Chatter about the Tennessee Titans potentially looking to move the No. 1 overall pick in next month’s NFL draft isn’t quieting down.
Just a couple days after new Titans general manager Jon Robinson indicated it would take a “king’s ransom” to move down from the spot, comes more public posturing from the organization:
“We’d be open to moving the pick. I think the statement I made the other day maybe got taken out of context a little bit with ‘kings random’. … The question was what would it take to move way back in the draft, which would take a lot of picks,” Robinson said, via ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “I think some heard that I wasn’t open to moving, or we weren’t open to moving the pick, which is not true.”
What’s interesting here is that Robinson went out of his way to quote himself, words he indicates were taken out of context. One has to wonder if this was a lob shot thrown out to other teams in order to make sure the phones don’t stop ringing leading up to the draft.
With the first selection, it is widely expected that Tennessee will select former Mississippi left tackle Laremy Tunsil in order to get last year’s second overall pick Marcus Mariota some protection.
Though, with the influx of teams now seemingly interested in adding a quarterback, the value for said No. 1 pick could very well increase. That’s only going to continue to baloon as the hollowed out quarterback market continues to weaken.
Any team interested in its version of the top quarterback would likely have to jump the Cleveland Browns at two in order to secure said player.
Among those teams likely looking quarterback in the first round next month, the San Francisco 49ers could make some sense. Depending on what happens with the Colin Kaepernick situation, they could be in desperate straits. San Francisco also boasts a surplus of picks, which is something that will be needed for any team moving up to one.
We also have the whole Myles Jack thing. Considered by some a generational prospect, there could be a team or two that looks to move up past the defense-needy San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars to nab the former UCLA linebacker.
As it stands, Robinson and the Titans are obviously keeping their options open here. His comments on Tuesday are clearly an indication of this. More than that, they might have been meant to open the lines of communication once again.