NASHVILLE — For the second straight year, the Tennessee Titans do not have a third-round pick in the NFL Draft.

Tennessee’s third-round selection in 2024 was traded to the Arizona Cardinals when the Titans moved up to get quarterback Will Levis in 2023. This year’s third-rounder was dealt to Kansas City for cornerback L’Jarius Sneed last March.

Even with the first overall pick in the draft, it’s not an enviable position to only have two selections in the top 100.

Last year, Tennessee had to wait out a 68 pick gap between their second (38th overall) and fourth round (106th) selections. This year, they are in the exact same spot with a 68 pick gap between pick No. 35 and pick No. 103. The first time around, it lead to the controversial selection of defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat in what most people considered to be a "draft reach." With history repeating itself for the Titans, maybe it sets them up to do something similar in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

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Titans options for pick No. 35

19 of the Titans' Top 30 visits have already been made public and the list of players they are hosting is notably thin when it comes to second-round caliber prospects. 

Outside of Missouri WR Luther Burden and Ohio State OL Donovan Jackson, Tennessee seems to be hosting more players with third-round grades than early second-rounders. 

• QB Cam Ward, Miami – 1
• EDGE Abdul Carter, Penn State – 2
• CB/WR Travis Hunter, Colorado – 3
• QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado – 4
• WR Luther Burden, Missouri – 34
• OT/G Donovan Jackson, Ohio State – 37
• S Xavier Watts, Notre Dame – 51
• RB Kaleb Johnson, Iowa – 59
• DL TJ Sanders, South Carolina – 65
• WR Isaiah Bond, Texas – 70
• EDGE Femi Oladejo, UCLA – 74
• DT Omarr Norman-Lott, Tennessee – 83
• OT Charles Grant, Williams & Mary – 95
• WR Kyle Williams, Washington State – 98
• TE Terrance Ferguson, Oregon – 100
• CB Quincy Riley, Louisville – 114
• WR Dont’e Thornton, Tennessee – 145
• TE Thomas Fidone II, Nebraska – 208

The Titans are getting a thorough look at a large number of prospects that are ranked between 35 and 103. While they don't currently have a pick in that range, a trade back from 35 is always possible…But so is Tennessee falling in love with one of these players and selecting them at 35. 

Ran Carthon and the front office loved T'Vondre Sweat last year despite most pundits undervaluing him. While Carthon had offers to trade down, that would have required taking a chance that his guy (Sweat) would still be there. That's not a chance Tennessee was willing to take, even if it meant getting some extra picks.

Sweat was given a prospect grade of 6.38 and projected to go in the 4th round by NFL.com leading up to the draft…These early rankings are not always reflective of how teams value players. 

Given the list of meetings we currently have public, don't be surprised if we see the Titans go with Femi Oladejo, Isaiah Bond, or another player in that tier if they are unable to trade out of 35. It may be viewed as a reach by the NFL world in the moment, but if it ends up like Carthon's selection of Sweat, new GM Mike Borgonzi will be more than satisfied.