Titans Trade Pitch Lands Former Top 5 Draft Pick originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Trade talk is usually reserved for free agent and draft time, but that does not mean trades cannot happen before the beginning of the season. Teams are always looking to receive or get back the best value for assets they are willing to part with, and going into the 2025 NFL season, that is precisely what some teams could do.
For The Win’s Cory Woodruff dove into some trade ideas, and one saw the Titans getting New York Giants’ pass rusher and former No. 5 draft pick in the 2022 NFL Draft in edge rusher/linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux, for a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick.
At first glance, Thibodeaux is a talented edge rusher. When he was coming out of the University of Oregon, many marveled at his ability, agility, and what he could potentially be. While he has had 21 total sacks in his first three seasons, his performance has been very uneven, with numbers ranging from 4.0 sacks in 2022 to 11.5 in 2023 and only 5.5 in the 2024 season.
With this uneven production, it is not hard to see why the Giants drafted Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter with the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, potentially pairing him with Brian Burns, whom the Giants acquired via trade from the Carolina Panthers in the 2024 offseason.
There are questions about Thibodeaux entering his fourth season, and with him wanting to get paid, it would be a level of risk to bring him in. But with that being said, there is also a need for a dynamic edge pass-rusher in Tennessee, especially with edge rusher Harold Landry no longer a member of the Tennessee Titans (left in free agency to join the New England Patriots after being released by the Titans).
Landry led the Titans in sacks over the last three years with 19.5, and that was after missing one season due to injury. With Landry gone, Arden Key, 2025 free agent pickup Dre’Mont Jones, rookie Oluwafemi Oladejo and second-year player Jaylen Harrell make up the four-man rotation on the edge for the Titans. On the surface, you don’t see a guy who can give you double-digit sacks and who strikes fear in opponents every week regularly.
Ultimately, it is up to the Titans what they do or don’t do and if they think Thibodeaux is worth the trade. The biggest thing to figure out is if the risk is worth the reward. And for the Titans, it definitely could be a risk worth taking.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
