Titans could take advantage of waiver wire order to improve roster

If every cloud has a silver lining, then having the top priority on the NFL's waiver wire is the silver lining to the Tennessee Titans' poor start to the season.

For the first three weeks of the NFL season, the waiver wire reflects the previous draft order. For example, the Titans would have had the seventh-highest priority prior to Week 3's conclusion because they held the No. 7 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Now that three games have been played, all losses for the Titans, that order changes to reflect league standings. Tied at the top of those rankings are the Titans and their AFC South rival Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Titans have a better roster than their record indicates. However, that doesn't mean that general manager Ran Carthon and president of football operations Chad Brinker can't use this as a tool to add some role players or back-end depth.

Look at what the Titans did last year on the waiver wire. In October, they claimed safety K'Von Wallace, who ended up starting seven games on defense. Between defense and special teams, Wallace ended up playing nearly 500 snaps for the Titans. He was a useful player.

Keondre Coburn is another player who was waived and eventually ended up with the Titans, and through three games he has been the team's best backup defensive tackle. Not only that, but Coburn was someone that the Titans talked to when they were trying to decide whether or not they should draft T'Vondre Sweat (Coburn's former teammate at Texas) in the second round of the draft.

For Tennessee Vols fans or Andre Dillard/Jaelyn Duncan haters, the Houston Texans claimed Derek Barnett off of waivers last year and he has six sacks in 11 games since they claimed him.

Having the top priority on the waiver wire is a big deal, and we are nearing the point in the season where players are coming off of short-term IR. Players on short-term IR have to miss four games before they can be added to the 53-man roster, so teams will begin cutting players next week to make room for their returning players.

Older veterans can be released instead of waived, but every player with four or less seasons of NFL experience is required to hit the waiver wire. This is the time of year when rookies and other young players get lost in the shuffle. They end up being released and being put on the practice squad if they clear waivers.

This is the perfect time for Carthon and Brinker to crack open their draft notes and jump on any players that they missed out on in the latter portions of the 2024 NFL Draft.

So whether the Titans use this tool to add more youth to the back end of their roster, or if they try to pick up a veteran role player like Derek Barnett, this could be very beneficial for the team as they continue going through their rebuild.