Austin Schlottmann is currently listed as the Tennessee Titans’ starting center, and that could matter far beyond Nashville. If he stays there, the New York Giants’ expected 2027 compensatory draft pick for losing Wan'Dale Robinson gets a better chance of holding at fourth round.
Robinson is the only offseason loss now expected to bring New York a compensatory selection, and the working assumption is a fourth-round pick if the numbers do not shift as the season unfolds. The reason Schlottmann matters is simple: he is one of the former Giants the Titans added this offseason, and his playing time can affect the same formula that is already giving Robinson weight on the loss side.
Robinson signed a four-year, $70 million deal, which is why his departure sits at the center of the Giants’ compensatory outlook. The NFL’s formula is not just about contracts, though. It compares what a team loses and what it adds, then layers in playing time as the season goes on. That is why a depth chart designation in Tennessee has become part of New York’s draft math.
Schlottmann’s own role is what gives the situation its edge. In 2025, he played a limited role at center for Big Blue and logged 362 snaps, then this offseason he joined the Titans on a one-year, $3.5 million deal. He is now listed as the starting center on the Titans’ unofficial depth chart, a development that could help preserve the value of Robinson’s exit for the Giants.
That also adds a small irony to the picture. The Titans brought in multiple players from the Giants in free agency, and Brian Daboll is now their offensive coordinator, which makes the roster churn look less like coincidence than familiarity. Still, the compensatory formula does not care who signed whom. It cares about value, and Schlottmann’s snaps are part of that value.
Nick Korte put it plainly: Austin Schlottmann as the Titans’ starting center is what the Giants and their fans want to see, because a full season of snaps likely seals a fourth-round compensatory pick for Robinson leaving, also to Nashville. That leaves the Giants in a favorable spot for now, but the pick is not locked until the season’s playing time settles the accounting.
