What Dane Brugler's mock draft 1.0 tells us about the Tennessee Titans
By Will Lomas
For about half of the Tennessee Titans fan base, the joy of the season is over and all eyes are on what will happen in the offseason.
When it comes to offseason activities, very few things beat a good mock draft and there aren't many people in the business who do them better than The Athletic's Dane Brugler.
Not only does Brugler put out the best draft guide out there, but he also knows scouts and GMs around the NFL so when he says he is hearing something you can take that as gospel truth. So it shouldn't be any surprise that his first 2024 NFL Mock Draft has gotten a lot of attention.
Trigger warning here, the selection is not going to make you happy...at all. To be fair, this isn't anywhere close to the final and this is less about finding the perfect fit and more about matching players with teams that could select them based on their talent level. You will see what I mean in a minute.
Who did Dane Brugler mock for the Tennessee Titans?
In this draft the Tennessee Titans picked 10th and by the time they were on the clock, Marvin Harrison Jr., Ola Fashanu, Joe Alt, Brock Bowers, J.C. Latham, and Malik Nabers were all off the board. So with that selection, he had the Tennessee Titans drafting...Alabama EDGE, Dallas Turner.
There are a lot of ways that the Tennessee Titans can hurt their fans in the draft, and if the Titans are hoping for another top-10 pick next season then this could absolutely be on the table. However, drafting an EDGE that Mike Vrabel would have on the bench for the majority of the snaps when Keon Coleman and Rome Odunze are still on the board, would be borderline cruelty.
Turner fits the profile of a player who could be drafted in that range, but he just doesn't move the needle for the Tennessee Titans who should be focused almost exclusively on helping Will Levis as much as possible heading into next season.
Tennessee Titans fans need to remember this mock draft, because it teaches them one crucial point about this draft class. In this mock draft, the three blue-chip prospects that the Titans need (Marvin Harrison Jr., Ola Fashanu, and Joe Alt) are all top-5 picks.
This season is lost for the Tennessee Titans, and even if you are a fan who never cheers for a loss, the chances of a successful and quick rebuild this offseason are drastically different depending on whether the Tennessee Titans have a top-5 pick or a pick just outside of that range.
If you really want this team to get better, the two things that you should be cheering for are a strong finish from Will Levis and the best possible draft pick. This mock draft is the perfect example of what could go wrong if the Titans win another game or two.