Tennessee Titans haven’t mortgaged their future in Julio Jones trade

The Tennessee Titans are stocked with future draft resources.

The first thing that has to be discussed with this trade is the draft picks that it took to get him to Tennessee.

Atlanta and Tennessee finalized a deal that looks like this:

Tennessee Titans receive: Julio Jones, 2023 6th round pick

Atlanta Falcons receive: 2022 2nd round pick, 2023 4th round pick

Doing some projecting with compensatory picks, that means that this is what the Tennessee Titans 2022 draft class will look like:

-Six original picks (1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th)

-3rd or 4th as a compensatory pick for Corey Davis

-6th or 7th as a compensatory pick for DaQuan Jones

Tennessee Titans

At worst, that is going to end up being a draft class with average resources and those compensatory picks should help provide ample opportunities to add depth to this roster.

Depth shouldn’t be a concern at all, but what about starters? The question shifts to which starters the Tennessee Titans might need to replace after the 2021 season. The biggest names to watch are Ben Jones, Harold Landry, Rashaan Evans, Anthony Firkser, and Jayon Brown.

In all likelihood, either Monty Rice and David Long will earn one of those starting linebacker spots. There is a small (but real) chance that Rice and Long replace Evans and Brown outright given their style of play and their cheap contracts.

That leaves Ben Jones, Harold Landry, and Anthony Firkser. EDGE is a premium position and the Titans might be forced to spend a 1st round pick on the position if they have to replace Landry, but historically it is fairly easy to find centers and tight ends outside of the top-50.

So, they have the draft resources to replace these players, but it might not come to that because the Tennessee Titans’ finances are in a pretty good place.