We’re less than five weeks away from the opening night of the 2025 NFL Draft, and the biggest remaining question about the Tennessee Titans comes down to two positions of great need: wide receiver and edge rusher.
Their greatest need—quarterback—is something they're expected to address with the 1st pick. OT was the other massive need that they swung big on in free agency with the signing of Dan Moore. And with just pick 35 remaining before Day 3 of the draft, they have a massive decision to make regarding how they use their only other premium selection.
Now, arguably the best-case scenario involves a trade-down from 35 for a pair of Day 2 picks. It’s not crazy to hope this may happen, as we saw it just last year with exactly the same pick, 35 overall. But any trade requires a dance partner, and it’s not likely the Titans make a move like that until the 20-ish hours between Day 1 and Day 2 anyways. So for now, they have to plan as if such an option isn’t on the table.
It certainly feels like this pick has to either be WR or EDGE. Looking at both potential choices and the ramifications of that choice today, it seems like this boils down to making the team better now or helping your young QB now.
Making The Team Better
Yes, making the team better and helping your QB aren’t mutually exclusive. A better QB means a better team, and a better team usually means a QB put in a better place as well. Understood.
That being said, the butterfly effect of this binary choice skews in those two separate, specific directions. If the Titans take an EDGE with their 2nd pick, it’s likely to be a bigger floor-raising move than a 2nd round WR would be for Tennessee on opening day. The Titans need EDGE extremely badly, really on both sides of the defensive line. They’ve got rotational guys in Arden Key and Dre’Mont Jones under contract who can start at EDGE2 if needed, but ideally those guys aren’t put in that position.
If we’re being realistic, it’s unlikely they find two starting edge rushers between now and Week 1. So finding their (soon to be) best young EDGE is of high priority, and banking on doing that in the later rounds is a risk to say the least.
Historically speaking, finding true alphas at the position on day 3 is practically impossible. It’s a premium position for a reason: the elite edge rushers in the NFL almost always come from Round 1. Luckily for the Titans, this DL class as a whole is incredibly deep, and it’s extremely likely at least one or two guys will slip to the top of the 2nd round who would be 1st round picks in any other draft class.
That’s the unique opportunity at hand here: finding somebody you think is a Day 1 talent at EDGE in the 2nd round. That’s the kind of move that can redefine your defense in a hurry, and pan out as the steal of the draft. But they’ll have to make that decision by forgoing a top WR pick for their young QB.
Helping Your Young QB
Yes, this is under the assumption that Cam Ward is about to be a Titan. But that’s the assumption I’m making right now. If and when he is the new face of the franchise, he’s going to need help at the WR position.
If Cam Ward was added to the squad the night prior to this decision, nobody should be astonished by the Titans passing on EDGE to grab a receiver they believe in. The things we do for love and new franchise QBs! But who could make them pull that trigger?
The obvious answer, assuming none of the Round 1 “locks” make a shocking fall (Golden, Ekbuka, McMillan), is Missouri’s Luther Burden. You can read much more on why he could be an absolute steal despite a potential fall down boards right here. If he’s there, all bets are off.
But who else? It would have to be somebody that comes as a bit of a surprise. Keep an eye on Elic Ayomanor out of Stanford, Jack Bech out of TCU, and Jaylin Noel out of Iowa St. I think all three will probably go higher than a lot of folks expect.
It would go a long way for Cam Ward in his first year of development, and be a massive addition no matter who the pick is. The current WR room is Calvin Ridley, a couple of openings on the depth chart, and then Van Jefferson and Bryce Oliver. Any help is greatly welcomed help. But would it be a bigger boost to the team overall than the caliber EDGE you’re likely to get at 35? I don’t think it’s likely. So that’s the calculation the Titans have to make. And who they predict will be available on Day 3 is likely to be a very big driving factor.
