The Tennessee Titans went into the season with hopes of progress in year two of quarterback Will Levis. Instead, Levis declined in productivity and showed he wasn’t capable of being the franchise quarterback. The Titans are now in the perfect opportunity for a rebuild with a new general manager and the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. This is a pick that Tennessee could use to draft players overall like Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter or Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter. One problem with most teams is they wait on picking a franchise quarterback until the next draft because the quarterbacks might be better. The Titans can’t afford to wait for the next draft process, the Titans have to take action now.
Tennessee Titans Shouldn’t Wait On Getting Their Franchise Quarterback
Rebuild Mode
The Titans had one of the worst rosters in the league this past season. The process started when they traded star like wide receiver A.J. Brown instead of paying for his worth. Tennessee later lost running back Derrick Henry and made poor high draft picks. The front office needs to utilize better roster building. This is why the Titans went out and got long-time Kansas City Chiefs assistant general manager Mike Borgonzi for the general manager position. Borgonzi has been with the Chiefs since 2009; helping the team with roster construction and drafting players at the collegiate level. He was the assistant general manager for Kansas City from 2019 to this past season. He will now get his shot to help develop his team.
The Titans need to completely restructure their roster from the beginning. What better place to start than at the quarterback position? They have an opportunity to draft a franchise quarterback with the first overall pick and restart with Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. Whether they are deserving of the first overall pick is up to the Titans even though they aren’t high on many draft boards. Ward has the strong arm and dual-threat abilities to be an NFL quarterback. Sanders has the pocket presence and the accuracy to play well at the next level. Ward is the prospect that the Titans have been linked to the most.
2026 NFL Draft Outlook
Every draft outlook says to hold out for the next NFL Draft for a more productive and pro-ready quarterback. Every time the following draft has a quarterback that could get drafted early in the first round or with the first overall pick, they decline. It happened to Georgia’s Carson Beck and Texas’ Quinn Ewers in this draft process. In the 2022 draft, Matt Corral, Malik Willis, and Sam Howell were all projected to be the first overall pick at some point. After the draft process, Corral and Willis were third-rounders while Howell became a fifth-round pick.
The 2026 NFL Draft could have Texas’ Arch Manning, Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava, and Penn State’s Drew Allar are quarterbacks that could be drafted first overall. Iamaleava has experience but doesn’t have the attribute yet. Allar is incredibly inconsistent and unreliable in big games. Manning rarely has the experience after being a backup for two seasons and could struggle as a full-time starter next season.
There is no promise that the next batch of quarterbacks will be pro-ready. Ward, Sanders, and Dart are pro-ready and ready to take their shot at leading a franchise. Tennessee needs a franchise quarterback now, not in 2026.
Main Photo: Denny Simmons / The Tennessean-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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