GM Mike Borgonzi, Head Coach Robert Saleh, WR Carnell Tate, Edge Keldric Faulk
BORGONZI: Welcome. Certainly an exciting day here. What's better than having one first-round pick than having two? We couldn't be more site to welcome Carnell Tate and Keldric Faulk to the Titans organization. Just two obviously outstanding football players. They are even better human beings. They embody everything we want this in this organization: Work ethic, resiliency, toughness, intelligence. They have it all, and that's why they are sitting up here today. Without further ado, we'll open it up to questions here.
(on if he has had a chance to do homework on the team he is joining and the quarterback he will play with)
TATE: Yes, since being drafted, that's what I've been doing, watching videos of all the guys here. Great group of guys here, great coaches, great players. Just getting familiar with the players and the coaches.
(on maximizing Keldric Faulk's measurables as a coaching staff)
SALEH: Knock-on-wood, we've had a lot of history with guys with his skill set from Arik Armstead to a guy — a gentleman who is here now, with John Franklin-Myers. We drafted Mykel Williams a year ago. We know exactly what's going to be great with him, how to utilize his strengths, if you will. But the sky is the limit for this young man. He's young. There's a lot of football he's got to learn but we're excited to have him.
(on the different ways to use Keldric Faulk on the defensive front)
SALEH: Yeah, we're going to roll eight or nine on game day, and we roll them pretty good. We try to keep our guys around 60 percent play time, at max. Keep them fresh. Keep them rolling. We see him outside on early downs and kick him inside on pass downs. And we think he's got an elite trait to rush the passer on the inside, and combination between him, Jeffery (Simmons), John Franklin-Myers, I mean, that's a pretty lethal combination between the three of them. We'll find different ways to get them all on the field.
(on the plan for rotating defensive linemen, particularly at the outside rush position)
SALEH: For sure. One, that's why Aaron Whitecotton gets paid so much money. In all seriousness, I know the two obvious ones are Jacob Martin and Jermaine (Johnson II), but I think a lot of people are forgetting about Femi (Oladejo). He was drafted last year. He's a talented young man. We're going to do our best to give him every opportunity to be successful as a wide-nine edge rusher on third down. We feel really good about the rotation that's being built here. I think Borgo (Mike Borgonzi) has done a great job collecting of group of men that have different skillsets and have versatility to them. Look, when you guys start watching us, you'll start seeing what we do third down-wise with regards to our alignments and all the different fronts that we create to try to create one-on-ones and mismatches. So with regards to the complexity of it, it is complex trying to get all these guys on the field. But it's something that we're very comfortable with, and something we've done in our past and something we'll continue to do.
(on what the last 24 hours have been like and going through this process together)
FAULK: The last 24 hours, they've kind of been a little hectic. Mostly exciting, though, just because I get to start a new part of my journey. It's really been exciting. Came in the building today to get to know some of the great people in this building, and I brought my family down here, so they get to witness it, as well. So, it's been great.
TATE: Like Keldric (Faulk) said, it's been hectic the past 24 hours. This is all we've ever worked for. We are very appreciative of the Titans organization for them believing in us, and also it wouldn't be without our parents and our family that got us this far. We appreciate them all and we appreciate the Titans organization for bringing us in.
(on how his versatility as a receiver will help him in the pros and his excitement to work with Greg Lewis and Calvin Ridley)
TATE: Playing different roles in the offense will allow me to thrive and just allow me to understand the concepts that way if any guy goes down, I can move and go to a different position. That just shows how versatile I am, and also with these guys up here, if they are putting me in a position to go in the slot, I'm ready for it. I've seen that look.
(on his interaction with Cam Ward upon arriving to the facility)
TATE: It was a fun interaction. Cam (Ward) is a great guy, elite quarterback, great guy. I grew up watching him. I watched him at Washington State. We can't wait to get out there and light it up together.
(on if they have looked at the offense and defense they are joining and what they can contribute)
TATE: I just got done watching a few plays today. Wherever the coaches need me to go out there and play, I think that's where I fit in. Whatever they ask for me, I'll give my all and go out there and do it.
FAULK: The first thing that popped out to me was that everybody play fast and violent. We set edges hard, and we play fast and we play violent. That's the thing that popped out to me the most. I feel like I could play a lot of the positions across the D-Line, like Coach said on early downs like first and second on the edge, and having that ability to go inside on third downs, is where I see myself for sure.
(on Brian Hartline's impact on him and Ohio State receivers)
TATE: Coach (Brian) Hartline did a great job with us, a phenomenal job with all the receivers that came out of Ohio State. Obviously from Ohio, grew up an Ohio State fan, played at Ohio State and played at the highest level. All he did was pure his experience to us and allowed us to thrive and translate to the next level, and he also harped on details. Like little things with Coach Hartline that gets you to the next level, and he's always big on that and always big on getting better.
(on what he emphasized to make the leap he made from his sophomore to junior year)
TATE: It was ultimately a mindset change to go out there. This is the year I had set for myself to go out there and ultimately declare for the Draft. Just go out there and show everybody who I think I am.
(on what allows him to be able to excel at the outside as well as on the inside)
FAULK: Really just my length. My length has given me the ability to just go down there and hold my own on the inside. Set edges when I'm on the edge. And then it's just the power that I bring behind it. So my length and power just help me do both of them really well.
(on Keldric Faulk's versatility and how they can deploy him)
SALEH: The other part, too, and he didn't mention his short area quickness and his foot speed is really, really good for a man of his size, which is why kicking inside, when you bring that combination of power, length and then the foot speed and short area quickness, that's a really, really tough down for a guard, which is why we think he can win in there more consistently if we can get him going on reps.
(on what he can do better at the next level)
FAULK: Yeah, one of the things was rush the passer better. I mean, I had too many pressures and not enough sacks. Too many times where I got to the quarterback and didn't finish that play. So like I said, it's just so much room that I have in that. It's a small thing but it's a huge thing in my mind. Like that's the next — that's the next 10 to 20 percent that I need to get, and from there, it's just refining everything that I already have and making sure that I perfect them. You know, take some time but I'm perfecting myself for sure.
(on when the NFL became a dream for them)
TATE: It became a dream my eighth grade year. That's when I made the transition to receiver fully on, and from there, I fell in love with the game. I knew I could have fun and go and do great things with it. That's when I fell in love with it and had dreams of playing in the NFL.
FAULK: I kind of fell in love with it going into my eighth-grade year. Got my first offer going into the eighth grade, and then shoot, from there, it's just like, what else can I do with it? And then I figured why not take all the way? So I'm taking it all the way.
(on which school made his first offer)
FAULK: It was UAB.
(on what about the two first round picks makes them foundational pieces for the future)
BORGONZI: A lot of the stuff I talked about. Obviously, they are very talented. That's why they are being taken in the first round. But another part of that is, all these guys have to develop no matter where they are taken, and what — how can they get to their ceiling as a player. And like I said, they embody everything that takes them to the next level in their game. It's their work ethic, their commitment to being the best, to film watching. It's a lot of stuff that we uncovered with our scouts, really, going into school and talking with people and what they are all about. So that's why we are very confident that they are going to be able to contribute.
(on the production of Tate and Faulk in college and projection of their potential in the NFL)
BORGONZI: I think you're always looking for, obviously, the upside. Every position is different no matter what position they are playing or what the scheme is and the talent. You know, we certainly think they are going to be very productive at this level. You know, Keldric (Faulk) has just talked about it, things that he can improve in his came, and Carnell (Tate) has played — he's gotten better every year, and he's played with some pretty good receivers at Ohio State, as well. But that's part of when you're going through the whole process and scouting is projecting, too. We feel like these two guys are going to be high-level production pieces in the NFL for us.
SALEH: Same thing. Production, that's part of the evaluation but it's not the entire evaluation. You're always looking at circumstance. You're always looking at situation, and these two young men are going to produce in this league. I'm sure you can make an argument for Carnell (Tate) that every opportunity that he got, he took advantage of it. It's not his fault that they are blowing teams out in the first half and they are only playing half a game, you know. So you can make all kinds of — pinpoint all those things but the fact of the matter is these are two extremely talented young men, and they are going to be very, very productive in this league.
(on how the coaching staff landed on Carnell Tate at the fourth pick)
SALEH: Well, not to say it's the most important piece but he's a pretty damn important piece, and that's the quarterback and doing everything we can to help him and surround him with players who can get the ball in their hand and go score. So Carnell (Tate) is obviously by far the top receiver on our board, and so when we got to 4, it was a very easy decision to make.
(on how much these players' youth was a part of the evaluation)
BORGONZI: Yeah, I think that can be, certainly, a part of it. These guys were 20 years old last year playing, and so that's certainly part of it. We think there's obviously room to grow with every player that enters the league. They have to develop more. Certainly with these guys, they have a lot of potential here to get even better than they are right now for sure.
(on how he can bring explosiveness to this offense)
TATE: The same way I brought explosiveness at the collegiate level. Just going out there and making the most of my opportunities and showing the team that they can trust me and put the ball in my hands more and more.
(on the receivers he has modeled himself after and how he describes his mentality)
TATE: All do I is watch football. So I've watched Davante Adams a lot, Stefon Diggs and C-Rid (Calvin Ridley), who is here. The mentality of football is just go out there, make the most of it, and just what happens when the ball comes your way. Either you make the play or you don't.
(on his ability to contort his body to make contested catches)
TATE: Just comes from the mindset of just going out there, when the ball comes your way, just go out there and go get the ball. When the ball is in the air, the team is depending you to go out there and go make that play. So, by any means, you have to go out there and make that play for the team.
(on why that question made him laugh)
TATE: It was just a different way to put it, the question, that's it.
(on how he benefited from the Ohio State receivers pushing each other)
TATE: We take that very personal at Ohio State. Like I said, I'm thankful for the ones that came before me that allow me to be on the path I am today. The older guys paved the way for the younger guys, so I'm thankful for them.
And also, we just learned from each other, whether that's different moves to run on the field or even just off the field, how each guy had their own routine. So just learning from each other and perfecting our own routine.
(on press coverage)
TATE: Yeah, press. In the NFL, in the league, you just have to know to win on one-on-one coverages. That's all it's about. You have to take that very personal. The team is going to rely on you to go out there and win that one-on-one matchup with the top corner on the other side of you. That's very personal, and the biggest thing in the league is, can you win one-on-one coverage, so yeah.
(on if they knew each other before last night and what it's like knowing they are in this together moving forward)
FAULK: Shoot, I seen him one time before. We shot basketball together but that's about it. The plane ride was cool. Like, man, it's exciting. Like to have this kind of caliber player get drafted in the first round with me is a blessing in itself, and I can't wait to get to know him and you know get to be a teammate for him.
TATE: Yeah, that's how we met. We met on a little trip. He carried me in basketball. We was out there shooting, and I was out there disappointing him. From there, we just chopped it up.
(on if he played basketball in high school)
FAULK: I did.
(on if they played one-on-one basketball)
FAULK: Oh, no, no, no. We ain't doing that.
(on Faulk's comments that he wasn't very familiar with the NFL and how much that transparency fits the culture of what they want to build)
SALEH: For sure, that's a good one. Transparency is everything. Communication is everything. Being able to speak your mind and have confidence that you can walk right into your coach's office and tell him what's on your mind and try to nip whatever negativity is flowing through your head. Try to get it out and get it solved. They are both extremely young, which is awesome. They both haven't even scratched the surface of what we think they are capable of, and Mike (Borgonzi) hit it on the head in his opening statement. These two are elite character men who have elite work ethic, and they are going to find a way to get better. They are going to maximize who they are.
