Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Are the Tennessee Titans a Top Ten NFL Team???

Episode Date: June 5, 2022

The Tennessee Titans are deep into the offseason schedule at this point and have a good idea of what the 2022 roster will look like. With that in mind, where does this Titans team rank amongst the rest of the NFL on paper? Tyler takes a look at four different power rankings to see what some in the media think. To finish the show, Tyler talks about Jeffery Simmons attending Von Miller's pass rushing camp and how Jeff will see the benefits of 2021 this year.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitansSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Blue NileMake your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKED ON SPORTS listeners get $50 off purchases of $500 or more using code LOCKEDON. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, on today's show, the Tennessee Titans are deep into their offseason and the 2022 roster is pretty much set. With that in mind, are the Tennessee Titans a top 10 team in the NFL? We're going to look at some power rankings from some outside media outlets and see what they have to say. And then finally, Jeffrey Simmons attended Von Miller's pass rush camp this weekend.

I'm going to talk about what it means for Jeff right now and what it means he can do in 2022. All of that and more on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Titans fans, I'm excited to dive into today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast.

We're going to do a little power rankings roundup, see where some of these NFL media companies have the Tennessee Titans ranked. Are they a top 10 team? I'll give my opinion after we go through some of these power rankings as well. And then we'll be talking Jeffrey Simmons attending Von Miller's pass rush camp towards the end of the show. But before we dive into anything, I got to thank you guys for making the Locked On Titans

podcast your first listen every day. If this is your first ever listen to the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. If this is your first ever listen to the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. I am going to be putting out daily Tennessee Titans content all year long, and it's going to be free and available on all platforms. That includes the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Subscribe over there. Smash that notification bell, and if you're watching on YouTube right now,

throw a thumbs up on the video. I do really appreciate the support. You can follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans. You can follow the show on Facebook at LockedOnTitansPod. And today's show is brought to you by BetOnline. BetOnline has you covered this season with more props, odds, and lines than ever before. BetOnline, where the game starts.

But we are going to dive into some of these power rankings to see where they have the Tennessee Titans listed. And the first one that we're going to get into comes from ESPN. And the actual rankings themselves were composite rankings, but they have little descriptions for each team from the beat writer that covers that team. And of course, for the Tennessee Titans, it's the great Teron Davenport.

He does a really good job for ESPN covering the team. But in this first power rankings, we are going to look at from ESPN. They have the Tennessee Titans ranked, drum roll please, at number 11. So number 11 on the list for the Titans. And here's what Teron had to say about the Titans ranking.

It talks about Robert Woods and how he benefited from the Titans draft. He says, quote, Woods hasn't set foot on the field as a Titans player, well, other than practice, but he was catapulted into the number one receiver spot when the team traded A.J. Brown to the Eagles. Brown takes 23% of the Titans receiving yards last season to Philly. Woods is now likely to get the lion's share of targets from quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who targeted Brown more than any other receiver since taking over as the starter in Week 11 of 2019.

Although Woods will get a lot of targets in the passing game, he won't be a one-man show. Tennessee selected Traylon Burks with the pick. It acquired an exchange for Brown. Burks should settle into a nice complementary role to Woods, end quote. So I like what Teron had to say there. I agree about Traylon Burks and Robert Woods. It's not going to be a one-man show, and it can't be. But we've got to talk about this ranking.

And at number 11, that would say that the Titans are not a top 10 team. And I have to say off the bat, I think I do agree, but that does not mean that I agree with the rankings in the way that these teams are ordered. Look at some teams ahead of the Titans. Number one, the Dallas Cowboys at number eight. I do not think that the Dallas Cowboys are a better team than the Tennessee Titans. I'm sorry. I do not think that the Dallas Cowboys are a better team than the Tennessee Titans. I'm sorry. I'm not impressed by Dallas's offensive line. They lost pieces on defense. They lost Amari Cooper. Ezekiel Elliott is almost cooked. Dak Prescott, while being good, in my opinion, is still in the tier with Ryan Tannehill, probably at the top of that tier.

But, you know, he's not a superstar elite quarterback, in my opinion. So for the Cowboys to be at number eight ahead of San Francisco and ahead of another team that's ahead of the Titans, the Baltimore Ravens at number 10. Now Baltimore will come up a lot, as we discussed today. But I got to say, Baltimore is a great organization, and they always find a way to be competitive. I think they're going back to some of their roots in terms of how they played

with Lamar Jackson earlier in his career, more heavy tight end sets, make sure that they can run the ball, not rely as much on the passing game. I think Baltimore will be improved this year, so I'm not going to stake too much of an issue with Baltimore being ahead of the Titans, but the Cowboys at number eight, I'm sorry, I don't get that. And if the Cowboys at number eight and I don't agree, that means there are some teams behind the Titans that I think maybe could be better than the Titans. Number one, the Denver Broncos at number 12.

I wouldn't mind if the Cowboys and the Broncos were flipped. I would be perfectly fine with that. Now you have other teams here like the Raiders at 13. I think the Titans could be better than the Raiders. They have a couple more superstar players now, Devontae Adams and Chandler Jones. So I would get if the Raiders were a spot ahead of the Titans, but I don't have any issue there.

The Colts at 14, that did surprise me, that ESPN is putting the Colts lower than the Titans. And then you have Philadelphia at 16, Cleveland at 17. I mean, those are all teams that are going to be right there in that Tennessee Titans range. So this is the highest ranking that we are going to see today. So ESPN, uh, given the Titans more love than expected, but I think at number 11, that's a good spot for the Titans. I wouldn't be mad if they were a couple spots lower or a couple spots higher, quite frankly, but I think 11 is a really solid ranking.

And although the Titans aren't a top 10 team based on that ranking, I still think that that's a solid spot for them to be. And that would mean that they're a playoff team. And if the Titans return to the playoffs after losing A.J. Brown and everything that's happened here, I think that would be a big success for the team. And hey, you got to get to the playoffs to be able to win a playoff game. But we are going to continue looking at some power rankings.

I got three more that I want to go over with you guys. We're going to look at football morning in America. We're going to look at NFL.com, look at pro football focus and see what they have to say about the Titans. And they grow more skeptical as we go along. And quite frankly, I disagree more with their power rankings as we go along. But before we get into anything else, I do want to tell you guys about BlueNile.com.

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Where do the Titans stack up in the NFL? Now that we have a pretty good idea of what the roster is going to be in 2022, talked about ESPN's ranking to open the show, number 11 for the Titans, which maybe to some of your dismay is the highest ranking we are going to see for the Titans. Before we continue breaking down some of these power rankings, though,

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I mean, it gets me hype. I take all that stuff seriously. The craft. I want to be the best ad reader, the best promo guy, the best tweet, all that stuff all the time. Maybe I take it a little too seriously, but I can't help it. You know, it's the craft, baby. It's what I do.

But moving forward, we talked about the ESPN power ranking. Now we are going to get into the power ranking from NBC Football Morning in America coming from Peter King. And shout out Peter King from my alma mater, Ohio University. Probably him and Matt Lauer are probably the most famous journalists from the script school of journalism. So I always want to give a shout out. Big inspiration for why I chose to go to Ohio University in the first place

because I saw guys like that getting it done. So shout out Peter King, man. But the Titans ranking here are the Titans, the top 10 team, not in this one, but not too far away from where the Titans were before Peter King and NBC has the Tennessee Titans at number 12.

And this is what Peter says, quote, what we have here is a failure to well have offensive competency in big spots. And this season without question will be a referendum on the future of Ryan Tannehill to quarterback and NFL contender. In his last two playoff games, both in Nashville, Tannehill has led the Titans to two losses and a total of 29 points. Last season in 18 games, Tennessee managed to win AFC home field,

largely because the rest of the division was a Towdry 16 and 35 and never challenged the Titans. But Tannehill had a crummy 22 to 17 TD to interception ratio. How is he going to be better without A.J. Brown? I have no idea. I can't figure this team out, but I do know Mike Vrabel is worth at least what he's making in his new contract. This defense plays with the kind of intensity and efficiency their coach used to have as a player.

The Titans will need that this year. And I kind of agree with everything that's being said. I don't see how the Titans can be better on offense without A.J. Brown. He's an absolute stud top 10 receiver in the NFL who carried the Titans at times in big games with some of the big moments that he had. absolute stud top 10 receiver in the NFL who carried the Titans at times in big games with some of the big moments that he had. But I also do agree, Mike Vrabel's not going to let this team drop below a certain line because the defense is good and they do have good professional players. Austin Hooper and Robert Woods additions are going to be huge replacing that A.J. Brown loss.

But it's hard for me to not think about those guys with A.J. Brown, which was a thought that we had for quite some time, which would make me feel like the Titans are a top 10 team. But at 12, can't be too upset about that. Some teams that are ahead of the Titans, they make you shake your head though here. Baltimore 8, again, not going to bat an eye at that. I'm okay with that. But Philly at nine, I'm sorry, guys, but I do not believe in Jalen Hurts. I simply don't. I simply don't. And the Eagles' pass rush wasn't very good last year.

Their offensive line is older than ever. While I think Philly will be a good competitive team fighting for the playoffs, I mean, to have them all the way up at number nine, the top ten team, that seems a bit of a stretch for me. And then New Orleans is ahead of the Titans at 11. What? That's as high as you'll see New Orleans in any of these power rankings. I don't get that one.

Teams that are behind the Titans, though, the Raiders at 13, the Broncos at 14. How can you have New Orleans and Philly ahead of Denver? I just don't understand. Anyways, but Broncos at 14. This can you have New Orleans and Philly ahead of Denver? I just don't understand. Anyways, but Broncos at 14. This was something I found super interesting. Peter King had Detroit at number 20 and the Colts at 21. So Peter King's super down on Indianapolis,

and I know that'll be enough to make a lot of you guys pretty happy to hear. But moving forward here, we are going to look at the NFL's power rankings. This comes from Dan Hanzoose, a hero from the Around the NFL podcast. One of my favorite podcasts early on when I first even knew what podcasts were. Just got a new contract extension, all those three guys. So shout out to Mark, Dan, Greg, and of course, Long Live Wes, Chris Wessling. But the Titans in the NFL power rankings. All right, number 16.

Number 16 for the Titans. A pretty low ranking and by far the lowest we have seen so far with the Titans at 11 in ESPN and 12 in NBC. But here's what Dan had to say about the Titans. Their previous rank was number 10. He says, quote, A.J. Brown told ESPN that the stunning draft night trade to the Eagles wasn't my fault and that he wanted to stay in Tennessee.

While general manager John Robinson said contract discussions got to a point where it was going to be hard to get a deal done, Brown, who signed a four-year, $100 million deal with the Eagles, said to ESPN he would have remained a Titan if he had been offered $22 million per year, regardless of how negotiations played out. This much we know. Brown, with 24 receiving touchdowns at 24 years old,

wanted to be paid like a star. The Titans weren't willing to shell out the gonzo wide receiver money that has defined this offseason, so they sent one of their most important players to the NFC and started over at the position with first-round pick Traylon Burks. Maybe this ultimately was the right play for Tennessee, financially at least, but it's also hard to say the Titans are a better team now

than they were in January. In a loaded AFC, that would be very bad news. Now, I don't know if I agree with the ranking from Dan Hanses here, but I do agree with the blur that the AFC got a lot better, and I don't think that the Titans got better by losing A.J. Brown, but 16, their team's ahead of the Titans. The Raiders at 10. Titans aren't six spots lower than the Raiders.

The Ravens at 11. Again, I'm okay with Baltimore's ranking ahead of the Titans. But the Colts at 12. Dallas at 13. Even Cleveland at 14. Cleveland's going to have Jacoby Brissett maybe playing for the whole season at this point as things get kind of ugly for Deshaun Watson. So while I agree that the Titans probably won't be better than last year

because they lost A.J. Brown, 16 with the Raiders and Dallas and Cleveland ahead of them, I can't say that I agree with that one. The last power rankings that we are going to look at is from Pro Football Focus. They have the Tennessee Titans at 17, so even a spot lower. And this is what PFF had to say, quote, The number one seed in the AFC a season ago, the Titans did not have an offseason for the ages.

Acquiring Robert Woods was a nice move, but they also traded away A.J. Brown rather than give him the big money contract that he deserved. Rookie Traylon Burks is now under huge pressure to replace Brown. The Titans will be a good team again, but they lost ground to the rest of the contenders that clearly upgraded this offseason, so they will likely struggle to repeat last year's finish position.

Okay, yeah, the Titans probably will struggle to finish number one in the AFC again, but that doesn't mean that they're going to be the 17th best team in the NFL and miss the playoffs. I mean, to me, that's, I don't know. That's a bit ridiculous. Cleveland at 10, when they're going to have Brissette for half a season.

Baltimore at 11. Again, I'm okay with that. Dallas at 12. What? The Titans are 17 and the Dallas is 12? Philly at 12. What? The Titans are 17 and the Dallas is 12? Philly at 13? Arizona at 14? Indy at

15? I mean, I think the Titans should be right where, and let me cap off with this. The Titans are not a top 10 team right now on paper. On paper. We know that no matter how the power rankings

go right now, it doesn't matter. What matters is what happens on the field. But on paper, the Titans are a playoff team. I mean, come on, right? So no, they're not top 10 in my opinion. But the Titans should absolutely be 11, 12, 13.

Right in there. Absolutely. Right outside. Knocking on the door. So 16 and 17. Those rankings are just a bit ridiculous. But we're going to move forward. Talk about Jeffrey Simmons attending Von Miller's pass rushing camp.

Excited to talk a little Jeff Simmons. Before we do, I want to tell you guys about BetOnline.net. BetOnline is your number one source for all your betting stats and sports info. Find all the latest sports developments, news, and odds, including information on this year's NBA Finals, the NHL Hockey Conference Finals, Major League Baseball's regular season. Of course, all the latest fighting news with MMA and UFC, boxing. BetOnline is your continued source for all your sporting wagering information.

That includes live betting, esports, and more. Head to their website today or use your mobile device to learn more about all the trends and all the action. BetOnline, where the game starts. Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast, talking to little Jeffrey Simmons and him attending Vaughn Miller's pass rushing camp over the weekend.

We just talked about some power rankings and where the Titans stand. No, I do not think the Titans are a top 10 team on paper, but they're right outside of it. 11, 12, 13. And with the defense's potential, yeah, they could get into the top 10 pretty quickly if the defense takes that next

step up to being truly truly elite but can't wait to watch that unfold and if that does unfold it's gonna be because Jeffrey Simmons once again took another leap forward but before we get into that I want to thank you guys again for making the

Lockdown Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream, but as for your second listen, check out the Locked On NFL podcast. It's also free and available on all platforms Monday through Friday. You get your Titans news here with me. Now get your NFL news with the Locked On NFL podcast. Make sure you guys subscribe and check that out. I host the Thursday show of the Locked On NFL Podcast. Make sure you guys subscribe and check that out. I host the Thursday show of the Locked On NFL Podcast, so I would appreciate your support if you would give that a sub as well. But let's talk some Jeffrey Simmons here, and I do also want to note,

make sure you drink your water. I took a big drink of water during the commercial music or whatever and literally spilled it all over my shirt. So I guess I'm glad that you guys can only see from the chest up so you don't see that embarrassing water stain. But drink your water, everybody. Hydrate. It's important. But let's talk some Jeffrey Simmons.

So an animal. Kevin Byer is probably the best player on the team. Derrick Henry, obviously, right there as well. But guys, there's a good chance that at the end of 2022, the best football player on the Tennessee Titans is Jeffrey Simmons. I love Kevin Byard and that's a, I try not to be biased, I am biased with Kevin Byard.

That might be my favorite Tennessee Titan of all time, Kevin Byard. So, it my favorite Tennessee Titan of all time. Kevin Byard. So, it's hard to say these things. Even with last year, and Byard being first team all pro and the best safety in the league, Jeffrey Simmons is the second best interior defensive lineman in the NFL. Might actually be the best player on the Titans already because of the impact that the pass rush makes. I mean, Jeffrey Simmons got nine sacks,

or not nine, himself, three and a half sacks himself against the Bengals. I mean, Jeff is an animal. He might be the best player on the team already. I mean, it's possible. I would still go with KB or Derek, but the thing is, by the end of the year, it could be a thing.

And things like going to Von Miller's pass rush camp over the weekend are things that can take him to that next level. So, Von Miller, the Hall of Fame, all world, one of the best defensive players to ever live, former Super Bowl MVP, two-time Super Bowl champion, 115.5 career sacks. He hosts a camp where all these NFL players who are pass rushers on the defensive line

come and they share ideas. They work on technique. They talk about different pass rush moves you can use, different counters, how offensive linemen are starting to play them, different techniques that offensive linemen are using that they now need to counter. It's just a meeting of the minds and the talent. Love seeing Jeffrey Simmons there.

Yes, Von Miller is an edge rusher, and yes, it seems geared towards edge rushers. But if you have an interior defensive lineman like Jeffrey Simmons who can learn some of these edge rushing pass rush moves and talk to other interior defensive linemen who are there about their skill set and their toolbox, that is only going to take Jeffrey Simmons' pass rush ability to the next level.

We look at Jeff's stats from last year. Played all 17 games. Had 54 tackles. Had 12 tackles for loss. Had 8.5 sacks. Six pass breakups at the line of scrimmage, made the Pro Bowl, was second team All-Pro.

If you take that guy right there that I just talked about, and you add, let's say, three sacks, 11 and a half, 12 sacks, always DDC asked, was Aaron Donald at the camp? I don't know. I don't know the exact roster of guys who were there, but I know Jeffrey Simmons was. And that's what's most important here

is he is putting in that mental work to get better because guys, Aaron Donald has been flirting with retirement all off season. So eventually he's going to retire here in the next year or so. And if Jeffrey Simmons takes that next step to double-digit sacks, it is hands down, no question, no debate

that Jeffrey Simmons is the number one interior defensive lineman in the NFL. Literally. I mean, it's crazy to say. It's crazy to say, but it's the truth. I mean,

Jeffrey Simmons has paid off tenfold. Truly. I'm so excited to watch Jeffrey Simmons play football and watch him dominate after the season he just had

and the recognition that he got. Now that Simmons made the Pro Bowl, now that Simmons made All-Pro, now that he showed out against the Rams on primetime, showed out against the Bengals in the playoffs, now next year is where everybody is looking at Jeff like, oh yeah, we know that this guy is one of the best players in the NFL, period.

So, very excited to see what Jeffrey Simmons can do up next. Yeah, not only is Jeffrey Simmons up next, Jeffrey Simmons is now. Okay? So, very excited to see what he can do. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. Tomorrow will be a Twitter Tuesday. Send those mailbag questions to me on Twitter,

at TicTacTitans. The Titans have another OTA later this week. We're going to be breaking that down. Very excited to dive into all that. Later on in a couple of weeks, well, not a couple of weeks, but not this upcoming week, but the next week, the Titans will have their mandatory mini camp where all veterans got to be in. I'm very excited to break down everything that's happening with that. The next week after that, I'm going to do top five week. Every episode all week is going to focus on a top five question.

Top five X factors. Top five biggest games. Top five breakout candidates. Top five disappointment candidates. Top five microscope guys. I mean, it is going to be top five week in a couple of weeks here on the Locked on Titans podcast. And then the week after that, we are going to do a divisional breakdown. I'm going to have three shows that last week of June. And we're going to do the Colts. We're going to do the Jags. We're going to do a divisional breakdown. I'm going to have three shows that last week of June,

and we're going to do the Colts. We're going to do the Jags. We're going to do Houston. I'm going to try to have on the other locked on hosts, kind of get an idea of where those teams are at right now at this point in the offseason. There's that break between mandatory minicamp in the second week of June, and then when training camp starts at the end of July, we're going to make sure to have a lot of fun during those times as well.

Make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. That's going to do it for me today, though, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans. you