Titans select Coatesville native Derrick Morgan

NEW YORK - When NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stepped to the podium to announce that the Eagles had traded both of their third-round selections in the draft to the Denver Broncos for the right to move up from No. 24 to No. 13 in the first round, Georgia Tech defensive end and Coatesville native Derrick Morgan was convinced he'd be playing in midnight green as a rookie.

When Goodell returned a few minutes later and said that the Eagles had spent that higher pick on Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham, Morgan was disappointed - for a moment. Then the disappointment turned to something else.

"There was some talk between me and my agent, and [the Eagles] said they were going to get a pass rusher," Morgan said later, when he met with the media in Radio City Music Hall. "I feel like I was the best pass rusher in this draft, so I'm going to use that as motivation. I've got a chip on my shoulders now."

Presumably relieved that he was still on the board, the Tennessee Titans scooped up the 6-3, 266-pounder with the 16th pick, just after the New York Giants selected another defensive end, South Florida's Jason Pierre-Paul, at No. 15. Maybe Giants quarterback Eli Manning should be on the lookout for a ticked-off Morgan somewhere down the road, too.

"This was a good day," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said in Nashville, Tenn. "It turned out very well."

Time will tell whether the Eagles went for the right guy. For now, Morgan will just have to shoulder that chip until Oct. 24, when he gets a chance to sack Kevin Kolb or stuff LeSean McCoy on a sweep.

Morgan said he never was an Eagles fan, despite his hometown's proximity to Philadelphia.

"I grew up a 49ers fan," he said. "That was when they were good and had Jerry Rice and Steve Young, all them people."

The draft ended nearly 5 months of waiting for Morgan.

"It really started for me once my bowl game was over," he said about marking time until his date with destiny. "It'll be like a breath of fresh air to start a new endeavor in my life. I'm excited about playing football again."

The top-rated defensive end on many teams' draft boards, Morgan said he was pleased to be joining a Tennessee team known for its unyielding defense.

"He said he was really happy to have me, and Tennessee would be a winning situation for me," Morgan said of his brief telephone conversation with Fisher.

After posting unspectacular statistics in his freshman and sophomore campaigns at Georgia Tech, Morgan had a breakout year as a junior in 2009, racking up 55 tackles and 12 1/2 sacks en route to being named the Atlantic Coast Conference's Defensive Player of the Year. He also was in on 21 tackles for loss, 16 of those unassisted, forced two fumbles and recovered two more.

But Morgan was more than a quarterback-inhaling force off the edge; he was just as adept at stopping the run, a fact that did not go unnoticed by NFL talent evaluators.

"He was ACC Player of the Year for a reason," said Steve Mariucci, former coach of the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions, who also has worked for the NFL Network. "You can stand him up as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 and rush the passer. He's athletic enough to drop back in coverage at times, and he can put his hand on the ground in a 4-3, get to the passer that way and stuff the run, too."

Morgan said he wanted to play in the NFL for as long as he knew there was an NFL.

"Every little kid who picks up a football for the first time wants to go on to play in the league," he said. "It's been my dream, and now my dream has come true." *