Getting the first selection in the 2025 NFL Draft could go a long way in helping the Tennessee Titans rebuild their roster, but another silver lining of a bad season is getting a high pick in the second round.
One thing you're going to hear a lot between now and draft day is how scouts and decision-makers don't think there are many prospects with high grades in this class. Obviously, there will be 32 players who end up being first-round picks, but only a handful of prospects in this class are projected to be legitimate difference makers.
Teams at the bottom of the first round are often forced to reach for players that fit their needs instead of taking the best options available because they are trying to patch holes they couldn't fill in free agency.
That causes talented players to slip out of the first round and to the top of the second round. In the last four years alone, players like Landon Dickerson, Roger McCreary, Alontae Taylor, Cam Jurgens, Boye Mafe, Sam LaPorta, Ladd McConkey, and Braden Fiske have all landed in the top half of the second round and been building blocks for their teams.
Recently, we analyzed the hot streak that new Titans GM Mike Borgonzi has been on when it comes to drafting Senior Bowl alumni early on Day 2. Here are some candidates Borgonzi could select this year who would extend that streak this year.
1. Landon Jackson EDGE, Arkansas
Landon Jackson could have a Derrick Morgan-like career. Both EDGEs are rock-solid players who can hold the point of attack in the running game and get to the quarterback in passing situations. However, neither has a trump card and they will always do their best work if they are the Robin to another EDGE's Batman.
2. Aireontae Ersery OT, Minnesota
Aireontae Ersery possesses the size and length teams covet from a tackle in the NFL and there is plenty to like on his tape. Expect his stock to rise in Mobile and for him to find himself right on the fringe of the first round.
3. Armand Membou OT, Missouri
In a crowded group of tackles, half a dozen names are floating out as OT2. Armand Membou is one of those names and James Foster outlined exactly why teams should be lining up to draft him in the first round. He has his critics and some teams may not have him as high on their board. That could lead to him being a great value at the top of the second round.
4. Mike Green EDGE, Marshall
Mike Green's elite production (17 sacks in 2024) pops off the page, and he's beginning to look like a first-round pick. However, there are lingerning questions about why he had to transfer from Virginia in 2021. GMs might be scared to roll the dice on a player from a smaller school with potential concerns in the first round. If he slides, the Titans should have interest.
5. Walter Nolen DL, Ole Miss
The Titans should use this pick on someone who could be a starter for them, but in a talented and crowded DL class, Nolen could be the BPA when Borgonzi and Chad Brinker are on the clock. Considering how often defensive linemen rotate and the emphasis the team will put on winning in the trenches, it is hard to go wrong by adding Nolen to the interior to rotate with stars like Jeffery Simmons and T'Vondre Sweat.