The Titans go into the NFL draft flexible at No. 7 with lots of needs to fill

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The Titans go into the NFL draft flexible at No. 7 with lots of needs to fill

2024-04-19 01:57 Last Updated At：02:01

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have been among the league's biggest spenders in free agency, and they still won't be able to fill all the remaining holes with only seven selections in this NFL draft.

Neither general manager Ran Carthon nor first-year head coach Brian Callahan are giving hints to the position Tennessee will fill first. Even after a busy start to free agency, this remains a roster under major renovation after losing 18 of 24 games to cost Mike Vrabel his job after six seasons.

Callahan, who will call the offense after being a coordinator at Cincinnati, has dropped hints that a coach can never have enough fast, explosive players. Carthon knows the Titans still must bulk up both the offensive and defensive lines.

“We’re still working on that,” Carthon said.

Callahan said they know what they need for a team that went 6-11 with the Titans working their way back up from the bottom of the AFC South.

“When you pick at seven and you pick at 38 and you’re picking at the high end of these rounds, you want to be open and free to take ultimately what the best player is available to you,” Callahan said.

The Titans made a splash in March by signing wide receiver Calvin Ridley, running back Tony Pollard, center Lloyd Cushenberry and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie and then traded for cornerback L'Jarius Sneed to remake the secondary during free agency.

Now the Titans hold the No. 7 pick overall and the 38th. Unless the second-year GM trades back, Carthon won't select again until the fourth round after trading his third-round pick a year ago to move up for quarterback Will Levis.

Tennessee gave up one of three seventh-rounders to Cleveland on April 12, reuniting a young reserve offensive lineman with position coach Bill Callahan.

Left tackle is at the top of the list for a position that has been a revolving door with four different starters at that spot as Tennessee gave up 64 sacks in 2023. Only Carolina, Washington and the Giants allowed more.

Andre Dillard, the big free agent signed to fix that spot, was cut after 10 starts and one season. Also need defensive line help, edge rusher and linebacker after losing Azeez Al-Shaair to Houston in free agency.

Running back seems set for the post-Derrick Henry era. Pollard joins Tyjae Spears, a third-round pick last season, in giving the Titans the ability to disguise Callahan's offensive schemes with both capable pass-catchers and able to run up the middle.

Kicker Nick Folk is back after setting a NFL record with 78 consecutive field goals made under 40 yards, a streak started in 2017. He is coming off his best season, making a league-best 96.7% of his field goals.

Treylon Burks. The 18th pick overall in 2022 still has only one touchdown catch through his first two seasons where injuries have been a big issue. He had only 16 catches on 30 targets for 221 yards in 11 games last season.

The Titans were among the first teams to visit with Texas defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat after his arrest for driving while intoxicated. Sweat could help Tennessee fill a big need after losing Denico Autry, who had a career-high 11 1/2 sacks last season, to defending AFC South champ Houston.

Callahan said looking into players with off-field issues or character concerns means finding out what happened. He remembers some of what he did at the same age of players available in this draft, so homework is key.

“There’s a ton of time invested into making sure that we get whatever those issues might be, ironed out and whether they’re real issues that have to be dealt with or they’re things that maybe aren’t as detrimental as the perception might be,” Callahan said.

Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt if still available. Wide receiver Malik Nabers of LSU or Washington's 6-foot-3 Rome Odunze gives Callahan more depth and Levis more options.

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Pro-Palestinian banners. Blazing Olympic rings. Workers' May Day rallies confront turbulent times

2024-05-02 01:07 Last Updated At：01:12

ISTANBUL (AP) — Workers and activists around the world marked May Day with largely peaceful protests Wednesday over rising prices and calls for greater labor rights. Pro- Palestinian sentiments were also on display.

Police in Istanbul used tear gas and fired rubber bullets to disperse thousands of people who tried to break through a barricade and reach the main Taksim square in defiance of a ban. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said at least 210 people were detained.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has long declared Taksim off-limits for demonstrations on security grounds. In 1977, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a May Day celebration there, causing a stampede and killing 34 people. On Wednesday, a small group of trade union representatives lay a wreath at a monument to victims.

May Day, which falls on May 1, is observed to celebrate workers’ rights. It's also an opportunity to air economic grievances or political demands. “Tax the rich,” one banner in Germany read. “Don't touch the eight-hour workday!” another read in Sri Lanka. “I want to live, not survive,” read one in France.

In Paris, police fired tear gas as thousands of protesters marched through the French capital, seeking better pay and working conditions. Police said 12 officers were hospitalized after a homemade explosive was set off on the sidelines of the march. Twenty-nine people were arrested overall.

A group of protesters set makeshift Olympic rings on fire to show discontent with the Summer Games that start in less than three months. France’s unions have warned of a strike during the Games if the government does not adequately compensate people forced to work during summer holidays.

Government officials have failed to meet with union leaders, said Sophie Binet, the general secretary of the CGT union, one of France’s largest. “How do you expect it to go well if the authorities don’t respond to our simplest demand?” she said.

Pro-Palestinian groups joined the Paris rally, chanting slogans in support for people in Gaza. There were similar scenes in Greece as pro-Palestinian protesters joined May Day rallies, waving a giant Palestinian flag as they marched past the Greek parliament. Others displayed banners in support of pro-Palestinian protesting students in the United States.

“We want to express our solidarity with students in the United States, who are facing great repression of their rights and their just demands,” said Nikos Mavrokefalos at the march. “We want to send a message that workers say no to exploitation, no to poverty, no to high prices,” he added.

Several thousand protesters joined the Athens marches as labor strikes disrupted public transport across Greece. The largest union demands a return to collective bargaining after labor rights were scrapped during the 2010-18 financial crisis.

In Nigeria, unions criticized government efforts to ease the cost of living and demanded bigger salary increases. Inflation is the highest in 28 years, at over 33%. In South Africa, pro-Palestinian demonstrators joined May Day events. In Kenya, President William Ruto called for an increase in the country's minimum wage.

In Lebanon, pro-Palestinian marchers mingled with workers demanding an end to a miserable economic crisis. “Politicians do not feel the pain of the worker or the economic conditions,” said one demonstrator, Abed Tabbaa. In Iraq, protesters demanded better wages, the reopening of closed factories and the end to privatization of certain businesses.

Tens of thousands Sri Lankans paraded through the capital as the country struggles through its worst economic crisis, two years after declaring bankruptcy. Discontent has grown over efforts to increase revenue by raising the price of electricity and imposing taxes on professionals and small businesses.

In South Korea's capital, thousands of protesters shouted pro-labor slogans at a rally that organizers said was meant to step up criticism of what they call anti-labor policies pursued by President Yoon Suk Yeol's conservative government.

“In the past two years under the Yoon Suk Yeol government, the lives of our laborers have plunged into despair,” Yang Kyung-soo, leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said in a speech. Union members criticized Yoon’s recent veto of a bill aimed at limiting companies’ rights to seek compensation for damages caused by union strikes.

In Japan, more than 10,000 people gathered in Tokyo, demanding salary increases to set off price increases. Masako Obata, leader of the left-leaning National Confederation of Trade Unions, said dwindling wages have widened income disparities.

In Indonesia, workers demanded protections for migrant workers abroad and a minimum wage raise. They gathered amid a tight police presence, chanting slogans against the new Job Creation Law and loosened outsourcing rules.

In the Philippines, hundreds of workers and left-wing activists marched to demand wage increases and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. Riot police stopped them from getting close to the presidential palace.

Turnbull reported from Paris and Kim from Seoul. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed.