Biggest Tennessee Titans Demands After entering the 2024 NFL Draft With Addition Of Ace
The Tennessee Titans must address these five positions during the 2024 NFL Draft
Happy draft week! The Tennessee Titans are entering the 2024 NFL Draft with sizable needs on both sides of the ball. General manager Ran Carthon and head coach Brian Callahan are equipped with seven total selections, including two top-40 picks. This new Titans regime possesses the opportunity to transform their roster this weekend.
With that in mind, we’ve swiftly identified the Titans’ five biggest needs entering the 2024 NFL Draft.
LEFT TACKLE
We’re starting the obvious because there’s no reason to avoid beating a dead horse here. Between Dennis Daley and Andre Dillard, the Titans received the worst left-tackle play in the league for two consecutive seasons. Carthon can’t possibly risk a third straight campaign going haywire partially due to a left tackle that can’t protect the quarterback. It would be the second straight blemish on his resume at that position after signing off on last offseason’s Dillard acquisition.
Whether the Titans stay at No. 7 and draft Joe Alt, or trade down and select JC Latham, Troy Fautanu, or Olu Fashanu, the Titans must exit the 2024 NFL Draft with a Day One starting left tackle. Second-round options may include Jordan Morgan, Patrick Paul, or Kingsley Suamataia, but that carries significant more risk.
INSIDE LINEBACKER
Losing Azeez Al-Shaair in free agency delivered a sizable blow to the inside linebacker position. The offseason signing of Kenneth Murray Jr. wasn’t a universally popular one, but he’s penciled into a starting role. The Titans only have Jack Gibbens and Otis Reese IV as borderline starters opposite him. Neither player should be handed a starting gig without facing competition.
I don’t particularly love this class of linebackers, so I’m disappointed the Titans are entering the draft with such a glaring hole at the position. Carthon routinely saw terrific linebackers in San Francisco. Hopefully some of that magic can be recaptured to land the Titans a linebacker worthy of wearing the green dot, in 2024, or the future.
EDGE RUSHER
Denico Autry was another big-time departure in free agency. Harold Landry III played considerably better ball down the stretch of the 2023 campaign, showing that he’s put last year’s season-ending torn ACL behind him. Who’s going to start opposite Landry in Dennard Wilson’s defense is a question that hasn’t been answered.
My evaluation of Arden Key is that he’s best utilized as a situational rusher, and his usage throughout 2023 indicates that, and I expect Callahan and Wilson to agree with that assessment. The Titans need a big-bodied defensive linemen in Autry’s mold to replace him as an early-down defender. Pairing Landry with a bigger body type like Darius Robinson or Marshawn Kneeland would make sense to me.
WIDE RECEIVER
In DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley, the Titans roster their best one-two punch at receiver since pairing A.J. Brown with Corey Davis in 2020. Like those two, both Hopkins and Ridley are capable of recording 1,000 yard seasons in 2024. This signals more of a long-term need.
Hopkins will turn 32 in June and is entering a contract season. It’s tough to imagine the Titans re-signing Hopkins at the conclusion of the 2024 season unless it’s a super-friendly, short-term deal. Callahan and Carthon could look to draft Hopkins’ eventual replacement. Would they consider Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze in the first round?
