The 2026 NFL Draft is dividing Tennessee Titans fans. Some are convinced the Titans can’t afford to take a non-premium position with their first-round pick, but others argue that they should take the best player available even if it is at a position that doesn’t traditionally hold a lot of value.

This has been the key issue in the debate of Jeremiyah Love versus Rueben Bain Jr. and David Bailey. However, those aren’t the only prospects in the draft that are involved in this argument.

Ohio State has a handful of defenders that are firmly in that mix, including off-ball linebackers Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles.

Historic data proves Titans shouldn’t draft LB Sonny Styles at No. 4 overall

By all accounts, Reese and Styles have all of the physical tools to be successful in the NFL, and they were core pieces of one of the best defenses in college football last year. However, history is screaming at the Titans to ignore those players and draft anyone else, especially if the team isn’t absolutely certain that Reese can play EDGE.

Marcus Mosher explained why in a tweet where he outlined that spending a first-round pick on a linebacker only has roughly a 14% chance of working out for the team that drafts him.

There have been 29 off-ball linebackers drafted in Round 1 since 2009.

I believe only 4 signed a second contract with the team that drafted them:

Luke Kuechly (2012)
Dont’a Hightower (2012)
Leighton Vander Esch (2018)
Brian Cushing (2009)

— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) March 24, 2026

That is brutal, and he was being kind to go back that far. The fact is, spending a first-round pick on an off-ball linebacker has only worked once in the last decade, which is terrible news for teams targeting Styles and Reese.

Think about this: Devin Lloyd was a first-round pick in 2022. This year, he was an All-Pro linebacker, and the Jacksonville Jaguars let him walk for a contract worth only $14 million AAV. Even when linebackers hit, teams that spent a first-round pick on the position sometimes don’t think it is worth spending money to keep them.

Regardless of how good it sounds on paper or how sure people are that a linebacker is going to hit, the fact is that nearly 90% of teams that spend a first-round pick on one eventually regret it. Say what you want about the lack of impact that a first-round running back makes, but at least teams that draft a running back in the first round are much more likely to sign that player to a second contract.

The Titans are at a critical point in their rebuild, and they need to make moves that will look good in five years, not just a move that will get praised on draft day. The good news is that Mike Borgonzi is the right man for the job, and he is proving that he can see the big picture, so Titans fans can rest assured that he is going to make the wise choice.