Tennessee Titans 2026 Draft Preview

Tennessee Titans 2026 Draft Preview

Titans
15 Apr 2026, 19:48 GMT+

NASHVILLEThe Titans own the fourth overall pick and nine total selections entering the 91st annual National Football League Player Selection Meeting, which will be held next week in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The draft opens with the first round on Thursday, April 23 at 7 p.m. CDT. Rounds 2 and 3 are set for the following evening, beginning at 6 p.m. CDT, and the process concludes with Rounds 4-7 on Saturday, April 25, at 11 a.m. CDT. A total of 257 picks are scheduled over the seven rounds.

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For the first time since 1948, the city of Pittsburgh will host the event. The draft theater and main stage will be located just outside Acrisure Stadium on Pittsburgh's North Shore. Sixteen draft prospects are scheduled to attend in person and will be greeted on the main stage by NFL CommissionerRoger Goodell. Meanwhile, the NFL Draft Experience, the league's interactive football theme park, will be located at both the North Shore Draft campus, including inside Acrisure Stadium, and Point State Park.

Fans interested in registering for the festivities can do so atNFL.com/DraftAccess.

Meanwhile, Titans personnel involved in the selection process will be situated in the C.O. Brocato Draft Room at the newly-renamed Vanderbilt Health Football Center in MetroCenter, just north of downtown Nashville. General ManagerMike Borgonziwill be joined there, among others, by Controlling OwnerAmy Adams Strunk, President of Football OperationsChad Brinkerand new Head CoachRobert Saleh, who was hired by the team in January.

In 2026, the time between first-round selections has been shortened from 10 minutes to eight minutes. It's the first timing adjustment since 2008, when the allotment dropped from 15 minutes to 10 minutes. The timing for Rounds 2-7 remains unchanged from last year: seven minutes for Round 2, five minutes for Rounds 3-6, and four minutes for Round 7.

DRAFT BROADCASTS

All three days of the 2026 NFL Draft will be televised on NFL Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ABC, including Nashville ABC affiliate WKRN News 2.

This is the 20th year in which NFL Network will provide live on-location coverage. Streaming is available across devices (smartphone, PC, tablet and connected TVs) through the NFL app orNFL.com/watchfor subscribers of participating NFL Network providers and on NFL+. For more information, go toNFL.com/nflnetwork.

ESPN goes into its 47th consecutive year airing the NFL Draft. On Thursday and Friday, ESPN and ABC will have two distinct draft telecasts, followed by a Saturday simulcast of ESPN's presentation on ABC. Additionally, the draft will be streamed live across Disney+ and ESPN digital properties. Restrictions may apply.

Titans Radio, including Nashville flagship 104.5 The Zone, will carry draft programming across the Mid-South. Titans Radio's broadcast includes coverage from 6-9 p.m. CDT on both Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, Titans Radio will provide updates at the top and bottom of the hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT.

National radio coverage will be provided by SiriusXM NFL Radio, Westwood One and ESPN Radio.

Titans senior writer/editorJim Wyattwill lead draft coverage atTennesseeTitans.comand the Titans app. Wyatt will report from Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Thursday of draft week and from Vanderbilt Health Football Center for the remainder of the draft. Pick-by-pick information, articles, videos and more will be updated continuously on team's digital and social media channels.

BORGONZI ENTERS YEAR 2

Borgonzi is in his second offseason in Tennessee after becoming the 15th general manager in Titans/Oilers history in 2025. He spent the prior 16 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, including his last four years there as assistant general manager. During Borgonzi's time in Kansas City, he contributed to 12 playoff seasons and 10 AFC West titles (2010, 2016-24). He helped construct a roster that won the AFC five times (2019-20, 2022-24) and captured three Super Bowl titles (2019, 2022-23) over a six-season span.

Borgonzi's top three lieutenants in the personnel department also enter their second campaigns with the club. After arriving, Borgonzi later hiredDave Ziegleras assistant general manager,Reggie McKenzieas vice president/football advisor, andDan Saganeyas vice president of player personnel. Collectively, the trio totals more than 60 years of front office experience.

Even prior to this year's draft, the Titans roster has seen significant change in 2026. Since the 2025 regular season finale, 23 free agents have been signed by the team, and two additional playersdefensive endJermaine Johnson II(New York Jets) and defensive tackleSolomon Thomas(Dallas Cowboys)have been acquired in trades (roster as of April 14). By comparison, 17 additions were made to the roster between the 2024 season finale and the 2025 draft.

As part of the 2026 veteran free agent haul, Borgonzi and the Titans added wide receiverWan'Dale Robinson(formerly of the New York Giants), tight endDaniel Bellinger(Giants), punterTommy Townsend(Houston Texans), defensive linemanJohn Franklin-Myers(Denver Broncos) and cornerbacksAlontae Taylor(New Orleans Saints) andCor'Dale Flott(Giants).

Borgonzi saw his initial Titans draft class gain invaluable experience. The 2025 class featured nine selections, including quarterbackCam Ward, the first-overall selection. Each of the picks appeared in at least six games, and six members of the group started at least five games. The Titans draft class accumulated 64 combined starts, which ranked second in the NFL (75 by Cleveland) and was the largest total for the franchise in its "Titans era," which began in 1999.

Ward, who was voted a team captain as a rookie, started all 17 games, and his 3,169 passing yards eclipsedMarcus Mariota'sprevious franchise rookie record (2,818 passing yards in 2015). With 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions on 323-of-540 passing, Ward's 1.3 percent interception rate was the best single-season mark in franchise history by all qualifying quarterbacks, breakingRyan Tannehill'sfranchise mark of 1.5 percent in 2020. Over the final nine games of the season, Ward threw only one interception with 10 touchdown passes.

Another draft pick,Chimere Dike, was named to the Pro Bowl as a returner and added first-team Associated Press All-Pro honors as a punt returner. Dike, who played in all 17 games with 10 starts at wide receiver, led the NFL with 2,427 all-purpose yards, which ranked third all-time for the franchise and first all-time among all NFL rookies. His 17.3-yard punt return average brokeBilly "White Shoes" Johnson'sfranchise record (15.4) that stood since 1977, and he also posted a franchise-best 1,588 kickoff return yards. Dike scored six total touchdownsfour as a receiver and two as a punt returner.

Borgonzi's 2025 draft choices also included second-round defensive endOluwafemi Oladejo(six games, two starts), third-round safetyKevin Winston Jr.(10 games, six starts), fourth-round tight endGunnar Helm(16 games, 10 starts), fourth-round wide receiverElic Ayomanor(16 games, 14 starts), fifth-round guardJackson Slater(12 games), sixth-round cornerbackMarcus Harris(14 games, five starts) and sixth-round running backKalel Mullings(nine games).

Dike was one of two first-team All-Pros for the Titans, along with defensive tackleJeffery Simmons, who also earned his fourth Pro Bowl berth and his third consecutive Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nomination. The veteran leader, who returns in 2026 for his eighth NFL campaign, paced all NFL interior defensive linemen in 2025 in solo tackles (39), tackles for loss (17), sacks (11), sack yards (79), quarterback pressures (60), pressure rate (14.5 percent) and forced fumbles (tied - three). His sacks, sack yards, tackles for loss and forced fumbles all set career highs.

NINE PICKS

The Titans have made six trades involving picks in this year's selection process. The net result is nine total choices for the team at the draft's outset (as of April 13). Teams are permitted to trade any pick, including compensatory selections. If the Titans keep their current allotment, it would mark the second consecutive draft with nine picks.

The Titans own at least one selection in every round, with single selections in Round 1 (fourth overall), Round 2 (35), Round 3 (66), Round 4 (101) and Round 7 (225). They own a pair of picks in Round 5 (142 and 144) and Round 6 (184 and 194).

THE FOURTH PICK

In determining draft order, non-playoff clubs select first through 18th, according to the reverse order of their standing (i.e., the team with the lowest winning percentage receives the first pick, the team with the second-lowest winning percentage receives the second pick, etc.). Playoff teams select 19th through 32nd based on their level of advancement in the postseason.

Ties in the draft order are broken by figuring the aggregate won-lost-tied percentage of each involved club's regular season opponents (strength of schedule) and awarding preferential selection order to the club which faced the schedule of teams with the lowest aggregate won-lost-tied percentage. If ties still exist, the divisional, conference or interconference tie-breaking methods are applied, whichever is applicable.

Clubs involved in two-club ties alternate positions from round-to-round. In ties that involve three or more clubs, the club at the top of a tied segment in a given round will move to the bottom of the segment for the next round, while all other clubs in the segment move up one position. This rotation continues throughout the draft.

The Titans were one of four teams with a 3-14 record in 2025, along with the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals. The Titans had a .574 strength of schedule in 2025, while the Raiders, Jets and Cardinals finished at .538, .552 and .571, respectively. As a result of their highest strength of schedule, the Titans pick last in the four-team group in the first round. The Titans move to the third slot within the group in the second round (35th overall), the second slot in the third round (66) and the first slot in the fourth round (101). The four teams will rotate positions accordingly throughout the remainder of the draft.

Since 1967, when the NFL and AFL agreed to a "common draft," the Titans/Oilers have never used the No. 4 pick in the draft.

The fourth pick of the 2025 NFL Draft was tackleWill Campbell, who was taken by the New England Patriots. As a rookie, Campbell started 13 games at left tackle for the AFC champions.

Other than Campbell, the recent list of players selected fourth overall includes wide receiverMarvin Harrison Jr.(2024, Arizona), quarterbackAnthony Richardson Sr.(2023, Indianapolis), cornerbackSauce Gardner(2022, New York Jets) and tight endKyle Pitts Sr.(2021, Atlanta).

In 59 drafts in the common draft era, there have been 35 No. 4 overall picks that have gone on to make at least one Pro Bowla rate of 59.3 percent. The list includes 12 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: quarterbackBob Griese(1967, Miami), defensive linemanJoe Greene(1969, Pittsburgh), guardJack Hannah(1973, New England), running backWalter Payton(1975, Chicago), defensive endDan Hampton(1979, Chicago), safetyKenny Easley(1981, Seattle), defensive endReggie White(1984, Philadelphia), outside linebackerChris Doleman(1985, Pittsburgh), outside linebackerDerrick Thomas(1989, Kansas City), tackleJonathan Ogden(1996, Baltimore), defensive backCharles Woodson(1998, Oakland) and running backEdgerrin James(1999, Indianapolis).

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