Why are the Tennessee Titans calling the Detroit Lions about a trade?

We are a week away from Draftmas Eve, and the Tennessee Titans are reportedly making phone calls to the Detroit Lions about the sixth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Even when you exclude long-shot options like Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson, Tennessee Titans fans still have their hands full trying to keep up with all of the rumors about what Ran Carthon and Mike Vrabel are considering doing. On Wednesday morning, rumors came out that the Titans were specifically calling around trying to find a way to get inside the top six.

That may seem like an odd place to trade up at first, but the sixth pick is important because ESPN's Adam Schefter recently went on a rant where he bet Dan Orlovsky that there would only be two quarterbacks that got drafted in the first four picks:

That is a remarkable prediction, and to say it with that level of confidence less than 10 days before the draft is something that deserves a lot of attention. Right now, the general consensus is that EDGEs Will Anderson and Tyree Wilson are going to be drafted quickly, and Jalen Carter won't be far behind them.

Bringing it back to the Tennessee Titans, trading inside of the top six is such a strange way to phrase a potential trade unless they are trying to trade with the Detroit Lions who hold the sixth pick in the draft. Assuming that the draft goes the way that Adam Schefter suggests, moving up to six would allow the Titans to take either C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, or Will Levis (though the odds would suggest that it is really down to Stroud and Richardson).

Based on team needs and the draft order, trading down to 11 would still give the Lions the chance to grab one of the top cornerbacks in this class ahead of the Houston Texans who might be looking for a corner with the 12th pick in the draft. Considering that the Las Vegas Raiders are also looking at quarterbacks, the Lions could trade down and confidently believe that they would end up with one of these players: Christian Gonzalez, Peter Skoronski, Devon Witherspoon, Paris Johnson Jr.

The Tennessee Titans are doing their homework on a trade-up in this draft, and their draft visits suggest that they are unlikely to stay and pick with the 11th pick in the draft whether that means a trade-up or a trade-down. The question now is whether they will make a move before the draft or if a trade will be contingent on whether a specific player falls out of the top five picks.