Titans GM: Upgrading Defense a Focus this Year
Posted by on April 23, 2012 – 5:00 pm
Ruston Webster will lead his first NFL Draft as general manager of the Tennessee Titans.
Upgrading the Titans’ defense will be one of his top priorities in the NFL Draft, but taking the best player on the board is still of importance, GM Ruston Webster told Teresa Walker of the Associated Press.
“Defense is a big focus of ours this year,” Webster said.
However, that wouldn’t mean passing over a highly-rated offensive player if one is available, he added.
“You just want to make sure you take the best player,” Webster said. “If receivers are there and a level better than the defensive player, it’s always a possibility. I think, though, it’ll depend on who else is there.”
Webster will be overseeing his first draft after being promoted to general manager from Vice President of Player Personnel in January. He brings 25 years of NFL pro personnel experience to the table from his work with the Titans, Seahawks and Buccaneers.
Tennessee produced one of the franchise’s top draft classes a year ago. In addition to selecting their quarterback of the future in Jake Locker (8th overall), they received strong contributions from linebackers Akeem Ayers (2nd round) and Colin McCarthy (4th round), and defensive tackles Jurrell Casey (3rd round) and Karl Klug (5th round). Running back Jamie Harper (4th round) and defensive tackle Zach Clayton (7th round) added depth, while cornerback Tommie Campbell (7th round) showed flashes of big-play ability.
Webster would be more than happy for a repeat performance from this year’s class.
“Hopefully, I’ll remember it fondly,” he said.
Posted in titansonline.com Blog | 8 Comments »
By EBTITAN on Apr 23, 2012 | Reply
I LIKE WHAT I’M SEE’IN. GOOD JOB RUSTON & I HOPE SO TOO.MR ADAMS & THIS ORGANIZATION DESERVE A TITLE!!! AND YOU KNOW WHAT SO DO I.THANKS KEEP PLUGIN AWAY. LUV YA BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By Johnny Donahey on Apr 24, 2012 | Reply
good! thank you tiians! defense should be furious this year with a few more pieces
go titans!
By David on Apr 25, 2012 | Reply
Man we shoulda pushed a little harder to get Samuels from phillie, hope we can make up for it. Course, if we have a monster Dline it will make the deference but we gonna need a little more depth for that I think.
By Titan4Lif on Apr 26, 2012 | Reply
I totally agree with David. We could have gotten a Pro Bowl corner for $18M over 3 years, why not if our plans are to improve the defense! Since we didn’t spend the $100M on Peyton let’s show more aggression. I would rather have a proven player than to try and fill the need with a player that projects to fill the need through the draft selection.
By Seth on Apr 26, 2012 | Reply
Forget the defense, we need BEEF!
We’ve got Klug, Casey, Morgan, Ball, and Wimbley on the defensive line so why don’t we target guys we know will step it up.
Why not try to trade down and grab two picks from St. Louis? From there we can add Kevin Zeitler (G) from Wisconsin, Mychal Kendricks (LB) from California, AND get Brandon Boykin (CB) with our last pick in the second round. Add in Nick Toon (WR) from Wisconsin in the third round, Jaye Howard (DT) in the fourth round, and snatch Ben Jones (C) in the fifth. Then we can spend the last two picks on a Safety/Special Teamer and/or another wideout should we so choose.
This draft is what will determine where we go in the future, having Locker, Ayers, and McCarthy is nice but we need that dominating offensive line that we use to have! Never forget the days of Hopkins, Olsen, Matthews, Piller, and Miller! Never forget the days of Kearse and Carter raising hell on the ends!
Also, please for the love of everything go back to the all navy uniforms. We’re the TITANS not the Oilers and our color is Navy Blue and White!
By maney123 on Apr 26, 2012 | Reply
i would love tennesse if they dont grab a CB in the 1st round they go after janoris jenkins and gamble on him i think he got the skill to be elite he remindes me of PAC-MAN JONES ..HE CAN RETURN PUNTS AND HIS VERY AGRESSIVE!
By TitanBlood61201 on Apr 30, 2012 | Reply
I still would of liked them to add to the defense but like the draft selection. Our defense did a great job of holding teams to just 20 points or less last year, we lost lot of those games due to our offense production. i cant count the number of 3 and outs i saw last year. I think our biggest weakness was our offense last year, run game, and the britt injury. and all other wr minus washington are inconsistent and not as talented as wright. im positive that kendall wright will mesh well with britt and washington. CJ has something to prove and its going to be very tough but i see us winning the division and going deep in the playoffs. Lets Get it Titans!
By hmmmm on Apr 30, 2012 | Reply
are you serious…??? it sure doesn’t seem to be a focus overall. we decide not to keep one of the best and toughest CB’s in the game in Finnegan, we decide not to chase a great pass rusher in Mario to flop at Manning, and in the draft we pass on a few really good D line to take a WR which is the only position we are deep at. where the hell is the focus on Defense…