The Tennessee Titans are faced with any number of attractive options with the second-overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft. With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers likely to take quarterback Jameis Winston first-overall, the Titans and head coach Ken Whisenhunt and GM Ruston Webster will potentially have what amounts to a clearly franchise-defining decision ahead of them.
Whisenhunt, according to a report from Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, has already made up his mind which direction he'd like to go with the team's first-round draft choice and it doesn't concern any of the incoming collegiate players slated to be available in late April.
"If Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt has his way, they will go with an older, established quarterback," Cole revealed. "The No. 1 choice for Whisenhunt would be Philip Rivers of San Diego if the Chargers are willing to move up into that spot - the No. 2 overall spot - and go get Mariota and decide to move on from Rivers. Whisenhunt worked with Rivers in San Diego two years ago, loves Rivers, would love to change the whole attitude of the franchise and thinks that bringing in an established quarterback would do that."
While this is Whisenhunt's preference - per Cole, he believes he can make the team an immediate contender with the addition of Rivers - there's no guarantee Rivers will be available or that the Chargers are willing to move him, essentially, in exchange for Marcus Mariota.
As such, the Titans brass are considering every option available to them.
"The sources I've talked to are saying the Titans are looking for one of three scenarios. First scenario is can they get an old established quarterback and trade down out of that spot, second scenario is do they take a young quarterback, specifically Marcus Mariota to build around for the future, third scenario is do they just take the best football player available on the board, that would be Leonard Williams, the defensive tackle from USC."
Part of the Titans decision-making process will be to mull the offers from teams below them looking to move up - Cole points to the New York Jets, the Washington Redskins, the Cleveland Browns, the Philadelphia Eagles and the St. Louis Rams as franchise's currently exploring trade-up options for Marcus Mariota - but it seems that the Chargers are the most attractive trade partner because of Rivers, a player the Tennessee brass hope would invigorate the product on the field as well as the fanbase off of it.
"The Tennessee Titans are also thinking about, "how do we make a splash and reestablish ourselves after so many years of futility in the national market" to help their profile. There's some issues there with marketing this team, so there's some important decisions there for the Titans to make."
