The Tennessee Titans surprised everyone when they traded up to gain a second pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft.
The Buffalo Bills traded the 31st pick, a third-round pick, and a fifth-round pick to the Titans in exchange for second, third, and fourth-round picks. Tennessee then used that pick on Auburn defensive end Keldric Faulk, whose name wasn’t frequently mentioned as a Day 1 prospect.
After the selection, Faulk spoke to the media about being drafted by the Titans, and he was as surprised as everyone else.
Keldrick Faulk says he doesn’t know much about the Titans or the NFL in general. Also said he did not have much interaction with Tennessee pre-draft pic.twitter.com/FZ543zztHV
— Buck Reising (@BuckReising) April 24, 2026
“I really didn’t know they had any interest in me, but I’m glad they did,” Faulk says.
Then he’s asked what he knew about the Titans and what the call with them was like.
“To be honest, I don’t really know too much about the NFL in general. I really just started watching players in the NFL as soon as I got into college, probably two or three years ago. So, the NFL is brand new to me. I’m trying to pick up knowledge about the NFL as I go,” he said.
“As far as the phone call with the front office and everyone in the building, it was great. I really couldn’t hear a whole lot because I was crying, like everybody else was crying around me. But I could tell they were excited for me, so I’m excited to be here, for sure.”
Faulk stands at 6-foot-6 and weighs 285 pounds. Combine him with John Franklin-Myers (6-foot-4, 288 lbs.), Jeffery Simmons (6-foot-4, 305 lbs.), Jermaine Johnson (6-foot-5, 254 lbs.), and Jordan Elliott (6-foot-4, 303 lbs.), and the Titans’ defensive front just got a whole lot bigger.
Despite being a Day 2 prospect and having little interaction between the two sides, the Titans (namely, Robert Saleh) must have seen something in him or his film that indicated he was worth jumping back into the first round for. We’ll see if they got it right when they hit the field this fall.
This article originally appeared on Titans Wire: Tennessee Titans pick Keldric Faulk: ‘NFL is brand new to me’