What will the Titans' 2025 roster look like?
What the Tennessee Titans will do with their first pick remains to be seen. It could be a quarterback or it could be a player like Travis Hunter. But here are the two best players the Titans must trade for in the 2025 NFL offseason.
After an ugly 3-14 season, the Titans find themselves at the top of the 2025 NFL Draft. With that kind of season, it's obvious this is a team full of needs.
It seems like the Titans spun their wheels in trying to acquire talent at the receiver position. The bottom line is, they need to get better there.
Titans need to trade for WR George Pickens
First things first, this is the Steelers’ best offensive weapon. It’s not like they are trying to move away from him.
However, Pickens is getting close to a big payday. And the problem is the Steelers might not want to invest a lot of money in a guy who seems combustible at times.
Pro Football Focus said Pickens steadily improved in his first three seasons.
“(He) produced at a stellar level in 2024, notching a career-best 78.0 PFF receiving grade with an average of 2.06 yards per route run,” Bradley Locker wrote. “But his contested catch numbers (34.6% from 2023-24 compared to 67.9% in 2022) and character concerns could make Pittsburgh skeptical.”
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin talked about Pickens’ immaturity during the late stages of the regular season, according to espn.com.
“He's just got to grow up, man,” Tomlin said. “This is an emotional game, man. These divisional games are big. He's got a target on his back because he's George, he understands that. But he's got to grow up. He's got to grow up in a hurry.”
Pickens brushed aside his coach’s comments, obviously creating a rift.
“No, honestly, like I said, I can just keep running my routes, keep playing,” he said. “We got refs out there to make certain calls for certain penalties, certain flags. If they don't make it, then I'm pretty sure they'll take it up.
“To be honest, it was kind of a ticky-tack game. And I'm just glad we came out with the dub. “I'm only out here just playing like every other receiver in the league. Certain calls don't go my way. All you can do is just keep playing.”
That back-and-forth disrespect — cutting both ways — doesn’t seem like it can last in the long term. It’s looking like Pickens needs to find a new home, and perhaps the Titans could acquire him at a bargain.
Of course, then they would have to deal with Pickens. But perhaps some of the blame lies with Tomlin. So it might be worth the risk.
Titans need to trade for Saints OT Trevor Penning
Upgrading the offensive line is a must in the Titans’ offseason. And Penning might be available for a decent offer.
A 2022 first-round pick, Penning hasn’t been able to hit his stride with the Saints.
Pro Football Focus said, “In his three years as a pro, Penning has never generated a pass-blocking efficiency mark above 96.8. His past two years have been particularly disappointing, permitting nine sacks and 73 pressures on 908 pass-blocking snaps.”
It’s possible the Saints might let Penning go, but it’s more likely they would want to trade him and regain some value. Penning said he believes the best is yet to come, according to nola.com
“There’s still a ton I can improve and keep working at,” Penning said. “I’m going to keep working to get there.”
Saints coach Darren Rizzi said Penning has given plenty of effort.
“This guy has really grown and developed,” Rizzi said. “I see a guy working his tail off to do it, (and) I see a guy putting the time in. I see a guy working on the technique, (and) I see the coaches working with him. And it shows up on the film.”
Offensive line coach John Benton said Penning is a film-study enthusiast.
“It shows up in his play,” Benton said. “We ask him to do a lot, but we haven’t topped him out from a mental standpoint. Truly a competitive guy. It really burns in him to be good — as much as it burns in him not to be bad. If that makes sense. So every success is going to, I think, just be a stepping stone for him.”
