NASHVILLE — The NFL Combine just wrapped up in Indianapolis, and the raw speed on display sent shockwaves through the league. But for the Tennessee Titans, the mission remains crystal clear. With free agency looming and the 2026 NFL Draft just two months away, new head coach Robert Saleh is on a crash course to overhaul a roster that desperately needs an identity. The Titans need violence on defense and reliable hands on offense. If the board falls right, Nashville is about to get both.
Round 1, Pick 4: Sonny Styles | Linebacker | Ohio State
Every draft cycle produces one physical freak who breaks the stopwatches. Last year, we watched Nick Emmanwori crush the combine and immediately become a vital piece of a championship secondary. Sonny Styles sits on a completely different tier. He entered Indianapolis carrying the weight of massive expectations and shattered them all. At 6-foot-5 and 244 pounds, Styles clocked a blistering 4.46-second 40-yard dash and touched the roof with a 43.5-inch vertical. You simply do not find humans built like this.
A converted safety, Styles represents the absolute peak of modern linebacker evolution. In 2025, he logged 58 tackles and missed zero during the regular season. He drops into zone coverage with the fluidity of a defensive back and hits with the force of a freight train. Saleh molded Fred Warner into a superstar in San Francisco. He can do the exact same thing with Styles, pairing him with third-year pro Cedric Gray to lock down the middle of the field for the next decade.
Round 2, Pick 35: Omar Cooper Jr. | Receiver | Indiana
The Indiana Hoosiers just capped off an impossible 16-0 season by winning the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship. You don’t reach the mountaintop without elite weapons, and Omar Cooper Jr. delivered the goods all year long. The Indianapolis native wrangled 91 catches for 937 yards and 13 touchdowns while splitting targets with Elijah Sarratt. He practically dragged defenders down the field, tying for fourth in the nation with 27 missed tackles forced.
Cooper isn’t a straight-line burner, but he ran a highly respectable 4.42 40-yard dash at the combine. He operates smoothly out of the slot and thrives on the perimeter against man coverage. He struggles slightly with 50-50 balls, catching just half of his contested targets last season. But if Tennessee retains Calvin Ridley, Cooper slides perfectly into a WR2 role where he can feast on single coverage and serve as a reliable safety blanket for his quarterback.
Round 3, Pick 66: Davison Igbinosun | Cornerback | Ohio State
Tennessee shipped out three cornerbacks in 2025. They need bodies, and they need length. Enter Davison Igbinosun. At 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, he possesses the ideal frame to survive on an NFL island. He backed up his size at the combine, posting a 4.45 40-yard dash while flashing over 32-inch arms.
Igbinosun plays a hyper-aggressive brand of football. Sometimes, that aggression burns him with downfield penalties. But you can teach a physical corner to dial back his hands; you cannot teach a passive corner to hit. If the Titans want an outside enforcer without spending a premium first-round pick, taking a swing on Igbinosun’s massive upside here makes total sense.
“I’m not afraid of the contact. I look to violently strike through the block and find the football. That’s just how I play the game.”
— Sonny Styles, Linebacker, Ohio State
What’s Next for Nashville
Drafting Styles entirely shifts how opposing offenses attack the Titans. Saleh relies on a punishing front four and rangy linebackers who can erase tight ends and running backs in the passing game. By securing a generational talent at linebacker and adding a battle-tested National Champion receiver in Cooper, Tennessee instantly accelerates their rebuild. The next step is navigating the March free agency frenzy to plug holes on the offensive line so this incoming rookie class has the support system required to compete in a brutal AFC South.
