Titans Could Still Need To Trade Up In The Draft, But Not For A Quarterback

NASHVILLE - It looks as though the Tennessee Titans might be out of the running for a quarterback of the future in the upcoming NFL Draft.

After news broke late Friday that the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers had agreed in principle to a deal that would give the Panthers the No.1 overall pick, most everything people had been predicting about how the first round would play out changed.

Most predictions had Indianapolis making this move to get ahead of their division rivals, Houston. Now the Colts must sit and wait as Carolina and the Texans take their quarterbacks of the future first. While the top two names on the quarterback board haven't changed, it's all but certain that both will not land in the AFC South this season.

At the same time, any chance the Titans might have had for one of the four to fall to No.11 is likely gone. There's also another potential impediment for the Titans to get their top choice at another position following this trade.

One of the most significant needs for the Titans is left tackle. Most of the more recent mock drafts all project the Titans going to that position in April. However, now that the Bears are back to the No. 9 pick and have decided to stay with Justin Fields as their quarterback while filling their need at receiver with the acquisition of DJ Moore, their top need now becomes offensive tackle, specifically the left one.

The shakeup at the top likely means that all four quarterbacks will go in the top ten. Those four, along with defensive stars Will Anderson, and Jalen Carter, both top-ten projections, would fill six of the selections ahead of the Titans.

A mock draft done Saturday predicts that the Bears at No.9 will likely take the first left tackle in the opening round, but tabbing Paris Johnson Jr. as their guy.

Johnson Jr. is considered the top guy on the Titans board at left tackle. If this is accurate, and all signs point to the Bears at least going tackle here, then the Titans would once again be out of position to obtain their top choice.

However, Friday reports suggest that the Arizona Cardinals might also be in the mood to trade back from their No.3 spot for some draft capital.

Current Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort is a former Titans executive, which might be beneficial if general manager Ran Carthon is interested in this scario.

Since the quarterback the Titans reportedly coveted most will likely be out of play, and if Johnson Jr. is their guy at left tackle, then this move makes sense for them to jump ahead of the Bears to be able to grab the first left tackle off the board.

Making this move would cost, but not quite as much as the Panther's move did for No.1.

Of course, the Titans could sit and wait and allow things to play out, if they have a similar grade on another left tackle and don't want to spend their limited draft picks to make such a jump.

One thing for certain, everything we thought we had figured out about the first round can be thrown out the window, and we now have 47 days to rethink and dissect it all over again.