Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: Draft visits, why Kiper/McShay are wrong on their Titans' mocks

Episode Date: April 10, 2019

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome in to another edition of Locked on Titans. I'm Jimmy Morris, joined as always by Terry Lambert. Terry, how are you today? Doing good, battling the allergy bug, but other than that, I'm doing okay. It's spring in Middle Tennessee. Always a fun time. Alright, today we're going to talk about a couple of mock drafts from Kyber McShay. Talk a little bit of Titans draft visit news. A couple of interesting prospects have been here in the last few days. So we'll get into all that. Before we do, remind you to write for MutantCityMiracles.com. We're coming to Titans for SB Nation, so you can check us out there.

You can also find us on Twitter. I'm MattJMorrisMCM. Terry's at TLambertTN. You get the podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Just search out LockedOnTitans. Subscribe there. If you're on iTunes and you want to leave us a review, we would appreciate that. So just hook us up there if you would like.

We also have a voicemail line. We got one voicemail. We could use a couple more. Maybe we can do a voicemail show tomorrow if we get a couple more voicemails. The number for that is 615-787-8762. Call and leave about a minute-long message, and we will get to it on the show tomorrow. All right, so just kind of a newsy type thing from the beginning. The Titans released jersey numbers today for the new players.

We just kind of hit the highlights. You can find it from Jim Wyatt had it on Twitter. But Adam Humphries is going to wear 10. Cam Batson is switching from 17 to 12. Ryan Tannehill is going to be 17. Seth Old will wear 76. And Cam Wake will wear 91. So getting some housecleaning there, getting those numbers, and then obviously we'll have more stuff on that when we have draft picks, undrafted free agents, all of that stuff.

All right, and then so with the visits, we're looking at a few things before we hopped on here. News, I guess it was broken the last couple of days, that they have had Jalen Hurd and Debo Samuel in for visits, like I said, in the last few days. The Titans are always, it feels like, looking for a wide receiver, so no big surprise that they have those guys in. And they're two of the more, I don't know what the exact right word is,

intriguing, interesting prospects in this draft. Guys that you think probably have a pretty high ceiling, but a lot of question marks surrounding them as well. Yeah, the Jalen Hurd deal is really interesting because opinion of him kind of dropped with Tennessee fans when he left the program. Fast forward two years later, maybe he was ahead of the curve on the whole Butch Jones deal.

Reports come out that he wanted to play a different position. Butch didn't want to give that to him. So I think he ended up doing what was best for him in his career. Because you're talking about a guy that's 6'4", 230-something pounds. So really had a wide receiver, tight end type body, but was handling, you know, 200 carries a year at Tennessee. So ends up leaving Tennessee in 2016 people have knocked him for that I I don't anymore, you know, I used to but I don't

Seeing how that all went down so worked out of the big slot position for Baylor ends up having a really really good season 946 yards receiving four touchdowns in his first year at the position. Of course, had to sit out a year after the transfer, handled 48 carries for 200 more yards. So really interesting guy, really good athlete at the position. I don't know how he fits at the next level. That's the projection there. Where do you take a guy like that? I'm not touching a guy, a project like that until the fourth round, until day three.

He's getting a lot of day two buzz right now. It'll be interesting to see where he goes. But I think Debo Samuel is a guy that's kind of picked up some steam at 51 there. You've seen Kuyper mock him to the Titans. We'll talk about that a little later. A pretty productive guy when he's been healthy. He broke his leg, I believe, in 2017, so that's a little bit of a concern. Didn't seem to have the same explosiveness when he came back,

but still, I think he's a guy that can be a number two at the next level, and look, Titans still need help. We thought the Titans were going to sign two receivers in free agency. They ended up signing one. Still need help with the position. Devo's a lot of guy that makes sense on day two. Can you imagine how good Tennessee would have been if they'd have had, you know, Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara at the same time? Yeah, you know. If they could have gotten him up on the field.

Yeah, playing Hurd out of the big slot. Yeah, that would have been something. Getting Alvin 300 touches like it should have been, but whatever, I digress. Anyway, yeah, so, like I said, interesting guy and just kind of tough to project at the next level. Debo, to me, I mean, he's something that fits the Titans, right? I mean, they need a speed guy. What do you run, like a 4-4-8, I think, at the combine.

You know, we talk a lot about John Robinson-type players. I don't know that Debo Samuel is that guy because you're looking at it if you go back and look at his number from college like you said he had the bad injury in 2017 came back and was good uh in 2018 62 catches 882 yards 11 touchdowns so really productive numbers there but only 15 catches in 2017, obviously had the injury. 59 catches in 2016, 12 catches in 2015. So you're really looking at a guy that just had one big year of production. And we know that we've seen that John Robinson is not necessarily his type. We haven't seen him go after a lot of those guys. Now, do you make an exception for a guy that that had an injury like he did possibly because

you know 59 kids as a sophomore that's pretty solid so if you think he could have built on that as a junior and then you know been even better as a senior um you know maybe we'd be sitting talking about three years of production instead of just one so it's not that he wasn't good you know in college except for the last year so. So I think you can maybe remove that from the equation a little bit. Like you said, now you're seeing a lot more of that Titans and him at 51. We talked about receiver on this group. I think they're going to take a receiver in this draft. I don't know that it's going to be at 51.

I still think you have two or three pretty significant holes that you need to fill before you get to wide receiver now if you know there's value if they if they feel really good about him they feel like he's a value pick you don't necessarily have to reach on one of the other positions if you don't feel like the guy's there but i'm just not sure like i said i think they're going to take a receiver in this draft. But I would be somewhat surprised if it's before the third round. Yeah, I agree. And I think we need to talk about Debo's value as a returner too.

Right. Because, you know, that's not something that we've talked a lot about. It's something the Titans need. You know, Dory is train wreck at punt return. And it's odd. We've talked about that before. If the Titans could have one returner back there, I think that would solve a big issue You saw how much a Dory cost them at certain points in the season So that that's something that that Debo gives you there

Something you could get out of quite a few receivers in this class. So keep that in the back of your mind now I'm with you on the receiver. I think it's on down the list. I think it's probably the third or fourth need on this team. Just looking at Kuyper and McShay's mocks, I can't get on board with anything that doesn't have an offensive lineman in it because I think that's such a big need. I don't know how you ignore it.

So I would be upset if the offensive line wasn't addressed, if the defensive line wasn't addressed, and the Titans are sitting there with a receiver in their hands. So I'm be upset if the offensive line wasn't addressed, if the defensive line wasn't addressed, and the Titans are sitting there with a receiver in their hands. So I'm with you. I'm done with receiver. I feel like we talk about it every year. I don't feel like it's a top position that can impact this team next year. I think the Titans can get a lot more out of a disruptive defender,

whether it be on the edge, whether it be on the defensive line or an interior offensive lineman. Yeah, it is Groundhog Day when it comes to the draft and Titans and receiver. I mean, it is every single year. And, again, I wouldn't be – I would be pretty shocked if they took a receiver at 19. I would not be shocked if they took one at 51. That's not really what I'm getting at here. But, again, just surprised with the other other things they need like we're saying i mean there's just there's just bigger needs that they have currently so i don't know

we'll see how it plays out but um they're gonna be looking for an impact player or two on offense of course the problem with that is this draft's just kind of light on those um after you get outside of you know maybe the first couple tight ends. There's a lot of questions with the receivers. I think this is a draft they spend more bulking up the big guys up front, offensive line, defensive line, and

edge rusher. That's just kind of my thought, but again, there are a few things that would shock me at this point just with what they've been able to do in free agency. Alright, coming up, we'll get into the mock drafts from McShay and Kuyper and talk about what we liked and didn't like in those drafts. All right, so we will start with the McShay mock.

He's got my favorite pick at 19, Noah Fant, going there. You know, he's got my favorite pick at 19, Noah Fant, going there. I'll be honest. If the Titans walk away from the first two days of the draft with what McShea has going to them, I will be pissed. I don't – this makes next to zero sense to me. He has Noah Fant at 19. He has the receiver from Ohio State, Paris Campbell at 51, and Jalen Jelks, defensive end from Oregon in third round at pick number 82.

I just, I would be really, I said not much would shock me. I would be shocked if this is how the first three rounds play out for the Titans. Yeah, we've seen these mocks where it doesn't address off of the line or deep in the line. This one doesn't address either. You know, you get your pass rusher in the third round,

but you're still left with holds on the offensive line and defensive line. I don't get that. I feel like people are overestimating the need on offense that the Titans have at receiver. And the Titans stuff, man, I just think we're in a spot each year where these analysts have to find a spot for these tight ends to go. You look at the Titans roster,

you've got an aging Delaney Walker and you don't have much behind him. I don't expect national analysts to know about John News Smith. I don't expect them to know about Anthony Ferkser, but I do think they're good young players. Not to say they're in the same league as Noah Fant. They're clearly not.

But to spin that pick at 19 on a tight end, I just cannot get behind. So I'm with you. That draft would not fill two of your main needs, and it feels like two unnecessary top selections there. Yeah, I would not be excited about that. I thought I hated Kuyper's mock, but that Red McShay's, that's the one I really can't stand. Yeah, and again, we talk about all this kind of stuff.

I mean, there's a lot that could happen. There's a lot of question marks around here. But I will be really, really surprised if they don't come out of the first two days of the draft with an offensive lineman and a defensive lineman. I mean, I really think that in those first three picks, they're going to use two of those on an offensive lineman and a defensive lineman. And you do have a defensive end from McShay there in the third round. But I just don't think they're going to wait that long to address that.

When you flip the game, it's mock. I mean, it makes a little bit more sense, right? You've got Dexter Lawrence. We talked about the issues there. I mean, a nose tackle at 19, I'm not in love with that. But that gets your defensive line help. Debo Samuel, we talked about earlier, at 51. And then Ben Bonuga, I'm sure I butchered that name,

from TCU, the edge rusher there. You know, again, when you get into drafting edge guys in the third round, you're basically drafting on kind of traits at that point, guys that you think you see something in that you can develop. You're not going to be in love with any of those guys, their production, or whatever else it may be. So, I mean, from a needs perspective, this one's a little bit better, I think, but it still doesn't address the offensive line.

And, again, I just cannot see them getting out of day two without drafting an interior offensive lineman. Now, I was listening to the OTP yesterday with Mike Keith and Jim Wyatt, and they seem to think that the Roger Saffold thing was the big move the Titans are going to make to upgrade that offensive line and that they'll wait until day three and hope that they can find a guy that can be in the mix for starting this year. That's not the way that I think I would do it, and that's not necessarily the way that I see this playing out. Yeah, see, I don't buy that explanation there from the OTP.

I don't know. I mean, you sign one guy, and that's going to fix your entire offensive line. That's something I would buy if you had Klein still in-house, if you had Quentin Spain still in-house. But you're talking about kicking Dennis Kelly inside. You're talking about Kevin Pamphile potentially as your starter. So I don't think you can upgrade one side of your line and severely downgrade the other and think you're going to get better there.

So I don't really get that line of logic there. And just how pick 19, we've talked about it, it just sets up really nicely to add an interior offensive line. And I don't know why you would ignore that there. So just looking at Kuyper's deal, you know, you got Dexter Lawrence there. We've talked a lot about that. 340-pound nose tackles. They see run stuffing downs and they come off the field.

I don't see the value there at pick 19. I just think that's kind of an NFL dinosaur, if you would. You're seeing these shorter, quicker defensive tackles sort of take over the game. You just want some ability to pass rush. I don't think Lawrence has it. I don't understand the value there. Again, I wrote today, you can't really argue with Debo Samuel there. But, you know, in this instance, you don't really address your offensive line.

You still don't have your edge rusher there. That's my only gripe there. And then you find your edge help in round three. Like you said, I'm kind of against taking edge guys after round two. I think you see the athletic profiles really fall off the map unless you've got some sort of character concerns. But, you know, the edge rusher out of TCU here, I'm not even going to try and say his name like you did,

eight and a half sacks in the last two seasons at TCU definitely sounds like a John Robinson-type prospect. But, again, is he going to come in from day one and steal some snaps? I'm not so sure. So if you're going to take an edge, I'd rather do it with one of your top two picks because, like you said, in round three you're looking for traits, and I'm not sure you get starters there in round three, especially on the edge. Yeah, and then the last point I'll make on both of these drafts,

like we talked about yesterday, it just looks like the way that these things are playing out currently that your value or, I don't know, the places you're going to be able to really make the most hay with a pick here is going to be an interior offensive lineman. And if you look at Kuyper specifically, I mean, after the Titans took Dexter Lawrence at 19, he had Chris Lindstrom, the guard from Boston College, going 21.

Eric McCoy, interior offensive lineman, center guard, going 22 to Baltimore. So you had a little bit of a run there on interior offensive lineman right after the Titans pick. And I just think that that's going to be kind of where the value is at that point. That's going to be where they can find the guy they can come in and make an immediate impact for them now again we know that you know some crazy things will happen in the actual draft and there will be a guy that falls down the board none of us are expecting that to happen with right now i mean we see it every year but i i just think the way these things are playing out now i don't know interior office

just makes the most sense to me all right last last thing I saw on Twitter earlier today, a guy named Corey Jarrell, at C-D-Jarrell, J-A-R-R-E-L-L, had tweeted out a little matrix with draft visits by team, by position. So just something that's a little bit interesting to look at, especially if you're trying to figure out what you think other teams are looking for, the guys that they've brought in. The Titans have not been particularly heavy at any position to this point

other than edge and defensive tackle. They've brought more of those guys in, 11 edge rushers, 8 defensive tackles. They've actually brought in 7 corners, but then everything else is like 4, 5, 2, 1. I mean, there's no really big number that stands out there. So that's just something that's kind of interesting to take a look at if you want to see and just kind of look at what other teams are doing, who they're bringing in, that kind of stuff. So just something if you want to check that out. Again, that's at cdgerrell on Twitter. All right, that will do it for today's show. Again, if you want to call in, leave us a voicemail.

We've got spots for a couple more. So if you want to get in on tomorrow's show, do that. 615-787-8762 is the number. It was about a minute long message. We'll get to that tomorrow. You can also, again, follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm. Terry's at tlamberttn.

Thanks so much for listening to Locked on Titans and we'll talk to you again tomorrow.