'Franchise' QB attracts Titans' eye
By JIM WYATT
Staff Writer
Quarterback Steve McNair is expected to return to the Titans this fall, but his retirement talk reminded team officials that he isn't going to be around forever.
His long-term replacement may already be on the roster — Billy Volek stepped in last season when McNair was injured and played well.
But as the April 23-24 NFL Draft draws closer, Titans General Manager Floyd Reese is at least raising the possibility of drafting a quarterback with the No. 6 pick overall.
Reese said he considers Utah's Alex Smith and California's Aaron Rodgers ''franchise'' quarterbacks, the type of players the Titans haven't been able to select in recent years because their success left them picking in the back half of the first round.
''If you consider either one of those two franchise quarterbacks and you get a chance to take them, you almost have to take them,'' Reese said. ''We all know with all the positions on the field, that is no doubt the most important position and you do not get many chances to get those types of guys.
''How long has Mac been here, 10 years? And we have not had a chance to get a franchise quarterback since Mac. Now that doesn't mean we haven't brought in a Billy Volek and a Neil O'Donnell, guys that were really good football players and really good for us. But somebody that you are grooming to take the thing over and lead the franchise for the next 10-12 years, we have not had a lot of opportunities to get that guy.''
Since selecting McNair with the third overall pick in the 1995 draft, the Titans have drafted only one other quarterback — Kevin Daft in the fifth round in 1999 — and he was with the team just one season. O'Donnell signed as a free agent in 1999 and Volek, an undrafted free agent, signed in 2000.
The chances of Smith and Rodgers being around when the Titans pick aren't good, considering the 49ers may take one of them with the first pick overall.
Most mock drafts, however, have at least one of the two being available when the Titans go on the clock.
Last year, top-rated quarterbacks Eli Manning and Philip Rivers were gone by the fourth overall pick, and Ben Roethlisberger was taken with the 11th pick.
''I think (Smith and Rodgers) compare favorably with all those guys,'' said Reese, who attended Smith's private workout last month while new Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow attended a workout by Rodgers.
''If you classify Manning and Rivers and Roethlisberger as franchise-caliber quarterbacks, then you have to call these two guys the same thing. In this draft, you have to say right now they are the franchise-caliber quarterbacks.''
Smith and Rodgers are without question the cream of the quarterback crop this year.
The 6-foot-4, 217-pound Smith, who guided Utah to an improbable 12-0 record and BCS victory in the Fiesta Bowl, is the more athletic of the two.
The 6-2, 223-pound Rodgers has a stronger arm and has shown great instincts.
Both players came out for the draft as juniors.
''Coming from the system I came from and being asked to do what I did in that system, I think I have an advantage over everybody as far as preparation for winning games in the NFL and understanding a complex system and preparing the right way,'' Smith said. ''It will be an adjustment to the NFL, but I think I'll be able to adjust very, very quickly.''
The Titans are also looking at the next tier of quarterbacks, a group that includes Auburn's Jason Campbell, Purdue's Kyle Orton, Akron's Charlie Frye, Arizona State's Andrew Walter and Georgia's David Greene. Campbell and Orton have already visited Baptist Sports Park.
Others, like Harvard's Ryan Fitzpatrick, Connecticut's Dan Orlovsky and former Florida State and Arena League quarterback Adrian McPherson, are trying to get noticed in a class experts think is ordinary overall but has the potential for big hits up top.
Teams have a lot to think about.
''Any time you're up at the top of the draft you're in shark-infested waters because there's certainly no guarantee,'' said Browns GM Phil Savage, whose team has the No. 3 pick. ''With the money available to those high draft picks, you want to make sure you're convinced this is the right person to take, regardless of position.
''Quarterbacks are well documented. It seems for every hit there's a big-time miss. I'm sure every team that picks the right guys feels good. But it's something you have to be really careful with.''
Manning was thrown into the fire by the Giants last season and struggled. Rivers didn't get a chance to play for the Chargers as veteran Drew Brees blossomed.
Roethlisberger, meanwhile, made things look easy in Pittsburgh. He stepped in for an injured Tommy Maddox and guided the Steelers to 13 consecutive wins in the regular season, breaking Dan Marino's 20-year-old rookie records for completion percentage and passer rating while earning AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
''Obviously I follow football, I'm a fan,'' Rodgers said. ''I saw the success that (Roethlisberger) had, which is obviously abnormal for a rookie. I think a lot of his success was due to the fact he went to a team with a supporting cast which is better.
''For me, there's two good things that could happen: I'd love to play right away, obviously, but I think playing would only be successful if I was in a situation where I had guys around me, a good supporting cast.
''Or (I could) come in and play behind a proven veteran maybe in the twilight of his career, learn from him for a year, get accustomed to the speed of the game, learn more about the game and then start year two.''
Jim Wyatt covers the Titans for The Tennessean. Reach him at
jwyatt@tennessean.com or 259-8015.
Titans may draft QB
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