With the first waves of free agency in our rearview mirror, it is evident that the Tennessee Titans have shifted focus toward a team that wants to be built around drafting and developing good players instead of trying to find franchise cornerstones on the open market.
That is the goal for every team, but it often turns into lip service once a floundering team becomes equipped with money to spend in free agency. Titans decision makers Mike Borgonzi and Chad Brinker are proving that they may be willing to suffer in the short term to accomplish their long-term goal.
The new front office initially discussed a plan to trade down in the 2025 NFL Draft and acquire as many selections as possible over the next three years, with the goal of 12 choices in the top 100 and 30 picks overall. That goal almost certainly died with the decision to draft Cam Ward at No. 1 overall, as Ward gradually emerged throughout the process as their preferred choice.
The Titans will limp into the 2025 draft with just two selections inside the top 100 and this front office desperately needs to hit on both of those picks given the lackluster state of the roster. With the Ward selection nearly being written in sharpie at this point, all eyes are on what the Titans will do at No. 35 overall.
The closer it gets to the draft, the more it seems like the Titans will have the opportunity to steal a great talent at a major position of need on Day 2.
Daniel Jeremiah has a lot of connections in the NFL, and in his latest rankings, two players who were considered top-10 locks before the season are now hovering in the late 20s and early 30s with other fringe first-round talents.
Tennessee EDGE James Pearce Jr. and Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III are the players in question, and both fit massive needs for the Titans that have gone virtually unaddressed this offseason.
If one or both of these prospects fall to the Titans' second-round selection, Borgonzi and Brinker should sprint to the podium once they decide which one to pick. Pearce Jr. would immediately solve a need for an edge-rushing group that had an existing need even before it parted with Harold Landry. Drafting Burden would provide Ward, the draft's top consensus quarterback, with a playmaking weapon at receiver.