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The Tennessee Titans and Las Vegas Raiders are eying its franchise signal caller of the future and have explored trading up with the Arizona Cardinals at pick No. 3 according to NFL Network Draft Analyst Daniel Jeremiah.
"Can I give you the team that I have been told to keep an eye on that's exploring this [trade up] and looking into this?" Jeremiah said on the MoveTheSticks Podcast. "Again, this is just people around the league who said do not sleep on Numero 11. The Tennessee Titans. The two teams to keep an eye on with the trade-ups were the Raiders and the Titans."
The NFL Draft is 25 days away and Arizona Cardinals newly acquainted General Manager Monti Ossenfort’s phone will continue to ring as he arguably controls the direction of where the draft will go.
Last offseason, the team gave Kyler Murray a five-year extension worth $230 million with $103 million guaranteed, so the odds of Ossenfort drafting a quarterback are increasingly low.
Tennessee, on the other hand, hired former San Francisco 49ers Director of Player Personnel Ran Carthon as General Manager this offseason after Jon Robinson was relieved of his duties during the 2023 season.
Carthon has a strong reputation around the league and was brought in to find life after Ryan Tannehill, specifically to zero in on a young quarterback on a rookie deal to help elevate the team to the next level both schematically and financially.
Las Vegas Raiders General Manager Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels reunited last offseason after multiple years together in New England.
With both inheriting Derek Carr, they figured out early on that he wasn’t in the future plans, so they decided to release him and sign a stop-gap option who both are familiar with in Jimmy Garoppolo. He signed a three-year, $72.75 million deal with $33.75 million guaranteed.
Garoppolo’s contract is structured as a one-year deal and if Las Vegas decides to move up, they will more than likely be setting up for the young quarterback to sit behind Garoppolo for a season then take over as the full-time starter 2024.
The expectation is that Ohio State’s CJ Stroud lands in Carolina, while the former Alabama Heisman Trophy winner finds his way to Houston. If teams are exploring a trade up, it’s to jump Indianapolis to select Florida’s Anthony Richardson or Kentucky’s Will Levis.
Richardson has risen up the draft boards since his historic NFL Combine, where he ran a 4.43 40-yard dash, which is unheard of at 6-foot-4, 244 lbs. He’s been often described as a project, but has the most potential of anyone in the entire 2023 Draft according to scouts.
This past season at Florida, he completed 53.8% of his passes, while throwing for 2,549 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Richardson also did damage on the ground, running for 659 yards and nine touchdowns.
Levis has stayed in the middle throughout the draft process, but after losing both offensive coordinator Liam Coen and wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, the Wildcats witnessed Levis’ play regress significantly.
Still, Levis fits the mold of what teams look for, which include standing at 6-foot-4, 230 lbs with a strong personality and strong arm with a small touch of mobility in his game. He’s been often compared to Josh Allen throughout the draft process if he’s developed the right way.
Ossenfort’s decision will more than likely come down to selecting Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. or trading down to acquire more draft capital for an aging Cardinals roster that needs an infusion of youth.
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