NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Cam Ward is officially The Chosen One for the Tennessee Titans.
As expected for weeks, the rags-to-riches quarterback was officially christened on Thursday night as the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft – and new face of hope for the rebuilding of a struggling franchise.
Ward, who considered entering the draft a year ago but instead transferred to star for a single season at the University of Miami, checked all the boxes. Rocket arm. High football IQ. Leadership. The Titans pretty much settled on Ward a month ago and held firm in the decision.
Then there was that one final factor: Make them an offer they can’t refuse.
The Titans had their conviction in Ward put to the test by refusing multiple trade offers for the No. 1 pick – including a reported blockbuster overture from the New York Giants.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Giants offered a package of picks that included two first-round picks – the third pick this year and next year’s first-rounder – for the chance to select Ward.
No deal. The Titans wouldn’t budge.
‘I did want to listen, because I think you have to do your due diligence and listen,’ Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi said. ‘I did that. But I think we came to a decision: We weren’t going to move off that pick and we wanted Cam.’
It was natural that teams would call and fitting that any temptation for the Titans – with so many needs across the board – to build additional draft capital would be part of the equation.
After all, stuff happens. The Jacksonville Jaguars pulled off a stunner in landing Travis Hunter, the two-way unicorn. To move up to the second slot from the fifth spot, the Jaguars swayed the Cleveland Browns with a huge bundle that included next year’s first-round pick and two other choices.
Yet in the Titans’ case, they saw no better value than to bank on Ward’s potential – he played at three schools in five seasons and passed for a Division 1-record 158 touchdown passes — to become the franchise quarterback to build with.
How much would it have taken to trade the pick?
‘If you identify a franchise quarterback, there’s really not a price you can pay for that in my mind,’ said Borgonzi, who spent 16 years rising in the ranks for the Kansas City Chiefs front office before coming to Tennessee this year. ‘That’s the most important position in sports. If you come to a consensus, and we did, that he has the potential to be that.’
Borgonzi, who brings the reference point of intimately watching Patrick Mahomes quickly develop into the NFL’s best quarterback, said it was Ward’s ability to quickly process, that won him over. Titans coach Brian Callahan hailed Ward’s leadership ability and the intangibles.
Ward, 22, himself feels the Titans were struck by his journey. He was a zero-star recruit coming out of high school. After two seasons on the FBS level at Incarnate Word, he transferred to Washington State for another two seasons. He initially entered the NFL draft pool last year but was projected as a fourth-round pick.
By the time this year’s draft process came along, Ward sensed he couldn’t have been better positioned.
Asked when he felt like the Titans settled on him as the top pick, Ward said, “I thought I was the guy all along.”
Callahan, the second-year coach, was convinced after meeting Ward at the combine, which kick-started the intense process of drilling down on the final decision. Even in a 15-minute initial interview, Callahan was impressed by Ward’s presence and football mentality.
Now Callahan, who helped develop Joe Burrow as the No.1 pick overall for the Cincinnati Bengals, can’t wait to get on with the process of grooming his new star pupil.
‘And stop pretending about all the things we’ve had to pretend about over the course of the last couple of months,” Callahan said.
Earlier in the week, during the pre-draft press conference, someone asked Borgonzi what his message would be to teams that might call with trade offers for the top pick.
“Don’t bother calling,” came the reply.
Callahan knows.
“Ultimately, we felt like Cam’s a player we weren’t going to let go anywhere else,” he said.
In other words, there was no offer they couldn’t refuse.
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“A caliber of a player like Cam…priceless,” Callahan said. “There’s no price you put on that from a draft capital standpoint because if those players end up being what you think they’re capable of, those picks don’t matter when it comes to future picks.”
At least that’s the conviction for the Titans that has apparently withstood temptation.
Follow Jarrett Bell on social media: @JarrettBell