Tennessee Titans leave biggest clue yet about their 2025 NFL Draft plan with big, controversial free agency signing of OT Dan Moore
We now know what the Titans basic plan is in the 2025 Draft
Three weeks ago, I wrote about the seminal big-picture decision the Tennessee Titans were going to have to make this spring. And on day one of free agency, they’ve made that decision.
Tennessee has a ton of needs. It’s much easier to list the positions they’re alright at than to list the positions that need work. But inarguably at the top of the list are three positions: QB, RT, and EDGE.
It was evident how insufficient these three positions were as early as early last fall. In fact, I spent most of the past 5 months talking and writing about how the Titans were league-average play at these three positions away from being a pretty decent team. But these premium positions of massive deficiencies weren’t fixable in-season, and now the Titans are tasked with trying to fix them as best they can in just one player acquisition cycle.
Finishing last in the league is a big help in that regard, because you’re picking as highly in the draft as possible. But the fundamental problem the Titans face is that they only own two top-100 picks: their 1st and 2nd round picks. Three premium needs, two premium picks. How do they choose? That’s the question they just answered.
The Titans signed former Steelers LT Dan Moore to a 4 year, $82 million deal on Monday to bolster their offensive line in a significant way. The controversial element of this move revolves around the size of the contract and the level of player Moore actually is. Is he guaranteed to be a star? Absolutely not. But is he a significant upgrade over anybody the Titans played opposite JC Latham last year? Yes.
With a pair of quality tackles now under contract, the plan becomes clear: the Titans Day 1 and 2 picks are very likely to be used on QB and EDGE.
The 1st overall pick being Miami’s Can Ward has been apparent for a couple weeks now, and this move only solidifies it.
And in a particularly deep EDGE draft class, the Titans shouldn’t have any trouble finding a high quality prospect at the position at 35 overall. That was the basic calculus here: compare the free agency/trade market to the draft class for each of these three positions. Which has the strongest reasonable option on the veteran market and the weakest reasonable option in the draft? Titans brass decided the answer was tackle, and I’m inclined to agree.
Could the Titans end up with a surprise position in the top-100 of the draft? It’s possible, especially if they split their 2nd round pick (no. 35) into a pair of top-100 picks. That’s something I expect they’ll look into very seriously, because it gives them flexibility to address other serious needs like WR.
But signing Dan Moore clearly signals the basic needs plan: OT now, then QB and EDGE in the draft.
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