Tennessee Titans mock draft: Envisioning how Titans can trade back, still get Joe Alt

With a little more than a week left until the 2024 NFL Draft begins in Detroit, there's still enough time to devise a win-win scenario where the Tennessee Titans can get everything they want for the present and future on the same night.

The Titans hold the No. 7 pick this year's draft, which begins on April 25 at 7 p.m. CT. After a busy offseason that's seen the team improve everywhere from cornerback to receiver to center, the Titans still desperately need an offensive tackle. As such, conventional wisdom has the Titans using their top-10 pick on Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt, the consensus top blindside protector in the class.

If the Titans end up picking Alt at No. 7, virtually no one will complain. But the mechanics of this year's draft make the idea of the Titans trading back a little more compelling. Let's break this down with four crucial factors:

The Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders hold picks No. 11, No. 12 and No. 13. All three teams need a quarterback. It's impossible to rule out any of these teams making a huge trade to ensure the other quarterback-needy teams can't jump them in line.
Nine of the consensus top-30 players in this draft are offensive linemen. There really isn't much of a need for teams to trade up to pick Alt with so much depth at the position.
There's a marked drop-off in edge rusher talents after the top three or four guys, and an argument can be made that there's a similar drop-off at receiver. Whereas there's incentive to wait at tackle, that same incentive shouldn't exist at the other two non-quarterback premium positions.
The three teams picking between the Titans and the Vikings either don't need tackle help or have much bigger priorities, meaning the Titans don't have as much of a risk of missing out on Alt if they trade in the 11-13 range as they would trading further back.

With all that in mind, let's play out this scenario. Here's a mock draft where the Titans have their cake and eat it too.

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1. Chicago Bears — USC QB Caleb Williams

There's no reason to think this won't happen. After failing to develop Mitchell Trubisky and Justin Fields into franchise passers, Chicago hopes Williams finally fixes things.

2. Washington Commanders — LSU QB Jayden Daniels

Two picks, two Heisman Trophy winners. Washington builds its new offense around Daniels, a budding dual-threat superstar.

3. New England Patriots — UNC QB Drake Maye

Maye draws comparisons to passers like Josh Allen and Justin Herbert, making him a far cry from Mac Jones' game-manager tendencies the Patriots are working to get away from.

4. Arizona Cardinals — Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

Twenty years after using a top-five pick to draft Hall of Fame receiver Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals use a top-five pick on a Hall of Fame receiver's son. Now the younger Harrison has to live up to the legacy of two legends.

5. Los Angeles Chargers — LSU WR Malik Nabers

A big-play threat with the polish to boot, Nabers takes over as Herbert's No. 1 receiver as the Chargers reload their offense without Keenan Allen or Mike Williams.

6. New York Giants — Washington WR Rome Odunze

The urge to pick a quarterback here is tempting, but the Giants opt to give Daniel Jones a chance to prove himself with an actual No. 1 receiver, snagging Odunze to continue the early-draft run on passers and pass catchers.

TRADE: Las Vegas Raiders move up in deal with Tennessee Titans

The Raiders end up being the team most eager to move up and get their quarterback, giving up their first-round pick this year (No. 13) and next year as well as a third-round pick (No. 77) in exchange for the No. 7 pick and the Titans' sixth-round selection (No. 182).

7. Las Vegas Raiders — Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy

This is a big gamble for the Raiders, but it's a huge vote of confidence for new coach Antonio Pierce that he can get his quarterback early and begin building around him as soon as possible.

8. Atlanta Falcons — Alabama DE/OLB Dallas Turner

The first defender off the board gives the Falcons young help off the edge, something they've desperately needed for a couple years.

9. Chicago Bears — Florida State DE/OLB Jared Verse

The Bears bet Verse can do for their pass rush what they want Williams to do for the offense, providing a productive and athletic anchor for years to come.

10. New York Jets — Georgia TE Brock Bowers

Bowers is the final piece in the Jets' offseason-long pursuit of a juggernaut offense to surround quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and the closest thing the NFL has seen to the next Travis Kelce, George Kittle or Rob Gronkowski in years.

TRADE: Buffalo Bills move way up the board into Minnesota Vikings spot

After dealing Stefon Diggs and letting Gabe Davis walk, the Bills need a receiver gravely. The Vikings, who also own the No. 23 pick in the first round, are willing to move back to No. 28 as well, retaining the ability to package those two picks and move up or make two late first-round picks while adding a future first-rounder as well.

11. Buffalo Bills — LSU WR Brian Thomas Jr.

Thomas won't be able to replace all of Diggs' and Davis' production by himself, but he's a start, and one heckuva deep threat for Josh Allen to be able to heave downfield to.

TRADE: Seattle Seahawks move up, Denver Broncos play it cool

As badly as the Titans need offensive linemen, they're also in the market for an edge rusher. The Seahawks can't miss their opportunity to get the last top-tier guy on the board, so they move up from No. 16 to No. 12, giving the Broncos a couple later-round picks in exchange, while the Broncos know they can wait a few picks to get either of the first-round-caliber quarterbacks left on the board.

12. Seattle Seahawks — UCLA DE/OLB Laiatu Latu

Latu started his college career at Washington, and now he heads back to Seattle as perhaps the most pro-ready pass rusher in his class.

13. Tennessee Titans — Notre Dame OT Joe Alt

After all this, the Titans get their guy. It took some maneuvering and a little bit of luck, but the Titans end up with a left tackle to protect quarterback Will Levis and ensure the passing game can get going to coach Brian Callahan's liking.

14. New Orleans Saints — Penn State OT Olu Fashanu

Right after Alt, the run on linemen begins. In Fashanu, the Saints find the rawer of the top-two tackle prospects, but perhaps the player with more upside.

15. Indianapolis Colts — Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell

The Colts' secondary needs an A1 dude, and Mitchell can be that guy, even if he's one of the few small-school products with a first-round grade.

16. Denver Broncos — Oregon QB Bo Nix

The Vikings' and Broncos' game of chicken ends with Denver finally taking Nix, the fifth quarterback off the board, to fill the hyper-accurate passer role in coach Sean Payton's scheme.

17. Jacksonville Jaguars — Texas WR Adonai Mitchell

Jacksonville needs receiver help after the Titans signed away Calvin Ridley, and they look for it in Mitchell, a former Texas and Georgia target who had a knack for making big plays in the College Football Playoff.

18. Cincinnati Bengals — Oregon State OL Taliese Fuaga

Whether it's left tackle, right tackle or guard, Fuaga steps in and improves the Bengals' offensive line somewhere, with the trajectory of taking over as Joe Burrow's tackle of the future.

19. Los Angeles Rams — Alabama CB Terrion Arnold

At this point, the Rams bothering to use a first-round pick would be a minor surprise. But investing in a corner with Arnold's talents is a nice fit.

TRADE: Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh make a swap

Further illustrating the wait-for-your-lineman approach the Titans took, the Steelers move back from No. 20 to No. 26, swapping slots with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and adding some future picks.

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Penn State DE/OLB Chop Robinson

Robinson might be a little more of a projection than a game-ready prospect, but the Buccaneers bet on the upside and reload off the edge.

21. Miami Dolphins — Alabama OL J.C. Latham

The Dolphins need offensive linemen just about everywhere, which makes it easier to pick Latham and figure out if he's a guard or tackle.

22. Philadelphia Eagles — Alabama CB Kool-Aid McKinstry

The Eagles' defensive backfield cratered last season, so they invest in the multi-talented McKinstry to help climb the unit back to competency.

23. Minnesota Vikings — Texas DT Byron Murphy

The Vikings finally make a pick, and it's still not a quarterback. They capitalize on Murphy falling a little bit farther than expected and grab a talented interior run stopper with the athleticism to get after the passer.

24. Dallas Cowboys — Georgia OT Amarius Mims

Mims isn't the most experienced blocker, but his talents are no joke, and the Cowboys work to mold him into their replacement for Tyron Smith.

25. Green Bay Packers — Iowa CB Cooper DeJean

One year after using a first-round pick on edge rusher Lukas Van Ness, the Packers pick his old college teammate DeJean, the freakishly athletic defensive back who'll also star in the return game.

26. Pittsburgh Steelers — Washington OL Troy Fautanu

The Steelers could've stayed pat at 20 and picked Latham or Mims, but they move back a couple slots and take Fautanu, a more versatile prospect who might not have the same elite traits but comes in with fewer questions.

27. Arizona Cardinals — Illinois DT Johnny Newton

The Cardinals just stick with the best guy left on the board here, picking Newton and his impressive blend of size, athleticism, production and potential.

28. Minnesota Vikings — Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.

Penix won't have to start immediately. That's what Sam Darnold is for. But the Vikings get a whole host of extra draft picks from Buffalo and still find a quarterback they're comfortable building around in the future.

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29. Detroit Lions — Texas WR Xavier Worthy

The Lions showed last year they're willing to zig when everyone else expects them to zag. So the Lions double down on speed at receiver with the lightning-fast Worthy, giving quarterback Jared Goff a Dolphins-esque receiver room built around Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and now Worthy.

30. Baltimore Ravens — Clemson CB Nate Wiggins

There are plenty of ways the Ravens could go here, but Wiggins is the type of player who probably should've gone 5-10 picks ago, and picking those guys is the Ravens' bread and butter.

31. San Francisco 49ers — Oklahoma OT Tyler Guyton

Trent Williams can't play forever. The 49ers begin the process of grooming his replacement, even if that means Guyton gets limited reps as a rookie.

32. Kansas City Chiefs — Missouri CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr.

The Chiefs look in their own backyard and find the technically-sound Missouri product to replenish their secondary after trading L'Jarius Sneed to the Titans.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Titans mock draft: Trading back, still getting Joe Alt seems plausible