How the Titans are Impacted by the Panthers Trading for First Pick in the 2023 NFL Draft

The Carolina Panthers made headlines with their trade up to the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and even though the Tennessee Titans weren’t involved in the trade, they were impacted both positively and negatively.

Potential Positives

The first pick will not go to an AFC South division rival.

For months, there was speculation that the Indianapolis Colts were going to make a trade up to the top pick. The Titans watching the Colts and Texans have the first two picks in the draft wouldn’t have been a fun sight. While no draft pick is a guarantee, the potential for two division rivals to find their franchise quarterback in the same draft is nightmare fuel for a Titans’ fan.

There are four quarterbacks who are seen as potential top-ten picks in this class, but some see a divide between Bryce Young and CJ Stroud compared to Anthony Richardson and Will Levis. Watching Young and Stroud find homes in the AFC South would not have been a treat.

More likely that all four quarterbacks go top ten.

Again, it had been a foregone conclusion the Bears would be trading out of the first slot in the draft to allow another team to come up and grab a quarterback, but now it is a reality. The Texans are expected to go quarterback at the second pick and there is a good chance the Arizona Cardinals get offers for the third pick. The higher the quarterbacks go, the higher they all go.

Teams that like the fourth quarterback left of the top four will feel the need to come up higher to get him. If all four quarterbacks get picked in the top ten, that’s four position players on offense and defense that didn’t. The Titans need offensive line help and could use an edge or corner on defense. The more passers the better ahead of the Titans.

Jeffery Simmons was not traded away.

There was some thought that if the Titans were able to trade up to the top of the draft that Jeffery Simmons would have been included in that deal in place of a third first round pick. We will never know if that was truly discussed, but seeing wide receiver DJ Moore in the Panthers-Bears trade in place of a third first round pick sure makes it seem conceivable.

Jeffery Simmons is a potential foundation you can build an entire defense on. In a perfect world you’d have Simmons on defense and a young, dynamic quarterback on offense as your two centerpieces. We can’t know what the future holds in regard to Simmons’ ongoing contract negotiations, but at minimum, Simmons remains a Titan today.

Ryan Tannehill was not traded.

If you were someone who wanted Ryan Tannehill to be the quarterback of the Titans in 2023, today is your day. Not only did it eliminate the chance for the Titans to come up to the first pick, but Carolina is now no longer going to be in the quarterback market. That makes it much less likely the Titans can find a trade partner for Tannehill and removes the path the Titans may take to replace Tannehill, off the board.

Conceivable Concerns

The Titans didn’t make the trade.

Well, this one is rather obvious. If you were someone who wanted to the Titans to make the big splash and go up to get the quarterback of the future, you will not get your wish. The trade was a haul for the Bears, they received two first-round picks(2023 & 2024), Moore, a second round pick in 2023 and a second in 2025. That is a very expensive trade, but not unrealistic. The Titans were at pick number 11 and maybe, as discussed above, if they threw Jeffery Simmons in, they could’ve paid less picks.

Not only that, but Tennessee Titans new general manager Ran Carthon said on a podcast after being hired that his two top qualities for a quarterback were accuracy and anticipation. Most would argue Stroud has those traits more than any other player in the NFL Draft. The Titans were reportedly very high on Stroud as well. Stroud is expected to go first overall at the moment and there may not be a quarterback the Titans like enough to trade up in the draft for. So, a trade to pick three or pick six wouldn’t even be options.

Will be tougher to get a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft

It is no secret that the 2024 NFL Draft has some great quarterback prospects. Two names you see everywhere are Caleb Williams from Southern California and Drake Maye from North Carolina. If they play in 2023 like some are expecting, they will both be hot commodities by next draft, as the top quarterback prospects usually are.

The Titans will most likely remain slightly competitive this year with Vrabel as head coach and Tannehill likely back. Resulting in them being in a similar position or possibly picking even later in next year’s draft. The odds are the price to move up and get one of those two names is even higher than it was for the Panthers this year. The Titans will have to get a quarterback of the future soon, but it just became more difficult to do it in the next two offseasons.

One less suitor for a Ryan Tannehill trade.

It was probably always the case, but if you had hope that the Titans would move on from Tannehill before the start of the 2023 season, that hope is probably dead now. Not only are the Panthers not in the market for a veteran quarterback, but the quarterback the Titans reportedly liked the most, is now the favorite to be taken by the Panthers. With Aaron Rodgers set to join the New York Jets, the chances of a Tannehill trade drop by the second.

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