Make the Jump or Tank: Titans Need to Reset

Many could argue that one of the most dysfunctional, and disappointing divisions in the NFL is the AFC South. Especially in the last two years, where fans have seen two teams from the AFC South finish with a bottom five record in the entire league.

With that being said, the tides could be heavily shifting in favor of the South, except for the Tennessee Titans.

Since the acquisition of Ryan Tannehill back in 2019, the Titans have put up an impressive 39-27 regular season record which is tied for 7th best during that span. There is no doubt that what Tannehill has done to revitalize his career after Miami is impressive, but he’s racked up two division titles, appeared in an AFC Championship game, and gave the state of Nashville hope in football again.

Even with all of the unexpected accolades, it’s time to move on.

Not many know for sure what will transpire over the next month leading up to the NFL draft, or how the future will turn out for these rookies, but both the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts are arguably set up to be able to land the 2nd and 3rd best quarterbacks of this draft class.

Before Tennessee has time to even react, they might find themselves in the worst position within their own division.

The Jaguars already have their future in Trevor Lawrence, who made a phenomenal jump from year one to year two. Then analyzing the rest of the AFC that includes players like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, and now potentially Aaron Rodgers, the Titans have to realize that Ryan Tannehill will not get you to where you want to be.

The Titans, and newly appointed general manager Ran Carthon, have to make a choice this offseason on which of the following three paths you want to take to better yourself for the future. Tank, jump, or get left behind.

Tanking is the least enjoyable of the three options, but history has shown the most effective. This is a bold, but normal choice for a new general manager to make. Fans don’t always take lightly to trading away valuable assets for draft capital, and not making decisions to help the team win.

Players like Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry, Kevin Byard and Denico Autry would all need to find a new home to play for in 2023. Trade away those who you can, cut the rest, build up cap space and draft capital for the foreseeable future.

By season's end, the organization hopes to be sitting with a top three pick, putting them in a position to land USC’s Caleb Williams or North Carolina’s Drake Maye.

Making the jump is arguably the most risky choice to make, especially if the team doesn’t get a top choice at the best rookie quarterback. This option is better than getting left behind, but it’s going to cost you a lot of future draft capital, which the Titans need.

The only option that makes sense is jumping from pick 11 to pick three in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals.

That puts you right in front of the Colts and gives them less of an option at quarterback, or maybe no quarterback at all depending on their draft board.

This would make the Colts become the team who potentially gets left behind. The Titans would now have their choice of CJ Stroud, Bryce Young, or Anthony Richardson. All three of them could set you up for the next decade, and set your rivals back.

Getting left behind is clearly the worst of the listed options. This is where the team doesn't make many roster changes, keep around expensive cap casualty players, and try to keep winning when you know the roster can’t perform at a high level.

Many could say that this decision doesn’t need to be made this year, but what is the point in waiting? If you try to win with this roster, while Houston and Indianapolis grow their potential franchise quarterback, they set themselves up for two years of disappointment.

Tennessee will miss out on a massive opportunity in this year's draft or even next year's draft.

The fanbase will live with .500 football while the rest of their division attempts to build Super Bowl winning football. Ran Carthon should bite the bullet and reset his franchise, and build something special in Tennessee.