Titans forego opportunity to select QB in latest ESPN mock draft

The 2024 season started a little over a month ago, but the Tennessee Titans have had such a catastrophic year that fans are already looking at 2025 NFL Mock Drafts.

With starting quarterback Will Levis regressing, it's looking increasingly likely that the Titans will have a different player under center next season. Everyone is hoping that Tennessee's future franchise signal caller will be available to them in April's draft.

The Titans possess the No. 5 overall selection In ESPN's latest mock draft. Despite multiple quarterbacks being available, Jordan Reid decided the Titans should go in a different direction with the fifth pick. He selected James Pearce Jr. EDGE, Tennessee.

"Here's another team that could address quarterback, as the jury is still out on Will Levis. Let's put a pin in that for now; it's only October. Instead, I'm looking at the defense, where the Titans need pass rushers. They are one of seven teams with fewer than 10 sacks (nine). Pearce is a scheme-versatile defender who can play standing up at outside linebacker or with his hand down in the dirt at defensive end. And while he has managed just two sacks, his pressure rate (17.6%) ranks fourth in the nation. Scouts will be watching Pearce closely the rest of the way, starting this Saturday against Alabama."

The Titans are a strange defense right now. They are the NFL's best unit in yards allowed, but they only average 1.8 sacks per game, which is bottom-five in the league.

Additionally, they struggle to create turnovers. They are the third-worst defense in the league at taking the ball away after five games, and both of their fumbles were unforced errors.

You can make the case that the Titans have one of the most talented groups of defensive backs in the NFL. Even with L'Jarius Sneed being slightly underwhelming so far, Roger McCreary, Jarvis Brownlee Jr., Chidobe Awuzie, Quandre Diggs, and Amani Hooker have formed a talented secondary.

The linebacker group is solid with Kenneth Murray and Ernest Jones IV looking great when they can pin their ears back and attack.

A starting-caliber EDGE like Pearce could be the missing piece for this defense, and he would fit perfectly into a defensive front with Jeffery Simmons, T'Vondre Sweat, and Harold Landry.

Shockingly, the Titans have the ninth-best pass rush in the NFL according to ESPN's pass-rush-win-rate stat. The team just needs a little bit more from someone to turn those pressures into sacks, and Pearce has all of the skills to be the straw that breaks that particular camel's back.