Everyone is trying to predict what the 2026 NFL season will look like, and Tennessee Titans fans are just praying that it doesn't look anything like the 2024 or 2025 seasons. However, if you do want to peek into what the 2026 season could look like for the Titans, it is helpful to look at what Mike Borgonzi has done so that you at least know what the plan is.
Good GMs typically use free agency to patch holes, but their true team-building process comes from the draft, where they have much more control. The best way to look at the draft is to split premium picks (Top 100 selections) from the meat of the draft (Rounds 4-7).
To know how a GM really wants to build his team, look at the premium picks, and this is what Borgonzi has done with those.
Tennessee Titans GM Mike Borgonzi has a crystal clear strategy for 2026
Premium picks: QB Cam Ward, WR Carnell Tate, EDGE Keldric Faulk, EDGE Femi Oladejo, LB Anthony Hill, S Kevin Winston.
Spending both of their top-five picks on offense when there is a strong argument that the best prospect on the board in both instances was a defensive player (Travis Hunter/Abdul Carer and Arvell Reese/Sonny Styles) is a massive indicator that Borgonzi believes that offense wins championships and that great offensive players are hard to come by. When Borgonzi has had the most control over how to shape his roster, his biggest investments have been made in the form of offensive players.
While offense may win championships, Borgonzi's moves also tell us that he believes that you need a good, multifaceted defense to make it to a championship game at all.
After Ward and Tate, the other four premium picks the Titans have spent on defensive players. Trading up and spending a late first-round pick on Faulk emphasizes that he knows the importance of investing in premium positions when the value is there. Similarly, maneuvering in the 2025 NFL Draft to get both Oladejo and Winston, and then trading up for Hill shows that he knows that you need waves of bodies on defense.
Borgonzi is a smart GM, and his plan makes a lot of sense when you look at it compared to Super Bowl-winning rosters. Great teams invest in their quarterback and give him weapons, and when they start to neglect that, they suffer the consequences. However, that only matters if you can actually make the postseason, which is much easier if you have a defense that can keep you in games.
So what does that tell Titans' fans about the 2026 season? The offense should have more bright spots and highlights this season, and most importantly, Cam Ward is in a much better position to succeed. However, the real star of this team is going to be the defense. Adding waves and waves of defenders to Robert Saleh's defense and a roster that already has Jeffery Simmons could be lethal for opposing teams.
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