The Tennessee Titans entered the offseason allegedly looking for a linebacker. It made sense. New head coach Robert Saleh has a background as a linebacker position coach, and has helped oversee the development of several elite players at the position.
Despite that, the Titans did not sign any notable linebackers in free agency. Saleh is installing his scheme with the defenders he inherited at the position. Cedric Gray is the centerpiece, but Cody Barton and James Williams were slated to receive opportunities to start, too.
Unsurprisingly, the Titans weren't going to let the 2026 NFL Draft bypass them without adding a dream linebacker for Saleh's scheme. On Friday, the Titans traded up from their scheduled 69th pick to the No. 60 selection, parting with #144 in the process, to select Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. Saleh gets his linebacker.
NFL Draft: Tennessee Titans trade up in Round 2 to secure Robert Saleh's dream linebacker
Hill registered 69 tackles, seven tackles for loss, four sacks, and two interceptions this past season en route to being a Butkus Award (nation's best linebacker) finalist. The Denton, Texas native projects as a three-down linebacker with the playing demeanor Saleh covets at the position. He fits Saleh's defensive system like a duck in water.
Hill was unbelievably productive throughout his Longhorns career. He accumulated 31.5 TFLs, 17 sacks and eight forced fumbles in his three seasons at Texas. That's the type of production Saleh will immediately find a role for in his linebacker corps.
Hill is incredibly long and rangy. He possesses the baseline defensive traits needed to play a role on Saleh's unit, having run a 4.51 and leaped a 37-inch vertical at the NFL Combine. Hill is also instinctive, showing the confidence needed to fire downhill in run fits.
Hill can also thrive in pass coverage, both via man and zone concepts. That should provide the Titans' linebacker room with a much-needed boost in that department. Both Gray and Barton were weaknesses in coverage at linebacker throughout 2025.
Saleh's Titans defense was missing its Fred Warner or Azeez Al-Shaair. Hill projects as a big-time contributor for this linebacker unit in 2026. Saleh's fingerprints were all over the Titans' decision to trade up in the NFL Draft to select Hill at No. 60 overall.
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