B
Tennessee Titans
The Titans let Slaughter fall and pounced. Final grade: B.
by dagray08 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 14 steals
· 1 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Titans watched Jake Slaughter slide 62 picks past his grade and did not hesitate. The bottom line is a respectable B.
The Payton reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade. They left with offensive lineman solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off. Value over need was the throughline, for better and worse.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 24th overall pick they get an every-down engine for the run game at a price that makes it sweeter. The biggest hole, addressed.
Value with a capital V on Dillon Thieneman in the Round 2 slot, a genuine coup. It adds depth where they could use a little.
You do not let an interior defensive lineman like Peter Woods reach No. 55 and blink. They did not. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Gennings Dunker at pick 66 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Taking D'Angelo Ponds in Round 3, Pick 6 is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Circle this one: Eli Stowers at pick No. 92 is a fall that decides a draft. The roster fit checks out.
Malachi Fields in the 101st pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A need, and now a little less of one.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Jake Slaughter in slot 120, plain and simple. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jonah Coleman in the Round 4 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Harold Perkins Jr. in pick No. 142. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They let Kaleb Proctor come to them and pounced at the 144th pick. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Hezekiah Masses at pick 149. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
A tidy little value on Jaeden Roberts in the 155th overall pick, a step better than break-even. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A clean, defensible pick in Round 5, Pick 20 with a little surplus value in Drew Allar. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Domani Jackson in No. 184 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
A real head-scratcher, Patrick Payton in slot 194 is miles ahead of his ranking. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
No edge and no loss on Red Murdock in the Round 6 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Steal is underselling it; Aaron Anderson at the 204th pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Nice patience on Jadon Canady, who had no business lasting to No. 225. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.