The Titans are now slated to earn the No. 2 pick. Should they take a QB?
The Tennessee Titans moved up to No. 2 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft order following Sunday’s embarrassing defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was a positive development on a Sunday that delivered more unwatchable football, the norm for Brian Callahan’s club this campaign. A loss to the Houston Texans in the regular-season finale would lock the Titans into No. 2, and they could potentially earn the No. 1 overall selection if the New England Patriots beat a Buffalo Bills squad with nothing meaningful to compete for.
Updated NFL Draft order (NE locks up No. 1 pick w/ loss next wk vs. BUF)
1. Patriots (3-13)
2. Titans (3-13)
3. Browns (3-13)
4. NY Giants (3-13)
5. Jaguars (4-12)
6. Panthers (4-12)
7. NY Jets (4-12)
8. Raiders (4-12)
9. Bears (4-12)
10. Saints (5-11)— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) December 30, 2024
Assuming the Titans don’t bungle this opportunity by stupidly beating the Texans, there’s an excellent chance they’ll receive an opportunity to hand-select their QB in the 2025 NFL Draft. Even if the Patriots clinch the No. 1 overall pick next weekend, they’re obviously not replacing Drake Maye. Unless they trade the top overall selection to a QB-needy team, they’ll almost certainly be taking Travis Hunter.
That could leave the Titans with an opportunity to choose Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward. The Titans need to spend the next few months assessing both quarterbacks in terrific detail.
To date, Titans fans have pretended like drafting a quarterback isn’t a realistic outcome. It became significantly more likely following Sunday’s draft-order shakeup.
The scheduled class of available veteran quarterbacks is extremely lackluster. It’s looking more and more certain that Sam Darnold will be re-signing (or franchise tagged) with the Minnesota Vikings. Does Callahan really believe Aaron Rodgers, Derek Carr, or Kirk Cousins are capable of saving his job? There’s a reason these three older quarterbacks are going to be released by their respective teams this offseason.
Now for the other argument. It’s true that the 2026 class, although far away, is shaping up to be excellent. Even if Arch Manning doesn’t declare, returning quarterbacks like Garrett Nussmeier and Drew Allar, with another year of development, may be better prospects than Sanders and/or Ward. Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava, like Manning, will also be draft eligible. And others may emerge, potentially making it a deeper, more talented class.
Ran Carthon and Callahan may not possess the benefit of patience. No matter how bad the 2025 Titans are, even if somewhat intentional, there’s no guarantee they’d receive an opportunity to draft a quarterback. This campaign has proven there’s a ton of terrible football teams around the league. The Titans could be awful in 2025, but end up in the New York Giants’ or Las Vegas Raiders’ position, drafting just late enough (per the current order) to miss out on the QBs.
There’s also a peculiar disbelief among Titans fans that the organization would consider drafting a QB. Why? That feeling doesn’t exist around the Giants, Raiders, or even Cleveland Browns. Tennessee’s need for a starting QB is equally as large as those franchises, following their decision to bench Will Levis, and they’re now in a driver’s seat to draft one.
The Titans shouldn’t force drafting a quarterback. Trading down and accumulating picks, or taking Hunter at No. 2, are excellent alternatives. They should assess Sanders and Ward thoroughly during the pre-draft process. If they identify one of them to potentially be a franchise QB, they should draft him with conviction.