A.J. Brown forced the Tennessee Titans to make a trade and they grabbed the 18th pick, then they traded down from the 26th pick, and now they have completed the trifecta by trading up for the first time in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Traditionally you only want to trade up for premium positions in the draft and those positions are QB, OT, EDGE, WR, and CB. Four picks in and the Titans have spent all four picks on these positions after drafting quarterback Malik Willis.
Here’s what that means if you’re a Tennessee Titans fan
Everyone out there who has been upset with Ryan Tannehill a.k.a. 17, your wish has been granted and the Titans have brought in someone who will compete with him for the starting QB job in 2023.
Even if Willis needs time to develop, new (shadow) OC Tim Kelly has done a great job with young quarterbacks in the past. If it doesn’t work out, that is fine you missed a late third-round pick and no one loses their job, but if you hit on this then you could theoretically walk into 2023 with an athletic quarterback and a LOT of cap flexibility.
What did the Tennessee Titans miss out on?
Tennessee is having one of the weirdest drafts that I can ever remember. They came into the draft needing WR3, TE2, and iOL, and right now I would argue that they still need WR3, TE2, and iOL depth/competition.
However, the Titans haven’t really reached on any of their draft picks and every pick has been at a premium position. Based on my composite big board:
–Treylon Burks was the 22nd player, they got him at 18
–Roger McCreary was the 47th player, they got him at 35
–Nicholas Petit-Frere was the 71st player, they got him at 69
-Malik Willis was the 25th player, they got him at 86
It is really hard to be mad at that value, but they also haven’t really fixed any needs for the 2022 season. Now granted, those needs are all players who probably wouldn’t see the field in every package, but still.
Despite the fact that I was absolutely against drafting a quarterback in the first round, no one can deny that the reward is monumentally greater than the risk with this pick and odds are that you can still find iOL depth and a tight end in the fourth round.
Grade: A