Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi addressed the public for the first time since his hiring on Wednesday. After an introductory statement, he took questions from the press that ranged from organizational structure to player personnel to the draft and free agency. One of the hottest topics in Tennessee right now is the quarterback position, and Borgonzi says it’s the most important position in sports.
.@Titans GM Mike Borgonzi: The quarterback position is arguably the most important position in sports. We’re going to attack finding that guy, whether that is in free agency, the draft, guys currently on the roster
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) January 22, 2025
And, as part of the team that drafted Patrick Mahomes for the Kansas City Chiefs, Borgonzi has a unique perspective on drafting a quarterback.
#Titans Mike Borgonzi on the QB evaluation and how his experience with Patrick Mahomes will go into this draft season. pic.twitter.com/tiofzbp5U1
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) January 22, 2025
After saying that quarterbacks should be scouted in person, Borgonzi talked about his experience with Patrick Mahomes:
“When we went through it with Patrick, we identified him early,” Borgonzi said. “It was a rare skill set that you could see, and we took it through the process in the spring and we brought him in the building, met with him at the combine to really figure out his football intelligence. Which was very high. And then we had a plan for him when we drafted him. We had Alex Smith at the time and we were disciplined with that plan. It was a lot of temptation to play him especially when we saw him in training camp, but we stuck to that plan, and that was part of the development of the quarterback. There were things he needed to improve on, and we had a first-class person in Alex Smith that really took him under his wing and taught him that.”
Borgonzi also acknowledged that every quarterback is different, but he failed to acknowledge that Will Levis isn’t Alex Smith and the Titans don’t have a reliable veteran to lean on if they draft a quarterback.
