This player should be the Tennessee Titans' top target in free agency.
With the 2024 NFL regular season officially over, teams around the NFL, like the Tennessee Titans, are configuring their offseason strategies, from who they plan to pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to which free agents they feel are ideal fits for what they want to do.
Now normally, teams use free agency to fill holes before heading into the draft, adding, for example, a stopgap veteran cornerback so they don't have to reach for a sub-par player early in the proceedings, but the Titans are the lone team who can write one player's name in on their 2025 depth chart in pen, as they were awarded the first overall pick after Jerod Mayo's Patriots secured a shocking Week 18 win in the death throes of his head coaching career.
Will the Titans use that pick to add an elite offensive tackle like Will Campbell, who could instantly start for at least half of the teams in the NFL on the left side or the right? Or maybe they go pure BPA, with Travis Hunter bringing the sort of star power Nashville has been missing since Derrick Henry and AJ Brown left town? You know, there are multiple quarterbacks who could see their name called at the top of the draft like Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward, and others still like JJ McCarthy who could even be had via trade, should Tennessee believe he has the best draft evaluation of the group.
It's a decision for, well, whoever ends up landing the Tennessee GM job, but no matter how it shakes out – let's be honest, it's going to be a quarterback one way or another – the Titans can't afford to roll the dice and hope they leave the draft with a starting-caliber offensive tackle outside of the first round, as 2023 sixth round pick Jaelyn Duncan was a borderline disaster on the right side in 2023 and he simply can't hold that spot for one game more, especially with a rookie likely spending much of the season under center.
Minnesota Vikings QB Cam Robinson (74)
1. The Titans need to sign Cam Robinson
After spending years as the Jacksonville Jaguars' left tackle, Cam Robinson was traded with a seventh-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings midseason for a conditional fourth-round pick.
On paper, that's a pretty good move for Robinson, as he went from a team fighting for the top overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to a squad that was a Week 18 win away from having the top seed in the NFC. But there is a problem that could impact Robinson's future in 2025: Minnesota already has a left tackle in Christian Darrisaw and only traded for Robinson because he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 8.
Almost certainly set to test free agency in 2025, the 29-year-old out of Alabama will almost certainly be the top tackle on the open market and, thus, should be the Titans' top target, too, considering they have a projected $50.7 million in free agency, according to Over The Cap.
Unlike recent free agent signings like Andre Dillard, who flamed out spectacularly after barely playing in Philadelphia, Robinson is a known commodity at one of the most important positions in the NFL and could make his 104 games and counting to good use in Tennessee protecting the blindside of whichever young quarterback lands in Music City.
2. The Titans could move JC Latham to right tackle
So, as you may be asking, why would the Titans sign Robinson to be their left tackle moving forward when they just drafted JC Latham out of Alabama seventh overall?
Easy: Latham was a right tackle at Alabama.
That's right, while left tackle is the “sexy” position most teams want to play their best option at because they protect a quarterback's blind spot, there are plenty of teams with elite right tackles who allow them to run very effective offenses, with the two best teams in the NFC, the Detroit Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles, having the best right tackles in the game in Peni Sewell and Lane Johnson, respectively.
Could Latham eventually get his feet under him and become a top star on the left side? Maybe so, but it feels more likely that Latham could play more naturally as a second-year pro on the right side and improve two positions with a player like Robinson at the other spot. Need proof? Look no further than Lance Zierlein's draft report for NFL.com, where the veteran scout even suggested his best position might be moved inside to guard.
“Bulldozer in human form with the upper- and lower-body power to forcibly evacuate run lanes and instantly upgrade a team’s ground attack. Latham's body type is girthy, and he has elite drive-blocking talent,” Zierlein wrote. “He has operated in a variety of run schemes but will be an average move blocker both laterally and when climbing to the second level. His pass sets are well-balanced with good initial quickness and active hands. He unleashes lefts and rights and mirrors effectively after contact but gets beaten by inside moves when he over-sets. He has the length and hand strength to shut rushers down but needs to become more comfortable setting diagonally rather than vertically to avoid sinking too deeply into his own pocket. Latham’s size, strength, and talent give him a chance to become a heralded right tackle or Pro Bowl-caliber guard.”
Alright, moving Latham to guard probably isn't going to happen, especially after the team already did that to fellow first-round pick Peter Skoronski the previous year, but moving him to right tackle? Where he shined at Alabama? Yeah, that actually makes plenty of sense. With an elite offensive line coach in place in head coach Brian Callahan's father, Bill, loading up the offensive line with even more talent can only lead to good things, especially if the team can secure the services of an elite RB prospect like Cam Skattebo on Day 2.
Bonus – Why not trade Will Levis to Minnesota in a JJ McCarthy deal?
While much has been said and written about how the Titans should approach the quarterback position this spring, one idea that has received far less traction than it probably should is the idea of including Will Levis in a trade for McCarthy, flipping the final two years of his contract instead of an additional mid-round draft pick.
Now granted, no one but the truly deranged would suggest that Levis is a better prospect than McCarthy or even a starter at the NFL level, but he is a toolsy signal caller with a big arm, functional athleticism, and a ton of confidence, as his meme-able Mayo commercial clearly proves. Levis was the consensus top quarterback in his draft class, turned in some elite showings in 2023 under Mike Vrabel, and had arguably his best game of the year in Week 11 against the Vikings, where Kevin O'Connell watched the Kentucky product throw for 295 yards, a touchdown, and a pick while running for 18 more.
If the Vikings decide to go with Darnold as their quarterback moving forward, Levis could slide right in as QB2 just like Daniel Jones did this year, getting time to develop in one of the most QB-friendly offenses in the league. How crazy would it be to see Levis become the next Darnold in 2026? You know, stranger things have happened, like Darnold becoming an MVP candidate in the first place.
