywhere" at a position of need. CLICK HERE
• NO CALLS FOR HENRY: The Tennessee Titans’ running back Derrick Henry has been the center of trade rumors for most of the offseason so far, but according to Titans’ general manager Ran Carthon, the team has not received trade calls about the star runner. CLICK HERE
• C.J. STROUD EVALUATION: This is by far the best yet when it comes to getting right to the point in evaluating Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud. CLICK HERE