Former First-Round Pick Named X-Factor For Titans Heading Into 2026 NFL Season

The Tennessee Titans, who haven’t made the NFL playoffs since 2021, are looking to end that drought in 2026, and ESPN’s Ben Solak pointed to offensive tackle JC Latham as the team’s biggest X-factor. Tennessee selected Latham No. 7 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Solak said Latham’s development is central to Tennessee’s offense, highlighting his size—6-foot-5, 340 pounds—and how that length can help offset “imperfect technique” and leverage issues. Solak also referenced early positional shifts from right tackle to left tackle as a rookie and a return to right tackle in his second season, when a hip injury limited him. Now entering his third year and a year removed from the injury, Latham could be positioned to improve both run blocking and pass protection as Tennessee develops quarterback Cam Ward.