Titans secure No. 1 pick after loss, Patriots' win
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Turron Davenport, ESPN
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans secured the top overall pick in the draft with a 23-14 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday after the New England Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills.
The Patriots, who would have clinched the No. 1 pick with a loss, instead will pick No. 4 overall after defeating the Bills 23-16. The Cleveland Browns will select No. 2, followed by the New York Giants at No. 3.
Titans coach Brian Callahan elected to play both Will Levis and Mason Rudolph against the Texans in the season finale. Callahan said splitting time between the quarterbacks was done to get them both one last chance to play and was not based on trying to lose to improve draft the team’s status.
The Titans finished the year with a 3-14 record in Callahan’s first season as coach. This is the worst season for the team since 2015, when it finished 3-13. Former Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt was fired seven games into that season after finishing with a 2-14 record in 2014, his first season.
Tennessee has a lot of roster holes to fill. Callahan has been in this situation before as the offensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals, who finished with a 2-14 record in 2020, landing them with the top pick, which ended up being quarterback Joe Burrow.
“I’ve seen it done and been a part of it,” Callahan said. “It’s not a position I ever want to be in again. But the benefit of that is it does open up some opportunities to improve the football team.”
Callahan pointed to having top picks in additional rounds as a good opportunity to improve the roster as well. It should be noted the Kansas City Chiefs have Tennessee’s third-round pick because of the trade last offseason for cornerback L’Jarius Sneed.
Callahan is likely to remain the coach next season, according to a team source. Team ownership is not happy about this season, however, and people in the organization are uneasy and bracing for something to happen, according to a report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
“I don’t really pay much mind to those reports,” Callahan said. “I just come in and try to do my job as best I can and do it as long as they allow me to do it.”
