Everyone assumed the Tennessee Titans were done in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft after selecting Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate at No. 4 overall. Not so fast. General manager Mike Borgonzi executed a shocking trade back into the opening 32 to select former Auburn EDGE Keldric Faulk.
The Titans entered the offseason needing to upgrade the EDGE position for new head coach Robert Saleh. While at the NFL Combine, they negotiated a trade for Jermaine Johnson II. Borgonzi would then spend the player acquisition cycle bringing in a ton of former Saleh players, including John Franklin-Myers and Solomon Thomas.
Trading up for Faulk at No. 31 overall provides Saleh with another defensive weapon to build his scheme around. The Titans' offseason movements strongly indicate they believe in Saleh's ability to build a strong defense. The Faulk pick doubles down on that sentiment.
NFL Draft: Tennessee Titans trade up for EDGE Keldric Faulk is all about Robert Saleh
The Titans traded Nos. 35, 66, and 101 to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for Nos. 31, 69, and 165. The largest pick-swap in that agreement is trading No. 101 for 165. The Titans are betting big on Faulk's potential in Coach Saleh's system.
Faulk is an impressive prospect at 6-foot-6 and 276 pounds with 34 ⅜” arms and near 10-inch hands. Coach Saleh appreciates size, length, and get-off at the position. Faulk checks Saleh's preferred physical boxes, with an 86th-percentile wingspan and 85th-percentile length, per MockDraftable's database.
The Titans will rely on Saleh to develop Faulk's ascending tools. Despite that natural size and ability, Faulk did not produce many eye-popping plays at Auburn this past season. The Highland Home, Alabama native recorded just two sacks in 2025, failing to build on a seven-sack campaign in 2024.
The Titans obviously possess faith in Saleh's ability to develop defensive prospects. That statement is especially backed by their decision to move back into the first round for Faulk, a raw, but ascending 20-year-old prospect with a desirable frame and length. Faulk's development relies solely on Saleh's approach, and Borgonzi was willing to bet big on positive results.
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