The Minnesota Vikings just made life much easier for the Tennessee Titans
By Will Lomas
Today the Minnesota Vikings traded up with the Houston Texans to land another first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and that is a huge deal for the Tennessee Titans.
The only reason to make a trade like this six weeks before the draft is because that pick is going to be part of a package deal to move up and draft a quarterback inside the top 5. It is almost certainly going to end up being a trade between the Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals who have the fourth pick in the draft.
Assuming that is the case, then everything is pointing to the first four picks in the draft all being quarterbacks.
With the Tennessee Titans sitting at 7, they are going to have the option to draft either Marvin Harrison Jr., Joe Alt, or Malik Nabers.
After the L.A. Chargers lost both Mike Williams and Keenan Allen this offseason, it is hard to see a world where they pass on drafting Marvin Harrison Jr. who has the reputation of being the best receiver prospect since Ja'Marr Chase (and maybe even better than Chase).
When it falls like that, the New York Giants are going to be faced with the question of whether they want to improve their offensive line or their wide receivers. In free agency, the Giants have signed two new starting offensive linemen in guard Jon Runyan and tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, but haven't added any help at wide receiver.
It seems like they should be a heavy favorite to draft their favorite wide receiver not named Marvin Harrison Jr.
Is it really that easy for the Tennessee Titans?
And just like that the Tennessee Titans are virtually guaranteed to have their top offensive tackle on the board and one of the top-3 receivers. After signing Calvin Ridley to a massive deal, all eyes have shifted to the offensive tackle position, so the smart money is on the Titans taking Joe Alt with that selection.
Before this trade, there was always a nightmare scenario where Joe Alt, Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze were all off of the board when it was time for the Tennessee Titans to pick. While Olu Fashanu isn't a bad prospect, he isn't in the same tier as those blue-chip prospects.
Thankfully, this Minnesota Vikings trade almost guarantees that at least two of those players will be on the board when it is time for the Titans to pick which means that Tennessee can take a deep breath and thank their lucky stars that they pick so highly in a draft where a blue-chip tackle or wide receiver can fall into their lap outside of the top-5 picks.