The Tennessee Titans have the No. 26 overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, which begins on Thursday night in Las Vegas at 7:00 PM CT/8:00 PM ET.

There are several directions the Titans could go with the No. 26 pick. They could keep the pick and address a need (wide receiver or offensive line). They could reach for a quarterback. Or they could trade up for a player they like.

And, of course, they could trade down, which is what I think would be the smartest move for Tennessee.

I only think this is the best scenario, however, if the Titans make a very specific trade that I think would be wise.

The Titans need to start figuring out who their future quarterback is going to be, right?

Ryan Tannehill will turn 34 this summer. Tennessee was in a position where they couldn't move on from Tannehill this offseason (thanks to his massive dead cap hit), but they can part ways after the 2022 season without suffering a massive cap hit (Tannehill carries a dead cap hit of $18.8 million next offseason, compared to over $57 million this offseason).

The need for a long-term answer at quarterback is why rumors of the Titans taking a quarterback in the first round have been heating up over the last few days.

But ESPN analyst Jason Fitz explained this week on 104.5 The Zone's The Buck Reising Show why that's probably a bad idea (it's not a good quarterback draft class and taking any of these quarterbacks in the first round is a big stretch).

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The Titans would have much better luck finding a quarterback in next year's draft (which is expected to be a really good quarterback class). The only problem is that Tennessee will likely once again have a draft pick in the latter half of the first round. Which means they may not have a shot at landing a top quarterback.

That's why I think the Titans need to figure out a way to trade the No. 26 pick to the Chicago Bears, a team without a first-round pick this year, for a first-round pick in 2023.

This would be a perfect scenario for the Titans. Tennessee doesn't have any glaring needs that are going to keep them out of the playoffs if they aren't addressed. They can afford to trade this year's pick for draft capital in 2023.

Now, obviously the Titans can't trade picks straight up. Chicago would never do that. Tennessee would have to include another pick as well. But it would be worth it.

The Bears are going to be bad this year. Chicago is in the midst of a rebuilding effort. New general manager Ryan Poles is cleaning house and taking the roster down to the studs. As a result, the Bears should have a pick in the top 5 or at least top 10 in 2023.

That's where Tennessee could find its future quarterback. The Titans just need to find a way to get that pick from Chicago. Maybe they trade an early-round pick next year, too. That's a lot of draft capital, but if it gives them a shot at an elite quarterback prospect, I think it's worth it.

And why would Chicago make this deal? Well, even though the Bears hired Poles to rebuild the roster, the team is going to expect results sooner than later. Poles is still probably only going to get a couple of years to turn things around, which means he badly needs to find impact players in this year's draft.

This may not be an exciting scenario, but I think it's the best possible outcome for the Titans on draft night.

Featured image via Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports