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No. 1 Pick Likely Out Of Titans' Reach
Tennessee Titans interim coach Mike McCoy talks to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) after the game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Titans currently sit at 3-12 and are on pace to match their record from last season. If they do so, their position in the draft is going to be much different.

Currently, there are six teams with three wins or less. The New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders both have two wins, and those are the two teams to keep an eye on heading into Week 17.

As for Tennessee, they're currently projected to draft No. 6 overall. They're one of four three-win teams, joined alongside the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals.

Giants vs. Raiders Game Will Decide Everything

At this point, Titans fans who are still hoping for the No. 1 pick need a ton of help. Whoever wins the Giants vs. Raiders game likely gives up hope on them having the No. 1 pick, so we're in for quite the game come December 28.

Whoever loses the Giants vs. Raiders game is nearly a lock for the No. 1 pick. The Giants play the Dallas Cowboys in Week 18, a team they lost to 40-37 back in Week 2. The Raiders are playing the Kansas City Chiefs, a team that shut them out, 31-0, back in Week 7.

Titans Need Help From Three Other Teams

Knowing the Titans remaining games are vs. New Orleans and at Jacksonville, there's room for one more win on their schedule. That said, the Saints are red hot and that's going to be much easier said than done. Any Titans fan who wants the No. 1 pick knows this team must lose their final two games for that to come close to happening.

The current 3-12 teams schedules are as followed:
Browns vs. Pittsburgh, at Cincinnati
Jets vs. New England, at Buffalo
Cardinals at Cincinnati, at Los Angeles Rams

In order for the Titans to move up from their No. 6 position, they need those teams to all win at least one game while Tennessee loses their last two. Of those three teams, there's a chance the Browns or Cardinals could get a win at Cincinnati. Looking at how well the Bengals just played against the Miami Dolphins, not even that is a guarantee.

Even if the Titans lose out, they still have a stronger strength of schedule than both the Giants and Vegas. Unless there's a crazy tie or two thrown in the mix, it seems like the Titans can at best draft No. 2 overall. That's still quite the improvement from No. 6, but at this point Titans fans should kiss the No. 1 pick goodbye, if they haven't already.

This article first appeared on Tennessee Titans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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