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By Larry Stone April 21, 2002
Titans General Manager Floyd Reese said the team added depth, speed, and quality prospects in the two days of the 2002 draft.
The Titans added two cornerbacks, two wide receivers, a linebacker, an offensive guard and a defensive end with its seven picks Sunday. All told, the Titans finished the draft with seven defensive players including three on the first day.
'I think as you look at what we did, we both filled needs and found some players,' Reese said. 'When you look at this draft class, I think you're going to be very, very impressed with certain things. I think you're going to see tremendous size. You're going to see some size. I think you're going to see some class, intelligence, and you're going to see speed.'
After drafting defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, safety Tank Williams and linebacker Rocky Calmus Saturday, the Titans tried to fill another need quickly Sunday, drafting cornerbacks Mike Echols and Tony Beckham with its first two picks.
The Titans had originally projected Echols as a second round pick, but a stress fracture caused many doctors, inc
luding the Titans' staff, to raise concerns about the University of Wisconsin standout.
'Doctors look at it, and they kind of go, 'You know, it's a stress fracture,' and they want to make a big deal out of it because they're protective and want to protect us,' Reese said. 'Then we started talking about it, and we said, 'Fractured bone, don't we see those every day?' Well, yeah. Then we said, 'What's the big deal?' Then we started talking about it and said, 'You know, it's worth the risk.' We'll bring the kid in, look at him, and if there's absolutely no problem, he'll be ready.
Three weeks ago, the Titans would not have selected Notre Dame linebacker Rocky Boiman in the fourth round. But Reese said the team's earlier information did not tell the story whole story.
'We started watching more and more film,' Reese said. 'We watched the first quarter of the SC game, and in the first ten plays I think he had five or six tackles, a recovered fumble and two sacks. So we turned it off and raised his grade a little bit.'
The next three picks would produce offensive talent, as Tennessee tabbed widde receivers Jake Schifino from Akron and Darrell Hill of Northern Illinois, as well as offensive tackle/guard Justin Hartwig from Kansas.
'Jake is very similar (looking) to Justin (McCareins),' Reese said. 'A lot of big plays, a little bit raw as you might guess.'
'Justin Hartwig was a big tackle at the University of Kansas that we are projecting as a guard. Good feet, just what you'd imagine - 300-plus lbs. Very, very excited. Has not played guard, but if you can play tackle in most situations, you can play guard.'
'Darrell Hill again is (like) Justin, same type guy - 6-1, 200 lbs, can run like heck, has made ton of plays. People up there compare him very favorably to Justin, and so we think we're almost getting a bookend coming in.'
Tennessee ended its second day of picks with a defensive end, picking Arkansas' Carlos Hall, a player that Reese said could come in and be the smaller, nickel-type rusher that the Titans have been without.
Hall's selection put the cap on the draft, but not the work. Reese and his staff stayed at work Sunday night signing undrafted rookies to fill the roster.
'We're right now signing free agents,' Reese said. 'They were kids we were talking about maybe drafting at a point in time. It just so happened that in some of the areas in which we were interested, there was a whole group of people that we thought could play.'
Head coach Jeff Fisher said the rookies would arrive next week for camp and immediately increase the competition level across the board, especially at cornerback, wide receiver and linebacker.
'I like that,' Fisher said. 'It only makes you better. If you bring a returning team back every year, you're not going to get better. You've got to add an influx of talent to have a chance to get better. And competition is what motivates and drives that.'
Fisher, who pledged in January to improve the defense, said the Titans have taken the first step.
'We've got to get them ready, we've got to get them a book, and we've got to get them to the point were they can compete,' Fisher said. 'We selected each one of these guys because they can do it rather quickly. I feel good about where we are in the secondary. We took our bumps last year and I think we can put those behind us now.'
'We've taken steps, but we have a long way to go between now and training camp.'
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