NASHVILLE — Improving one of the NFL’s worst offenses wound up being the focus of Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon’s first draft with the team.
So much so that he used all of his picks over three days in Kansas City, Missouri, on that side of the ball — a first for this franchise since the NFL switched to a seven-round draft in 1994.
Not that Carthon went into the draft expecting it to work out just like that.
“It honestly just dawned on me about 30 minutes ago that it was all offense,” Carthon said Saturday night. “We were just playing the board. … But it wasn’t a designed plan or anything.”
This past winter, the Titans missed the playoffs for the first time since coach Mike Vrabel’s debut season in 2018, and Carthon had only six draft selections and little salary cap space. Fixing the Titans’ aging, overpriced offensive line has been a big focus since he was hired in January.
The Titans gave up 49 sacks last season, with only the Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos allowing more. Carthon released three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Taylor Lewan and center Ben Jones to clear salary cap space in March, then let right guard Nate Davis leave in free agency.
The Titans drafted a pair of offensive linemen, starting with Northwestern tackle Peter Skoronski at No. 11 overall on Thursday night and adding tackle Jaelyn Duncan at No. 186 in the sixth round — having already signed Daniel Brunskill and Andre Dillard as free agents during the offseason.
Tennessee made the biggest splash to kick off the second round Friday night, trading up to select former Kentucky quarterback Will Levis at No. 33 overall with veteran starter Ryan Tannehill in the final year of his contract.
The Titans scored just 298 points last season. Only four NFL teams averaged fewer points than Tennessee, which managed only 17.5 a game despite Derrick Henry finishing as the league’s second-best rusher with 1,538 yards.
The Titans had little salary cap space even after cutting top receiver Robert Woods and letting veteran tight end Austin Hooper leave. They took former University of Cincinnati tight end Josh Whyle at 147th overall in the fifth round and waited until their final pick at No. 228 to select a wide receiver, Colton Dowell out of the University of Tennessee at Martin, a Football Championship Subdivision program.
Vrabel said the roster building will continue.
“You guys are going to trust us,” Vrabel said. “We’re going to put players in here that are going to help us win.”
Dowell was the 30th receiver taken. He grew up a Titans fan in nearby Lebanon, then set the UT Martin record for career receiving yards. The 6-foot-3 Dowell also gives his new team the speed Vrabel has wanted since finishing last season with seven straight losses.
The receiver said he was timed at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash, and the Titans liked what they saw out of him at their pro day for local players.
“He was amongst the other Power Five guys that we brought in here locally,” Carthon said. “He stood out and looked like a Power Five guy to us. It just so happened he was at UT Martin.”
Dowell had 67 catches for 1,036 yards last season. He averaged 15.5 per catch and had seven receptions for 112 yards in an Oct. 22 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers, who were ranked third at the time.
With several tight ends taken by other teams through the first three rounds, the Titans didn’t add a target for the passing game until the fifth round with Whyle at No. 147 overall. He’s 6-6 and 248 pounds with 32 catches for 326 yards and three touchdowns in 10 starts last season.
Whyle said he grew up as a wide receiver before his high school coaches encouraged him to switch to tight end, believing he could be one of the best in the country at that position.
“And you know, here we are,” Whyle said.
Running back Tyjae Spears, the 81st pick overall, had a torn ACL in high school and again in 2020 at Tulane. Spears said Saturday he reached out to Frank Gore so he can ask for pointers on how to stay healthy in the NFL. Gore endured at one of the positions where NFL careers are typically on the shorter side, playing 16 year in the league and for five teams before retiring after the 2020 season.
“I do a good job of it because I take pride in everything that I do, that I do greatness wise,” Spears said. “Off the field stuff is going to keep me on the field.”
Spears was the American Athletic Conference’s offensive player of the year last season as he ran for 1,581 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also was the MVP of the Cotton Bowl, helping Tulane rally to beat Southern California.
TENNESSEE TITANS 2023 DRAFT PICKS
Selections listed by round, with overall number in parentheses
1: (11) Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern
2: (33) Will Levis, QB, Kentucky
3: (81) Tyjae Spears, RB, Tulane
5: (147) Josh Whyle, TE, Cincinnati
6: (186) Jaelyn Duncan, OT, Maryland
7: (228) Colton Dowell, WR, University of Tennessee at Martin