How the most likely trade-up will impact the Titans pick at 4 in the 2026 NFL Draft
Could Jerry Jones burst his way into the Titans’ draft plans in the top-10? It’s sounding increasingly likely. Here’s why, and what every Titans fan needs to keep an eye on.
We’ve talked all draft season about the incentive many teams picking in the top-10 have to try to trade down for more assets. The problem this year (and most years) is that there is scarce concrete evidence of teams willing to trade-up for somebody.
Here in the final countdown to draft night, one such suitor has made themselves loudly known. It’s Jerry Jones’ Cowboys, who are after a star defender no doubt. But where they trade to, as well as who for, could change the entire landscape of the Titans’ draft class.
The Cowboys trading-up could change the math for the Titans
This whisper has turned into a roar: Jerry has a war chest of draft capital, and he’s interested in using it to cash in on a stud. The Cowboys have picks 12 and 20 in this draft, and the latest word on the street has been aggressively connecting Ohio State LB Sonny Styles to Dallas.
This phrasing is unique from Schultz. Styles has been connected to the G-Men for some time, so it’s not exactly a leap to assume he is talking about the blue chip LB prospect. I’ve heard separately that this is, in fact, the player they’re supposedly targeting.
Crazy Uncle Jerry pulling a Leroy Jenkins maneuver to trade up into the top-10 of a draft for an off-ball linebacker is exactly the drama I like to see on draft weekend. Who does that?! Jerry does that. Sign me up for the antics.
Connor Hughes in New York alludes to Styles being his understanding as well in this tweet on Tuesday. While Jeremiyah Love could also technically be in the equation, the Cowboys trading up to jump the Giants for him makes very little sense to me from the perspective of both parties.
And yet, while the connection to “a player the Giants also covet” was made explicitly here, a trade-up that puts Dallas… behind the Giants is apparently on the table here too. Dane Brugler dropped this sneaky huge nugget in his mock draft on Wednesday:
And then in three major mock drafts released on Wednesday, we saw the Cowboys trade up to 6 in all of them. McShay, Brugler, and Kiper alike. And the Cowboys were landing Styles at 6 anyways.
This is the part that doesn’t quite sit right with me, and I think Titans fans need to make note of it. If the Giants are after Styles too, the Cowboys will know it and and work to leap them. This brings the Cardinals and Titans at picks 3 and 4 into play. I’ve said that the Titans are open to trade-down offers at 4, and if the Cowboys wanted to park right in front of Joe Schoen’s G-Men at 5, this could be the one avenue to the Titans actually getting a ticket out of there. Borgonzi and Brinker would get the additional top-100 picks that they’ve wanted.
If the Cowboys jump the Titans to 3, it creates an interesting scenerio where perhaps Styles is the surprise pick in the top-3 who pushes one of David Bailey or Arvell Reese down to 4. This would satisfy what I’ve said the Titans would like to see happen, giving them an EDGE to pick at 4 or creating another trade-up scenerio for a team who might want to get their paws on Reese themselves.
What the Cowboys do and where they do it, assuming their desire to trade-up is as strong as it seems this week, could be the thing to watch if you’re the Tennessee Titans.