Seventh-Round Choice Creates QB Competition

Tennessee takes Hawaii's Cole McDonald, trades away one of two other seventh-round picks

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans opened the door to a competition for the backup quarterback spot when the closed out the 2020 NFL Draft on Sunday.

With the first of three scheduled seventh-round selections (No. 224), the Titans selected Hawaii quarterback Cole McDonald. A two-year starter, he will battle Logan Woodside, the only other quarterback on the roster behind starter Ryan Tannehill, for the No. 2 spot.

Tennessee’s final pick (No. 243) was Marshall defensive back Chris Jackson.

In between, general manager Jon Robinson traded the second of those three choices (No. 237) to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a 2021 sixth-round choice. The pick the Titans dealt was the one they acquired from Denver in last month’s trade for defensive lineman Jurrell Casey.

“I feel like I still need to become a pro in terms of – watching the Titans – being that quarterback and facilitate the ball like (they) did this past year (with) that amazing run they had,” McDonald said. “… For me, I just needed an opportunity. I just needed a shot.

“For me to get that from the Titans, it’s a dream come true. I’m just super stoked to be a part of that team and be a part of that organization and to help in any way I can.”

McDonald (6-3, 215) was a two-year starter for Hawaii who passed for 4,135 yards and 33 touchdowns (with 14 interceptions) last season as a fourth-year junior. In a pass-heavy scheme, he threw for 300 yards or more 13 times and his team won 10 of those games. He capped his college days with a career-high 493 yards and victory in the Hawaii Bowl against Brigham Young.

He was the fastest quarterback at the NFL scouting combine with an official time of 4.58 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Only two quarterbacks in the past three years ran faster.

Woodside, a seventh-round pick by Cincinnati in 2018, spent a brief time on the Titans’ practice squad that year. He spent all of 2019 on Tennessee’s practice squad—injured list and in between played in the short-lived Alliance of American Football.

The final pick, Jackson, projects more as a safety in the NFL and with the Titans, he faces stiff competition for a roster spot from others drafted each of the last two years, Dane Cruickshank (2018) and Amani Hooker (2019). Cruickshank made a similar transition two years ago.

A four-year starter at Marshall, Jackson notched seven career interceptions, including at least one each year. Plus, he is the program's leader in career pass breakups with 45.

“I expect to do whatever the coaches need me to do,” Jackson said. “If that’s playing corner, if that’s playing safety, if that’s playing every snap on special teams – whatever the coaches need me to do. It’s not what I want. It’s whatever will help the team win on Sunday.”