78th Annual National Football League Player Selection Meeting
Thursday, April 25th–Saturday, April 27th, 2013 • Radio City Music Hall • New York City
Nashville, TN – The Titans own the 10th overall selection and nine total picks in the upcoming 2013 NFL Draft, which begins April 25th.
Over the course of three days, the NFL will conduct the seven-round draft from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, while Titans personnel will be headquartered at Baptist Sports Park in Nashville, TN.
This year’s Titans draft is the second overseen by executive vice president/general manager Ruston Webster, who was promoted in January 2012 from vice president of player personnel.
On The Air and The Web
For the fourth consecutive year, the draft will attract a primetime, weeknight audience, beginning with the first round on Thursday night, April 25th, at 7:00pm CT. The second and third rounds are set for Friday, April 26th, beginning at 5:30pm CT, and the draft concludes with Rounds 4-7 on Saturday, April 27th, at 11:00am CT. The current format was unveiled for the first time in 2010.
Fans can watch the draft in its entirety on NFL Network and ESPN. Radio listeners can tune to the Titans Radio Network, including Nashville flagship 104.5 The Zone. Titans Radio will feature special draft programming throughout the weekend, including gavel-to-gavel coverage of the first round.
TitansOnline.com, the official website of the Tennessee Titans, will provide up-to-the-minute information on the team’s selections and press conferences with Webster, head coach Mike Munchak and other members of the organization.
Additionally, fans can follow the Titans through social media platforms, including Facebook and Google+.
On Twitter, users can follow the team at @tennesseetitans and also use the hashtag #TitansDraft.
Titans Picks
The Titans currently hold four of the first 97 picks in the draft. They own at least one pick in all seven rounds, and they have two selections in the third and seventh rounds. Three of their picks (third, sixth and seventh rounds) were awarded as compensatory choices based on net unrestricted free agency losses in 2012.
The Titans do not have their original sixth-round pick, which was dealt to the Minnesota Vikings during the 2012 draft in exchange for the seventh-rounder the Titans used on defensive end Scott Solomon.
There have been 16 previous top 10 draft picks in Titans/Oilers history. Most recently, quarterback Jake Locker was chosen with the eighth overall pick in 2011. The only other top 10 picks in the “Titans era” (1999–present) were Pacman Jones (sixth pick in 2005) and Vince Young (third pick in 2006).
Webster’s Second Draft
In Ruston Webster’s first draft as general manager, he used the team’s first-round pick and the 20th overall selection on Baylor wide receiver Kendall Wright. As a rookie, Wright led the team with 64 receptions for 626 yards and four touchdowns. His reception total tied Justin Blackmon for the NFL rookie high, and Wright ranked second in franchise history in receptions by a rookie (72 by Bill Groman in 1960).
With his second pick—the 52nd overall selection—Webster decided upon North Carolina linebacker Zach Brown, who went on to tie for third on the squad in tackles (93). He was the only NFL rookie in 2012 to finish among the top five rookies in both interceptions (3, tied for fourth) and sacks (5.5, tied for
fifth).
Tennessee’s 2012 class also included Michigan defensive tackle Mike Martin (third round), Clemson cornerback Coty Sensabaugh (fourth round), Southern Methodist tight end Taylor Thompson (fifth round), Oklahoma State safety Markelle Martin (sixth round) and Solomon from Rice.
Six of the seven draft picks were on the club’s 53-man roster for the entire 17-week regular season. The only one who was not was Markelle Martin, who was on the reserve/physically unable to perform list for the duration of the campaign.
In total, the 2012 draft class accounted for 92 games played and 26 starts. Brown, Mike Martin, Sensabaugh and Thompson played in every game, and Brown’s 13 starts represented the high total from the group.