The Tennessee Titans (3-14) are open for business at the top of the 2025 NFL Draft.
According to NFL Media, the Titans are open to anything with the first overall pick: staying at No. 1 overall and making the pick or trading it for a sizeable haul. If the latter becomes the path they choose to take, they are expected to field trade calls from other teams in that event. Tennessee hired Kansas City Chiefs assistant general manager Mike Borgonzi this offseason, and he'll have the monumental opportunity to shape the franchise for the foreseeable future with whatever he decides to do.
The Chicago Bears were the last NFL team to trade out of the first overall pick in 2023, and the haul they received from the Carolina Panthers included: wide receiver DJ Moore, Carolina's ninth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, a 2023 second-round pick, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick. Carolina selected Alabama Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young first overall that year, and the 2024 first-round choice Chicago received turned into the 2024 NFL Draft's first overall pick. That selection netted the Bears USC Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams.
Tennessee has a need at quarterback with Will Levis registering the highest percentage of plays (16.3%) with a sack, fumble or interception since former Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell (17.8%) in 2009, per CBS Sports Research. The top two quarterback prospects in the upcoming draft class are Miami's Cam Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, but neither are viewed as the caliber of prospect who could thrive in any situation. That's why the Titans could search for a veteran quarterback in the offseason and trade down to fill other holes throughout the rest of their roster.
| Highest rate of plays with sack, fumble or interception, Last 15 years | Pct of Plays with Sack, Fumble or INT |
|---|---|
2009 JaMarcus Russell (OAK) | 17.8% |
2024 Will Levis (TEN) | 16.3% |
2014 Josh McCown (TB) | 15.5% |
2022 Justin Fields (CHI) | 15.4% |
The next two teams, the Cleveland Browns (second overall pick) and the New York Giants (third overall pick), also need quarterbacks after disastrous years for Deshaun Watson and Daniel Jones. Three teams in the back end of the top 10 -- the Las Vegas Raiders (sixth overall pick), New York Jets (seventh overall pick) and the New Orleans Saints (ninth overall pick) -- are the other quarterback-hungry teams who could make sense as teams to pick up the phone and call Tennessee.
Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker has also said the team won't pass on "a generational talent" with the first overall pick, which suggested if they keep the pick, it might not be a quarterback. Colorado 2024 Heisman Trophy-winning wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter and Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter could potentially fit that category for Tennessee, depending on the team's evaluation of those two players.
