It’s officially draft week. The draft is only a mere few hours away. The Titans are set to pick at 7, 38, 106, 146, 182, 242, and 252. Most of the sports talk around the Titans has centered around two notions: 1. Draft Alt or Nabers if available or 2. Trade back and acquire more picks, whether that be at 7 or 38. Neither of which are mutually exclusive. I recently wrote an article about what a trade back might look like for the Titans.

Joe Alt has been consistently paired with Tennessee for the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft. Alt’s current consensus ADP (Average Draft Position) is 6.4. In the rare mock drafts that he isn’t available for the Titans at 7, they usually pair Tennessee with Fashanu or a trade down. However, one little tidbit I saw on “X,” formerly known as Twitter, is that the Chargers have only met with two OL for their Top 30 Visits. Neither of the linemen that they met with in LA were Alt. Although that isn’t the end-all-be-all, it’s important to note that they did have top 30 visits with both Malik Nabers and Dallas Turner. Currently, Joe Alt is the heavy favorite to be picked at 7 overall according to DraftKings at -165. Joe Alt makes the most sense as the Titans’ first pick in the draft. He’s a stalwart who stands nearly 6’9 and 320 lbs. He also seems like the safest pick one can make at LT in this draft. No one should be disappointed if the Titans decide to select Joe Alt at 7 overall. After the past two seasons of literally the worst LT play in the history of the NFL Titans fans deserve better. 

Offensive Line is still a huge need, but it isn’t the only need. There is a litany of questions surrounding this team outside of LT such as WR, DE, DL, and ILB. Don’t be disappointed if the Titans fail to address one of these needs adequately come Thursday night. Filling at least three of these positions will go a long way to making this team better overall. After a lackluster offense these past two seasons, which failed to score 30 points once, it’s time to stack up on offensive talent and prowess. If you look around the league the top teams all can score points. It would be hard for the 2024 Titans to regress offensively. The Titans were a bottom 6 team (.1 away from bottom 5) with 17.9ppg. The Titans will need to address the holes on offense. None bigger than starting with left tackle. 

This will be the final mock before the draft starts on Thursday night. This mock draft will be slightly different than the one posted last week. This time I won’t use a simulator but instead project each pick the Titans have. There also won’t be any trades on behalf of the Titans. Now, without further ado my final mock:

Pick 7: Joe Alt, LT, Notre Dame 

Almost immediately after the season was over many of us thought the Titans were going to miss out on Joe Alt. Many, including myself, were a bit dismayed that the Titans even won the final game. However, I’m over that and excited we got to stick it to the Jags. Thankfully though, Joe Alt falls to the Titans at 7 overall after 4 QBs go in the top 6 and the top 2 WRs go before 7th. Titans fans should be able to rest easy at night knowing Will Levis’ blindside will be protected. Alt is the top tackle available in both the free agency pool and the NFL Draft before he even plays a down. Alt fills an immediate need and is probably the best player available at 7. Pairing Alt with Skoronski on the left side of the line would be fun and an opportunity to solidify this OL for the foreseeable future. It would be criminal for the Titans to go into next year without an answer at LT for this offense. I fully expect the Titans to do the right thing and draft Alt, and you should too. 

Pick 38: Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon

This was a difficult choice to make. I went back and forth between Roman Wilson, Troy Franklin, and Chris Braswell. I’m projecting McConkey and Leggette to be gone by the time the Titans are picking at 38. Franklin can come in and produce immediately in this offense. During the opening of voluntary camp Callahan spoke on the present situation regarding the Titans slot WR position. Here’s what he said, "We have to have someone emerge for us at the slot position receiver. We've got some young players I'm excited to take a look at, with obviously Kyle Philips. Mason Kinsey's been around here a little bit. He's shown his mettle. Obviously, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine's been involved in some of those spots over his career. ... You got guys that you're trying to always build youth and depth as well. And so those things are in constant flux. You're always trying to have another guy ready to roll. You need depth at every position." Franklin is a slight framed WR but was very productive for Oregon the past two seasons combining for 142 receptions and 2274 yards. If he’s inserted into the Titans offense he has the ability to grow into a solid WR2 post Deandre Hopkins. Giving Levis a WR that he can grow with is extremely important. No offense to Ridley, but he’ll be 30 by the end of the 2024 season and I don’t expect him to be around for 2026 and beyond. 

Pick 106: Gabriel Murphy, DE, UCLA

Murphy is a stellar prospect. He has been overshadowed by his teammate Laiatu Latu who is 1st round bound. He’s an elite athlete according to RAS. He earned 8 sacks last year for the Bruins working in tandem with Latu. Boosting the Titans’ pass rush presence is a must. After losing Denico Autry no one else on this Titans team has over 6 sacks outside of Harold Landry. Murphy isn’t a bendy and rangy athlete who’ll be able to duck under and past a lineman. Instead, Murphy often uses his hands to chop past linemen en route to the QB. He also has experience lining up in the A and B gaps rushing the passer. He shows good enthusiasm and hustle not just in the pass rush game but also in attacking ball carriers. That versatility can be useful for the Titans looking to attack offenses.

Pick 146: Jeremiah Trotter Jr.,ILB, Clemson

Yes, this is the 2nd “Nepo-baby,” after Alt, the Titans take in this mock draft. Trotter has elite pedigree. His father played for the Eagles for several years at the same position. One of the few issues with Trotter is that he’s undersized at only 6’0 and 228 lbs. He put up 5.5 sacks, 54 tackles, and 2 forced fumbles this past season. He’s a defender who isn’t afraid to stick his nose in a crowd and consistently plays aggressively. However, because of his size he can often get lost in the shuffle. When examining the Titans ILB position there’s not a single soul on the Titans roster that anyone ought to feel good about. After signing Kenneth Murray Jr. early in free agency. and letting Azeez Al-Shaair leave for Houston the Titans LB corps is barren. Trotter is a player who has a chance to start immediately over Otis Reese or Jack Gibbens.

Pick 182: Theo Johnson, TE, PSU

The first thing that comes to mind when seeing Theo Johnson is his size. He stands at 6’6 and 259 lbs officially. That’s huge. Not only is he exceptionally large, he’s also quite an athlete. He posted a 4.57 40-yard-dash time at the NFL Combine to go with a 39.5” vertical. Athletically he’s a freak. On the field, he didn’t get to showcase many of those skills. He was only targeted 45 times but managed 35 catches for less than 350 yards. However, he did manage to score 7 touchdowns this past season. Doing the math, that means about 15% of his receptions went for touchdowns. Josh Whyle was drafted last year by the Titans. However, he never really got to showcase his skills due to multiple injuries and an outright refusal by Vrabel to play him in meaningful downs when he was activated. Johnson could be a solid contributor behind Chig which is something the Titans desperately need at this juncture. 

Pick 242: Trey Taylor, S, Air Force

From Ahmard Hall to Trey Taylor the Titans dip once again in the U.S. Military Academy well. Trey Taylor is probably getting overlooked due to his university. Not many prospects come from the military academies and if they do it’s usually Army or Navy. However, don’t let that fool you. Taylor won the Jim Thorpe Award last year, an award given to the nation’s best defensive back. He’s a player that can benefit from sitting for a year or so and watching as he eventually takes over at one of the Safety positions. He had 3 interceptions (1 pick six) last year to go along with 70 tackles. He’s not afraid to land a hit and he played admirably in the run game this past season. If you look hard enough you’ll see that Taylor’s play style might remind you of a certain MTSU grad…Kevin Byard. Taylor plays with that same mentality and leadership. Defensive Coordinator Denmark Wilson’s ability to develop DB’s will certainly bode well for Taylor to develop into a really good player at the next level. This could be an absolute steal in the 7th round for the Titans.

Pick 252: Zion Logue, DL, UGA

If you want a big replacement for Autry look no further than Zion Logue. Logue measures in at 6’6 315 lbs. That’s a big boy. For comparison that’s slightly larger than Olu Fashanu. Logue is still rough around the edges. He doesn’t play technically sound and needs to add to his pass rush moves. At this point, he’s a developmental project. With hardly any competition on the DL roster, he might find his way to becoming active come game day. However, if he can learn from Sebastian Joseph-Day and Jeffrey Simmons, in a year or two he could end up being a solid contributor on defense similar to Tart.

Full 7 Round Results:

7: Joe Alt LT

38: Troy Franklin WR

106: Gabriel Murphy DE

146: Jeremiah Trotter Jr. ILB

182: Theo Johnson TE

242: Trey Taylor S

256: Zion Logue DL

Well, that’s the last mock of the 2024 year. The NFL Draft is among us and the constant speculation over which team drafts who can now move to a conversation of “how does _x_ fit into this system and what can we expect?” Enjoy NFL Christmas in April.