Were you really buying what Mike Borgonzi was selling? Shortly upon taking over as the new general manager for the Tennessee Titans, the long-time Kansas City Chiefs front office executive talked about the possibility of the Titans using the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on the best player available. It always felt like a load of hogwash to me. They were always going to take a quarterback.
While some people took Borgonzi's bait and swallowed it hook, line and sinker, I was not one of them. Why would you leave one of the best run organizations in the NFL in Kansas City to take over an incredibly dysfunctional one in Tennessee when you were not going to use the No. 1 overall pick on a quarterback in your first draft on the job? Logic was always going to prevail, as indicated by the odds.
Here are the latest odds for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft from FanDuel Sportsbook.
- Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward: -110
- Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Abdul Carter: +200
- Colorado Buffaloes cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter: +400
- Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders: +500
Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward may only be at -110, but that is still markedly better than Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Abdul Carter at +200 and even more so than either of the Colorado Buffaloes stars in cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter at +400 or quarterback Shedeur Sanders at +500. Seeing that much of a gap between Ward and Sanders is the only real big surprise.
The Titans were never going to use the No. 1 pick on anyone other than on a franchise quarterback.
Latest odds suggest that Tennessee Titans were bluffing about No. 1 pick
For as much as some people may think that potentially transcendent talents like Carter and Hunter could have been the pick for the Titans, neither are going to impact the game as much, good or bad, as would either Sanders or Ward. Every team has their preferences when deciding on a quarterback. With Tennessee seemingly favoring Ward over Sanders, I will have no problem with them picking him.
However, I cannot in good faith get behind the idea of a non-quarterback going inside the top two in this year's draft. This is why if the Titans, or better yet, the Cleveland Browns, want to take a non-quarterback this spring, then they need to trade back. Sanders and Ward may not be the greatest quarterbacks we have seen come out of college football in some time, but they should go top-two.
While Cleveland does need a quarterback, it is not to the degree that the Titans do. The Browns are still saddled with the final years of Deshaun Watson's deal. Until that albatross of a contract can come off the books, there is no sense for the Browns to spend any more huge money on that position group. Tennessee does not have that financial problem, only Will Levis not being the guy for them.
The Titans may prove me wrong, but taking a non-quarterback No. 1 this spring is a foolish errand.