The Tennessee Titans have a veteran edge rusher who doesn't fit the long-term picture. Could a deal with Tampa Bay help both sides?
The Tennessee Titans could have a decision to make with veteran pass rusher Jacob Martin , and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be the perfect hypothetical trade partner. On the latest episode of 13 Personnel, I put on my best Jason Licht impression and pitched a Jacob Martin trade that I think makes a lot of sense for both sides.
Here's the deal I proposed. The Buccaneers send a 2027 fourth-round pick to Tennessee. In return, Tampa Bay gets Martin and a 2027 late-round pick from the Titans. I initially asked for a seventh-rounder, and we bumped it to a sixth to make it fairer. Either way, the late-round piece isn't the headline.
Tennessee gets a fourth-round pick for Jacob Martin. Let's call it what it is.
It shouldn't be a surprise that I view Martin as a stopgap.
He is 30 years old, and he is not part of the long-term plan for this team. There is nothing wrong with that. Every roster needs veterans who can hold things together. However, the Titans need to figure out which of their young players will be part of the next iteration of this defense.
That is where the draft capital comes in. A fourth-round pick in the 2027 NFL draft is a very valuable commodity. The class is shaping up to be especially deep. Even if the quarterback class was semi-overrated in the preseason, it's still going to be a great draft.
On top of that, moving Martin would give Tennessee a clear look at its younger edge players. If they show something, great. If they don't, the Titans will know whether they need to spend a top-five draft pick on an edge rusher. That is important information for general manager Mike Borgonzi to have.
One of our co-hosts, Easton Freeze , was all in on this one. He told me we didn't talk about any of it before the show and called it his favorite of the trades.
From the sounds of it, Easton sees Martin as a useful player who has been especially visible over the last couple of weeks. He is a nice mercenary pass rusher for a team like Tampa Bay. Todd Bowles' defense can use that kind of player very effectively.
Freeze also raised a fair concern. Just last year, the Titans traded their most effective pass rusher at the time to the Ravens, and the pass rush fell off a cliff. Instead of seeing that as a reason to hold, he pointed out that Robert Saleh's defense is a much different group with more youth.
That youth is the whole point. Easton admitted that Femi Oladejo has been underwhelming during his time with the Titans. Still, there is one thing Oladejo does well, and that is stop the run on early downs. He is a talented run defender. Easton was left scratching his head as to why Martin, whom he expected to be mostly a third-down pass rusher, is gobbling up snaps on every down.
Then there is Keldric Faulk . Freeze has seen the flashes since Tennessee drafted him, and he wants Faulk getting more third-down pass rush reps. This trade would be the path to that.
If you ask me, this is the type of move a team in Tennessee's position should be making. It's a bit of a Moneyball approach. You aren't replacing Martin with one player. You are replacing him in the aggregate.
Oladejo takes the early-down work. Faulk gets the later-down pass rush opportunities. Meanwhile, the Titans pick up a fourth-round pick for a player who, let's be honest, isn't in the future plans.
Tampa Bay gets a proven veteran to add to its pass rush. Tennessee gets draft capital and a real evaluation of its young edge group. One thing is very clear to me. This is a deal both front offices should be willing to pick up the phone for.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Titans Mock Trade: Tennessee ships off a proven veteran to make way for the future and add a 2027 NFL Draft pick
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