Titans stay at No. 7, get their guy Latham to help solve their woes at LT

Turron Davenport, ESPNApr 26, 2024, 03:11 PM ET
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon said they received “a ton of calls” to trade down from their No. 7 pick on the opening day of the draft Thursday, but the second-year GM didn’t feel it was worth the risk of losing a chance to select their guy.

The Titans held the pick and went on to take offensive tackle JC Latham. All 25 of Latham’s career starts at Alabama came at right tackle, but when Carthon spoke to the media Thursday, he made it clear that they see Latham as their starting left tackle.

“I have all the confidence in the world in the kid that he’s going to figure it out just because of his makeup, who he is as a human, who he is as an athlete, who he is as a football player,” Carthon said.

Latham elected to enter the draft early after a productive junior year. He had 41 knockdown blocks across 813 snaps for an average of 3.2 per contest, according to Alabama’s team site, and he allowed just two sacks in 408 pass sets.

The switch to left tackle isn’t an unprecedented move. In fact, it’s a position switch that Titans offensive line coach Bill Callahan has helped players like Latham make in the past.

“There’s a precedent,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said Thursday. “So we had a comfort level with the player and the athlete and what he’s capable of. He’s just a really strong, powerful, big, athletic human. There’s not a lot of guys that look like him on Earth. “

It was just four years ago that Bill Callahan helped another Alabama right tackle, Jedrick Wills Jr. make the switch after the Cleveland Browns selected him with the 10th overall pick in the 2020 draft. Like Latham, Wills started all of his college games at right tackle. Wills has been the starting left tackle in Cleveland ever since.

Bill Callahan helped orchestrate another position change when he joined the Dallas Cowboys in 2012. Former All-Pro lineman Tyron Smith mostly played right tackle in college at USC and went on to play the same position as a rookie for Dallas. Smith converted to left tackle with Bill Callahan as his position coach in his second season and started a seven-year Pro Bowl run.

Bill Callahan took a liking to Latham during their extensive time together leading up to the draft, and the feeling was mutual. They met with Latham at the combine, went to his pro day and hosted him on a visit to the Titans’ facilities.

What was supposed to be a 30-minute meeting between the two turned into a two-hour film and teaching session that left Latham in awe of his future position coach.

“There is so much technique I’d never even heard about before,” Latham said of Bill Callahan. “He’s such a legendary coach. Just to be able to be coached by him and pick his brain, just understand what type of guy he is on a personal level but also understand the environment that he’s created with technique and discipline. I love that all, I’m really intrigued by it all.”

Former IMG coach Bobby Acosta decided to switch Latham to left tackle after injuries decimated their offensive line, and he was aided by offensive line coach George Hegamin, who played offensive line for the Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Billy Miller, who took over as the coach the following year, knew the position change was a wise move.

“We saw how big he was, how athletic he could bend,” Miller told ESPN. “He was physical man. You see that in JC’s play. He’s physical, he finishes on people.”

New #Titans OL JC Latham is making the move back to LT after starting there for IMG Academy’s 2020 National Championship team. IMG HC Billy Miller on Latham: It’s like riding a bike. I think hell do a great job transferring back over to LT. He’ll be exciting to watch. pic.twitter.com/QlWzRauAap

— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) April 26, 2024

Despite being regarded as the No. 6 player in the 2021 class, according to the ESPN 300, Latham switched to right tackle when he got to Alabama. Evan Neal, who Latham took over for at IMG, occupied the left tackle spot at Alabama that season, and Latham remained at right tackle for his final two seasons even after the New York Giants made Neal the No. 7 pick in 2022.

Now Latham is being tasked with reversing the Titans’ unfortunate run of left tackles, from Dennis Daley in 2022 to Andre Dillard and Jaelyn Duncan last season.

Using a top-10 pick on a prospect and switching his position is risky, but Miller likened the switch for Latham to riding a bike.

“Once you learn it, you can always get back on and go,” Miller said.

For over 20 years, the Titans experienced a successful run of left tackles, including Brad Hopkins (1993-2005), Michael Roos (2005-2014) and Taylor Lewan (2014-2022). At 21 years old, Latham could start another long run if the conversion goes right.

The Titans signed center Lloyd Cushenberry, the top free agent at his position in March. They added free agent guard Saahdiq Charles and sent a seventh-round pick to the Browns for Leroy Watson IV.

The plan is for 2022 third-round pick Nicholas Petit-Frere and second-year lineman Duncan to battle for the right tackle position, but things could get out of sorts if Latham doesn’t successfully slide in at left tackle.