The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft has already been traded, but that may not be the only top-five pick dealt during the offseason.
The No. 3 selection in the 2023 NFL Draft could be on the move as well.
And if the pick is traded, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah explained on his “Move the Sticks” podcast that the Titans and Raiders could be among the teams in the running to land it.
“Can I give you the team that I have been told to keep an eye on that’s exploring this and looking into this?” Jeremiah said of trading with the Cardinals to acquire the No. 3 pick, as transcribed by A to Z Sports. “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.”
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Presumably, the Raiders and Titans would be moving up to select a quarterback. The top of the 2023 NFL Draft class is also loaded at the quarterback position, and as many as four passers could go within the top five.
At present, C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young are expected to be the top two selections of the draft in some order. That said, Anthony Richardson and Will Levis should be on the board for the No. 3 pick, so if the Raiders or Titans fell in love with either, it would make sense to trade up and leapfrog the quarterback-needy Colts to get their man of choice as a long-term starter.
Of course, some may be still wondering why the Raiders and Titans would trade up for a quarterback when they have Jimmy Garoppolo and Ryan Tannehill on their respective rosters. The answer is simple: Neither veteran is a guaranteed, long-term solution at the quarterback position.
The Raiders signed Garoppolo during the 2023 NFL offseason to reunite him with Josh McDaniels, who served as his offensive coordinator early in his career with the Patriots. Garoppolo is expected to be a solid starter, but there are questions about whether he is truly an upgrade over the departed Derek Carr.
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Meanwhile, the Titans still have Tannehill at quarterback, but he has merely been an average starter for the team the last couple of seasons. He is also turning 35, is in the final year of his contract and is coming off an ankle injury, so it’s fair to wonder just how much he has left in the tank.
All that’s to say that pairing a safe, established quarterback like Garoppolo or Tannehill with a high-upside athlete like Richardson could pay off in spades. It would certainly buy time for any quarterback chosen to develop, much like the approach the 49ers took when they drafted Trey Lance and sat him behind Garoppolo in 2021.
That Garoppolo and Lance pairing is part of what strengthens Tennessee’s connection to this potential move. The Titans’ new general manager Ran Carthon comes from the 49ers front office, which decided to pair Garoppolo with Lance in 2021, so he could take a similar approach with a trade-up in Tennessee.
Add in that Monti Ossenfort, the Cardinals’ new general manager, previously worked for Tennessee, and it seems like the Titans would be well-equipped to trade for the No. 3 pick if they so desire.
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Still, only time will tell whether the Titans or Raiders complete a trade-up for a quarterback.
Either way, the Cardinals’ selection at No. 3 remains the one to watch as draft day draws nearer.