PHOENIX – Robert Saleh isn’t differentiating Jeremiyah Love from the three defensive ends who the Titans are likely considering at No. 4 in the upcoming NFL draft the way many suspect.
“Edge rushers are playmakers too,” he said at the NFL annual meetings at the Arizona Biltmore. “When you’re drafting that high, or really at any spot, it’s ‘Who can change the game in one play?’ And edge rushers can change the game in one play. Love is a very talented young man and he can change it in one play. There are receivers who can change it in one play.
“And right now we need guys, and we need to develop guys who are currently on our roster, who can change the game in one play. We’re looking at all these guys from a consistency standpoint, it’s ‘Who can flip the game on its head?’ Edge rushers can close it, skill guys can end it.”
Take it as pre-draft positioning if you like, but Mike Borgonzi and Saleh both expressed affection for Love while also emphasizing they are pleased with the Titans' current running back group with Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears and Kalel Mullings.
Twenty-three days before the first round of the NFL Draft, the big question for the Titans is how they size up Love against a group of three pass rushers who could be available at No. 4 – Arvell Reese, who’s converting from playing more off the ball; David Bailey, a productive rusher who admits he needs to improve against the run; and Rueben Bain, a powerful producer with short arms.
“I love our backfield, our room right now,” Saleh said. “I mean shit, Pollard dropped 100 on us in San Francisco and then Spears has tremendous versatility as a three-down back. They both play with a physical mindset. I look at our running back room as one of the better ones in football.”
The Titans ranked third from the bottom in rushing yards last year, but they played from behind a great deal in a 3-14 season. The unit finished strong with a 118.6-yard average in its final five games and will have a new system under Brian Daboll. Running back coach Randy Jordan was retained.
Closely tied to the team’s ability to run effectively in 2026 is the continuing issue on the offensive line, where holes at center and right guard need to be addressed, and the team has left open the possibility of starting two rookies. Saleh did say veterans already in house – Austin Scholttmann, Cordell Volson and Jackson Slater -- have the “upper hand.”
Saleh talked about game-changers and didn’t differentiate Love from guys who can sack the quarterback in the ability to grab the title.
Borgonzi made the safe, simple pledge: “We’re taking the best football player.”
