Tennessee Titans NFL Draft rooting guide for Week 17

Nick Gray, Nashville Tennessean

The Tennessee Titans have two factors in play over the next two weeks: They can ruin the playoff hopes of AFC South rivals, and they can help their 2024 NFL Draft projected position.

If the Titans win twice, it'll make things difficult for the Houston Texans and (possibly) the Jacksonville Jaguars in regards to the playoff picture. The AFC South is still in position to send multiple teams into the playoffs, and it can send one 9-8 team backing their way into the postseason. The Jaguars, Texans and Indianapolis Colts have a lot of scenarios at play over the next two games.

But two Titans losses will turn a probable top-10 pick in April's draft to a possible top-five pick. Why is a better draft pick important? The Titans can choose from a better group of players the earlier they pick, or they can use their pick in a trade.

If Tennessee believes it has its quarterback of the future in rookie Will Levis, their first-round pick could be a target for teams looking to trade up for a quarterback in a deep 2024 rookie class. The Titans previous rebuild was jumpstarted by a trade down from No. 1 overall in 2016, when Tennessee acquired from the Rams the extra picks it needed to draft Derrick Henry, Jonnu Smith and Corey Davis. Henry is an all-time great running back, while the latter two were key offensive contributors in the Titans' run to the 2019 AFC Championship Game.

No matter if the Titans win or lose, their draft position isn't entirely up to their results. Here's who Titans fans should root for on Sunday against the Texans to move up in the 2024 NFL Draft order.

Titans rooting guide for 2024 NFL Draft position

Direct impact

Washington Commanders to win vs. San Francisco

New England Patriots to win at Buffalo

New York Giants to win vs. LA Rams

Los Angeles Chargers to win at Denver

Chicago Bears to win vs. Atlanta

  • These five teams are within a game of the Titans, either ahead of, behind or tied with Tennessee in the standings. The Jets, at 6-10, lost on Thursday to Cleveland. These are the five most important non-Titans games that interested observers should pay attention to on Sunday.

Arizona Cardinals to win at Philadelphia

  • The Cardinals are the No. 2 projected pick at 3-11, two games ahead of the Titans. But Arizona is likely to lose most strength of schedule tiebreakers. Arizona will need to win out with the Titans losing out to come into play for Tennessee in the draft order. But it's still something to keep an eye on.

LIVE UPDATES: Tennessee Titans score vs. Houston Texans: Live NFL Week 17 updates

Just in case

New Orleans Saints to win at Tampa Bay

Las Vegas Raiders to win at Indianapolis

Green Bay and Minnesota to tie

  • These are the remaining 7-8 teams, two games ahead of Tennessee before Sunday's games. If the Titans win on Sunday, these four teams would come into play if they were to lose. Green Bay and Minnesota need to tie to ensure that both teams won't reach 10 losses to match Tennessee, a factor that only matters should the Titans win out.

  • The strength of schedule tiebreaker is complicated and twists the invisible strings all around. The key is this: The Titans' strength of schedule needs to get worse, so teams it has played will need to lose. For example, the Colts losing to the Raiders would help the Titans there most, as would a Jaguars loss to Carolina.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans NFL Draft rooting guide for Week 17

Advertisement