The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference South Division. Founded in 1959 by Houston oil tycoon Bud Adams (who remained the owner until his death in 2013), they were a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) and joined the NFL in 1970 as part of the AFL–NFL merger. The team was originally known as the Houston Oilers and began play in 1960 in Houston, Texas. In 1997, the Oilers relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, playing at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis for one season while waiting for a new stadium to be constructed. The team moved to Nashville's Vanderbilt Stadium in 1998. The team was known as the Tennessee Oilers for the 1997 and 1998 seasons. They changed their name to the Tennessee Titans for the 1999 season, when they moved into Adelphia Coliseum (now known as Nissan Stadium), where they have played their home games since.

The NFL draft, officially known as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings; the teams with the worst win–loss records receive the earliest picks. Teams that qualified for the NFL playoffs select after non-qualifiers, and their order depends on how far they advanced, using their regular season record as a tie-breaker. The final two selections in the first round are reserved for the Super Bowl runner-up and champion. Draft picks are tradable and players or other picks can be acquired with them.

Before the merger agreements in 1966, the AFL directly competed with the NFL and held a separate draft. This led to a bidding war over top prospects between the two leagues, along with the subsequent drafting of the same player in each draft. As part of the merger agreement on June 8, 1966, the two leagues began holding a multiple round "common draft". Once the AFL officially merged with the NFL in 1970, the "common draft" simply became the NFL draft. The first AFL draft was held prior to the start of the 1960 season. The first round of the 1960 AFL draft was territorial selections. Each team received a "territorial pick" which allowed them to select a single player within a pre-agreed upon designated region (the team's "territory"). Teams then agreed on the top eight players at each position, who were subsequently assigned to teams by random draw, with each of the eight teams receiving one of those players. This process was repeated until all 53 roster spots were filled. Beginning in the 1961 draft, the AFL, using the same system as the NFL, began to assign picks based on the previous season's standings.

Since the team's first draft, the Titans have selected 64 players in the first round. The team's first-round pick in the inaugural AFL draft was Billy Cannon, a halfback from LSU; he was the team's territorial selection. The Titans have drafted first overall three times, selecting John Matuszak in 1973, Earl Campbell in 1978, and Cam Ward in 2025. In the most recent draft, held in 2026, the Titans chose Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate and Auburn defensive end Keldric Faulk.

The Titans did not draft a player in the first round on ten occasions. Five of the team's first-round picks—Robert Brazile, Earl Campbell, Mike Ditka, Bruce Matthews, Mike Munchak—have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame; one of these, Mike Ditka, chose not to play for the team and joined the Chicago Bears of the NFL instead. The team's first-round pick in 1966, Tommy Nobis, also chose to sign with the NFL instead.

Player selections

+ Key Symbol Meaning Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame * Selected number one overall Selected number one overall and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Position abbreviations CB Cornerback DB Defensive back DE Defensive end DT Defensive tackle G Guard LB Linebacker QB Quarterback RB Running back T Tackle TE Tight end WB Wingback

+Tennessee Titans first-round draft picks Season Pick Player Position College Notes 1960 Territorial RB LSU First round was territorial selections 1961 8 TE Pittsburgh Signed for the NFL's Chicago Bears instead 1962 7 DT Howard Payne 1963 6 LB Arkansas 1964 6 DT Texas 1965 2 WR Baylor Original pick traded to New York Jets. Pick received from Denver Broncos. 1966 5 LB Texas Signed for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons instead 1967 5 LB Michigan State 23 G Notre Dame Pick received from Dallas Cowboys 1968 Pick traded to Kansas City Chiefs 1969 15 LB Arizona State 1970 14 G North Carolina Central 1971 3 QB Santa Clara 1972 6 T Stanford 1973 1 * DE Tampa 14 RB Iowa State Pick received from Atlanta Falcons 1974 Pick traded to Dallas Cowboys 1975 6 LB Jackson State Pick received from Kansas City Chiefs 15 RB Texas A&M–Kingsville 1976 Pick traded to San Francisco 49ers 1977 11 T Missouri 1978 1 RB Texas Moved up draft order in trade with Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1979 Moved down draft order in trade with Kansas City Chiefs 1980 Pick traded to New England Patriots 1981 Pick traded to Oakland Raiders 1982 8 G Penn State 1983 9 G USC Moved down draft order in trades with Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks 1984 2 T Nebraska 1985 3 DT Texas A&M Moved down draft order in trade with Minnesota Vikings 11 DB Wisconsin Pick received from New Orleans Saints 1986 3 QB Purdue Did not play for the team 1987 3 RB Miami (FL) Moved up draft order in trade with Buffalo Bills 20 WR North Carolina State Pick received from Los Angeles Rams 1988 22 RB Michigan State Additional pick received from Los Angeles Rams and subsequently traded to Los Angeles Raiders 1989 23 T Florida 1990 15 LB Houston 1991 Moved down draft order in trade with New England Patriots 1992 Pick traded to San Diego Chargers 1993 13 T Illinois Moved up draft order in trade with Philadelphia Eagles 1994 26 DT Arkansas 1995 3 QB Alcorn State 1996 14 RB Ohio State Moved down draft order in trade with Los Angeles Raiders then up in trade with Seattle Seahawks 1997 18 DE Miami (FL) Moved down draft order in trade with Kansas City Chiefs 1998 16 WR Utah 1999 16 DE Florida 2000 30 LB Syracuse 2001 Pick traded to St. Louis Rams 2002 15 DT Tennessee Moved down draft order in trade with New York Giants 2003 28 DB Oklahoma 2004 Moved down draft order in trade with Houston Texans 2005 6 DB West Virginia 2006 3 QB Texas 2007 19 DB Texas 2008 24 RB East Carolina 2009 30 WR Rutgers 2010 16 DE Georgia Tech 2011 8 QB Washington 2012 20 WR Baylor 2013 10 G Alabama 2014 11 T Michigan 2015 2 QB Oregon 2016 8 T Michigan State Moved down draft order in trade with Los Angeles Rams then up in trade with Cleveland Browns 2017 5 WR Western Michigan Pick received from Los Angeles Rams 18 DB USC 2018 22 LB Alabama Moved up draft order in trade with Baltimore Ravens 2019 19 DT Mississippi State 2020 29 T Georgia 2021 22 CB Virginia Tech 2022 18 WR Arkansas Original pick traded to New York Jets. Pick received from Philadelphia Eagles. 2023 11 G Northwestern 2024 7 T Alabama 2025 1 QB Miami 20264 WR Ohio State31 DE Auburn Pick received from Buffalo Bills.

See also History of the Tennessee Titans List of Tennessee Titans seasons

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