Tennessee Titans linebacker Dre'Mont Jones (45) exits the field after their loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Titans Final Step To Earning 2026 Fourth-Round Pick

Originally posted on Tennessee Titans on SI
By Jordon Lawrenz | Last updated Jan 1, 2026 1:00 PM ET

Back on November 3, the Tennessee Titans traded defensive end Dre'Mont Jones to the Baltimore Ravens.

As part of the trade, the Ravens sent over the New York Jets 2026 fifth-round pick. There were two stipulations for that fifth-rounder to become a fourth, and one of those was already met.

Jones needed two sacks during his time with Baltimore to secure step one. He picked up 1.5 sacks on November 23 and another on December 21 which helped Tennessee get one step closer.

Step two comes down to January 4. The Baltimore Ravens are set to do battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers in a winner take all game. Tennessee needs the Ravens to make the playoffs for that pick to increase a round, so they'll be rooting for Baltimore in the AFC North title game.

Titans Fans Must Root For Ravens

Baltimore, 8-8, just needs a victory over the 9-7 Steelers to win the AFC North. A tie does the Ravens no favors, they need to win outright in order to make the playoffs. Obviously, Titans fans know who they'll be rooting for.

While moving up from the fifth-round to the fourth doesn't seem like much, it further proves why the Titans went ahead and made that trade. Going back to the deadline, they only moved players on the defensive side of the ball. Jones happened to be one of those players, and he's made his mark in Baltimore.

Obviously, Tennessee would love to have him back but that's not the world we live in. Instead, Titans fans know Jones could be a huge part of their quest for victory in Week 18 which would help out his former team. While that's likely not something on the back of his mind, it's yet another thing the Titans have to play for in Week 18.

Titans 2026 Draft

Currently, the Titans have one draft pick in rounds one through four. There's a chance they could turn that into a pair of fourth round picks, something that can only happen with a Ravens win over the Steelers.

Tennessee cannot draft No. 1 overall, but there's a chance they could end up at No. 2. That would take some help from other teams, and require them to lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

At this point, the Titans would rather spoil the Jaguars quest for a top seed in the AFC playoffs. Where they draft doesn't matter too much as they can't select worse than No. 7.

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

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