Where the Trade Winds Blow
The NFL Draft is just over 70 days away. The Titans are the prettiest girl at they ball as they hold the keys to NFL Draft. There’s been much talk about the Titans being open to trade away the pick. Earlier this week Ian Rapoport wrote that the Titans are open to trading the pick. That doesn’t mean that the decision the Titans have won’t change between now and the draft. In fact, the Titans would be remiss if they didn’t entertain what they could get for the #1 pick as early as possible. Odds are that’s already happening. Odds are that the price of the #1 pick will increase as we get closer to draft day.
The QB’s in the draft class have a wide range of opinions. Some scouts, GM’s, and evaluators believe the QB’s at the top of the draft are either busts or they’re franchise QB’s. There is a surprising lack of consensus among the NFL world. Ward and Sanders will be first round QB’s taken, no matter what. For many, Sanders and Ward have their floors at the 6th and 7th pick to Las Vegas and/or the Jets respectively. The Titans have a glaring need at QB. Will Levis is not the future of the Titans. Brian Callahan is on his last leash. Those are all integral components when it comes to evaluating what the Titans should do in regards to the draft. Sure, there’s still Free Agency. However, paying $40-50m to Sam Darnold is not something to be entertained. In this article I’ll present 3 distinct scenarios the Titans could go barring the Titans decide to not grab a QB in Free Agency (Sam Darnold). In addition, keep in mind that once the Titans (hopefully not) do sign someone like Sam Darnold in Free Agency that automatically makes the 1st overall pick that much less valuable. The pick is valuable because the Titans could decide to stick and pick their QB. However, if they play it smart, like Mike Borgonzi and Chad Brinker should, they’ll work to increase the value of the #1 pick from now until draft day.
Scenario #1
The Titans find a trade partner with the team with the most to lose if they don’t come away with a QB, the NYG. Giants General Manager Joe Schoen is definitely on the hot seat after letting Saquon Barkley leave in Free Agency and riding with Daniel Jones. The Giants need to find a QB in the draft if nothing else than to buy time for Head Coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen who each were reportedly on the hot seat to end the season.
I identified several players that the Giants could part ways with to make the deal happen from most to least likely:
Dexter Lawrence
Andrew Thomas
Kayvon Thibodeaux
Andru Phillips
Malik Nabers
In this scenario the Titans are asking for a player and picks, and they get just that. The Titans get Andrew Thomas (LT), the 3rd overall pick, pick 34, and a 2026 3rd round pick. That is a HAUL. The Titans solve their LT and RT problem with Andrew Thomas who’s only 26. Latham can now move to RT to where he’s better suited and the Titans have a true LT. In addition, the Titans select Cam Ward after the Giants go with Showtime Jr. in the Big Apple. Then in the second round the Titans reunite Ward with his favorite target Restrepo. The Titans aren’t guaranteed to get NWI back and the Free Agent WR pool isn’t anything to write home about. With pick 35 the Titans select Princely Umanmeilen to sure up the edge on the other side of Landry. Probably the most striking pick is Jaxson Dart. The Titans take a page out of the the 2012 Redskins playbook and they double-dip a Ward insurance policy. Ultimately the Titans come out of the draft a lot more talented than they were when they went into draft night
Scenario #2
In this scenario the Titans make a trade with the NYG. Once again, the Giants are desperate. The Titans receive: 3rd overall, 34 overall, 103 overall, and next year’s 1st. Post trade the Titans select Abdul Carter after both Sanders and Ward were selected at 1 and 2. At the top of the second round the Titans get the best Tackle available in Josh Conerly Jr. Then, the Titans make a trade for former Super Bowl champion Matthew Stafford. The trade for Stafford was a bit more than I think he would normally go for considering he’ll be expensive with a $50m cap hit. However, the Titans can make some moves to make it happen and will have a QB who can certainly contend in the AFCS. This scenario gets the Titans into win now territory. In addition, Jaxson Dart was still available at 118 and he was the selection. So why not have him sit behind a future HOF QB for a couple years and see if he can have a Jordan Love esque career. Do I actually think Dart falls that far, no. But stranger things have happened.
Scenario #3
To preface, this is highly improbable and unlikely. However, you can be darn sure Mike Borgonzi is at least curious to see how desperate Giants GM Joe Schoen may very well be to find a future franchise QB. In this scenario Malik Nabers (yes unlikely) is thrown into the trade. The Titans obviously loved Nabers last year and would have probably taken him at 7 overall if he was available. However, in this scenario they get their cake and eat it too. To move down to the 3rd overall pick the Titans add Nabers, pick 65, and a 2026 2nd round pick. With the 3rd overall pick the Titans take Sanders to pair with Malik Nabers in what could certainly be a fun combo. The Titans then select standout pass rusher Donovan Ezeirauku. Next the Titans grab a hopeful starter at RT in OSU’s Donovan Jackson. With the unknown surrounding Westbrook-Ikhine the Titans the Titans nab Iowa State’s Jaylin Noel who could fill in as the WR3. Once again I went with the double-down method in selecting Jaxson Dart because why not? If he’s available this late in the draft the Titans should absolutely look to bring him on board.
While the trade winds are brewing it will be interesting to see how this plays out over 2 months from now. The Titans have yet to see Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders throw in front of them, meet at the combine, or even invite to a private workout. Those things are all going to come to fruition before the Titans either keep the pick or decide to trade it. For now, before Free Agency and league meetings the Giants appear to be the team most often considered to be in the running to trade up for the #1 overall pick. In addition, a trade with the Giants allows the Titans to come away with either 1 QB (Sanders/Ward), Hunter, or Carter. Anything past 3 is risky for the Titans. The Titans should do all their homework to put forward a successful plan this offseason. Trading the #1 pick may be part of that plan, but nothing is certain.
