Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Is Derrick Henry the Best RB in Tennessee Titans History, Wycheck v Walker & Adding a Legend in 2023

Episode Date: July 7, 2023

The Tennessee Titans have had nearly three decades in Tennessee and have seen a ton of great players wear the two-tone blue, but who are the greatest players on offense in team history? Tyler goes through a recent list created by Greg Arias. First, who is the best running back in Titans history? Greg chose Eddie George, but Tyler disagrees! Next, who is the better tight end, Delanie Walker or Frank Wycheck? Finally, if you could add any of the players discussed to this year's Titans team, who would it be?Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you were going to make a starting lineup on offense of the best Tennessee Titans of all time, who would start at running back? I'm going to give you my answer 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. Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland.

Titans fans, if you were putting together a starting lineup with the best Titans of all time, who would get to start at running backward and go through that debate? Plus, go through the all-time starting lineup on offense for the Tennessee Titans. debate, plus go through the all-time starting lineup on offense for the Tennessee Titans. According to my guy, Greg Arias over at alltitans.com, my coworker over at Sports Illustrated. So we're going to go through his list, but I'm going to take a look at some of the things that I disagree with on the list as well. And of course, we will start with running back. Before we get into that, I want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year long on all platforms, always for free. Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast where it's your team every day. comes from my guy Greg over at Sports Illustrated.

AllTitans.com. My coworker there, me and Greg are both writers for the site. He put together a list of his all-time offensive starting lineup for the Titans. And shout out to Greg. Greg has been covering the Titans since they showed up in Tennessee. So he's definitely a great guy to put together a list like this. Now that doesn't mean that I'm going

to agree with everything that Greg says in this list. And just so you guys know, shout out to my everydayers out there, we're going to start off next week by looking at the defensive side of the ball and having some of these same conversations with the defense. But let's start

at quarterback with Greg's list and I agree with most of it, but again, we're going to take some detours here. Steve McNair at quarterback, I agree with Greg, that's a no-brainer right now. I know that Ryan Tannehill has some impressive statistics, but until he wins half of an MVP and leads this team to a Super Bowl, the statistics aren't going to be enough for me to put him over Aaron McNair. So Steve McNair, the best quarterback in Titans history, fullback Lorenzo Neal, as much of a Torrey Carter fan as I am.

No, just jokes there, of course. It's Lorenzo Neal. But with the way football is played today, do you have a fullback on the list? I don't know. But if you do, it's definitely going to be Lorenzo Neal for the Titans. And then we come to running back. And Greg selected Eddie George. And Greg even said, with all due respect to Derrick Henry and Chris Johnson,

Eddie was the man. And Greg does point out a true fact here. Eddie George is higher than Chris Johnson and Derrick Henry when it comes to all-time rushing yards. But of course, Eddie George had played more time than Derrick Henry has. So this is where I detour. For me, the greatest running back in Titans history, and again, we're not counting the Houston days here at all,

Oilers, any of that, we're not counting that at all. The Titans, for me, Derrick Henry is the slam dunk answer here. And look, you want the tale of the tape? Let's talk about it. Eddie George played nine years, 10,441 yards. That's a lot. Now, he did have the one year in Dallas, though. But regardless, nine years, he had four Pro Bowls, had one All-Pro,

was Offensive Rookie of the Year his rookie season. So, shout out to Eddie George, a decorated player. Got the Titans to the Super Bowl as well. You look at Chris Johnson, nine years, 9,651 yards. He had three Pro Bowls, one All-Pro, Offensive Player of the Year when he put up the 2K season. He also was a part of that Titans team that went 13-3. Now, a loss in the divisional round, but nonetheless, Chris Johnson deserves to be mentioned.

But, for me, it's Derrick Henry. Now, Derrick Henry may be behind in yards. He's got 8,335 rushing yards in seven seasons. One of those was cut short by injury. And we know that for the first season and a half of Derrick Henry's career, for two and a half seasons of Derrick Henry's career, he was not the Derrick Henry that we know and love now. So really, that's three seasons.

The injury half and then the two and a half to start, that's three seasons where Derrick Henry really wasn't the prime guy. You know what I mean? Where he wasn't on the field to take the bulk of the carries or that wasn't his purpose. So really Derrick Henry has done most of his work in five seasons and he's only 2000 yards away from Eddie George, 1300 away from Chris Johnson could pass him this year, should pass him yards away from Eddie George, 1,300 away from Chris Johnson,

could pass him this year, should pass him this year. I mean, Henry has three Pro Bowls himself, has a first-team All-Pro, an Offensive Player of the Year, a 2K season of his own. He was a part of the Titans team that went to the AFC Championship game. He was a part of the Titans team that went 12-5. team that went to the AFC Championship game. He was a part of the Titans team that went 12-5.

I mean, for me, Derrick Henry's peak, if you get the best version of Eddie George, the best version of CJ2K, and the best version of Derrick Henry, Derrick Henry is the best player. And these longevity stats that we've talked about, Derrick Henry is going to surpass these stats in the next couple of years. So for me, even though Henry isn't past Eddie George in the yards, even though Henry isn't past CJ2K in the yards, for me, Derrick Henry is the best running back in Tennessee Titans history. That's already there, in my opinion. So that's where I land.

What I want to do is let me know down in the comments, do you think Eddie George, Chris Johnson, or Derrick Henry is the best running back in Titans history? Titans history. For me, hands down, it's Derrick Henry. It's Derrick Henry. So I'm going to disagree with Greg on that one a couple more positions has

let's talk about wide receiver Greg has Derrick Mason and then AJ Brown I don't see how you could argue with that maybe you put Nate Washington Drew Bennett somebody like that in there Kevin Dyson

maybe could knock at the table I love Kevin Dyson that was like my first favorite player on the Titans. But either way, I think that A.J. Brown and Derek Mason have to be it. And Greg has Derek Mason over A.J. Brown. I don't. But that's not a worthy discussion at this point. Only brings up sad memories at this point. But hard to argue with that. We're going to look at the offensive line and specifically the tight end position

because I disagree with Greg on this one as well. But again, thumbs up on the video if you're watching on YouTube. Let me know down below in the comments who you think is the best running back in Titans history. We're going to have that same conversation with the tight ends here in just a moment. But before we get into it, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you

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Visit FanDuel.com slash locked on to get up to $200 in bonus bets. That's FanDuel.com slash locked on to get up to $200 in bonus bets. That's Fandle.com slash locked on. Fandle, official partner of Major League Baseball. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, breaking down the all-time starting lineup on offense for the Tennessee Titans. We're looking at a list that my guy Greg Arias did

from Sports Illustrated, my coworker over there at alltitans.com. Go're looking at a list that my guy Greg Arias did from Sports Illustrated. My co-worker over there at AllTitans.com. Go check out Greg's list. I'm going to link it down below in the show notes. Go check out his list. It's a good list. I don't agree with all of it, but I agree with most of it. And as I said, the only thing so far that I've really disagreed

with is who the best running back is in Titans history. For me, it's Derrick Henry. Greg put Eddie George. Greg has great historical knowledge of the team though, so not to sully his opinion in any way, very valid. But for me, it's Derrick Henry. Maybe some recency bias, but again, let me know down below who your best running back in Titans history is. But we're going to move forward. We're going to move into tight ends and the offensive line. And then at the end of the show, I'm going to have a fun conversation about which of the players on this list I would want to add to this year's Tennessee Titans.

So excited to do this. And again, letting my guys know out there, letting my girls know out there, letting everybody know out there, I'm going to do the same thing with the defense to start off next week's show. So on Sunday night on YouTube, Monday morning for my commuters out there listening to the podcast, I'm going to be going through the defensive side of the ball and

having this exact same conversation. So very excited to dive into that with you guys. Got some good stuff to go over, but we're going to look at tight end here because this is where my next big question comes, where I disagree with Greg. Greg picked Frank Wycheck, the franchise legend. I love Frank Wycheck, the franchise legend. I love Frank Wycheck, okay? Don't get me wrong. And Greg said he's the man at the center of the Music City Miracle. He was a first and still is the standard bearer for the position in Nashville.

And Greg does say, no, Delaney Walker is right there, though, and deserves recognition. Well, I'm going to say that Delaney Walker is the best tight end in Titans history. And look, I'm going to point out that the game is different from when Frank Wycheck was working in the 90s and in the early 2000s to when Delaney Walker was working

late in the 2000s into the 2000 teens. I get that the game evolved through the ball a lot more. It was different. Okay, I get that the game evolved through the ball a lot more. It was different. Okay, I get that. But, I mean, Frank Wycheck in seven seasons with the Titans, 3,976 yards, 389 catches, 20 touchdowns. Delaney, 4,423 yards, 381 catches, 28 touchdowns.

I mean, he's got them in yards. He's got them in touchdowns. Delaney made much more explosive plays. He scored more and, and, Delaney Walker played on bad teams with no help around him. Frank Wycheck got to play with the Super Bowl Titans, the team that went to the Super Bowl with Eddie George and Kevin Dyson and Derek Mason and Steve McNair and all the players that we're talking about right now.

You know what I mean? Half of the freaking list is guys that Frank got to play with. So to me, Delaney was in that mid-area before we got the Tannehill-Henry version of the Titans, and after the Chris Johnson, Kerry Collins Titans, Delaney was in that middle range where Titans didn't have much to go on. And Delaney came in and put up a 1,000-yard season. He literally was the only legit Pro Bowl-level option. Both guys made three Pro Bowls,

so that is pretty even. They're pretty even. I'm not saying it's a slam dunk. But for me, considering the help that Delaney had to put up better numbers, that kind of cancels out the, you know, difference in statistics and the inflation of statistics,

I guess is the way to put that. So give me Delaney Walker over Frank Wycheck. But it hurts me. It reminds me of the meme of, who is it, Wesley Snipes? I forget the movie, but he's got the gun and he's crying because he's got to shoot somebody he cares about. That's how I feel right now, looking at Frank Wycheck and the Delaney Walker conversation.

It hurts me. It hurts me to have these convos, but they're fair and they're fun conversations to have. So you guys let me know down below, am I genius or am I bozo? All right? Genius or bozo? I think that's going to be a new segment that I start doing.

Genius or bozo? Just let you guys tell me how it is. But Frank Wycheck or Delaney Walker? Who would you pick? For me, it's Delaney Walker. So let me know down below in the comment section what your guys' choice would be. But to round out the rest of the list,

from my, and what I would say, and someone said this to me on Twitter when the list was put out, and we were all talking about it on Friday. Should there be two tight ends and no fullback? Is that a more appropriate way to measure Titans history because of how much they use tight ends? I don't know. It's a worthy conversation.

We know that they shouldn't have three wide receivers. That is not an accurate depiction of the way the Titans play offensive football, for better or for worse. But going into the offensive line here, I don't disagree with any of these. I mean, I might waffle on a couple, but hard to disagree. Offensive tackle, Brad Hopkins and Michael Roos.

I mean, maybe David Stewart, maybe Taylor LeJuan you could throw in there, but Brad Hopkins and Michael Roos is fine with me. At guard, Bruce Matthews. I mean, Bruce Matthews is one of the best players in NFL history, at least at his position, for sure. Then Greg went with Roger Saffold. Again, he was a really good player for a couple of years for the Titans

during some of the best years they've had in franchise history. Talent-wise, I definitely understand the pick there. And then center, Ben Jones. I would say Kevin Mawai should get mentioned here, for sure. That's a tough one. But Ben Jones, I'm not going to argue against that one. He's probably the best free agent signing in team history coming over in 2016 and playing until last year. Ben Jones has been incredible. So I

understand the pick. And then finally, special teams guys, kicker Rob Baronis, for sure. And then punter Brett Kern. Stonehouse may be coming for him eventually, but there's no way you could not pick Brett Kern right now. And of course, Craig Hendrick. I mean, that's the conversation right now. I say Stonehouse tongue-in-cheek, but I would go with Brett Kern as well. For me, that's where I would go.

So let me know. Best running back, best tight end. But generally speaking, I really like the list that Greg put out. Again, I'm going to link it down below in the description of the show so that you guys can go check out the full thing yourself if you would like. But what I want to do is now, out of all the players that made the list, who would you bring to the 2023 roster if you could?

I'm going to dive into that in just a moment, but start putting your answers down below. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Going over the all-time starting offense for the Tennessee Titans. A couple of disagreements I had with my guy Greg over at Sports Illustrated who wrote the list, my coworker over there. Check out alltitans.com. We're working hard over there, getting ready for training camp. But a couple of disagreements.

I would have Derek Henry over Eddie George on the list. I would have Delaney Walker over Frank Wycheck on the list. You guys let me know how you feel about that. But out of all of the players that we have talked about today, if you could take any of them and add one of them to this year's roster, who would it be? I'm going to dive into my answer before I do. I want to let you guys know, shout out to my everydayers out there. On Sunday night, Monday morning, I'm going

to be doing the defensive version of this. Greg has a defensive list. I thought it was excellent, but I got a few disagreements with it as well. Some fun conversations. Jeffrey Simmons or Jarrell Casey, we're going to have that debate on Sunday night, Monday morning. But Monday through Friday, free Tennessee Titans content all year round, all apps. I mean, you're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast. It's your team every day.

But for me, looking at this Tennessee Titans offense and looking at the options that I have here, for me, I went with Michael Roos. Okay. Say what you want. I'm skeptical of Andre Dillard. I'm not a hundred percent certain that Dillard is going to be an answer for the Titans in any kind of way, whether it be this year, long-term, any of that, I'm not convinced. So if you give me the opportunity to get Michael Roos, who literally played in every freaking game he possibly could for the Titans till like the last season.

I mean, that's a slam dunk for me. You could put Roos in at left tackle, move Dillard to left guard, kick Skowronski to right tackle. I mean, I don't really care. I'm just adding a studronski to right tackle. I mean, I don't really care. I'm just adding a stud left tackle to this offense. And look, my number two option, my number two option outside of Michael Roos is Derek Mason. I'm not going to ignore the elephant in the room here or the wide

receiver issue, but to me, with the way that the Titans play offense, with having Derek Henry in the backfield, I still think that the offensive line was more important. That's why I wanted Peter Skowronski or Paris Johnson or blah, blah, blah over Jackson Smith and Jigma. Okay? I'm sticking with the philosophy. It's the same on defense. I'm a pass rush guy, not a DB guy. I'm not saying that secondary isn't important, but I would always prefer to have a dominant pass rush. Okay? And I think, I think that Mike Frabel agrees. I do. I do. But either way,

not all, not all defensive coaches agree with that. I mean, some prefer a dominant secondary. Glasses are all funky here. Sorry, YouTube folks. I know you're seeing me mess with them. They're like freaking me out. Maybe my ears are moving up and down. I don't know.

But anyways, Derek Mason is the obvious number two choice for me. Mace was quick, shifty, crafty. He would fit perfectly with the big physical presence of Traylon Burks. To me, I struggle with Derek Mason because while he is probably the best receiver in Titans history, I think that he's a number one wide receiver. If Derek Mason was playing in today's NFL, I still think he'd be good. To me, he wasn't a bona fide number one then. He was a number one on the running offense that was the Titans. I don't think he was ever considered one of the best three or five wide receivers in the NFL during his time. So to me, I like Derek Mason.

I'll give him best wide receiver in team history, even though A.J. Brown is a far more talented player. That's really what I mean. To use that example, A.J. Brown was a number one, one of the top five, seven wide receivers in the league, terrifying defenses all the time, could make crazy, freakish plays out of nowhere. And Derek Mason was really good. But the one, I mean, the one all-pro season that he had

was for punt returning. So, it wasn't for wide receiver. So, I'm just saying that. But that's why I would take Roos over Derek Mason, but Mason is definitely my number two choice. So, I'm not going to be insane here. My third choice may be controversial. Give me Rob Baronis.

I mean, Caleb Shudik, Trey Wolf. What are we doing here? We're doing this again? I mean, I don't think that the Titans had a lot of better options,

but man, RIP. Shout out to Rob Baronis. Give me Rob Baronis back. That's my third choice out of this list. Let me know who you guys would pick out of all the people that we talked about today

on the list, the people on the list. If you go off the list, then fine, but that's not my criteria. But on the list for me, Michael Roos, then Derek Mason, then Rob Baronis. But those are my choices again. Let me know my genius and my buzz out down below.

And then I'll be back with you guys the next episode in a couple of days. And we'll do this on defense. So excited to dive into that as well. But that is going to do it for me. Oh, yeah. I meant to tell you guys. I had a technical issue yesterday with my laptop. That's why the show wasn't out on Thursday.

My apologies. That is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I'm your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.