The Titans have made some nice upgrades already this offseason, bringing in Adam Humphries to improve the passing game, Rodger Saffold to beef up their blocking, Cameron Wake to boost their pass rush and Ryan Tannehill to provide better depth at quarterback. Consider them a true wild card at No. 19.
Below, you can check out which picks the Titans currently have, along with our projection of their top positional needs. I'll then build a war-room big board based upon players I think have some kind of chance of making it to their first pick before sharing multiple draft classes that make sense for the team from myself, Ryan Wilson and Chris Trapasso.
As for the actual draft, you'll be able to stream our live coverage right here on CBS Sports HQ (or download the CBS Sports app for free on any mobile or connected TV device) breaking down all the picks and everything you need to know during draft weekend.
Current draft picks
| Round | Overall | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | |
| 2 | 51 | |
| 3 | 82 | |
| 4 | 121 | |
| 5 | 157 | |
| 6 | 188 | from Miami |
Team needs
The CBS Sports NFL writing staff recently compiled positional rankings to identify needs for each team heading into the draft. A helpful guide: any position group that had an average ranking worse than 16.0 (on a scale of 1 to 32) was considered a "need," while any that ranked worse than 23.0 (bottom-third of the league) was considered a "pressing need."
| QB | RB | WR/TE | OL | EDGE | INT DL | LB | DB |
| 20.0 | 16.8 | 23.0 | 9.4 | 20.0 | 18.2 | 18.3 | 14.3 |
Needs: QB, RB, WR/TE, EDGE, INT DL, LB
Pressing: WR/TE
The Titans are in a very similar spot as the Bucs, which makes sense because they took quarterbacks at No. 1 and 2 back-to-back in 2015 and neither has worked out as well as the respective teams have hoped. Tennessee has a better offensive infrastructure with their offensive line and running game, but the passing game options beyond Corey Davis, Adam Humphries, and a coming-back-from-injury Delanie Walker do not inspire fear in anyone. They signed Cameron Wake to beef up the edge rush unit for this season, but that's not a long-term solution, and they could still use help up the middle at every level of the defense as well. Their first-round pick could go in basically any direction, with Mike Vrabel and Jon Robinson's conception of the team's needs likely making the ultimate decision.
War room big board
The Titans don't have many glaring needs after splurging a bit in free agency, so they should feel free to go any number of ways with their first-round pick, including trading down if someone bowls them over with an offer. Here's how I'd project the Titans' draft board for their first pick, considering only players I feel have some chance of making it in range:
- OLB Brian Burns, Florida State
- TE T.J. Hockenson, Iowa
- OLB Clelin Ferrell, Clemson
- G Cody Ford, Oklahoma
- DT Dexter Lawrence, Clemson
- TE Noah Fant, Iowa
- WR D.K. Metcalf, Ole Miss
- DL Jeffery Simmons, Mississippi State
- DL Christian Wilkins, Clemson
- CB Byron Murphy, Washington
- CB Greedy Williams, LSU
- G Chris Lindstrom, Boston College
Seven-round mock drafts
| Round | Overall | Player | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | NT Dexter Lawrence, Clemson | |
| 2 | 51 | CB Sean Bunting, Central Michigan | |
| 3 | 82 | OLB Jachai Polite, Florida | |
| 4 | 121 | G Dru Samia, Oklahoma | |
| 5 | 157 | to Baltimore | |
| 5 | 160 | DE Demarcus Christmas, Florida State | from BAL* |
| 5 | 171 | RB Bryce Love, Stanford | from BAL/NYG* |
| 6 | 188 | to Baltimore | from MIA |
Lawrence has the immense size to handle the nose for the Titans defense but is also a versatile option who can help in a number of ways. The Titans need to get Jurrell Casey some help up front after focusing on the linebacker positions last year, and Lawrence would be a great find in the first round.
The second round brings a talented defensive back on the rise in Bunting, a fast corner with good length who excels when the ball is in the air. In Round 3, the Titans take the plunge on Polite, who was once considered a top-15 prospect before an awful week in Indianapolis and poor pro day results tanked his stock. He's a good gamble at an area of need for the Titans.
Samia can provide much needed depth behind FA acquisition Rodger Saffold while competing to start at right guard. The Titans swap their final two picks for two Ravens picks, moving down slightly in the fifth before taking a 3-4 end in Christmas, then gambling on Love's health as a potential long-term complement to Derrick Henry.
More seven-round mocks:
(*) indicates pick acquired via trade
Check out more first-round mocks from CBS Sports.