Recent Ravens Trade Could Cause Titans to Re-Think First-Round Approach

With similar needs and two picks late in the first round, Baltimore might force Tennessee to stand pat at No. 22.

The Tennessee Titans have plenty of options in the first round of the NFL Draft.

One is to trade out of the first round completely. General manager Jon Robinson has plenty of positions to address, and accumulating draft capital would make a lot of sense.

But the move the Baltimore Ravens made on Friday, which already significantly shook up the draft order, could force the Titans to stay right where they are Thursday – at No. 22. Baltimore traded offensive lineman Orlando Brown to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for draft picks, including the Chiefs’ first-round selection.

That puts at least some pressure on the Titans because they have the same top needs as the Ravens, who now have two first-round picks (No. 27 and No. 31). If the Titans trade back, Baltimore could take advantage with one of those picks and take a potential day-two prospect off the board with the other.

Wide receiver is one of the deeper positions in this draft, but it’s also arguably the biggest need for both Tennessee and Baltimore, teams that lack sufficient depth at that position. Mock drafts and experts have linked both clubs wide receiver prospects in the first round, including the University of Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman and Ole Miss’ Elijah Moore.

If the Titans are high on either of those prospects or another wide receiver, the thought of Baltimore having two first-round selections in a four-pick span could force Robinson’s hand at No. 22.

Edge rusher is a much bigger need at the moment for the Ravens than the Titans. Tennessee added former Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Bud Dupree in free agency. Dupree figures to bolster a pass rush that tied for the third-fewest sacks in 2020. The Ravens lost edge rushers Matthew Judon and Yannick Ngakoue in free agency.

One player who both teams presumably have an interest in is University of Georgia outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, a top-three edge rusher in the 2021 draft class. If available at No. 22, Ojulari may very well be the best player on the board and, considering that edge rusher is still a modest need, the Titans would have to think long and hard about it with the Ravens looming. There is also the fact that Harold Landry, Tennessee’s leader in sacks each of the last two seasons, is in a contract year and might be elsewhere in 2022.

By trading Brown, a two-time Pro Bowler, the Ravens now have a sizeable need at offensive tackle.

The Titans, of course, have just as big of a void at the position. Their 2020 first-round selection Isaiah Wilson was expected to be the future at right tackle, but his continuously poor off-field behavior prompted Robinson and the Titans to part ways with him in March.

Several tackle prospects figure to be available late in the first round, including Oklahoma State’s Teven Jenkins, Texas’s Samuel Cosmi and Notre Dame’s Liam Eichenberg. Jenkins looks most likely to be a first-round pick while the others have garnered more second-round projections. That could be troublesome for the Titans because should the Ravens take Cosmi or Eichenberg, a potential day-two steal will be off the board.

What the Ravens have in mind for the first round will mostly remain a mystery until Thursday.

And while these scenarios are only hypotheticals now, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the Titans have a team behind them in the first round with the same needs and two first-round selections.

What Baltimore does with the opportunity has the potential to alter the Titans’ draft board in more ways than one. It also could impact a rivalry that has been reinvigorated with playoff meetings in each of the last two years.