Bowen: McCreary's Approach 'Unrealistic' for a Rookie

The cornerback, a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Auburn, has shown he wants to be perfect on and off the field.

NASHVILLE – If Roger McCreary has done anything wrong in his first days as a professional football player, it is that he has been unwilling to accept that he is bound to make mistakes.

That is the first impression Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen has gotten from the second-round draft pick, a cornerback out of Auburn.

“I think the thing that stands out to me about him – he is competitive in everything he does,” Bowen said this week following one of the Titans’ organized team activities (OTAs) sessions. “In the meeting room, he wants to have all the right answers all the time, and that’s unrealistic as a rookie. … He’s come in and done a really great job.”

McCreary never has been one who could rely too heavily on his physical gifts in order to succeed.

At 5-foot-11, 190 pounds he is the smallest of the three cornerbacks the Titans have selected early in the last three drafts. Kristian Fulton, a second-round selection in 2020, is a little beefier at 5-foot-11, 197 pounds. Caleb Farley, the 2021 first-round pick, is 6-foot-2 and 197 pounds.

McCreary’s 40-yard dash time at the 2022 NFL scouting combine barely cracked the top 20 in his position group.

Plus, he went to Auburn as an unheralded prospect who had to earn whatever playing time he got. He finally became a starter for his junior season and did enough over the last two seasons that Tennessee selected him 35th overall in draft, fifth among all cornerbacks.

At this point, it is unclear if he is ready to compete with Fulton and Farley for one of the starting jobs. If not, coaches certainly will look at how he compares to veterans Buster Skrine and Greg Mabin as well as Chris Jackson, a seventh-round selection in 2020, before they assign other roles.

For his part, though, McCreary made it clear on draft day that he is ready for anything.

“I feel like I will come in and do great with my skillset because I’m a corner that can play a lot of zone too,” McCreary said. “I know that I can play the nickel too to fit in the secondary, and I can go out to the corner. So, I feel like it's good that going into the system they want me to play at both positions. I’m looking forward to playing at both positions.”

For now, he is doing all he can to live up to those lofty personal expectations.

“He cares,” Bowen said. “You can tell he loves the game. He loves learning the game. He loves playing the game.

“And those are the guys you want in here, and those are the guys you want to coach.”

Even if they’re not perfect.