Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Did Tennessee Titans Actually WIN AJ Brown Trade, Geoff Swaim Issue & Adjustments and Aaron Brewer's OL Future

Episode Date: November 28, 2022

The Tennessee Titans take on the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend and see an old face they may remember in AJ Brown. Looking back on the draft trade that sent AJ to Philly, did the Titans actually win it? Tyler says not so fast, but explains how the trade may be a win-win at the end of the day. Then, the Titans have a Geoff Swaim problem. How bad has it gotten and what can the Titans do to fix it? Tyler goes over the data showing how poorly Swaim is playing and explains multiple ideas to compensate. Finally, Aaron Brewer has struggled this season and it may be time to admit he is not in the Titans future plans on the offensive line.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” 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!PrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONSimpliSafeWith Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnNFL to learn more.TuroForget boring rental cars and find your drive at Turo.com  AudibleHead over to Locked On NFL for a sneak peak of Block Forever or catch the full series available anywhere you get your podcast. Available everywhere now!   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, did the Tennessee Titans win the A.J. Brown trade? Maybe not, but I'm going to tell you guys why I think at minimum it's a win-win. Then, Jeff Swaim, very bad on the eye test. But I'll tell you why the data backs that up and what the Titans can do to fix the Swain problem. And then finally, Aaron Brewer has had a rough season for the Titans. How does he factor in to the long-term plans on the offensive line?

And should Dylan Radins play at left guard when Ben Jones returns? All of that and more on today's edition of the 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, with the Titans set to take on the Eagles this Sunday, it feels like a good time to ask, did the Titans win the A.J. Brown trade? I think the answer is no, but they may not have lost it either.

Before we get into it, do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, free Tennessee Titans content on all platforms all year round here on the Locked on Titans podcast. That includes the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Subscribe there, smash the notification bell, and throw a thumbs up on the video right now. It goes a long way to help support the channel.

I am your host, Tyler Rowland, nearly 25 years as a Tennessee Titans fanatic and a certified film junkie, breaking down all the X's and O's as well as all the news and notes coming out of Nashville. Make sure you follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans. Check out the show Facebook page at LockedOnTitansPod.

But with that being said, I know the question sounds crazy to you guys up front. Did the Titans win the A.J. Brown trade? And the answer for me is an obvious no, but maybe as obvious as that can be. But let me break it down for you. So yes, I have been very consistent. It was a bad idea to trade away A.J. Brown. Worked out great for the Eagles who are now 9-. And A.J. has 53 catches, 831 yards, 7 receiving touchdowns on the year. So it's hard to say if you say there's a winner and a loser, the Titans won, then you can't call the Eagles a loser by any means. It's just a great move for them.

But my point is maybe the Titans didn't lose either. Maybe this is one of those rare deals where it really is a win-win for both teams. I would say very similar to Justin Jefferson and Stephon Diggs. And shout out my guy Easton Freeze who made that comparison. Now, while Justin Jefferson is not the slam dunk rookie top tier player that we're seeing with Traylon Burks, Justin Jefferson is a bit different. Traylon Burks is not on that level right now. But when you start to look at the totality of things,

Burks has really come on lately. 24 catches, 334 yards, did have the touchdown, wasn't receiving touchdown, but he recovered the fumble of Derrick Henry for his first touchdown of the year. You look at that in the last two games, Burks has really exploded for the Titans going over 100 yards against the Packers going for 70 yards on four catches against the Bengals. And you can see how, hmm, Traylon Burks already a deep threat for the Titans. There were two things that he was excellent at coming out of college, Traylon Burks.

It was one, contested catch situations, his body control, all of that package, and then his yards after the catch ability. The yards after catch ability has admittedly not been there for Burks, but as he gets more equipped to the speed of the game, as he understands his spots of where he's going to get the ball, where he's going to be open, where defenders are going to be afterwards, as Burks gets further into his NFL career,

he's still a rookie who missed four games and has had limited snaps early on. So Burks is still early on in his process and you can already see the down the field aspect that he provides. So once he adds the yards after catch ability that we know is there as he gets more comfortable with the game, then Burks in year two, in year three is going to be a player that maybe not the level of Justin Jefferson, maybe not the level of Justin Jefferson, maybe not the level of A.J. Brown, but an excellent wide receiver who can be the number one option on this type of team.

A lot of you guys yelled at me, hey, the Titans don't target A.J. Brown enough to make him worth the money. Well, then a guy like Traylon Burke should fit perfectly into what your idea of the number one wide receiver on this team is going to be. Also, to bring this back to yesterday's game or Sunday's game, top five offensive grades for the Titans,

top offensive grades for the Titans. Who's at number one? Traylon Burks, 77.4. Also worth noting that since Traylon Burks came off IR, That since Traylon Burks came off IR, his routes per dropback are 76%, 70%, 81%. So basically, every time Ryan Tannehill drops back, he's going to have Traylon Burks out on the field. 76%, 70%, 81%.

So that's only going to continue to climb. So I like the snap count for Burks. I like what he's shown. And back to the trade. No, the Titans didn't get the better end of the trade with Philly, but it is possible to say that they did not lose because of Traylon Burks. And then you also have to take into account the Titans got pick 101 in that trade with Philadelphia.

They used pick 101 in a package with 26 to get 35, 69, and then a fifth round pick as well. So you're looking at basically Burks, NPF, which is a top five rookie offensive tackle, Roger McCreary, a top five rookie cornerback, both starters, and then a fifth round pick, which you could say is Chigaconqua. I mean, when you look at it from that angle, you look at NPF, Roger McCreary, Traylon Burks, three starters right there, high-end players for the Titans this year.

They've been very good. High-end is maybe a little too nice, but they've been very good. And then you add in that fifth-round pick, which you could consider Chigakonkwa for some additional movement. I mean, that's a four-for-one package on rookie contracts that, yes, I'm not going to say that

the Titans clearly won the A.J. Brown trade, but all I'm saying is the trade looks like there is the chance that it could be a win-win for both sides. And I think if you're the Titans and especially someone like myself who was very worried about that trade, that's a pretty optimistic way to feel at this point in the season compared to how it felt earlier in the season and how we looked at that trade. So just saying, as time continues on, the trade looks like it has the potential to be a win-win for both teams.

And that's a pretty awesome outcome for the Titans. But before we move forward and talk about the Jeff Swaim problem for the Titans, how to fix it, do want to tell you guys that today's episode is sponsored by Turo. Turo is the world's largest car sharing marketplace. With Turo, you can book any car you want, wherever you want it, from a community of local hosts. You can browse a huge selection of vehicles across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

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cars. Find your drive at Turo.com music music music music What are the Titans going to do about Jeff Swaim? We have to discuss also at the end of the show. I'll tell you why I'm starting to lose faith in Aaron Brewer as part of the long-term plans for the Titans offensive line

before we get into the rest of today's show, thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day, free Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all platforms all year round. Tomorrow, re-watch Wednesday, going over what I saw on tape from the Titans game against the Bengals. There is a lot to take from that. This is the best team the Titans have, I don't want to say have played all year, but it was the most competitive game.

I think we didn't get a real glimpse of the Titans against the Chiefs because Tannehill was out. The Buffalo game was just absolutely awful. So this felt like the most real version of the Titans that we've gotten to see all year against a competitive team, and I'm excited to dive into it with you guys. Thursday's crossover Thursday with the guys from Locked on Eagles. That'll be entertaining, and Friday is my game plan preview

where I'm telling you exactly what to watch for in that matchup against Philly. But Jeff Swaim, let's talk about this. So, number one, I just got to give you guys these numbers. Jeff Swaim, and all these numbers are per pro football focus. Jeff Swaim, offensive grade, 43.1, or 41.3, last for the entire offense.

Passing grade, his grade on passing plays. 51.7, second to last. Pass blocking grade, 57.6, third to last. Run blocking grade, 43.5, second to last. So that's last in overall, Second to last in pass grade. Third to last in pass blocking. Second to last in run blocking.

I mean, that's in 31 snaps. 31 snaps. Austin Hooper got 38. Chigakonkwo got only 19. I mean, that's awful. And it's not just that. It's not just that. Swaim hasn't been a good blocker all season.

His grade is like 58.4 for the season overall in run blocking. And it's like the third worst of any starter on the team. So here's the reality. Jeff Swain, the role that Jeff Swain plays in this offense exists, and I'm okay with the role of Jeff Swain, what they're asking a Jeff Swain tight end to do. Now, I would love to get to a point where Chigaconquo is the every down tight end and they can count on him to block and catch the ball. I hope we get there one day, but I get Chig is a rookie. All right. You can't just fully do that.

I get it. I get that. But if you're going to have a role in the offense that requires a Jeff Swaim type player, you have to make sure that you have someone who is better than Jeff Swaim in that role. Period. I'm not saying that what Jeff Swaim is asked to do every Sunday,

that tight end shouldn't be in this offense. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is if you're going to rely so heavily on that tight end, it's got to be a better guy than Jeff Swaim. And that's all it really comes down to. Because at some point, it's about weighing the options. Jeff Swaim, decent blocker. Decent. I'm not going to say good.

Decent blocker. I get in a one-on-one situation against a defensive end within the Titans scheme, Swaim is going to be better at that than Chig or Hooper. I get it. I do. But at some point, you have to look at the positive on this side is Swaim is a decent blocker in those situations.

The other side is, he's only a decent blocker. He's not even a great blocker. You're tipping your hand by having him out there. Swaim was only out on the field for nine passing snaps. Now, some people are giving me that data and saying, look, it's not really that big of a problem. They only got Swain out there for nine passing snaps. Well, then you're tipping your hand. If the guy's on the field for 31 snaps and only nine of them are passing snaps, well, now you're telling the other team, hey,

when he's on the field, we're running the ball. Two out of every three times. And when you do pass the ball with him on the field, he's such a non-factor as an athlete that we aren't really that worried about him anyways. So go ahead. You're not going to get that great of an advantage in the run game because he's not that good of a blocker anyways in a vacuum. And if you do pass the ball, yeah, you fake this out.

Jeff Swaim's on the field and you threw it. But Jeff Swaim is one of the receiving options. So who cares? He's basically a big offensive lineman at this moment in time. Which brings me to how do we fix this problem? What do we do here?

Well, the only real options that the Titans have going forward to minimize Jeff Swaim's role and still be able to operate on offense the way they want is one, use Dylan Radins at tight end and shout out Will Lomas. We had this conversation today

and he pointed that out. Shout out Will. If you're going to do this, then take Swaim off the field and just let Dylan Radins play the tight end spot on those. If you're tipping your hand to the defense already, hey, Swaim's on the field, we're running the ball, then you might as well go all the way and just put Dylan Radins out there as tight end

with Ben Jones back at center. And then you say, oh, well, you know, Swaim is still a better receiving option than Radins. Yeah, sure. That's absolutely true. But Swaim is so bad as a receiving option that isn't that big of a downfall for the offense. The advantage that you gain by having Radins in as a blocker over Swaim is bigger than the disadvantage that you gain by having Radins in as a blocker over Swaim is bigger than the disadvantage that you have by having Radins in and Swaim can't go out for a route.

Do you guys see that balance of skills? There is no perfect answer. So it's all about weighing the options and the pros and cons of both sides. So I'm in favor of, hey, Jeff Swaim is out there for 22 running plays. Ten of those go to Dylan Radins. And have Austin Hooper as a tight end with Dylan Radins as the other tight end. And we're going to run it down your throat and do something about it. That's what they were trying to do on Sunday against the Bengals anyway.

Hey, we know that you're running a 6-1 bare front. Hey, we know that you're going all out to stop Derrick Henry. We're going to run right into your teeth no matter what anyway. Well, if you're going to do that, then just put Raidens out there and let him be a better blocker than Spain. What's the downside?

The other side of it is, play more Chigaconquo and play more three wide receiver sets. If when you go to two tight end and three tight end, teams are running 6-1 with a safety in the box too and having eight guys there with six on the line of scrimmage,

you're not going to have a lot of success running the ball anyways. You're not going to be efficient and effective. It's nearly impossible. So you might as well go to three wide receiver, have Chigaconqua in where he can be flexed off the line of scrimmage and have split flow action to take away the cut back on the other side. Because when the Titans go three wide receiver,

teams go to a five man front, and then you can have your five offensive linemen against the four front side defensive linemen and the linebacker, and then you can have Chigaconquo as the tight end, split flow action to the backside and cut off the cutoff man. I mean, you've got to go one of those two routes or at least do a mixture of those three options. What they're doing now, adding Raidens in at tight end and heavy packages

and playing three wide receiver with Chikokos, the tight end, and changing the way that you run. You're going to have to do a combination of all three of those to adjust to the way defenses are playing you. The Titans have a swing problem. It's hurting the entire offense, and they have to be more creative with how they fix it going forward if this is how defenses are going to play them,

which, spoiler alert, it is. So we're going to move forward, talk about Aaron Brewer who's been really struggling, and we need to talk about his viability within the Titans offensive line of the future. Before we get into that though, do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by

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through the eyes of the greatest players and personalities of all time. It's available for free on Audible or wherever you get your podcast. Again, catch the full Block Forever series available anywhere. You get your podcast available everywhere now. Audible, get in the game. Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's show talking a little Aaron Brewer and some of the struggles that he's been having throughout the year. We talked about Traylon Burks and the A.J. Brown trade and why, hey, it may be a win-win for the Titans at the end of the day,

the way things are going. We talked about the Jeff Swain problem and some opportunities to fix it and what the Titans can do to adjust to the way teams are playing them. And then, finally, now we're here. Aaron Brewer, before we get into it, do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. As for your second listen, check out the

Locked on Sports Today podcast from the biggest games, the biggest stories, instant reactions, game recaps, and the take of the day. It's available on the Odyssey app, YouTube, or wherever you get podcasts. Check out Locked on

Sports Today. Alright. So, Aaron Brewer. Aaron Brewer had some Check out Locked on Sports today. All right. So, Aaron Brewer. Aaron Brewer had some okay moments against the Packers last week, and there was some hope there. Hey, maybe, maybe, and I think his natural position as center, he's far too small to play guard long-term in this league. So, let's get a glimpse of Aaron Brewer at center.

And I thought there were some good moments for Aaron Brewer at center last week. And Mike Vrabel echoed that sentiment. But then you have this week against the Bengals, where he played a guy like DJ Reader, a guy like BJ Hill. And Aaron Brewer got smoked, man. He got whooped all day. All day.

And, you know, I think I'm going to admit my bias. I like Aaron Brewer. I want Aaron Brewer to do well. I want Aaron Brewer to be a future starter for this team and be a long-term answer. I think he's a guy who works super hard, undrafted free agent, tougher than a $2 steak, tougher than a $2 steak. Keep that in mind.

So I want Aaron Brewer to do well, and I have the tendency to maybe highlight his pluses and downplay his demerits, and that's on me. But the reality here is, Aaron Brewer at a 39.3 pass blocking grade against the Bengals. He has a 40.6 pass blocking grade on the season. He's given up two sacks, which isn't a ton,

but 19 pressures, which is the third most on the team. His run blocking grade on the season is only a 59.6. So you got one of the worst pass blocking guards in the NFL, and the reality of that is he's too small. He gets pushed back into the pocket, bull rushed backwards every single week. He's too small. Size matters in football.

It always has. It always will. If we're honest with ourselves, human conflict throughout history, size matters. The size of yourself, the size of your army, the size of your weapons, size matters. The size of yourself, the size of your army, the size of your weapons,

size matters. Aaron Brewer is too small. So, keep that in mind when I tell you that the Titans probably need to go with Dylan Radins.

Not because Dylan Radins is so good, but because I think the trade-off still is more of a plus for the Titans with Radins. So I talked about it. 40.6 pass blocking grade on the season for Brewer. 59.6 in run blocking. Dylan Radins, not a good run blocker at this point. 41 run blocking grade.

But 74.5 pass blocking grade. And this is in multiple games this year. So the sample size is small, but there's enough starting multiple games the entire way through. Other than Taylor LeJuan, who played, what, one game? entire way through. Other than Taylor LeJuan, who played, what, one game? Dylan Radins has the highest pass blocking grade on the entire team.

Nate Davis has a 66, and he's the second highest rated starting offensive lineman. So Radins has been the best pass blocker on the offensive line this year, and I know that the Titans want to be a run-first team, and Radins has not been good in run blocking, but when you think about having a versatile skill set on the offensive line, if you have a bunch of guys who are run-first players,

like Nate Davis, like MPF, like Ben Jones, like Dennis Daly, then maybe having one guy who's a lot better in pass protection than run blocking is enough to give you some balance. You see what I'm saying here? You got one guy who's primarily a pass protector. You fill the line with mostly other guys who are good in run blocking, and you might have enough to have a good unit in run blocking and pass protection because they balance each other out. Also, the reality here is Dylan Radins is 6'5". Dylan Radins is a much, much larger human being than Aaron Brewer.

And at the guard position where you have interior defensive linemen, like think about what the Titans got. Jeff Simmons. T. Air Tart. Just bullying dudes up front. You need big bodies at guard. Center. At center.

Then you have guys like Jason Kelsey. You have guys like Creed Humphrey. Those guys are out there. You have guys like Jason Kelsey. You have guys like Creed Humphrey. Those guys are out there. You have guys like who was just drafted to the Ravens, the Ravens center. Another guy who is a smaller center. He's a rookie, smaller center, but he can operate at center. So I thought maybe Aaron Brewer could do that, but we've seen him at center, and he's still really struggling. I just think the reality here is that Aaron Brewer is too small. He can be a backup for you and be a utility offensive lineman on the interior.

But he just simply can't be a starter in the NFL. Tyler Linderbaum. There we go. Another example of an undersized guy who can operate at center. We gave Aaron Brewer a shot there. He was okay against the Packers. He was awful against the Bengals. And these are the type of teams that we need Aaron Brewer to play well against because those are good football teams. The Packers aren't great, but they're a good team. The Bengals are a really good team. and Aaron Brewer showed his true colors there.

So it's unfortunate. We were excited. I was excited, but I think we got to face the truth and face the music here. Aaron Brewer, not a long-term starter for the Titans. I think they need to go with Dylan Radins at left guard when Ben Jones comes back.

And if they don't, they better use Dylan Radins as that jumbo tight end instead of having Swaim out there nonstop. So that's where I'm at right now with that. I'd rather see Radins at left guard when Ben Jones comes back because I think Aaron Brewer, we know now from the season, he is just a backup. But it's incredible that the Titans are 7-4

with an undersized backup on their offensive line, a rookie at right tackle, a rookie at right tackle, a backup at left tackle, their starting center in and out of games. I mean, pretty good job there overall, you have to say. But that's where I'm at right now, and that's going to do it for us today. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland,

and this was Locked on Titans.