The Tennessee Titans began the 2024 season scheduled to have six picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, but player trades and draft-day moves meant they selected nine players before signing one of the best classes of UDFAs in the league.
Considering the emphasis that Mike Borgonzi and Chad Brinker have put on building a roster through the draft, Titans fans should expect offseasons to look like this going forward.
The downside is that the team is putting almost all of their chips in the "draft-and-develop" basket, and they aren't fully maximizing free agency to find long-term solutions to roster holes. It's perhaps an overcorrection from last offseason, when previous GM Ran Carthon was overly reliant on fixing the team through free agency.
Given the shift in approach, Jim Wyatt's latest comments about what his current free agent expectations are shouldn't come as a shock to anyone. When he was asked if the Titans were going to sign another veteran EDGE via a recent mailbag, he said this:
"I got this question in here recently, so I'll answer it the same way here: It wouldn't surprise me. But whether that comes via a waiver claim or by signing a free agent off the street remains to be seen. I look at the edge rusher spot and see some guys who have done it, some who still have something to prove, and some youngsters who will need to establish themselves. I think the GM will be looking to upgrade there, along with several other positions. But I suspect the personnel guys will want to see how guys do during offseason work, including OTAs and minicamp, too."
When Wyatt says, "guys who have done it," he is talking about players who have at least taken NFL snaps at EDGE. The Titans are currently slated to start Arden Key and Dre'Mont Jones at outside linebacker. Femi Oladejo is a rookie second-round pick who is still acclimating to the position. Overall, the Titans have one of the worst collection of EDGEs in the NFL.
That is why many people have continued to bring up the free agent options at EDGE that would at least give the defense a chance to compete this year. That includes suggesting that the Titans should re-sign Jadeveon Clowney, a polarizing figure around Nashville since he had the worst season of his career under then-head coach Mike Vrabel.
However, it sounds like the Titans new front office is going to give Key, Jones, Oladejo, and...Lorenzo Carter(?) a chance to prove that they can be a functional collective of EDGEs.
If the Titans hold off on making a decision until after the final minicamp of the summer, that means that fans shouldn't expect any notable additions before June 6th. By then, some of the few remaining big names will be gone, but maybe one of them lands with the Titans.
The team should think of a free-agent addition at EDGE as an investment in Oladejo. Not only would it give him an experienced veteran who has played at a higher level than anyone he can currently learn from on that roster, but it also gives him time to take his development slowly so that he is ready for a bigger role in 2026.