Titans’ must-see NFL Draft targets in CFP: Carnell Tate, Arvell Reese and more

The Tennessee Titans are set to undergo a full organizational rebuild in the 2026 offseason, which will begin with another top-five pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. General manager Mike Borgonzi will have to focus his efforts on replacing former head coach Brian Callahan, but his current agenda will revolve around the upcoming College Football Playoffs.

Although the Titans are not likely to end the season with the No. 1 pick for the second consecutive year, they will almost certainly have their choice of options. Borgonzi is committed to building around Cam Ward for at least one more season and will reflect that in the upcoming draft.

The Titans have a lot of ground to cover in the upcoming months, with almost everything on the table in the offseason. Still, Borgonzi should have his eyes on a few of the biggest names in college football during the sport’s biggest stage.

Every Tennessee Titans fan should be getting excited watching these eight players in the 2025-2026 College Football Playoffs, with the hope that they will join the team in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Alabama S Keon Sabb

The Titans have Amani Hooker and Xavier Woods both under contract for at least one more season, seemingly making safety a secure position in the offseason. However, Tennessee is on track to end the year with a bottom-10 passing defense for the second consecutive year and nothing should be off the table.

Ohio State’s Caleb Downs is the top safety of the draft, but the Titans are not likely to target him in the first round. Instead, Alabama’s Keon Sabb is a much more realistic and intriguing prospect for them to consider.

Sabb’s career has been hindered by injuries, but he is one of the most athletic and physical safeties to grace the college football scene in the last decade. Sabb is not as gifted a tackler as some other players in the class, but he is arguably the best in pass coverage. Tennessee has not had a legitimate ball-hawk safety like Sabb since trading Kevin Byard in 2023.

Ohio State LB Arvell Reese

Ohio State is typically well-represented in the NFL Draft and is on track to repeat that trend in 2026. No player on the Buckeyes’ roster has increased his stock more than Arvell Reese, who has suddenly become arguably the best prospect of the entire class.

Reese’s physical traits have always impressed and had his teammates selling fans on his talent long before his official breakout. In just his second season of college football, Reese has broken through with 62 tackles, 6.5 sacks and two batted passes in 2025.

Reese is capable of playing both inside and outside linebacker, two primary positions of need for the Titans. Tennessee might be eyeing a more traditional linebacker, but this defense desperately needs a playmaker like Reese, who could very well end up becoming the team’s first-round pick.

Ohio State WR Carnell Tate

Building around Cam Ward begins with upgrading the Titans’ offense. Rookies Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike have given the team some hope, but upgrading the lackluster receiving corps should be priority No. 1.

Considering the success Ohio State receivers have had in the NFL recently — Emeka Egbuka, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jaxon Smith-Njigba all entered the league in the last three years — it would be naive for Borgonzi to overlook that market. Carnell Tate is the Buckeyes’ top draft-eligible pass-catcher in 2025 and could cement himself as a first-round target with a strong performance in the College Football Playoffs.

Tate enters the playoffs with 48 catches for 838 receiving yards, second on the team behind superstar teammate Jeremiah Smith. A big-bodied receiver with elite ball skills, Tate has been compared to A.J. Green, Justin Jefferson and Quentin Johnston.

Miami Edge Rueben Bain

Pass rush is one area in which the Titans have not struggled in 2025, with a top-10 pressure and sack rate. However, edge-rusher could still be a position of need in the offseason, with Arden Key, Dre’Mont Jones and Jihad Ward hitting free agency.

There is no better edge defender in the 2026 NFL Draft class than Rueben Bain Jr., who would have been a prioritized pick had he been eligible in 2025. Bain’s sack numbers are down in his junior season, but he is still the second-highest-graded edge-rusher on Pro Football Focus.

Bain’s athleticism, strength and speed would make for a potentially lethal pairing with Jeffery Simmons. Whether or not the Titans re-sign Key and Jones, Bain should be atop Borgonzi’s big board in the coming months.

Alabama WR Germie Bernard

If it is not Carnell Tate, Alabama’s Germie Bernard has to be the receiver the Titans are monitoring most ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft. Bernard might not be as much of a big-play threat, but his route-running and hands are ready for the next level.

Ryan Williams had all the hype within the Alabama passing attack in the preseason, but Bernard leads the team with 57 catches and 762 receiving yards. The well-traveled college football veteran has been a staple of Kalen DeBoer’s offenses for three years and quickly emerged as Heisman contender Ty Simpson’s most trusted pass-catcher.

The Titans will have Calvin Ridley returning in 2026, along with Ayomanor and Dike. Their passing attack was just far too ineffective to throw Ward into his second season with the same group. Borgonzi needs to target receivers early, and Bernard could fly up his radar with a few strong performances.

Georgia CB Daylen Everette

The Titans’ concerning secondary woes could get worse in the offseason, when starter Jalyn Armour-Davis hits free agency. With L’Jarius Sneed having played just 12 games for the team since 2024, Tennessee will certainly be investing in a cornerback early in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Georgia’s Daylen Everett is a player all Titans fans should be watching in the College Football Playoffs and hope that he ends up on the roster in four months. Everett’s draft profile is built on his elite size, speed and quickness, which led to a career-high six pass breakups in 2025.

Georgia’s secondary as a whole has been one of the biggest disappointments from a positional group in the country. That blame cannot be placed on Everett, who continues to play inspired ball in a do-it-all role for the Bulldogs. Everett’s subpar instincts might limit him early, but he can have an immediate impact as a slot defender for a secondary-needy team like the Titans.

Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor

Improving Ward’s protection will be of the utmost importance in the offseason. The Titans have allowed Ward to be the third-most-sacked quarterback by virtue of allowing the third-most pressures in the NFL.

Although the Titans’ biggest offensive line concerns are on the interior, they should not rule out an upgrade at tackle. Tackles Dan Moore Jr. and JC Latham have allowed the most pressures on the team, which should have Borgonzi evaluating the position in the upcoming draft.

There will be no better time to gauge the landscape than the College Football Playoffs, which will feature the two best tackles of the class in Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor and Miami’s Francis Mauigoa. Both players are projected to be first-rounders and will get a ton of pass-blocking reps in the playoffs, but Proctor is a slightly better fit on paper as the bigger player with elite athleticism and power.

Ole Miss LB Suntarine Perkins

If the Titans do not spend their first pick on Arvell Reese, they could target a similar prospect on Day Two with Ole Miss linebacker Suntarine Perkins. Like Reese, Perkins is a hybrid linebacker capable of playing both inside and outside, though he figures to revert back to edge-rusher in the NFL.

Perkins was utilized exclusively as an edge-rusher in 2024, when he tied for the team lead with 10.5 sacks. Ole Miss gave him more inside reps in his junior season and watched him flourish, notching a career-high 62 tackles and four pass breakups while still chipping in two sacks.

Tennessee might have discovered a young talent in Cedric Gray, but it has nothing else at linebacker. Adding a player like Perkins would be a fine consolation prize if the Titans miss on Reese in round one.

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