SANTA CLARA, Calif. ― Rookie guard Fernando Carmona Jr., stands out as another shred of proof that the Tennessee Titans have a type.
Carmona has emerged as a legitimate contender for the Titans' starting right guard job in recent days, competing for the spot against free agent signee Cordell Volson and second-year player Jackson Slater. A fifth-round pick out of Arkansas, Carmona is about as textbook of an example of the type of prospect the Titans value under general manager Mike Borgonzi as possible. Just ask Borgonzi.
"We have these characteristics in our scouting report: competitiveness, toughness and smarts, the mental," Borgonzi told reporters after the Titans' joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers on Aug. 11. "We grade them on a 1-9
scale. We were trying to identify all the guys who had a seven and above in those qualities and we put an Alpha tag on them. (Carmona) was one of that I think seven or eight O-linemen in the draft that we had them on."
In a world where Carmona was the 29th out of 50 offensive linemen drafted in 2026, snagging a player with an "Alpha" label that late feels like a steal, at least by the Titans' rubric. But of course, there's a difference between makeup and performance. And it's not exactly as if Carmona's rising the ranks because he's wowing the coaches and front office with his dominant play. It's more as if, as Borgonzi puts it, going mostly unnoticed as an offensive lineman is usually a good thing.
Borgonzi had complimentary things to say about Volson and Slater too, for what it's worth. He said Volson's big and tough and he's battling. He also said Slater is battling and praised the youngster's versatility as he continues to work not only at guard but also at center.
This creates a bit of a problem for the Titans, actually. Let's say the Titans want to keep all three of Carmona, Slater and Volson around when the roster cuts to 53 at the end of August. They'll also need to keep newly-minted $100 million man Peter Skoronski and center Austin Schlottmann, and they'll likely want to keep rookie center Pat Coogan too. That's six interior offensive linemen when, on gamedays, most teams can get away with carrying four.
Asked about this conundrum, Borgonzi conceded that figuring out the gameday roster is important, but also that it's historically difficult to find depth at those positions within the season. That's why trying to stash a player on the practice squad and leaving them subject to waivers is always a risk, and it'll have to factor into the calculus of the Titans' roster decisions, especially when compared against the values of potential swing tackles Austin Deculus and Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson.
Still, the Titans aren't going to be stubborn about betting exclusively on players already on the roster.
"Once these preseason games start, you start to evaluate what’s out there," Borgonzi said. "Is it better than what we have? I think it’s different for every position. If you claim a guy and expect him to start Week 1 and they haven’t been in the offense, that’s going to be tough too. A lot of times it’s depth-level players at that cut-down day. But we’ll start that process here this week looking at preseason film."
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Titans GM Mike Borgonzi shares NFL draft room insight that validates training camp riser
