NASHVILLE - Music City and the NFL are throwing quite a party for the draft that starts Thursday night in Nashville, but this is a working week for the league's teams as they try to pick the most promising prospects.
The draft's main stage, where spectators will gather, will be located downtown at the intersection of Broadway and First Avenue near the Cumberland River. The Tennessee Titans will be a couple miles away at team headquarters, quietly biding their time until hitting the clock.
"We're going to have to sit and wait for a while till we're picking there at 19 - if we stay at 19," Titans general manager Jon Robinson said.
The Titans hold the 19th pick overall after coming up a victory short of a second straight playoff berth in Mike Vrabel's debut season as Tennessee's coach. A year after drafting only four players, the Titans have six total picks - three are within the first 82 selections - and the general manager who has made 14 trades since being hired in January 2016 has shown he's willing to move. Robinson traded up in the first two rounds last year to take linebackers Rashaan Evans and Harold Landry III.
Now the Titans must decide how to help Marcus Mariota with the quarterback going into his fifth and final season under contract.
The 2014 Heisman Trophy winner, taken No. 2 overall in 2015, has yet to start all 16 games in any of his first four NFL seasons, and the Titans made sure to upgrade their backup quarterback by trading with the Miami Dolphins for Ryan Tannehill last month. Tennessee released Blaine Gabbert, who went 2-1 in Mariota's place last season, with the one loss in the regular-season finale.
Robinson made it clear Mariota is the Titans' starter, with former Miami starter Tannehill brought in to push the younger quarterback. The Titans used their fourth and final draft pick last year at quarterback, though Luke Falk was waived in the final roster cuts. The Titans are determined to help Mariota grow after he set the franchise record completion rate at 68.2% percent last season. Keeping him healthy is the first step after he was sacked a career-worst 42 times.
"We're excited that Marcus is our quarterback," Vrabel said. "I just think the durability of the player is critical. We only have so many guys. Being available is critical."
Tennessee goes into the draft with no specific holes after signing left guard Rodger Saffold, wide receiver Adam Humphries and linebacker Cameron Wake in free agency. Robinson also kept safety Kenny Vaccaro off the market, signing the veteran to a four-year deal two days before free agency opened, and bringing back offensive lineman Kevin Pamphile and running back David Fluellen.
Adding a blocker such as North Carolina State center Garrett Bradbury would appear to be a wise move for the Titans on Thursday night, but overall, improving wherever possible is the goal after making the playoffs just once in the past 10 seasons.
"We all have to figure out how we can go from good to great," Vrabel said. "We have to go from good to great. We have been 9-7 the past three years, which is stuck in the middle."
The Titans remade the interior of their offensive line, letting left guard Quinton Spain leave as a free agent - he signed with the Buffalo Bills - and cutting right guard Josh Kline after he declined to rework the three years left on his contract. Pamphile is expected to have a chance at right guard. Center Ben Jones is going into the final year of his contract, while the Titans have not announced whether they will pick up right tackle Jack Conklin's fifth-year option after injuries limited him to nine games last season.
The team could use another tight end with veteran Delanie Walker coming off a broken ankle that ended his season in the opener and Jonnu Smith being placed on injured reserve in December. Considering Humphries would have led the Titans with his 76 catches and five touchdown receptions last season, when he was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, more help for a still-young receiving group remains an option.
Drafting another outside linebacker is a must even with Wake replacing Brian Orakpo, who retired a day after the season ended. Landry is in position to start with veteran Derrick Morgan no longer under contract. Landry tied for third on the team with 4.5 sacks last season, starting three of the 15 games in which he appeared.