Titans Predicted to Land Superstar Defender, Next QB

The Tennessee Titans have a bevy of options for their first-overall selection in April's NFL draft.

While the widely assumed route to see the Titans go would be to see this new front-office regime and struggling franchise turn to select a quarterback at the number-one spot, it's not quite that easy. A few intriguing non-quarterback options lie on the table for Tennessee, and if none of those top signal callers appeal to them, drafting another area of need could be the way to go.

That's exactly how The Athletic's latest NFL mock draft transpired for the Titans. Instead of turning toward the likes of Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders, Nick Baumgardner pinned Tennessee to select Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter.

"The ideal option for the Titans would be to trade this pick," Baumgardner wrote. "I can understand why many would argue for a quarterback here, but I’m not completely sold on either Ward or Sanders being the answer to a team’s prayers — at least not right away... Carter is the closest thing we’ve seen to Micah Parsons since … Micah Parsons. He’s a true game-changer who has improved almost every time he’s taken the field, had dominant stretches in the College Football Playoff and isn’t close to his ceiling yet."

Carter is viewed by many as the best prospect available in the class, right alongside Colorado's Travis Hunter. And if the Titans view the top of their draft board similarly, selecting the Penn State defender is hard to pass on.

Titans president Chad Brinker voiced earlier this offseason that the Titans wouldn't pass on a "generational talent" with their number one pick –– even if they weren't a quarterback. Perhaps a versatile, game-changing option on the defensive end like Carter could ultimately be that guy.

And by taking Carter early on in the first round, it could allow the Titans to address their quarterback questions a bit further back, maybe for a prospect like Alabama's Jalen Milroe, who Baumgardner linked to Tennessee at pick 35 in the second.

"The Titans can roll the dice on a talented QB they’re not sure about at No. 1 … or they can do the exact same thing at No. 35," said Baumgardner. "With Carter available early, this might be the preferred path."

Milroe is far from a perfect prospect, but his ceiling and potential role as a starting quarterback at the next level is still present. With the selection of Milroe, the Titans could go best player available up top, then roll the dice on an athletic, 22-year-old option for the future. Worst comes to worst, the Alabama product doesn't pan out, and positions Tennessee well for the 2026 quarterback class.

This is just one of many options for the Titans to go in late April, and it might not be a poor one either. Yet, the Tennessee brass has a ton of time on their hands to sort through how exactly they want to tackle this critical component of the future of this franchise.

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