What I did and didn't like about Titans' 2026 draft class | Estes

Last year, patience was a theme of Mike Borgonzi's first Tennessee Titans draft class.

Back then, the general manager was OK with giving the keys to a rookie quarterback in Cam Ward. Or drafting a second-round project like Femi Oladejo, a traits guy who'd barely played edge rusher. Or spending a third-round pick on safety Kevin Winston Jr.'s recovering knee. These clearly were picks for down the road, not for the upcoming season.

Not so in 2026.

The Tennessee Titans' 2026 NFL Draft class

1st round (No. 4 overall): Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State1st round (No. 31): Keldric Faulk, EDGE, Auburn2nd round (No. 60): Anthony Hill Jr., LB, Texas5th round (No. 142): Fernando Carmona Jr., G, Arkansas5th round (No. 165): Nick Singleton, RB, Penn State6th round (No. 184): Jackie Marshall, DL, Baylor6th round (No. 194): Pat Coogan, C, Indiana7th round (No. 225): Jaren Kanak, TE, Oklahoma

What I like about this class

I liked that the urgency felt different. Tends to happen when a GM's record is 3-14. Borgonzi can no longer be so patient.

He needed talent capable of helping transform this sorry team right now. So he spent the No. 4 overall pick on Carnell Tate, a productive and mature receiver, instead of the positional uncertainty of Tate's talented Ohio State teammate Arvell Reese. Borgonzi then traded up for each of the next two picks, giving up a little to ensure the defense could add serious SEC talent (at good value). Then he leaned toward experience on Day 3, in general.

What I dislike about this class

The Titans raised their floor these past three days. I'm not sure how much they raised their ceiling. Then again, I'm not sure how much any team did with a draft that was lacking in potential superstars at the top and was noticeably thin in the middle to late rounds. That is NIL's doing.

Best value pick

Faulk's value justified the Titans' trading back into the first round to land him at No. 31. ESPN's final mock draft had him going 20th, while The Athletic's Dane Brugler had Faulk as the draft's No. 15 overall prospect and fourth-best edge rusher.

On the draft's first night, the Titans were able to secure one of the draft's highest-rated edge talents in addition to the draft's best wide receiver. Not bad for two premium positions.

Worst reach

It was picking Carmona two spots into the fifth round. Borgonzi drafted him ahead of Kansas State's Sam Hecht (the draft's No. 2 center, according to Brugler) and Notre Dame's Billy Schrauth (Brugler's seventh-best guard). Both Hecht and Schrauth went soon afterward.

Brugler had Carmona as his 18th-best offensive guard. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein had a seventh-round grade on Carmona, writing that "backup duty appears to be his ceiling." Ouch.

Biggest question

Did a fifth-round reach on a guard and a sixth-round pick of Coogan at center adequately address the Titans' needs on the interior of their O-line? Borgonzi noted how much experience Carmona and Coogan each logged in college as a hopeful predictor of readiness for the NFL. We'll find out soon.

Most likely to start Week 1

Tate. With Hill not far behind.

If a healthy Tate isn't one of this team's top two receivers in Week 1, there's a big problem. I'd expect Hill to play a lot as a rookie, too, because he's too talented to not contribute on a defense that needs to get much faster in 2026.

The Titans didn't improve enough at . . .

For anyone who thinks the Titans are stocked up enough at cornerback to not need any in this draft: Have you been paying attention to what happens every season to this team at that position?

By about Week 12 or earlier, injuries have piled up, and the Titans are running practice-squad claims and UDFAs out there to cover real-deal No. 1 NFL receivers. How's that been working out?

I'm higher than the experts on . . .

Marshall wasn't a lock to be drafted at all, but I liked the versatility, athleticism and effort in his highlights at Baylor. Nothing wrong with an upside play on a 293-pound defensive tackle who reportedly . . . returned punts in high school? What Marshall lacks, it seems, can be coached.

I'm intrigued by . . .

How many linebackers would be able to switch over to tight end in the SEC and catch 44 passes for 533 yards with one drop all season? Kanak had no business performing as well as he did as a pass catcher last season at Oklahoma. There's still a long way to go for him, obviously, at a relatively new position. But there's something worth watching with this guy.

Kanak is listed at 6-foot-2, 234 pounds, but doesn't look it. He looks more like an H-back or a slot receiver than a tight end. He has great hands, good feet, 4.52 speed and he's surprisingly sudden in acceleration, often making the first tackler miss. Not sure how the Titans will try to use this guy offensively, but he's exactly what a seventh-round flier should look like.

The one(s) that got away

After all the pre-draft discussion locally between David Bailey and Jeremiyah Love, we'll never know for sure who the Titans would've taken. They never had a chance with either, as Bailey went No. 2 to the New York Jets, and Love went No. 3 to the Arizona Cardinals.

Bottom line

There's no quick fix here. The only way back to respectability for the Titans, far as they've fallen, is for Borgonzi to keep stacking quality draft classes to rebuild a roster decimated by years of horrendous draft choices. Last year, via early reviews, looks like a quality class. This looks like another.

Though, for once, you'd like to see the Titans manage to hit big on a pick in the late rounds. That is allowed. And this roster could sure use it.

Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at [email protected] and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What I did and didn't like about Tennessee Titans' 2026 draft class