Media Commentary and Grades for the Titans 2026 Draft Class

[TerryBoats]

Hands down, this was the best draft since 2019.  I'm surprised at some of the low grades - Tate, Hill, and Faulk were all considered high 1st round picks at one point.   These are guys who can help out in year 1, and potentially be core pieces.  It looks even better when you consider what they did in FA, as they now have a roster which is greatly improved from where it was a year ago.

 

Day 3 wasn't mind-blowing, but they added a lot of collegiate starters from the top conferences in positions of need into the mix.  

 

I think these people were butthurt at them passing up the other OSU guys who they hyped up so much.  They hate when GMs think they are smarter than them.

Edited April 28 by TerryBoats

[BTiger3733]

Us targeting Rutledge in the draft could have been the reason we didn't re-sign Zeitler in the first wave of FA. No Rutledge could mean Zeitler will now be a priority. 

[TerryBoats]

What am I missing on Rutledge?  He was a projected Day 2 pick - it's not as if someone like Freeling fell.  Considering positional value and upside, the move up for Faulk makes more sense.

[AussieTitanFan08]

1 minute ago, TerryBoats said:

What am I missing on Rutledge?  He was a projected Day 2 pick - it's not as if someone like Freeling fell.  Considering positional value and upside, the move up for Faulk makes more sense.

 

You are missing the enormous hole at the RG position.

 

Also there was late buzz in the final 2 weeks of the pre-draft process that Rutledge might go late first round which he eventually did.

[Legaltitan]

10 hours ago, AussieTitanFan08 said:

On a Football Show today Braden Gall backed up Aaron Wilson's reporting from night 1 of the draft that the Titans were indeed trying to trade into the back end of the first round for an OL (Wilson reporting that it would of been Keylan Rutledge).

 

Would of been a vastly different looking draft class if you insert Rutledge instead of Faulk.

I think I like it better the way it worked out. The odds of Faulk panning out vs Rutledge panning out are higher, IMO.

[oldschool]

9 hours ago, IsntLifeFunny said:

If it doesn't work out then it doesn't, but I appreciate the fact our GM is maneuvering in real time. 

 

Good gms game out multiple scenarios. Just because they wanted Rutledge doesnt mean Faulk wasnt a close second. They were prepared with how the drsft fell, same with Hill. All these picks wont work out but the process is legit. I like what Borgonzi has done in 2 years.

[Callidus]

4 hours ago, AussieTitanFan08 said:

 

That doesn't make sense as when both Wilson and Gall reported the Titans interest in trading up for Rutledge it was post him being drafted so there is no smokescreen or misdirection required as he had already been selected by the Texans.

Maybe he wanted to make them feel good about stealing our pick?  

[Callidus]

3 hours ago, TerryBoats said:

What am I missing on Rutledge?  He was a projected Day 2 pick - it's not as if someone like Freeling fell.  Considering positional value and upside, the move up for Faulk makes more sense.

Rutledge was never going to go in the 3rd round. Every single person would see him there at the top of round 3 and take him immediately. Its one of those funny little things with the human phyche that he was being deflated to that value because everyone loved the value so much and didn't want to ruin it. 

[Legaltitan]

I'm glad it didn't work out because from the little I know seems like would have been a reach in the 1st.

[OnsideKick]

 

[Justafan]

7 minutes ago, OnsideKick said:

 

Yikes

[TerryBoats]

Has giving a coach complete control over an organization ever worked out?  Gladstone is GM but he was handpicked by Coen as a condition of his hire by Jacksonville.  I recall Bill O'Brien doing really goofy and impulsive shit during his short stint as the god of the Texans as well. 

Edited April 28 by TerryBoats

[OnsideKick]

 

"We dug through the first three picks of the draft pretty thoroughly over the past week, but I think where the Titans were at No. 4 was pretty interesting, too, since most folks didn’t see the team going the way they did with Robert Saleh in as the new coach.  The decision, I’ve heard, really came down to two Ohio State Buckeyes who’d bring very different things to the table: receiver Carnell Tate and linebacker Arvell Reese.

 

The jumping off point here is that the Titans had Tate in the mid-4.4s in the 40-yard dash at the combine, significantly ahead of the 4.53 that the electric clock got him at. And beyond just the straight-line speed, Tennessee saw Tate as a real craftsman as a route runner—which isn’t common with taller, longer guys, and one who could win on all three levels. So, yes, you had the downfield stuff Tate was known for, but what Tennessee was really sold on was that he could also win in short areas, and on contested balls, on third down and in the red zone.

 

... The black-and-white reality of this: Tate was clearly the top receiver on the Titans’ board, and the top player remaining at No. 4. And while they liked Reese (Sonny Styles was behind Tate and Reese), for about a week leading up to the draft, the brass knew if things played out the way they did, Tate would be the pick. I’d also keep an eye on second-round pick Anthony Hill Jr. as doing some things that they’d have envisioned Reese doing in the Titans’ defense." - Breer

Edited April 28 by OnsideKick

[titanskick8851]

11 minutes ago, OnsideKick said:

 

"We dug through the first three picks of the draft pretty thoroughly over the past week, but I think where the Titans were at No. 4 was pretty interesting, too, since most folks didn’t see the team going the way they did with Robert Saleh in as the new coach.  The decision, I’ve heard, really came down to two Ohio State Buckeyes who’d bring very different things to the table: receiver Carnell Tate and linebacker Arvell Reese.

 

The jumping off point here is that the Titans had Tate in the mid-4.4s in the 40-yard dash at the combine, significantly ahead of the 4.53 that the electric clock got him at. And beyond just the straight-line speed, Tennessee saw Tate as a real craftsman as a route runner—which isn’t common with taller, longer guys, and one who could win on all three levels. So, yes, you had the downfield stuff Tate was known for, but what Tennessee was really sold on was that he could also win in short areas, and on contested balls, on third down and in the red zone.

 

... The black-and-white reality of this: Tate was clearly the top receiver on the Titans’ board, and the top player remaining at No. 4. And while they liked Reese (Sonny Styles was behind Tate and Reese), for about a week leading up to the draft, the brass knew if things played out the way they did, Tate would be the pick. I’d also keep an eye on second-round pick Anthony Hill Jr. as doing some things that they’d have envisioned Reese doing in the Titans’ defense." - Breer

 

Makes me think that we will see Hill as the SAM LB on early downs and then they'll play with his alignment a lot on 3rd down. 

[freakingeek]

On 4/26/2026 at 6:59 AM, headhunter said:

Kiper is salty because we took Cam Ward over Sheduer Sanders

The vision of Kiper endlessly fellating Sanders last year will be forever etched in my mind. He lost all credibility with me.