Several Tennessee Titans draft picks have an argument to be the franchise's worst draft decision. Isaiah Wilson and Caleb Farley sit near the top of that list, but one that doesn't get talked about enough is Jake Locker.
A recent mock draft has the Titans making that same mistake all over again.
For those who weren't paying attention in 2011, the Titans needed a quarterback, but owned the eighth selection in that draft. Cam Newton was the unanimous QB1, and the rest of the draft saw QB-needy teams convince themselves into taking raw QBs like Locker and Blaine Gabbert.
That was an elite draft class. The Titans missed out on participating in it appropriately because they drafted Locker even though he wasn't widely considered a top-ranked prospect. By drafting him, they passed on:
-Ninth pick: Tyron Smith (eight-time Pro Bowl tackle)
-11th pick: J.J. Watt (114.5 career sacks)
-14th pick: Robert Quinn (102 career sacks)
-16th pick: Ryan Kerrigan (95.5 career sacks)
-24th pick: Cam Jordan (120.5 career sacks)
Those are just the biggest names, it doesn't include other really strong players like Mike Pouncey, Nate Solder, Anthony Costanzo, and Cameron Heyward.
All of that happened because the Titans overdrafted a quarterback, but that wasn't even the biggest tragedy.
In the next draft class, the Titans weren't looking at quarterbacks because they had committed to Locker for the future. That was a draft that featured Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill, Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins, and Nick Foles.
If the Titans had just had one more year of patience and foresight, the 2012 roster could have had an Hall of Fame EDGE or OT and a quarterback capable of winning a Super Bowl. Instead, the Titans spent the better part of the decade wandering in obscurity before Jon Robinson and Mike Vrabel came in and started putting together winning rosters.
With the Titans benching starting quarterback Will Levis, it's starting to feel like this regime could already be entering lame-duck status in 2025, or they'll take a big-time swing on a veteran QB like Sam Darnold. The Titans can't pass up an opportunity to add a great player via the draft so that they can reach for a quarterback instead.
That is exactly what happened in the aforementioned mock draft when the Titans drafted Penn State QB Drew Allar over players like Abdul Carter, Jalon Walker, and Mykel Williams. It's a moot point because Allar has already announced his intention to return to school in 2025, but the Titans could still make the mistake by drafting Cam Ward, assuming he's available when the Titans come on the clock.
There is no straightforward answer to turning the Titans around this offseason, but forgoing one of the top prospects in the draft class to spend a top-10 pick on a QB like Ward, Carson Beck, or Quinn Ewers is the wrong answer. The team has too many needs that could be addressed by drafting better players with that pick.
At this point, everyone agrees that the Titans need a new quarterback in 2025, but who that quarterback is and what resources they spend on him will have a big impact on the franchise's long-term outlook.