The NFL Combine is quickly approaching as prospects will gather in Indianapolis on Monday to showcase their skills for NFL franchises. We’ll see 6 potential first-round QB prospects take the field in Indy to help teams determine which one fits their franchise the best. The Tennessee Titans aren’t in the Quarterback Market this season, however, that doesn’t mean these QBs’ performance won’t affect the 7th overall pick the Titans hold.
Considering the situation at hand, there seem to be 4 Quarterbacks trending as top 10 draft selections in April, those being: Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and JJ McCarthy. McCarthy’s buzz and stock have been rising increasingly since we saw Bo Nix and Michael Penix live up to their marquee billing in senior bowl practices. The question I’ll be excited to see answered this week is “Will JJ McCarthy seize the QB4 slot and put himself firmly in the top 10 pick discussion?” If McCarthy can impress, I think it will put the Titans in great range to make a deal to move back in this draft and compile picks this and next year to try and get back into the AFC South race behind Coach Brian Callahan.
With the free agent QB market this offseason looking less fruitful than some other years, it seems likely one of these QB-needy teams will strike out in their attempt to acquire a veteran signal-caller to lead their offense. If a team doesn’t land a veteran, and McCarthy sits on the board at 7 I think it’d be the same assumption that a team would be incentivized to call the Titans to try and acquire the high first-round pick. With the Titans acquisition of pick 33 last season that landed them QB Will Levis, the team had to part with their 3rd-round pick this year.
In this scenario, the Titans could go down multiple slots, recoup that top 3 round pick, and possibly pick up another first-rounder next year. If this is an option, it’s easy to say that this new collection of picks could help the Titans more than picking perhaps the second offensive tackle off the board. The x-factor of this scenario, however, is new Titans offensive line coach Bill Callahan. With this OT class being deep with first-round talent, you have to think Callahan could get the most out of a mid to late-first-round tackle who may have all the physical traits but lack some polish in the fundamental portion of their game, I.E. Amarius Mims, JC Latham, or Tyler Guyton. Heck, the Titans could trade down twice into the late twenties and snag themselves more value and take one of these late first/ early second-round graded wide receivers in AD Mitchell, Ladd McConkey, Keon Coleman, or Malachi Corley. Then they could address tackle in the late 30’s with their second-round pick. These scenarios are what make the draft season so fun.