NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Twenty years ago today, the Houston Oilers used the third pick of the NFL draft on Alcorn State quarterback Steve McNair.

The franchise managed to mostly stick to the plan to bring him along slowly as he grew into an NFL player.

He sat behind veteran Chris Chandler in his first two seasons, playing in four games and starting two as a rookie, then playing in nine and starting four in his second season.

The Tennessee Oilers/Titans were patient with Steve McNair and gave him plenty of time to develop and work through mistakes, something that might not happen in today's game. AP Photo/Morry Gash

He took over as the starter in 1997, the year the team relocated to Tennessee and commuted from home base in Nashville to Memphis for home games.

In those first three years, he completed 216 of 415 passes (54.1 percent), with 23 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. He averaged 12.8 yards per completion and 6.95 yards per attempt. He ran 143 times for a 6.2-yard average and another 10 touchdowns.

The Oilers were 12-10 in the games he started.

But in 16 of his 22 starts in those three years, he threw for fewer than 200 yards. He came in under 150 passing yards in six of those games.

He grew into the best, most accomplished quarterback the Titans have known. The franchise still has not effectively replaced the quarterback, who was slain on July 4, 2009.

But earlier this year, as we reviewed a defining game in his career, we were reminded how badly he could still play even in his fifth year.

The Titans needed the Music City Miracle to launch their Super Bowl run at the conclusion of the 1999 season, and McNair was 13-of-24 for 76 yards with a long completion of 14 yards in the 22-16 win over Buffalo.

He threw for just 122 yards each in the subsequent playoff wins at Indianapolis and at Jacksonville. He threw better in the Super Bowl, but the bigger memories from there are of his gritty scrambling and running.

Take away the fantastic trick play that won the Buffalo game, and would McNair have even had the chance to redeem himself?

In today’s NFL, I tend to doubt it.

The Titans were a run-based team, and McNair was not asked to throw a lot at that stage of his career. The team’s insistence on and ability to be patient with him, however, helped him become a success. But it would be hard to build in that fashion now.

Jeff Fisher and the franchise ultimately beat McNair over the head regarding the dangers of interceptions, which made him more shy than he needed to be for longer than he needed to be. The team was over-reliant on the run game. It held McNair back too much for too long.

But if he was asked for immediate results the way quarterbacks are today in their first few seasons, it could have crushed him. Odds are he would have had to sink or swim sooner as an NFL QB in 2015 than he did in 1995.

It wasn’t until McNair’s sixth season in the NFL, his fourth as a starter, that he topped 60 percent when throwing more than 300 passes.

Looking back at Steve McNair's beginnings John McTigue of ESPN Stats and Info looked at Steve McNair in context. Since 1995, there have been 62 quarterbacks to attempt at least 600 passes in the first three years of their career. Of those 62 ... McNair's 54.1 completion percentage ranks tied for 54th (Eli Manning had the exact same completion percentage his first three seasons). McNair's 6.95 yards per attempt rank 20th. McNair's 2.82 interception percentage ranks 19th. Half had a win percentage of .500 or better in that time, including McNair. He was one of 13 quarterbacks in this time frame to run for 800+ yards in their first three seasons.

It wasn’t until his seventh season, fifth as a starter, that he topped 15 touchdown passes (21) and topped a passer rating of 90 (90.2).

McNair’s best season came thanks in part to Eddie George’s toe trouble, and produced a co-MYP in 2003: a 62.5 completion percentage, 24 touchdown throws against just seven interceptions and a 100.4 passer rating.

I asked some sources if McNair would have gotten the chance today to reach those heights in the time it took for him in his era.

“He might have washed out,” one NFL assistant said. “People want things quicker, and the new CBA changed a lot of things.”

The fiscal investment in the No. 3 pick now is hardly the cap hit it was then, so giving up on a player is less costly in terms of dollars committed.

“I would doubt anyone will be sitting a first-round QB that long again,” said a scout. “Green Bay was last team to do that. I’m not saying it isn't a good idea, because both McNair and Aaron Rodgers succeeded by doing it.”

Rodgers, of course, sat behind a Hall of Famer-to-be in Brett Favre. McNair was reeled out slowly by design. Carson Palmer sat a year in Cincinnati at the start.

We rarely see it happen now, even when teams declare it to be its intention. The Jaguars wanted to go slowly with Blaine Gabbert, but he started 14 games as a rookie. They wanted to go slowly with Blake Bortles, but he started 13.

The Titans were intent on not playing Jake Locker as a rookie, and they managed to not need him to start in 2011. But he won the starting job from Matt Hasselbeck in his second year in 2012, got hurt a bunch over the next three seasons, wasn’t signed for a fifth year, and retired as he reached free agency this spring.

Generally a team doesn’t have a good-enough veteran to wait on a draft pick. And because several rookies have recently had success, a fan base -- and even a front office and coaching staff -- can struggle to be patient.

Another NFL coach had a different thought regarding whether McNair’s career trajectory would have allowed him to make it if he came into the league now.

“It’s hard to say,” he said. “Offenses have become more quarterback-friendly as quarterbacks have come to be expected to start right away. Twenty years ago, offensive coordinators were rigid and the onus was on the player. Now, coordinators are more flexible and the onus is on the coach.”