The Tennessee Titans were one of several teams to meet with Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener ahead of the 2023 NFL draft.
According to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Titans had a virtual meeting with Haener, as did 11 other teams. Haener also had top-30 visits with the Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns.
Our draft guru Shaun Calderon believes Haener is the No. 9 signal-caller in the draft and projects him to go anywhere from the late fourth round to the late sixth.
“Solid project quarterback who has the intangibles (football IQ) to give himself a shot in the NFL despite his smaller build,” Calderon wrote.
Fresno State QB Jake Haener’s pre-draft meetings:
Top-30 visits: Lions, Saints, Browns
In-person at Fresno State: Jets, Raiders
Virtual: #49ers, Cardinals, Commanders, Seahawks, Texans, Eagles, Titans, Bucs, Bengals, Giants, Jets, Packers
— Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch) April 24, 2023
For another opinion on Haener, we turn to Lance Zierlein of NFL.com and his scouting report on the Fresno State product:
Team captain with below-average size and arm talent, but above-average football IQ. Haener plays with a pre-snap plan and does a nice job of getting the ball out quickly against the blitz. He senses edge pressure and slides to find a new location to throw from. He doesn’t have the drive velocity to successfully window shop and might require a timing-based scheme or spread attack where he can make quick throws in rhythm. Haener’s lack of traits, coupled with limited mobility outside the pocket, create a challenging road to NFL success.
While nothing can be ruled out, I think the Titans will aim to get their next quarterback at the top of this draft (hopefully C.J. Stroud) and won’t spend a pick on a project signal-caller in the middle to late rounds.
