Mike Borgonzi just showed Titans fans a different way to rebuild the roster

The Tennessee Titans made headlines during the first wave of free agency, being one of the heavier spenders with their abundance of cap space. It is an exciting time with so many new faces being added, but we have to remember that being heavy spenders did not work two offseasons ago.

Ran Carthon brought in a ton of free agents, the vast majority of whom filled serious needs, and it still blew up in the team's face. It has undoubtedly made Titans fans more weary of splurging on the open market, which has sparked a debate, especially since some of last cycle's heaviest spenders had great seasons.

You cannot just abstain from free agency when building a team. You have to utilize multiple avenues to fill needs, especially when you possess as much cap space as the Titans did. That being said, it will absolutely go wrong if your approach is simply to spend to fill as many needs as possible, and it is clear that Mike Borgonzi understands that.

Tennessee Titans have been more selective in this free agency cycle

The Titans aren't going to bat .1000 with every free agency decision they made. Some of them were eyebrow raisers with the amount of money handed out. Even still, there is a stark contrast between the moves Borgonzi made this time around, and the ones that were made under Carthon.

When Carthon was GM during the 2024 offseason, it very much felt like he was going after players who were available and regarded as high profile free agents, without any additional criteria considered.

Tony Pollard, Calvin Ridley, Lloyd Cushenberry, and Chidobe Awuzie are talented players, but their acquisitions did not result in a cohesive team. Even the trade for L'Jarius Sneed, who was just released, blew up when it seemed like a smart move for a high level talent at a premium position.

Those moves failed due to more than just their flashy nature, and there were some other extenuating circumstances they did not see coming. They all fit the theme of bringing in guys to elevate the talent on the roster without any idea of how they will work together.

Borgonzi and the 2026 Titans have already shed that notion, and from their moves, the one thing that stands out above all else is familiarity. They have placed such a priority on acquiring guys who have worked with Brian Daboll and Robert Saleh, even down to the depth guys such as Solomon Thomas and Jordan Elliott.

Even with the biggest risk they have taken, which is leaving the center position as an unknown, they have acquired a possible starter in Austin Schlottmann who has worked with OL coach Carmen Bricillo, and performed well under him too.

This is slightly comparable to the New England Patriots in 2025, who also signed guys like Harold Landry, Robert Spillane, and Jack Gibbens, who had all previously worked with Mike Vrabel.

So much of it is not only acquiring players who you know will be good scheme fits, but acquiring guys who you know can contribute to the culture you want to build. This niche strategy should make Titans fans feel much better about their new-look team being a much more cohesive unit than they were in the past.

Free agency splurging only works if the correct foundation is forming

No team's foundation is the exact same, but generally, every team who has been successful over the past few years has had the right combination of drafted players and strong coaching. The draft is particularly important to building a Super Bowl roster, and the only team who has been a true outright exception to this rule is the 2021-22 Los Angeles Rams.

Even teams like the 2020-21 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2024-25 Philadelphia Eagles, and even this past year's Seattle Seahawks, all of whom had significant help in free agency, had just as much if not more help through the guys they drafted.

Ultimately, the best game changers in the NFL oftentimes do not hit free agency, and you need blue-chip players like that to win Super Bowls. You need to find them via the draft, for the most part.

The 2024 Titans had almost none of what it takes to build a strong foundation. They had no quarterback, very few homegrown stars, and overall horrific coaching, as the three play callers on the team had a combined zero prior years of play-calling experience.

It is not guaranteed that the Titans are building the proper foundation now, but it is definitely better than it was coming into 2024. They have a young former first overall pick at QB who finished 2025 strong, a head coach who is known to cultivate a strong culture, and play callers who come into 2026 with a combined 39 years of experience.

The homegrown stars in the draft are still a work in progress, which means the Titans are still likely far out from being considered true contenders. They are on a much better track with the pieces they already have in place, and if nothing else, the players from the 2025 draft class seem to be really productive to a strong culture.

The 2025 Patriots, as we'vementioned, are a slight exception to the draft rule, but just bringing Vrabel into their building solidified a huge part of their foundation. Additionally, two of the players they did draft were the MVP caliber QB in Drake Maye and Christian Gonzalez, who was arguably their best non-QB.

The 2026 Titans will almost certainly not be as successful as the 2025 Patriots were, and will need to keep building through the draft in order to emerge as a true threat. They might have enough, however, to get out of the basement, and the more guys they have who are cohesive team fits, the better chance they will have to successfully draft and develop.