The Tennessee Titans have quite a few needs they will need to address in the 2023 NFL Draft. We've talked ad nauseam about the lack of talent in the wide receiver room and the Titans have still not addressed the final starting spot on the offensive line.

But what the Titans need more than anything is not one specific position. It's far more and far deeper than some first round draft pick that magically solves all of their problems. 

Tennessee needs to come away from this weekend with direction. They need a clear outlook on what the expectations are going to be for the 2023 season and what the team will look like in the near future. At the moment, I'm not sure there's an answer for those questions. 

I was a big fan of what Ran Carthon and the Titans did in free agency. Carthon may not have spent at the top of the free agent market, but all-in-all, Tennessee signed nine players that are expected to be contributors in 2023. 

Tennessee's free agent acquisitions from outside the organization were as follows:

OT Andre Dillard 

OLB Arden Key

OL Daniel Brunskill

LB Azeez Al-Shaair

LB Luke Gifford

CB Sean Murphy-Bunting

WR Chris Moore

TE Trevon Wesco

LB Ben Niemann

While that group could help the Titans get back to their competitive roots in 2023, five of those nine players were signed to one-year contracts. Tannehill, Henry, Denico Autry, Kristian Fulton, and Teair Tart also all have contracts that expire after the 2023 season.

Typically this would be a sign that a team is making a push to fill holes and be more competitive, but if Tennessee follows through with a trade of Ryan Tannehill or Derrick Henry on draft night, how competitive are the Titans really committed to being?

Whichever way they choose to go, the Titans need to do so decisively. If Carthon and Vrabel want to make a run at the AFC South in 2023, they need to address the needs at wide receiver and interior offensive line in the first two rounds and find as many Week 1 contributors as possible. 

If the plan is to start building for the future using this draft to get younger and cheaper, the Titans should also make trades to acquire future assets. That said, neither Tannehill and Henry should be dealt if the other one is staying put. They both go or both stay, because what's the point of keeping one without the necessary help around them to win games?

The Titans are in an incredibly unique position. There is a respectable argument to be made for a trade up, trade back, or simply staying put at 11. You could make the argument for drafting a young quarterback and trading Tannehill, but could also make a case for giving Tannehill everything he needs to return to 2020 form.

Things are wide open, and what Tennessee ends up doing may be determined by what is made available to them. Which QB's fall in the first round? What offers do they get on Tannehill and Henry? What late-round sleeper do they think can have an instant impact?

Ultimately, I will view this draft cycle as a success so long as I have a clear understanding of what the expectation is for 2023 and what the future path to Super Bowl contention looks like. Wasting another year mired in mediocrity serves no major purpose to the organization, players, or the fans in the long run.