The Titans have 5 realistic options in NFL draft 1st round. We ranked them

Cam Ward and Jeffery Simmons ham it up on stage at the Tennessee Titans reveal party for their newly redesigned uniforms at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 12, 2026.

Cam Ward and Jeffery Simmons ham it up on stage at the Tennessee Titans reveal party for their newly redesigned uniforms at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 12, 2026.

Kyle Brandt interviews Cam Ward at the Tennessee Titans reveal party for their newly redesigned uniforms at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 12, 2026.

Jurrell Casey takes video with a fan’s phone as the team leaves the stage at the Tennessee Titans reveal party for their newly redesigned uniforms at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 12, 2026.

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See Tennessee Titans uniforms and logos through the years

Cam Ward and Jeffery Simmons take the stage at the Tennessee Titans reveal party for their newly redesigned uniforms at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 12, 2026.

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See Tennessee Titans uniforms and logos through the years

Cam Ward and Jeffery Simmons take the stage at the Tennessee Titans reveal party for their newly redesigned uniforms at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 12, 2026.

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See Tennessee Titans uniforms and logos through the years

Cam Ward and Jeffery Simmons ham it up on stage at the Tennessee Titans reveal party for their newly redesigned uniforms at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 12, 2026.

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Fans pack The Pinnacle as Titans debut redesigned uniforms

Cam Ward and Jeffery Simmons ham it up on stage at the Tennessee Titans reveal party for their newly redesigned uniforms at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 12, 2026.

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Fans pack The Pinnacle as Titans debut redesigned uniforms

Kyle Brandt interviews Cam Ward at the Tennessee Titans reveal party for their newly redesigned uniforms at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 12, 2026.

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Fans pack The Pinnacle as Titans debut redesigned uniforms

Jurrell Casey takes video with a fan’s phone as the team leaves the stage at the Tennessee Titans reveal party for their newly redesigned uniforms at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 12, 2026.

5. Sonny Styles

There's no doubting Styles' athletic prowess and reliability as a ground-covering tackler and coverage option. And obviously Titans coach Robert Saleh loves a good middle linebacker. But the Titans are 6-28 the last two years. They return their top three inside linebackers from 2025. It was a unit that wasn't necessarily a strength, but can't reasonably be argued as one of the top five reasons the Titans lost 14 games.

Styles projects as better than Cedric Gray, Cody Barton and James Williams Sr. But Styles could be a mix between Patrick Willis, Mike Singletary, Dick Butkus and Captain America and he still wouldn't be able to be enough of a difference maker at middle linebacker to be the driving force behind a Titans turnaround.

4. Carnell Tate

Cam Ward needs help. Usually for a receiver to be considered in the top five, he has to be Ja'Marr Chase, Julio Jones or Calvin Johnson type prospect. Tate ... isn't that. But this is a beggars and choosers situation.

If the Titans' goal for 2026 is to insulate Ward with as much receiving talent as possible to accelerate his development, Tate is the best and only reasonable choice without a trade back.

3. Trade back from No. 4

Speaking of trading back, every fan of every bad team underestimates how difficult trading back really is. So let's be realistic: The Titans aren't going to get the RG3 deal or the Trey Lance deal for this pick. But if the Titans can snag another couple of top-100 picks in exchange for moving back 8-12 spots in the first round, that's almost certainly worth it.

Keep your eyes on Dallas and Kansas City as the teams with the greatest motivations to trade up, and cross your fingers they get desperate for the right prospect.

2. Jeremiyah Love

None of the knocks on Love are knocks on Love. There are theoretical discussions that have merits. Yes, it's relatively easy to find high-quality running backs later in the draft. Yes, the Titans would be mismanaging the salary cap by giving a top-five rookie contract to a running back. And yes, there's an argument that building a rushing attack by committee is a more effective allocation of resources and a better way to manage workloads for long-term success.

But again, none of that's about Love. The truth about Love is that he's a game-changing talent who's drawn comparisons to Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey and Jahmyr Gibbs. If Love's as good as any of those players, he and Ward would make one heckuva backfield tandem.

1. Arvell Reese or David Bailey

One of these pass rushers is all but guaranteed to be off the board before No. 4. But in a world where the Arizona Cardinals draft Love or an offensive tackle No. 3, or a team like Dallas, Kansas City or the New York Giants move up to pick a different defender, it's possible one could land in the Titans' lap.

That's the dream, right? Saleh's defense is one player away from looking like a complete and competitive unit. That one player is a speed rusher. Here are two speed rushers, one who looks pro-ready in Bailey and one who has unmatched physical traits and potential in Reese. If Saleh's on a two-year plan, and Year 1 is prove he can install his defense immediately, this is the scenario that makes Saleh jump for joy.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: It's down to 5 options for Tennessee Titans in NFL draft. We ranked them