The Tennessee Titans have held the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft for months, but there’s been little certainty over what the team will do with the selection. Just over a month out from draft night, NFL Draft rumors are suggesting a growing consensus around the league regarding what will happen.
At the start of the pre-draft process, it seemed like the Titans would trade the first overall pick. Both the Las Vegas Raiders (sixth overall pick and the New York Giants (third overall pick) reportedly had discussed a trade with Tennessee. The likelihood of that happening seemingly increased after neither club landed quarterback Matthew Stafford.
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Las Vegas handled its quarterback situation with the Geno Smith trade, but New York is still in the market even amid its pursuit of Russell Wilson. Still, NFL free agency offered an early sign of how both the Titans and Giants would approach the quarterback position.
Tennessee signed quarterback Brandon Allen, with its big money spent on the trenches. The team signed left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and right guard Kevin Zeitler, significantly improving the offensive line. It did, however, leave quarterback, cornerback and edge rusher as glaring needs. As free agency slows down, many around the league now seem to believe they know what direction Tennessee will take.
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Appearing on Saturday’s SportsCenter, senior NFL insider Jeremy Fowler of ESPN shared that the “sentiment league-wide” is that the Titans will use the first overall pick on quarterback Cam Ward.
Ward has separated himself far apart from Shedeur Sanders as the top quarterback prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft. While there’s some belief inside the NFL that Sanders could fall into the 20s, Ward isn’t expected to slip past the Giants with the third overall pick.
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The Titans offseason moves certainly indicate an intention of selecting Ward with the No. 1 overall pick. While they could trade down with New York, that would mean passing on the lone first-round talent at quarterback and going through another year with a bridge starter. Instead, Tennessee seems ready to roll the dice on Ward with hopes that an improved offensive line can help him turn this offense around quickly.