The beginning of the NFL’s offseason acquisition period is nearly upon us. The 2025 Scouting Combine will commence at the end of February, and then the week of March 10th marks the beginning of free agency. From there, the Tennessee Titans are out of the gates and off to the races to fix their team.
But the three biggest holes the Titans are desperate to fill present a numbers problem: they only have two top-100 picks in the draft. Thanks to their 2024 trade for L’Jarius Sneed, the Chiefs own the 66th overall pick. Every time I bring up Sneed with Titans brass, there isn’t a hint of regret or worry in their voice. They all remain pleased, patient, and confident that he’s going to work out for them. 2025 will put that notion to the test.
But regardless of whether Sneed becomes a big contributor for Tennessee or not, they remain in desperate need of a starting QB, RT, and EDGE. President Chad Brinker and GM Mike Borgonzi have made it crystal clear, they want to be a draft-and-develop team. That’s the right way to build a sustainably competitive team, but in the short-term, they’re potentially going to have to address at least one premium position outside of the draft.
Fill A Need In Free Agency
Finding a top free agent is the simplest and most likely way the Titans will go about this situation. But what’s interesting is how they’re either going to have to leave fans underwhelmed or bend their own rules in order to make it happen.
Another thing Brinker and Borgonzi have said over and over again is that they want to use free agency to “supplement” their roster, not to build it. That’s a fundamental tenet of their philosophy, but it’s also no doubt a reaction in some capacity to the way last year went for the Titans. There’s been a lot of revisionist history on the league-leading free agency spending-spree Ran Carthon went on one year ago, but the bottom line is that it didn’t lead to more wins. The collective crash everybody is feeling after that sugar rush last year is going to be on the minds of the front office this time around.
There’s a healthy crop of free agent options available to make the top of their draft less difficult. This is especially true of OT, where there are an unusual number of satisfactory starting options. Ronnie Staley in Baltimore is the headliner of this group, coming off a big bounce-back season. There’s also Garett Bolles in Denver, Cam Robinson in Minnesota, and Walker Little in Jacksonville to name a few.
EDGE is a lot like QB, in the sense that truly elite options never hit free agency. It’s a position every team tries extremely hard to address through the draft exclusively if possible. It’s just hard to get good bang-for-your-buck on the veteran market. that being said, there are a couple nice options that will cost a pretty penny. Josh Sweat made himself big money on the Eagles Super Bowl run, and Hassan Reddick in New York has the talent on paper but is a mess of a contract situation off the field. Khalil Mack still has some juice, but the Chargers don’t seem interested in spending big money to retain him… should the Titans?
And finally, everybody knows the deal at QB at this point: it’s Sam Darnold and everybody else. You can read a lot more about the Titans preferences at QB right here. Darnold is somebody they’re open to, but only if the price is right.
So who is it going to be? Or perhaps the better question, are the Titans and their new team-building philosophy actually willing to shell out for a big swing on one of the top guys? Perhaps this is a necessary evil they decide they need to bend their own rules in order to make. But if they’re unwilling to budge, what’s the plan then?
Trade For A Starter
They could also make a splashy trade for a starter… but talk about going against your own principles! The other thing Brinker and Borgonzi have been steadfast on—Brinker since last season and Borgonzi since he got here—is that they want 12 picks in the top-100 over the next 3 cycles if possible. Trading away picks for starters isn’t the way to do that!
But again, maybe they see no other way. There are some intriguing situations out there that they’re probably going to at least kick the tires on. At QB, all eyes have been on Matthew Stafford and Derek Carr. Both are in uncertain situations currently, and could become available in a couple of weeks.
At EDGE, a couple huge names are at least being floated so far. Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons, and Trey Hendrickson could apparently be dealt. But teams just don’t move on star edge rushers in their prime. I’d be surprised if these guys go anywhere, particularly the first two. Maybe a tier down, somebody like Cincinnati’s Sam Hubbard is the move? But would somebody in that tier really satisfy you to the point of not adding another guy until Day 3 of the draft?
And at OT, it’s a story of retread/rehab guys. Does Bill Callahan want to try his luck as the legendary OT coach he is to redeem somebody? Tennessee could move for Evan Neal in New York or Trevor Penning in New Orleans if so.
But again, it seems unlikely the Titans make one of the first moves of this new regime a trade that goes against their stated philosophy. And even if they did, how do you actually solve this numbers problem with a trade? You can’t move your 1st or 2nd round pick without defeating the point. So are you finding a starting OT or EDGE with a 4th round pick or later? Maybe you send a future Day 2 pick instead? It’s all messy, and none of it seems to make much sense.
Trade Your Way To Three Top-100 Picks
The final way they could choose to go about this is to trade their way into three top-100 picks. The most likely way they’d do this is by trading their 1st overall pick.
If they decided they’d rather trade down from 1, which is a very real possibility, it would almost certainly entail at least one additional top-100 pick. This would give you the three swings you want, but will they be the three swings you need?
Moving down from 1 almost certainly means you won’t get the first crack at QB. And there are only 2 QBs the Titans are interested in in this class. So unless you move down to 3 or maybe 4, it seems unlikely you get your guy.
Clearly there isn’t a perfect way to slice this. At least, it isn’t obvious on the surface. How the Titans choose to address this situation will be telling, and is likely the defining element of their offseason.
