Insider hints Titans could be dark horse to land one of draft’s top QBs
It’s all but assumed the Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans will take a quarterback with the top two picks of the 2023 NFL Draft, but after that it’s anybody’s guess how the rest of the top 10 shakes outs.
While the Indianapolis Colts at No. 4 overall are the only other top-10 team projected to take a signal caller, SI.com’s Albert Breer believes the Tennessee Titans could be a team to watch should one of C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson or Will Levis start to fall.
“Tennessee’s late-season swoon has it in striking distance to land one of the presumed top four quarterbacks in the class — with the 11th pick — and it’s not out of the question that one could wind up landing in the lap of (head coach Mike) Vrabel and (GM Ran) Carthon,” Breer said. “… I’d say it makes sense for the Titans to turn over every rock in looking at these guys and finding out whether one is worth going all in to move up and draft. There could be a golden opportunity right in front of those guys. Good for them for trying to figure it out.”
It's expected that Stroud and Young will be taken Nos. 1 and 2 overall, and several sports books including OddsChecker and DraftKings now have the Colts listed as the frontrunner to land Lamar Jackson after he announced on Monday he has requested a trade from the Baltimore Ravens.
If Indianapolis is potentially out of the running for a QB, should the Titans, in fact, want a quarterback, one could potentially slide to the team at No. 11 or if they don’t want to take any chances, they could move up as high as Nos. 7 or 8 overall to get their guy.
While Richardson and Levis aren’t believed to be as NFL ready as Stroud or Young, Tennessee has the luxury of sitting either one behind Ryan Tannehill for a season with the hope they could transition to a starting role in 2024 when Tannehill and his $36.6M cap hit are off the books.
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