Music City Miracles strengthens Titans’ passing attack with Jaxon Smith-Njigba at No. 11

With the 11th pick in the SB Nation writers’ mock draft, the Tennessee Titans select Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State.

The Titans have a lot of needs on offense. Last year they had the worst offensive line in the NFL. They made some strides to address that in free agency with the signings of Andre Dillard from the Philadelphia Eagles and Daniel Brunskill from the San Francisco 49ers. Those two signings give them at least a competent offensive line heading into the 2023 season.

Where the Titans have the biggest need is at wide receiver. Last year they used their first-round pick to select WR Treylon Burks out of Arkansas. Burks showed some signs of being a really good player, but his playing time was limited in 2022 due to injuries. The Titans think they have a No. 1 receiver in Burks, but that is far from a sure thing at this point.

The question marks get even bigger behind Burks. Kyle Philips made some waves in training camp but his rookie year was also cut short due to injuries. Even at his best, Philips isn’t a game-changer. He can be a solid No. 3, but that is pretty much his ceiling.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine will also be back with the team in 2023, but if he is any higher than No. 4 on the depth chart it is going to be tough for this team to really get anything going through the air.

If the Titans are going to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender with Ryan Tannehill under center they are going to have to be great around him. That is why the pick here is Smith-Njigba. The 2021 receiver group at Ohio State included JSN, Garrett Wilson, and Chris Olave. Wilson and Olave were both first-round draft picks in 2022 and had outstanding rookie seasons. There are plenty of people who say JSN was the best player in that group.

The only thing that is keeping JSN from being in the conversation as a top 10 pick in this draft is the fact that he was only able to play in three games in the 2022 season for the Buckeyes. Back in 2021, he had 95 catches for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns while sharing targets with both Wilson and Olave.

DraftKings Sportsbook set the over/under on where JSN will be drafted at 12.5. If you think Tennessee is the most likely landing spot, take the under.

Tennessee has struggled at the receiver position as long as the franchise has been in Nashville. They finally had the stud receiver they had been searching for in A.J. Brown, but they traded him away before the 2022 season because they could not come to an agreement on a contract extension. Adding JSN to the receiver room would give them the chance to have two young stud receivers unlike they have seen since the move to Tennessee.