NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans’ rebuilding process started with hiring new general manager Mike Borgonzi in January. Borgonzi was tasked with one of the most important decisions in franchise history when he took over: figuring out what to do with the No. 1 pick in last month’s draft.
There was temptation to trade the pick, but the Titans came out publicly during the week of the draft and said they would be keeping it — marking the first time since the franchise relocated to Tennessee in 1997 that it would select at No. 1.
Borgonzi and crew entered the draft with various roster needs, but they opted to go with Miami quarterback Cam Ward at No. 1. Before his first draft as a GM, Borgonzi admitted it would be difficult to fill all roster holes despite having eight picks.
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“We’re going to do as much as we can,” Borgonzi said during his predraft news conference. “But we certainly have a lot of needs on the team right now.”
There are still roster questions at various positions despite Tennessee managing to add picks by moving down in the draft. The Titans traded their No. 35 pick to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for picks 52 and 82 in the second and third rounds. The Titans also traded down in the fourth round, sending picks 141 and 178 to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for picks 136 and 183.
The Titans used the draft to fill three of the biggest needs by selecting Ward, outside linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo (pass rusher), and receivers Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor. Tennessee also boosted its receivers room by signing veteran pass catcher Tyler Lockett to a one-year, $4 million contract.
Titans coach Brian Callahan feels Lockett will be a strong veteran presence for Ward. But he also likes the competition the recent additions bring to the receivers room. As for the rest of the roster, Callahan said he’s hopeful some younger players will step up.
“I think we have some young players in the secondary that we’re looking for some jumps,” Callahan said Thursday. “Got some young linebackers that we need to step up too. And then obviously anytime you can add more depth at either front, offensive line or defensive line — those are always things we’re going to be looking for.”
Here’s a look at some of the remaining questions about the Titans’ roster as they get into Phase 2 of organized team activities this week:
Who steps up at inside linebacker?
The Titans signed free agent Cody Barton to give the inside linebacker position a veteran in the room. Barton posted over 100 tackles in each of the last three seasons with the Denver Broncos, Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks, respectively. He will be one of the starters.
The other inside backer position will come down to a competition among a group of young players looking to break through. Third-year linebacker Otis Reese IV will be in a battle with 2024 draft picks Cedric Gray and James Williams. Collectively, the young trio played 244 defensive snaps last season with 109 of them coming from Williams.
That number will need to increase dramatically this year.
Is the current group of pass catchers enough to support Ward?
Lockett certainly brings some cache to the group and offers the unit’s only proven player other than Calvin Ridley, who will remain at the Z spot on the perimeter.
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Lockett will likely occupy the slot position. Ridley, Lockett and Treylon Burks are the only receivers on the roster to have posted a 100-yard receiving game in the NFL. Burks is recovering from a torn ACL last November and won’t be ready to return when the Titans take the field for training camp in July.
But Callahan likes the versatility of the rookie receivers. Ayomanor is a big target who showed flashes as a downfield threat and should help fill the X position vacated by Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, who signed with the Miami Dolphins this offseason. Second-year receiver Bryce Oliver earned his way onto the roster and saw offensive snaps late last season. Oliver will be in the mix.
And don’t forget about undrafted free agent Xavier Restrepo, who finished his career as the all-time leader in receptions (200), receiving yards (2,844) and touchdowns (21) at Miami. He’s coming off his lone season with Ward at quarterback, where he caught 11 touchdowns.
Did the Titans address pass rusher sufficiently?
ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid mentioned Oladejo as one of the pass rushers who could make an immediate impact after a solid showing during practices at the Senior Bowl in January. Oladejo has shown traits to rush the passer, but he is relatively inexperienced as an outside linebacker. He played most of his college career at inside linebacker before moving to outside backer midway through his senior season.
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Oluwafemi Oladejo’s NFL draft profile
Check out some stats and info from draft prospect Oluwafemi Oladejo of UCLA.
“Length, power, speed — those were some of the things that we saw off the edge,” assistant general manager Dave Ziegler said of Oladejo. “His effort, tenacity, all those things are what we liked.”
Releasing outside linebacker Harold Landry III leaves a void, though. Landry had 31.5 sacks over the last three seasons, and the Titans currently don’t have a player who has recorded double digits in sacks in a season. The outside pass rusher rotation will consist of veterans Arden Key, Ali Gaye and Jaylen Harrell; free-agent additions Dre’Mont Jones and Lorenzo Carter and Oladejo.
The Titans do have the luxury of getting added pressure from the interior of the line with Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons and 2024 second-round pick T’Vondre Sweat.
