NASHVILLE – With the steady improvement of quarterback Will Levis and the abnormal number of "bottom feeder" teams in the NFL this season, it is unlikely that the Tennessee Titans will end up with one of the top picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.

As a result, it is becomingly increasingly likely that Levis remains the team';s starting quarterback in 2025 and GM Ran Carthon decides to go in a different direction with Tennessee's first round pick.

In the latest mock draft from Pro Football Focus, the Titans are not in position to draft a quarterback, but the organization's priorities get tested in a big way deciding between an offensive tackle and an edge rusher. 

PFF has Travis Hunter and two quarterbacks – Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward – going off the board to kick things off. Then it's wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, defensive tackle Mason Graham, and cornerback Will Johnson.

That brings up the Titans with the seventh overall pick and their choice between the top offensive tackle or top edge rusher in the draft class.

In this mock draft, Tennessee opts for help on the offensive line, selecting Texas Longhorns offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. over the number one edge rusher in the class, Abdul Carter. I personally would opt for Carter in this scenario, who I view to a be a marquee defensive talent at a position of need. Especially when I consider what PFF wants the Titans to do at right tackle. 

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Where PFF is wrong about Titans draft needs

The Titans are going to need to improve their offensive line for 2025. That pretty much goes without saying. Right tackle has been a detriment to Tennessee's offensive success, which is why it's important for the Titans to address the position in the draft. But PFF's suggestion really misses the mark for me. 

"Banks would mark the third offensive lineman selected by the Titans in the first round in as many years, but it might be exactly what they need," writes Trevor Sikkema in the latest mock draft. "Adding Banks would allow Tennessee to shift J.C. Latham back to his more natural position at right tackle, providing an upgrade over Nicholas Petit-Frere and solidifying the line."

Now, why would the Titans shift J.C. Latham back to the right side of the line? You selected him with the 7th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to be a franchise left tackle. He has had a wildly succesful rookie season as a left tackle. 

This is cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. It's a needlessly self-destructive overreaction to the identifiable problem. Creating uncertainty at left tackle in order to sure up right tackle when you could simply address the right side later on in the draft…Not great process.

In my ideal world, the Titans would grab a promising edge rusher like Abdul Carter and address right tackle in the second round. There should be plenty of viable options still on the board when that rolls around. But I do think the mock draft scenario presented by PFF here is fascinating. It would truly be a test of the Titans priorities.

If given their choice of the top edge rusher in the class or the top offensive tackle in the class, what do Ran Carthon and Brian Callahan feel like this team needs most? I find that to be a fascinating dilemma.

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