The Titans hope top NFL draft pick Cam Ward can lead them back to winning ways

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Titans certainly hope picking a quarterback in the first round for the third time in 15 NFL drafts proves to be the charm.

The Titans took Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall selection Thursday night. He joins Jake Locker, the No. 8 pick overall in 2011, and Marcus Mariota, at second overall in 2015, in the franchise's attempts to find a winner at that position in that span.

That doesn't count the Titans' other draft whiffs in later rounds. Sixth-round pick Zach Mettenberger in 2014 lost all 10 of his starts before being waived. They traded up for Malik Willis at No. 86 in the third round in 2022 only to trade him away after two seasons and three starts in 11 games.

Will Levis had been the franchise's highest pick at quarterback since Mariota when the Titans traded up to No. 33 and took him out of Kentucky in 2023. But he is 5-16 as a starter with more turnovers (26 interceptions and fumbles lost combined) than touchdown passes (21). Brian Callahan benched the turnover-prone Levis during the 2024 season, his first as the Titans' head coach.

General manager Ran Carthon, who traded up for Levis, was fired after two seasons. A 3-14 finish netted Tennessee the No. 1-overall pick for the first time since the 2016 season, a year when they traded the top selection two weeks before the draft. The Titans turned that draft into an eventual 2,000-yard rusher in Derrick Henry and a two-time All Pro safety in Kevin Byard.

New general manager Mike Borgonzi and Chad Brinker, the Titans' president of football operations, spent the offseason studying top prospects ranging from Ward to Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter of Colorado and Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter.

The Titans appeared to quickly settle on Ward as their top choice for the coach to build around. Taking a quarterback became obvious once Tennessee signed a pair of journeymen in Brandon Allen, who worked with Callahan in Cincinnati, and Tim Boyle.

Levis remains on the roster for now, with the Titans insisting he'll be given a chance to compete. Callahan talked at the March owners' meetings about how they asked Levis to work with Jordan Palmer on his lower body mechanics and footwork.

But Tennessee still lacks a third-round pick in this draft, making Levis possible draft bait if Borgonzi wants to try to get back into that round.

And Ward is the quarterback who finished fourth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy after his lone season at Miami, where he completed 67.2% of his passes for 4,313 yards with an FBS-best and program-record 39 touchdown passes. Ward also had only seven interceptions. That followed two seasons at Washington State, where he threw for more yards and TDs in each season while dropping his interceptions from nine in in 2022 to seven in 2023.

The 6-foot-2, 219-pound Ward did his best to make his case at Miami's pro day. He completed one pass on the run, then told the Titans' top officials, “I'm solidifying it today … I made sure they heard me."