The Tennessee Titans went 3-14 in the 2024 NFL Season, finishing with the worst record in the league. While it's never fun to watch a three-win team, the Titans' ineptitude did land the team a coveted asset. They picked up the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
There isn't a clear-cut No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft like there usually is, but given the team's hole at quarterback, it's likely that the Titans will look to fill that vacancy with their No. 1 overall selection, especially with the odds of them landing a veteran replacement for Will Levis looking pretty slim. The best quarterback, according to most analysts, is Cam Ward out of the University of Miami.
In order to give Ward the best chance to succeed, the Titans need to surround him with a steady offense. The Titans have done that to an extent with Calvin Ridley in their wide receiver room and Tony Pollard in the backfield, but their offensive line needed a boost as well. Tennessee wound up paying an offensive lineman, Dan Moore Jr., a substantial amount of money, but was that really the right decision?
The #Titans are loading up on the offensive line, agreeing to terms with #Steelers LT Dan Moore on a 4-year, $82M deal with $50M guaranteed and $30M in Year 1, sources say.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 10, 2025
The deal done by Jeff Nalley of CAA is the biggest for a tackle thus far.
Titans risk ruining Cam Ward before drafting him by signing Dan Moore Jr.
The Titans needed more talent on their offensive line, and they wound up signing Moore, a 26-year-old who has started 66 games for the Pittsburgh Steelers across his four seasons with that team. While that sounds good, in theory, a deeper dive into Moore's production will show why this is a shaky move at best.
Most notably, Moore allowed 12 sacks in 17 games played this past season, according to PFF. That led all offensive tackles. Tennessee's right tackle situation was a mess last season, and moving JC Latham there should help, but how good of a situation is it for Ward to step into having his blind side protected by the offensive tackle who allowed the most sacks in the league?
Yes, even with the elevated sack numbers, Moore should be a substantial upgrade over Nicholas Petit-Frere and Co., but you'd think a $50+ million offensive lineman wouldn't allow the most sacks in the sport. As a left tackle, his production will be crucial to Ward's development. Given that, it would've been ideal for the Titans to have done better at that position. The options might not have been plentiful, but there were better options.