The Tennessee Titans hold the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. While they need top talent on their roster, reports suggest they are open to trading the pick.
With this selection, the Tennessee Titans could secure Cam Ward, a potential franchise quarterback for the 2025 season. Based on Ward’s college stats and scouting evaluations, he seems like an easy choice.
However, the Titans might take a different approach, including trading the pick to another team. The New York Jets have reportedly shown interest in moving up, and the New York Giants could also be looking to make a move to secure Ward.
While it’s unclear if the Titans will keep or trade the pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, this isn’t the first time they’ve been in this situation.
What the Titans got for their first-round pick in 2016
In 2016, the Titans traded the No. 1 pick to the Los Angeles Rams. The trades were:
Rams received:
- 2016 first-round pick (No. 1) → Drafted QB Jared Goff
- 2016 fourth-round pick (No. 113) → Traded to the Bears
- 2016 sixth-round pick (No. 177) → Drafted TE Temarrick Hemingway
Titans received:
- 2016 first-round pick (No. 15) → Traded to the Browns
- 2016 third-round pick (No. 76) → Traded to the Browns
- 2016 first-round pick (No. 8, from Browns) → Drafted OT Jack Conklin
- 2016 second-round pick (No. 43) → Drafted DT Austin Johnson
- 2016 second-round pick (No. 45) → Drafted RB Derrick Henry
- 2017 first-round pick → Drafted WR Corey Davis
- 2017 third-round pick → Traded to select WR Taywan Taylor
- 2017 third-round compensatory pick → Drafted TE Jonnu Smith
Was the Titans’ trade of the 2016 first pick worth it?
Every player the Titans got in the trade stayed with the team until at least 2019, except for Taywan Taylor, who left in 2018 to the Browns.
The Titans reached the playoffs in 2017, their first appearance since 2008. In 2019, they made it to the AFC Championship, their best finish since 2003, with Derrick Henry becoming the first player in the NFL history to have two games of 180 rushing yards in the same postseason. Clearly, these picks helped improve the team.
But compared to Jared Goff’s impact in the Rams, it’s fair to wonder if the Titans missed out on a true franchise quarterback. Goff took the Rams to the playoffs in his second season (2017), ending the team’s 13-year drought. In 2018, he led them to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the New England Patriots 13-3.
It’s impossible to know if Goff would have had the same success with the Titans, but looking back, they passed on a player who made all the difference for the Rams. Since the players the Titans acquired improved multiple positions instead of relying on a single star, the trade was worth it in the short term.
The Titans have faced Goff twice since the trade—and lost both times. First in week 16 of the 2017 season (23-27) and again in week 8 of the 2024 season against the Detroit Lions (14-52).
Now in 2025, it remains to be seen how much value the Titans can get for the No. 1 pick. But one thing is clear: they need to make a move that puts them back in playoff contention. Their last postseason appearance was in 2021 when they lost in the divisional round to the Bengals.
