Chad Reuter of NFL.com published a breakdown with his takes on each team’s ideal first two NFL Draft selections, including the No. 1 and No. 35 picks the Tennessee Titans hold.

Reuter’s two hypothetical Tennessee selections are listed below, and On SI put together some analysis of each projection.

If Tennessee picked Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter, it would be landing a potential future All-Pro, but it would be upgrading one defensive position by doing so while continuing to have a major quarterback issue. As you know, it’s the most challenging roster weakness to repair and sustain thereafter. 

In this hypothetical that, frankly, seems like a given at this point, although the Titans can’t be certain to get the major needle-mover an organization expects of a No. 1 overall selection, they have the opportunity, and the decision-makers simply have to give the quarterback position its best chance to succeed in 2025 and beyond. 

“This was the best Pro Day performance I’ve seen in person, and it might not even be close,” CBS Sports NFL Draft analyst Ryan Ward said, previously attending Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and other quarterbacks Pro Day events.

He can get a little too free with the ball, both in throwing into dangerous areas and while carrying the football, but the upside here is boundless if Ward’s young career stays on the tracks.

Before the perception shifted to the Titans likely selecting Ward at the top of the draft, many argued that Carter should, and likely would be going No. 1 to Tennessee. There was no shortage of pertinent angles to that argument. 

Here are a few: The Titans defense finished second to last in pass defense last season. Only three teams recorded less sacks than Tennessee. Harold Landry is now a New England Patriot.

Well, Carter is long gone by the time the second round rolls around in Reuter’s projection, but Tennessee snags a fantastic talent in national champion Buckeye JT Tuimlolau. At 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds, the Washington native clocked a solid 4.62 at the combine, and his production in 2024 was excellent. 

61 total tackles, 22 tackles for loss, and 12 ½ sacks along with three pass breakups and a pair of forced fumbles. And a bunch of those sacks came versus some of Ohio State’s toughest opponents in contests when the pressure was at its peak – the College Football Playoff. 

Tuimoloau notched two sacks versus Tennessee, two against Oregon, one-and-a-half versus Texas, and one in the title game versus Notre Dame. We can be fairly sure his consistent backfield terror would continue in Tennessee.

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