Chris Johnson Says Titans Would Be 'Absolute Fools' To Pass On Travis Hunter In Draft

The Titans are in desperate need of a quarterback, but Chris Johnson is advising his former squad to still take Travis Hunter in the spring's NFL Draft -- telling TMZ Sports Tennessee would be "absolute fools" to pass on the Heisman Trophy winner.

If the season ended today, the 3-13 Titans would have the No. 2 overall pick ... and many pundits believe they should be targeting a signal-caller like Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward there -- as their QB play has been dreadful this year.

But, Johnson thinks it'd be a huge mistake to miss on Hunter for one of the young arms ... explaining to us he thinks the two-way Colorado star could change everything for his ex-team.

"I think we would be absolute fools if we pass up on Travis," he said.

A big reason Johnson likes the move is he's a fan of Will Levis.

CJ2K says even though the former second-round pick is just 5-15 as a starter and has just 20 passing touchdowns to 16 interceptions ... he can be an effective leader at some point in the near future.

"I think Will is going to end up being a quarterback," the ex-tailback said. "Sometimes it takes time. You look at some of these quarterbacks like Jordan Love and some of these other guys -- they had time to sit down and learn. Like years to sit down and learn. So I feel like he's going to come into his own."

Of course, the Titans might not even have a chance at Hunter or one of the top QBs -- as a win over the Houston Texans later Sunday could drop them down in the order significantly.

Then again, a loss could vault them to the No. 1 pick -- where Johnson would love for them to take Travis.