Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
As teams are eliminated from postseason contention, setting the stage for monumentally important offseasons for teams across the league, we will examine what each franchise must do in free agency and the NFL Draft to emerge as a better, more complete team when the 2026 season kicks off in September.
The 2025 season and phase one of the Tennessee Titans’ multipronged rebuild decidedly did not go according to plan.
As the calendar flips to December, Tennessee is playing out the string with interim head coach Mike McCoy keeping the seat warm after the Titans fired Brian Callahan back on October 13, after hoping their former head coach would continue his track record of working with elite quarterbacks would bring out the best in No. 1 pick Cam Ward.
That. Did. Not. Happen.
If the regular season ended today, the Titans would own the No. 1 overall selection for the second consecutive year, and have had major holes exposed across the roster, making whoever is hired as Callahan’s successor being a certified quarterback whisperer and culture driver a prerequisite.
Here’s a full breakdown of the Titans’ assets to rebuild with this offseason, and three moves that could turn the tide in Tennessee.
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General manager Michael Borgonzi and the Titans are in the enviable position of having a projected league-high $108.9 million in cap space, which is plenty of spending flexibility to go shopping at the top of the market for the kind of difference-making veterans to take the roster and Ward’s development to the next level. There is a recently well-worn path of teams such as the Washington Commanders, and New England Patriots, the past two years, who have leveraged significant spending flexibility into difference-making players that raised the ceiling of their roster and their rookie quarterback the following year. Tennessee has the benefit of playing in a far more favorable division than either the NFC East or AFC East, but smart and targeted spending is paramount if this is going to be a quick turnaround.
Ahead of Week 14, the Titans own the No. 1 overall pick for the second consecutive season, with a league-best 47.1 percent chance of securing the top selection, according to ESPN FPI projections.
Additionally, the Titans have eight total picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, including an additional sixth-round pick from the New York Jets.
Presuming that Borganzi still intends to build around Ward, rather than buy another No. 1 pick quarterback lottery ticket, those seven picks could represent the floor for the Titans’ draft capital, given that Tennessee could easily acquire another first-round pick in 2026 and a 2027 first-round selection by trading the top pick to a quarterback-desperate franchise.
Here’s the Titans’ full war chest of [projected] draft picks (will be updated once the draft order is officially set)
First Round, No. 1 overall
Second Round, No. 33 overall
Third Round, No. 65 overall
Fourth Round, No. 101 overall
Fifth Round, No. 141 overall
Fifth Round, No. 147 overall (via New York Jets)
Sixth Round, No. 181 overall
Seventh Round, No. 240 overall (via Los Angeles Chargers)
Borganzi finds himself at a bit of a fork in the road.
In all likelihood, Ward isn’t just the Titans’ future but would also be the first quarterback chosen in the 2026 draft. However, it is a bit of an open question of whether watching Ward complete 59.7 percent of his passes for 2,351 yards with seven touchdowns to six interceptions was impressive enough to prevent Tennessee from taking a chance on the top quarterback prospect next spring.
If Arch Manning is in this class, the debates over whether to select him, or sell the pick for a historic price could become intense in Nashville.
Hire Klint Kubiak as Head Coach
In his first season as offensive coordinator in Seattle, Kubiak took the best version we have seen to date of Sam Darnold, and lifted his game to new heights.
Granted, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is playing his way into the MVP conversation, but it is Kubiak’s scheme that is unlocking the Seahawks’ prolific vertical passing game and helping Darnold distance himself further than ever from being labeled as a first-round bust.
Kubiak’s system, which relies heavily on pounding the running game and then opening up deep shots downfield, could mesh perfectly with the personnel already on the Titans’ roster and the playmakers who could arrive early in the NFL Draft and via free agency, if the Titans are committed to building around Ward to facilitate a major second-year leap.
Trade down within the top-five picks in the NFL Draft
In all likelihood, the Titans are going to be patient with Ward and allow him to reach his potential, but doing so is going to require an extensive infusion of explosive talent both at the skill positions and along the offensive line in front of him.
Fortunately for Tennessee, teams such as the Las Vegas Raiders, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, and Arizona Cardinals enter this offseason in dire need of a franchise quarterback which sets the Titans up to collect the kind of haul of current and future draft capital that can jumpstart a rebuild over the next two offseasons.
If the New York Jets fail to jump the Titans by season’s end, they could be an ideal trade partner for Tennessee. The Jets currently own five first-round picks over the next two years, and could easily flip at least two of them in a trade with Tennessee.
In a perfect world, the Titans would acquire an additional first-round pick, inside the top-five selections in 2026, and either an additional first-round pick in 2027 or the Colts’ first-round pick in 2026, and perhaps more, to add several blue-chip rookies to a roster that needs an overhaul.
Trading with the Jets would likely allow the Titans to emerge from the first round with some combination of top field-stretching wide receiver Jordyn Tyson from Arizona State to drop into Ward’s arsenal and maybe even Alabama offensive tackle Kdyn Proctor to protect him, if Tennessee can pry the Colts’ pick away from the Jets, as well.
Tennessee’s biggest failure this year was the inability to protect Ward’s blindside, making the need for an elite left tackle one of the Titans’ biggest personnel priorities. Ward simply cannot absorb the kind of barrage in his second season, and beyond, that he has as a rookie getting sacked 48 times through 12 games.
This might be the dream scenario for Tennessee.
Sign George Pickens to a contract the Dallas Cowboys can’t afford to match
George Pickens is playing the best football of his career, and could be set to become one of the highest-paid free agents this offseason.
Fortunately for Tennessee, the Dallas Cowboys are starting down the barrel at a cap calamity, currently projected to be $47.9 million over the cap in 2026.
Pickens is an electrifying presence and the type of receiver capable of truly unlocking Ward’s abilities in the vertical passing game. This season, his first on the receiving end of passes from Dak Prescott, Pickens has already set new career highs with 73 catches for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns as the NFL’s second-leading receiver, behind Smith-Njigba.
So far this season, Pickens has surpassed 125 receiving yards four times while catching five touchdowns in those contests, and Prescott boasts an insane 127.6 passer rating when targeting him, which underscores Pickens’ potential impact on Ward’s development.
If the Titans manage to sign Pickens to a long-term contract and pair him opposite Tyson, Tennessee would instantly form the kind of receiving duo that can push an offense towards explosiveness and help a young quarterback climb the rankings across the league, for years to come.