Who will Titans take on Day 1 of NFL Draft 2024? 4 players to watch include Brock Bowers

Months of preparation, scouting, mock drafts, rumors and speculation all come down to this for the Tennessee Titans and the rest of the NFL. It's time for the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Titans own the No. 7 pick in the first round Thursday night, the earliest the Titans have picked since 2017. In a draft where quarterbacks Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy could very easily be the first four players off the board, the Titans should be able to end up with just about any prospect in any area of need they deem most important.

Here are the four prospects the Titans seem likeliest to draft Thursday.

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Notre Dame OT Joe Alt

Alt is the player most frequently connected to the Titans in mock drafts. The 6-foot-9 son of a long-time NFL offensive lineman, Alt was arguably the best run blocking tackle and the best pass blocking tackle in college football last year. And he wasn't far off from earning those titles in 2022 either.

If the Los Angeles Chargers hold onto their pick at No. 5, they could be a threat to draft Alt before the Titans have the chance. And there are plenty of tackle-needy teams picking below the Titans who could trade up to get ahead of the Titans. But if Alt makes it to No. 7, it's hard to imagine the Titans passing on him.

Penn State OT Olu Fashanu

It's unfair to both Alt and Fashanu to describe Alt as the "polished prospect" and Fashanu as the "high-upside prospect." But it's understandable why those narratives cropped up. Especially in Fashanu's case; he only has two years of starting tape and is still learning his craft after picking up football later in life.

But it's not as if Fashanu is high-risk. He won the Rimington-Pace Award as the best offensive lineman in the Big Ten last year and he didn't surrender a sack in two years as Penn State's left tackle. He's big, he's smart, he's athletic and he excels in the pass game. He's hardly a consolation prize if Alt isn't on the board, but picking him at No. 7 might be a bit of a stretch; Fashanu is ranked as the consensus 16th-best player in the class, even if he's the No. 2 offensive lineman.

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LSU WR Malik Nabers

If Alt goes in the top six, that likely means LSU WR Malik Nabers and Washington WR Rome Odunze have fallen a little farther than expected. The 6-foot-3 Odunze makes sense for the Titans, especially given his knack for making contested catches. But with the Titans' specific need for a receiver who can play inside and out alongside Calvin Ridley and DeAndre Hopkins, Nabers makes a little more sense.

Nabers led college football in touchdown catches as a slot receiver last season while still averaging more than 15 yards per catch on the outside. He's a speedy deep threat who excels at tracking passes downfield, the exact types of throws quarterback Will Levis is best at making. Nabers doesn't exactly give the Titans something they don't have, but he makes the offense better in a way that fits what Levis and coach Brian Callahan like.

Georgia TE Brock Bowers

Drafting a tight end in the top 10 isn't exactly something the Titans do. The franchise hasn't picked a tight end in the first round since 1961. But Bowers isn't just a tight end. He's a multi-use offensive weapon who's equal parts tight end, wide receiver, fullback and running back. Bowers was Georgia's best offensive option for two national championship wins, the first of which was when he was a freshman.

If the Titans draft Bowers, it's as a football player. He'll catch passes over the middle. He'll line up in the slot. He'll take end arounds and line up in the backfield. He'll block. And he'll make Levis' life a whole lot easier, even if the idea of drafting a tight end early is a bit unconventional.

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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 NFL draft first-round targets from Joe Alt to Brock Bowers