The Tennessee Titans acquired cornerback L’Jarius Sneed in a blockbuster trade with the Kansas City Chiefs over the weekend.
The trade should become official later this week once Sneed passes his physical. Acquiring Sneed has a drastic impact on the Titans’ 2024 NFL Draft strategy.
Expectations are that the Titans will draft an offensive tackle with the No. 7 overall selection. That assumption has been left unchanged throughout free agency, where the Titans surprisingly haven’t added a tackle. They’re hosting Notre Dame OT Joe Alt on a pre-draft visit.
Analysts felt a cornerback or receiver may be the target at No. 38. That is one presumption that has drastically changed throughout the course of the offseason following the acquisitions of Sneed and Calvin Ridley. Titans general manager Ran Carthon may still consider a corner or wideout, but the Titans possess significantly more glaring needs elsewhere.
Defensive line and inside linebacker are larger needs than originally anticipated. The Titans downgraded at both spots by replacing Denico Autry and Azeez Al-Shaair with Kenneth Murray Jr. and Sebastian Joseph-Day. The Titans don’t even have a green-dot defender, with either Jack Gibbens or Otis Reese IV currently slated to start opposite Murray Jr., who is a reclamation project.
The 2024 class of linebackers is among the weakest of all positions in April’s draft, which leads to puzzling thoughts. Why have the Titans left themselves such few options at linebacker? Joseph-Day isn’t a legitimate nose tackle either, although the Titans may play him next to Jeffery Simmons on early downs. Inside linebacker and defensive tackle are larger requirements than cornerback following Sneed’s arrival.
EDGE is another position that could attract attention from the Titans in the draft. Head coach Brian Callahan called Arden Key a “rotational rusher” in a conversation with Paul Kuharsky earlier this week, which I’d say is accurate. That means there’s no early-down option opposite Harold Landry. A replacement for Denico Autry is needed. EDGE is a premium position, so the Titans may need to draft one at 38 if they feel they need an instant contributor.
Cornerback is now arguably the deepest position on the roster with Sneed, Chido Awuzie, and Roger McCreary filling out the starting three. Tre Avery and Eric Garror are backups. You can never have too many cornerbacks, so perhaps Carthon considers one at 106 or later. But cornerback is no longer a sizable need.
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