Titans take Alabama tackle JC Latham with pick No. 7

The Titans addressed their most glaring need in a big way on Thursday, selecting Alabama tackle JC Latham with the seventh overall pick of the NFL Draft’s first round.

Tennessee had plenty of other options at No. 7, including wide receiver Rome Udonze, tight end Brock Bowers and left tackle Olu Fashanu among others. Titans General Manager Ran Carthon also said Thursday night the team had “a ton of calls” about trading the pick.

But in Latham, the Titans selected a player who should provide a huge boost to what was a shaky offensive line last season. Tennessee gave up 64 sacks in 2023, the fifth-most in the NFL.

Carthon said the 6-6, 342-pound Latham, who played right tackle at Alabama, will move to left tackle for the Titans. He’ll line up next to last year’s first-round draft pick, guard Peter Skoronski. Tennessee also has a new center in free-agent signing Lloyd Cushenberry.

Latham played 1,753 snaps over three seasons at right tackle for the Crimson Tide, 135 at right guard and zero at left tackle, per Pro Football Focus. He last played left tackle in high school.

“There’s a precedent [for prospects moving from right to left tackle],” Titans coach Brian Callahan said. “Guys have played right and played left and made the switch. It’s not super uncommon. It’s happened before. So you’ve got a comfort level with the player and the athlete and what he’s capable of.

“If he doesn’t feel comfortable there or doesn’t look right, look natural, move him back to right. Like I said the other day, you need tackles, period. So it doesn’t really affect us one way or the other which tackle he plays. He’s just a really strong, powerful, big, athletic human. There’s not a lot of guys that look like him on Earth. We like that.”

The Titans are needy at right tackle as well, with Nicholas Petit-Frere likely topping the depth chart at that position currently. Tennessee also acquired Leroy Watson from Cleveland in a recent trade.

Latham was ranked the No. 3 tackle prospect by The Athletic (and 13^th-best prospect overall) and the No. 5 tackle prospect by Pro Football Focus (18th-best overall).

The scouting report on Latham is that he’s a tremendous athlete, especially for his size. He is extremely strong, has quick feet and is a good mover in the run game. Latham isn’t considered quite as skilled a pass protector at this stage of his career, but the big man will soon be getting guidance from offensive line coach Bill Callahan, one of the best in the business.

Brian Callahan said his father gave a very positive evaluation of Latham.

“He liked him a lot,” Brian Callahan said. “He’s big, he’s powerful. He’s a really good athlete for his size. He’s got gigantic hands, he’s got a great anchor. There’s a lot of things he has that not a lot of people have, with his combination of size and athletic ability. So those things, as an offensive line coach, you get excited about him. Those are all the things he really liked about him.”

Over three seasons at Alabama, Latham allowed two sacks, six quarterback hits and 22 quarterback hurries in 1,016 pass-blocking snaps, per PFF. In 2023, Latham allowed two sacks, three quarterback hits and nine hurries in 443 pass-blocking snaps.

Latham said he has plenty of confidence he’ll be able to make the switch from right to left.

“I was recruited to Alabama as a left tackle,” Latham said, explaining that the presence of Evan Neal, now with the New York Giants, at that position led Latham to the right side.

“He was a great tackle. I just decided to go to right. I trained at right when I got to Alabama. But I was never a right tackle in high school … I became the number two player in the country [at left tackle], number one at my position.”

The draft continues with the second and third round on Friday.

The Titans have a second-round pick, 38th overall. Tennessee does not have a third-round pick.

This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.