Are the Tennessee Titans really about to take a running back with the fourth overall pick?

Ever since the Combine in February, the Jeremiyah Love connection to Tennessee has been gaining steam. The consensus #1 offensive weapon and popular choice for best overall player in this class seems like a lot of fun to plug into an offense with Cam Ward in 2026. And between Love’s blue chip talent, the unique nature of the top of this class, and the Titans’ need for offensive playmakers, it’s not hard to convince yourself that the stars are aligning.

Jeremiyah Love to the Titans has never been a hotter connection

As of St. Patrick’s Day, the latest mock draft from the four biggest draft insiders in the game have one thing in common: Jeremiyah Love to the Titans at 4 (ok, I guess Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders makes it two things in common). ESPN’s Mel Kiper wrote this in his March 17th mock:

“Here is where things get interesting. We haven’t seen a running back go in the top four since Saquon Barkley (No. 2 in 2018), and the Titans certainly have a long list of issues — even after aggressively spending in free agency last week. But Tennessee is committed to boosting the offense around second-year quarterback Cam Ward , and Love would take the run game to another level while also serving as a dynamic pass catcher. His game features 4.36 speed, excellent vision, run-you-over power and soft hands.”

It’s been eight years since we saw a running back taken in the top-5 of a draft. The lack of blue clip prospects at premium positions such as QB, EDGE and OT is just as much a factor here as Love’s phenomenal profile is.

The Ringer’s Todd McShay and NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah have Love to the Titans in their latest mocks as well. And so does The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, who wrote this of the potential pick:

“An AFC scout for a team that already has an established running back called Love “the best player in the draft.” Instead of getting hung up on positional value, the Titans should focus on “impact value” and what a talent like Love could do not only for the run game, but the passing game and offense overall. Head coach Robert Saleh spent the last year watching Christian McCaffrey’s impact on the San Francisco 49ers and could see similar potential in Love.”

Chatter from fans on social media is reaching a fever pitch as well, and I’m beginning to thing we’ve jumped the shark just a bit. I ran three polls on twitter, asking Titans fans who they predict Mike Borgonzi would take given the choice. I pitted Jeremiyah Love against the top three edge prospects one at a time: Ohio State’s Arvell Reese, Texas Tech’s David Bailey, and Miami’s Rueben Bain. The polls weren’t closed by the time I wrote this, but the hundreds of votes made the result pretty clear.

Let’s gauge the temperature in the room. Three polls for you all:

What do you believe, deep down, that Mike Borgonzi does if these two players are on the board at 4 overall?

Not what you’d do. What you predict he would do.

— Easton Freeze (@eastonfreeze) March 17, 2026

Roughly 2,400 votes had Jeremiyah Love as the predictive favorite over all three defenders. The Bain vote was a blowout, with nearly three-fourths of respondants predicting Love would get the nod. The Bailey vote was similar, with right at two-thirds going with Love. The Reese vote was the closest, but Love still edged him out with roughly 57% of the vote.

Perhaps I will learn something in the next month that significantly changes my perspective on this. But for now, I will go on the record and say that I would be floored if Mike Borgonzi took Love over Reese should he be so lucky to have that choice. Unless he has a crazy outlier grade on one or both of these players, that decision would fundamentally change what I think I know about how the Titans’ GM rolls. Ever since the narrative on Love started gaining a head of steam during Combine week, I’ve regularly remarked that I can’t believe all these defenders became bums seemingly overnight! I’m old enough to remember pre-Combine when they were all the rage amongst Titans fans!

To me, Reese is the best of the bunch at EDGE and his upside at a premium position would be the decision Borgonzi makes. But also (and most importantly), this is easily the least likely of the possible scenarios! So what about Bailey and Bain, who very well may be on the board at 4?

I’ll be transparent and say I’m just not sure on Bailey. I would not be surprised either way. He is the kind of player both from a length standpoint as well as a profile standpoint (speed!) that I think both Borgonzi and Saleh would be interested in adding at the top of the draft. But given how they’ve operated so far in this player acquisition cycle, and the natural incentive to add players who most directly boost Cam Ward, I won’t be surprised if their love for Love is overwhelming. I need to keep digging on this front.

Bain is the real question here, and the way things have been trending in the past month, I’m inclined to say they probably would take Love in this quite plausible scenario. All the tea leaf readings and fit considerations are leaning towards Love being in, and Bain being out. But then again, this Love mania is as loud as ever over a month before draft day. Will it keep up until then, or fade as a narrative fad? Only time and more digging will tell.