Monti Ossenfort and the Cardinals control the No. 3 pick, and their decision could determine whether the Tennessee Titans land a premier edge rusher in the 2026 NFL Draft.
It's Draft Day! Months of offseason rumors, speculation, and countless mock drafts have all led us to tonight, when we finally get answers on how each NFL team will retool its roster with the incoming class of rookies.
As always, we seem to have a pretty good idea of what options are on the table for the Tennessee Titans when they get on the clock with the fourth overall selection. But once the draft actually begins, all of that—draft movement projections, buzz, and assumptions—can be thrown out the window.
No matter what any team has on its big board, chaos tends to follow the moment one franchise deviates from league-wide expectations. Until you know what happens in front of you, it’s hard to truly have a plan.
And right now, it’s a former Titans executive who holds the fate of the team in his hands.
Monti Ossenfort was the Director of Player Personnel in Tennessee from 2020 to 2022, working closely under former GM Jon Robinson, with whom he had a prior relationship from their time in New England.
In January of 2023, as the Titans conducted the search that ultimately resulted in Ran Carthon being hired as GM, Ossenfort landed the general manager job with the Arizona Cardinals.
Now, Ossenfort’s Cardinals hold the No. 3 overall pick in tonight’s draft—and, truthfully, the key to how the rest of the top 10 unfolds.
There has been plenty of buzz surrounding Arizona and its potential interest in Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. Even in the last 24 hours, there’s been a surge of momentum making Love the favorite to go third overall.
Reports suggest the Cardinals are enamored with him as a prospect, with possible pressure from ownership pointing in that direction as the franchise looks to reset and give fans a new cornerstone to rally behind.
The growing consensus across the league is that Arizona will select Jeremiyah Love at No. 3—if it keeps the pick.
Teams have been calling the Cardinals about potentially moving up, hoping to land one of the premier edge rushers, whether that’s David Bailey or Arvell Reese, depending on what the New York Jets do at No. 2.
And of course, Arizona is entertaining the possibility of trading down.
So with all the noise about how much the Cardinals like Jeremiyah Love, it’s fair to ask: is there an ulterior motive behind how heavily that narrative is being pushed?
Ossenfort is no stranger to draft-day trades. In his first draft as Cardinals GM, he made a pair of aggressive deals that grabbed headlines. He traded back from the No. 3 overall pick, sending it to the Houston Texans in exchange for picks No. 12 and No. 33, along with a first- and third-round selection the following year.
The Cardinals then used some of that capital to move back into the top 10 and select Paris Johnson Jr., who has been a starter along the offensive line ever since. That additional first-round pick eventually turned into Darius Robinson out of Missouri.
The results of those moves haven’t always been perfect, but that’s not really the point for Tennessee. The Titans are directly impacted by the simple possibility that Ossenfort decides to make another move.
In my view, the best-case scenario for Tennessee is one where the Cardinals stay put at No. 3 and select Jeremiyah Love. That would guarantee that one of the premier edge rushers in this class—either Arvell Reese or David Bailey—falls to the Titans, creating a no-brainer decision for GM Mike Borgonzi.
But whether it’s Reese, Bailey, Love, or even Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles, the Titans’ fate tonight will be shaped just as much by Monti Ossenfort and the Arizona Cardinals as it will by their own evaluations.
That’s the nature of the NFL Draft. You’re at the mercy of how the board falls.
Titans fans should keep their notifications on—and their eyes on the trade market tonight.