Tales of the Titans: 2025 NFL Draft Recap
- Om Brown
- 12 minutes ago
- 7 min read
The 2025 NFL Draft has concluded. Players have seen their lifelong dreams realized and head to new places and meet new faces as each team has selected pieces on their roster who they hope are a big part of their futures. The Tennessee Titans, who finished the 2024 season with a 3-14 record, kicked things off at first overall, their debut at that spot since they became the Titans. Let’s have a look at what they did at that spot, as well as throughout the rest of the weekend.
Round 1 - Pick 1: Cam Ward, QB, Miami (FL):
I’ll be honest here. I don’t love this pick at all, but I have warmed up to it. Ward is by far the best quarterback in the class. His meteoric rise from being a 0-star recruit and starting out at an FCS school to earning the number one pick in the draft is inspiring. He brings a lethal combo of solid athleticism and ability to create big plays, something that all great signal-callers do nowadays. He plays smart and provides great touch and accuracy when playing within structure, which is a huge part of coach Brian Callahan’s scheme. However, I am not sold on him being worth the first pick. His deep ball is still a work in progress and he tends to force throws, which can lead to turnovers at the NFL level. I would have preferred a blue-chip edge rusher in Abdul Carter, but nevertheless, I am excited to see what Killa Cam can do in Nashville. He gets to continue to wear #1, as Warren Moon crashed his press conference to tell him that he will unretire the jersey number for Ward.
Grade: A-
Round 2 - Pick 35: Traded to Seattle for Pick 52 and Pick 82:
The Titans didn’t own their 3rd round pick, as it went to the Chiefs in the L’Jarius Sneed trade last offseason. With this in mind, this was an alright deal to grab another Day 2 pick, but I would have preferred to stick-and-pick, as the dynamic Mizzou receiver Luther Burden was still on the board.
Grade: C
Round 2 - Pick 52 (via SEA): Oluwafemi Oladejo, EDGE, UCLA
Addressing the pass rush was a must in this draft. While Oladejo wasn’t my favorite guy on the board (Marshall’s Mike Green or Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer would have been better), he is still an impressive athlete and versatile player. He has experience playing both off the edge and off-ball, giving second-year DC Dennard Wilson a potential Swiss army knife. His pass rush technique does need work, but his versatility makes him a potential stud. I would have rather had a more proven talent at this pick, especially considering the dire need at the position. However, Oladejo’s upside and athletic ability means he could develop into a very productive player.
Grade: C+
Round 3 - Pick 82 (via SEA): Kevin Winston Jr, S, Penn State
I love this pick. Tennessee has a need at the position opposite to Amani Hooker and Winston can immediately fill in. Going into 2024 he had first round hype, but tore his ACL early in the season, cutting his college career short. Despite this, Winston is a great run defender who can get through blocks well and disrupt plays. On top of this, he is a physical player who can cover tight ends and thrives in zone coverage, two things that Dennard Wilson loves. There are some red flags, as the injury limited him to just 13 games started in college, and he struggles in man coverage and on play action, but he is a low-risk, high-reward player who fills a dire need for the Titans.
Grade: A-
Round 4 - Pick 103: Chimere Dike, WR, Florida
I have preached all offseason that the Titans needed to add an impact receiver in the draft. Here, they took Dike, a solid deep threat who posted a 4.34 40-yard dash at the Combine, 3rd best among wideouts. I don’t like the pick, as I would have preferred Texas’ Isaiah Bond or Utah State’s Jalen Royals, but I don’t hate it either. He is an explosive player who thrives deep, something that Tennessee has lacked ever since the brain dead AJ Brown trade. While Dike needs to improve his overall route-running, this is a solid selection.
Grade: C-
Round 4 - Pick 120 (via SEA): Gunner Helm, TE, Texas
This is a great pick. The Titans have lacked good depth being Chig Okonkwo for the past couple years, and Helm will immediately slot in behind him. He is sneaky athletic with great catch-and-run skills to create big plays. Helm is a great safety blanket for Ward, and he also provides upside as a blocker. His ceiling is a productive top dog at tight end, while his floor is a capable backup who can move the chains when asked to do so. The Okonkwo-Helm-Josh Whyle trio of tight ends might be the most athletic one in the league. Callahan is going to cook up some brilliant things with the young triumvirate.
Grade: A
Round 4 - Pick 136 (via BAL): Elic Ayomanor, WR, Stanford
The value here was insane. Ayomanor was my 9th-best receiver, who I had going in the 2nd round. He was the 19th wideout selected. Tennessee traded up with the Ravens to nab the electric Stanford product. He is a potential game-changer who can take short routes a mile and go up and get jump balls. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets more playing time than Dike. I was shocked that he fell to Day 3. Oh, and Ayomanor torched new Jaguars WR/CB hybrid Travis Hunter in 2023 for nearly 300 yards in one game.
Grade A+
Round 5 - Pick 141: Traded to Baltimore along with Pick 178. Received Pick 136 and 183:
This pick was sent to the Ravens in the deal to get Ayomanor. On Sam Basel’s Podcast, I said that the Titans may use their hoard of 5th and 6th-rounders to trade up. I absolutely nailed that part of the draft.
Grade: A
Round 5 - Pick 167 (via KC): Jackson Slater, OG, Sacramento State
The offensive line has been much improved this offseason, and here is a great depth pick. Slater was a First-Team FCS All-American this past year, despite playing in only 9 games. Filling out the line with Slater as a potential high-end backup isn't the sexiest of selections, but still an important one given the Titans' injury history these past few seasons.
Grade: B-
Round 6 - Pick 178: Traded to Baltimore along with Pick 141. Received Pick 136 and 183:
See pick 141. Again; NAILED IT.
Grade: A
Round 6 - Pick 183 (via BAL): Marcus Harris, CB, Cal
I don’t know much about Harris, but he runs well, is physical at the point of the ball, and is good at breaking up passes. He accumulated 5 picks over the past two seasons. Given that Chidobe Awuzie was released this offseason, and that L’Jarius Sneed was hampered with injuries, Harris provides much needed depth alongside slot corner Rodger McCreary and 2025 5th-rounder (who impressed late in ‘24) Jarvis Brownlee. There was a better way to go about this pick, which is why it gets a bad grade, but I am not mad at it.
Grade: D+
Round 6 - Pick 188 (via DAL): Kalel Mullings, RB, Michigan
Mullings is a powerful runner who provides another facet in the ground game, as his style of running differs from the elusiveness of Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears. Adding him as a depth piece was nothing more than just to get a power back. I continuously saw his name in Titans mock drafts, so it was no surprise that Mullings is ditching the dark blue for the light blue as a pro.
Grade: C
Undrafted Free Agent: Xavier Restrepo, WR, Miami
Restrepo was a surprise undrafted player, and followed his QB to Nashville. There is zero risk in signing him, but loads of upside. He had a horrible 4.83 40-yard dash on an apparent tight hamstring at his pro day, but he plays a whole lot faster than that. I had him as my 10th-best receiver and tagged him with a 3rd round grade. The connection with Ward is the cherry on top.
Grade: A+
Overall Thoughts:
This is a really good looking draft, especially at the top. Seeing the whole Shedeur Sanders situation unfold makes me feel a whole lot better about Cam Ward. Adding Dike, Helm, and Ayomanor for much needed depth on the offensive side of the ball is great, especially after the lack of attention to the wide receiver position that the team has had over the past couple of years. Oladejo has extremely high upside off the edge, and possibly could help solve the issues in the pass rush sooner rather than later.
However, I am skeptical about the overall plans with this team. Since old GM Jon Robinson got fired in 2022, Tennessee has had a pair of new GM’s and two coaches. There is no continuity, no trust, and no culture due to the revolving door at both spots. The instability and impatience that ownership has had is borderline Jets/Giants-like. New general manager Mike Borgonzi has to hit this draft out of the park, and second-year head coach Brian Callahan has to get a lot better in 2025.
The end of the Derrick Henry era and the one year of Will Levis under center were brutally mismanaged, and the lack of continuity with the organization is a joke. I do still believe in Levis. The situation that he was in last season was a mess, and he didn’t have adequate support. Some of it was on him, but he was in a position to fail from the start.
I do hope that Callahan and Ward can turn the ship around and start the ascension back to the playoffs, but if Ward doesn’t pan out after his second or third season, I want the fans to call him out the way they did to Levis. There is no excuse for Ward. His situation is 10x better than what Levis had, and Callahan needs to improve in his second year at the helm to make sure Ward doesn’t fail. I still don’t believe in the plan that the team has, because of the lack of continuity and handling of the past few years. Borgonzi and Callahan absolutely had to do well on this draft and surround Ward with the protection and talent that this franchise has been devoid of since 2021. I simply cannot trust the team with the impatience that ownership has had. I hope that my inclinations are wrong and that the team is on the right path, but those are my thoughts on the Tennessee Titans 2025 draft class, #TitanUp!
Stay tuned for some more NFL coverage from myself, but if you are a baseball fan then definitely tune in this summer. I have got a lot of plans for America’s Pastime that you don’t want to miss!
Overall Draft Grade: B
Comments