Tennessee Titans hold No. 1 pick in 2025 NFL Draft, Mel Kiper Jr. pushes for Abdul Carter over famous QB

The Tennessee Titans are staring at a massive offseason. After a brutal 3-14 season, they landed the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. They also have $51 million in cap space—plenty of room to reshape the roster.
With a franchise-changing decision ahead, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. laid out his vision for Tennessee’s future. His call? Forget the quarterbacks. Instead, he has the Titans drafting Penn State linebacker Abdul Carter first overall.
Carter isn’t just another defensive prospect. He’s fast, relentless, and one of the most disruptive pass rushers in the class. Kiper made it clear why Tennessee should take him over a rookie quarterback.
"He creates so much pressure off the edge with the burst and instincts to get home for sacks," Kiper wrote, per ESPN. "He had 12 of them in 2024, along with a nation-leading 23.5 tackles for loss. For a Tennessee team that was 25th in pressure (29.0%) this past season, sliding him next to Jeffery Simmons and T'Vondre Sweat makes a lot of sense."
If the Titans follow Kiper’s plan, their defensive front could become a nightmare. But that still leaves one problem: Who’s playing quarterback?
Quarterback is still a glaring issue in Tennessee. Will Levis didn’t prove he’s the long-term solution, and there’s no clear upgrade in the draft. Kiper briefly floated one name: Aaron Rodgers.
"Could Tennessee also choose to take one of those passers itself here to replace Will Levis? Of course," Kiper wrote. "But there are other ways to attack the quarterback position — Aaron Rodgers?"
That’s not nothing. If Kiper thought Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward, or Quinn Ewers were strong enough to push Will Levis, he would’ve mocked them at No. 1. Instead, he’s pointing at a veteran.
Rodgers, coming off a torn Achilles, is still under contract with the New York Jets. But his future is shaky. If the Jets decide to move on, Tennessee could make sense. The Titans aren’t contenders yet, but Rodgers wouldn’t have many teams fighting for him at this point. If he wants to keep playing, options might be limited.
If the Titans go this route, Rodgers would be a short-term play. He’s not the future, but he could stabilize the offense while Tennessee builds. The real question? Whether he’d actually want to play for a rebuilding team.
The NFL Combine is here, and one quarterback trying to boost his stock is Quinn Ewers. He spent most of 2024 playing through a torn oblique but is now fully healthy.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero confirmed Ewers will throw at the Combine.
"Another quarterback I can tell you will throw is Texas' Quinn Ewers," Pelissero said. "I'm told that he's fully recovered from a torn oblique that he played with basically this entire season."
Ewers suffered the injury in September against Michigan but kept playing through it. He missed a couple of games, giving Arch Manning a brief starting opportunity. Still, he led Texas to the College Football Playoff semifinals before falling to Ohio State.
His numbers? 3,472 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Athlon Sports ranked him as the No. 5 quarterback in the draft class, behind Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, Jalen Milroe, and Jaxson Dart.
Now fully healthy, Ewers has a shot to improve his draft position. If he performs well at the Combine, he could climb into the first-round conversation. The Titans might not be interested, but plenty of other teams will be watching.
Read More: How the NFL Scouting Combine became the draft’s ultimate proving ground