Former Heisman winner Cam Newton urges Titans to pick Travis Hunter while Dan Orlovskly disagrees

During the Thursday edition of ESPN’s “First Take,” Cam Newton and Dan Orlovsky discussed the Tennessee Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker's statement about the team's plans for the 2025 NFL Draft.

The former MVP and Heisman Trophy winner suggested Tennessee should get Travis Hunter, as the most talented player in the draft. After getting some pushback, he explained his choice of Hunter over quarterbacks, Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.

“You cannot win without a quarterback in this league, but there ain’t no Travis Hunters coming out in the next one to two years, bro," Newton said (5:41). "Offensively and defensively. If I’m picking a guy, I’m thinking about multiple things.

“Can he play? That’s number one. Number two: Can he sell tickets? Can we get our franchise rejuvenated from this pick? And it’s almost damage control if you pick another quarterback. Go get a veteran, go get a quarterback in free agency more so than a younger quarterback,” Cam Newton said.

Dan Orlovsky responded by pointing out the Titans' lack of options in free agency and suggesting Hunter’s impact wouldn’t be as great.

"There’s just not a lot of guys available, Cam," he said. "In free agency, are going to give a 'gajillion' bucks for Sam Darnold? What happens with (Matthew) Stafford in LA? Daniel Jones?

"I think if you are Tennessee, as much as you revere Travis Hunter, you are not flipping your organization in a year or two. Like Travis Hunter ain’t gonna be the reason you beat CJ Stroud," Dan Orlovsky said.

As for Stephen A. Smith, he sided with Orlovsky opposing Cam Newton's suggestion, as he believes Tennessee needs another quarterback if they want to compete in the AFC.

The Titans have the first overall pick in April’s NFL Draft. Will Levis is the only quarterback under contract for next season.

Expect more discussions about what Chad Brinker and the Titans should do between now and the NFL Draft.

What did Chad Brinker say that got Cam Newton and Dan Orlovsky talking about Travis Hunter

While some draft experts predict the Tennessee Titans will pick a quarterback at the top of the draft, the team’s president of football operations, Chad Brinker, opened the door to more speculation of what the team could do with the first overall draft pick.

“We gotta look at all the options, but the one thing I will say. If there’s a generational talent, you don’t pass that up. You can’t pass that up,” Chad Brinker said to NFL.com.

Quarterbacks Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders have been predicted as the more likely options at the top of the draft. While they are the best two quarterbacks available, they are also considered to be well below the five quarterbacks that went in the first round of last year’s draft.

With Brinker’s statement, it looks like the Titans might at least consider other options, notably Travis Hunter, instead of locking in on a quarterback, a move that Cam Newton might agree with.