Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: Talking McShay's Mock; Voicemails

Episode Date: February 8, 2019

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Welcome in to another edition of Locked on Titans. I'm Jim Morris. Joined as always by Terry Lambert. Terry, how are you today? Doing alright, man. What's going on? Oh, not a whole lot. We got another mock draft. Giving the Titans a position, you know, a guy with a huge position need. So we're going to talk about that here in a minute. My favorite topic. Jimmy's fired up.

That's right. Before we do that, I know we're going to give the voice on that. Before we do that, I remind you, we write for musicandmiracles.com where we cover the Titans for SB Nation. So you can check us out there. You can also follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm. Terry's at tlambertfb. You can podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Just search out Locked on Titans.

You can also play the podcast on your smart speaker. Just say play podcast Locked on Titans and you'll hear us there. All right. So, yeah, Todd McShay came out with, was it his first or second mock? It was his second, right? His second one, yeah.

Okay. His second mock draft. Do you remember who he gave the Titans in the first one? I'm pretty sure it was Polite. Okay. So, in the first one, he did something that was actually intelligent and gave the Titans a guy in a position they need. In polite, the address were from Florida.

Today, he followed Mel Kuyper's genius lead and gave the Titans a tight end. TJ Hawkinson from Iowa, who I am sure is a lovely player. This has really nothing to do with Hawkinson himself. This is more about, again, I just can't understand why these guys think the Titans need a tight end. Delaney Walker is turning 34. That's a fact. Absolutely true. The Titans also gave Delaney Walker a contract extension before last year.

So they're not planning on phasing him out of their plans anytime soon. You also have John New Smith, who was coming on before he got injured last year. They spent, what, a third, fourth-round pick on him a couple years ago. A guy that, you know, factors pretty heavily, I think, into their plans going forward. If you draft a tight end here, Johnnie's off the field. So that was kind of a wasted pick if you're giving up on him already at this point because they're not going to play three tight ends. All of that before we even get to the fact that they have some, like,

huge glaring needs on this roster currently, and tight ends are just not one of them. And then you made the point before we came on here, positional value as well. There are so many things about this that just seem like a terrible idea to me. many things about this that just seem like a terrible idea to me. There's just a handful of true difference makers at the tight end position, and it just seems like they're kind of random where they come from. It's not always the number one guy coming out of college.

You know, Kelsey was a third round pick. I think Gronk was a second round pick. So, you know, George Kittle went in the mid-rounds. I just don't see the positional value there. On top of everything that Jimmy said, you know, the Titans are pretty set right now at tight end. Assuming Delaney comes back healthy, I'd say he's got at least one, maybe two, maybe even three years left in him.

You've got two young, decent players. We'll see what Ferkser turns into. Johnnie Smith was coming around. So if you draft him, where does he play? He's got to be at least your second option as you're tied in, kind of like what the Eagles did with Dallas Goddard last year. your second option as your tight end, kind of like what the Eagles did with Dallas Goddard last year.

That's underwhelming to me with the 19th overall pick. I will say, if you listen to all these analysts out here, Hawkinson's one of the most complete prospects at the tight end position that they've seen in some time. Can do it all. He can block. He can run. He can catch. He's reminded

some people of George Kittle. I posed the question to you before we came on. I'll do it again here. If you're taking George Kittle with the 19th overall pick, do you make that selection? Yeah. I said no immediately last time.

Thinking about it a little bit more, it's not an immediate no, but just with what they already have on this roster and what they need on this roster, I just don't think so. I think that you can get enough production out of Delaney Walker slash Johnnie Smith that there's not enough. You're not going to give Hawkinson the volume that a guy like George Kittle gets. And so I just, I still don't, I don't know. I just, I can't get there.

I can't get there with that. If they take him and he ends up being George Kittle, you know, that's great. I mean, none of us are going to complain about that in two years if that's how it plays out. But I just don't think that tight end is anywhere near their board in the first round. That's more my thoughts on it than anything else. Again, it has nothing to do with the player himself. I just don't think that that's even something that they're going to be considering with that first-round pick.

Yeah, it's too rich for me for sure. The only way I'd get there is if John Robinson goes out and signs everybody, you know, like all Titans fans want him to go do. If he signs a couple difference makers up front, he finds that pass rusher, you know, he gets a free agent guard, maybe a center, something like that, and adds a veteran receiver. That's a lot. I mean, that is a lot.

That's the only way I'm cool with taking that. And look, if you take Hawkinson, you can do some interesting things. You've got Delaney Walker and Hawkinson on the field at the same time. Titans love their tight ends. Don't have much at receiver. He would get used. I'm just not sure it would warrant the 19th pick. So that's kind of where we stand.

I think we're on the same page there. It's just frustrating. You know, I think these, especially McShay and Kuyper, are told by scouts and GMs where they think guys are going to go, and they just kind of try and fit the puzzle pieces together in their mock. So, you know, we went through this last year. Dallas Goddard was a really popular pick for the Titans at 25. Of course, that didn't happen.

I don't think the Titans were interested in taking a tight end, but you kind of see the same thing playing out there. So if I were to rank tight end as a need on this roster, it would be at the bottom of the list just above cornerback, which we've also talked about. Yeah. And then I'll ask you just to wrap this up, the same question. How much better is Hawkinson than Anthony Fergster?

I mean, he's probably a better blocker. And, I mean, I haven't watched very much Hawkinson, so I don't necessarily have a good opinion on this. But you've got a guy, you know guy that can do some things for you. So, like I said, you're taking Ferkser and Jonathan Smith off the field, and I'm not saying you shouldn't draft a guy because you have Anthony Ferkser. That's not what I'm getting at at all, but if you're spending a first-round pick, this guy needs to be head and shoulders above those two guys,

and I just don't really think that he is. Yeah, I'd say it's definitely a significant upgrade. Like I said, a guy that can do it all, made some really, really nice plays down the field, is an outstanding blocker. Just a guy that would never have to come off of the field, a future tight end one for sure. But again, like you're saying, spending the 19th pick to get there, ignoring a potential pass rusher, you know,

and McShay's mock polite was two picks after, you know, you had some defensive linemen still left there on the board. You had receivers, you know. You had true receivers. DK Metcalf was still on the board. So to ignore all of those needs, I just can't get there. Yeah, like you said, especially with the way that the guys that were still available at that pick, there's plenty of things, plenty of guys that would come in and help them more right away than Hawkinson.

All right, that's enough of that. I'm sure, you know, next time when Mel Kiper comes out with his next week, we'll revisit it again, I'm sure. But that's all for now. Next, we are going to get to your voicemails. First, we have Brooks asking about some of the receivers in this draft. Hey guys, Brooks from Chattanooga. Big fan of the show.

As I'm looking at these mock drafts, I know that y'all's opinion is defensive linemen or edge rusher in the first round, and I agree, but a lot of mock drafts have us taking a receiver, specifically Marquise Brown. And me personally, I'm not a huge fan of Marquise Brown. I think there's better receivers to take if we're going to take a guy in the first round. And so if we do decide to go with a receiver in the first round, who would y'all want us to take there if it's not a defensive player?

Kind of comparing guys like Marquise and DK Metcalf or Nikhil Harry or even AJ Brown. I would just love to hear y'all kind of break down some of the receivers that if we do decide to go that route, you'd want to see. So, look forward to hearing your thoughts. Thank you. Yeah, Brooks, I'm kind of with you on Marquise Brown. I think Jimmy is, too.

You're talking about a small receiver, you know, 170 pounds maybe. When's the last time you saw someone like that have success outside of really Deshaun Jackson? And, of course, that's who you're wanting him to be. But I don't know. I think it's too close to Taewon Taylor for comfort there. So I want a guy that can do a little bit more, another Corey Davis type, for example. For me, my favorite right now is DK Metcalf. The Titans go down that road,

and me and Jimmy have been pretty vocal about wanting to sign a couple of bets, but if it comes down to the only need remaining on the board after free agency is receiver, Metcalf is where I'm going. You talk about 6'4", 230, can run, can really win those contested catches, can blow by some DBs there. Some of the Titans don't really have. They need more size. They need more speed.

He offers both. Again, redshirt sophomore has some injury issues, so he's going to have to check some boxes off at the combine. I don't know that John Robbins is going to like his production in college with just two years there as a redshirt sophomore. But that's the leader in the clubhouse for me at receiver. Yeah, absolutely. I'm with you. You want somebody that can do more. That's not just, like you said, just John Jackson. He can obviously get down the field. And they need a guy that can do

that. But if you're taking a guy that early, you know, he can obviously get down the field. And they need a guy that can do that. But if you're taking a guy that early, you want him to be able to not only, you know, take top of the defense but run the intermediate stuff, make contested catches, all those types of things. And so, you know, typically you're looking for the bigger body guys. You're talking about that. So, yeah. And like you said, I mean, my preference would be that they address that in free agency.

There's plenty of guys that are going to be available in free agency where they could do that. And, again, just youth in the room already bringing in a veteran I think would be a good idea there. But, you know, we don't know how that's going to play out. Obviously this conversation will be a little bit different once we know that. But, yeah, I would lean toward the DK Metcalf if he's on the board, which he was in McShay's mock, and he still gave us that.

Anyway. Hey, guys, this is David calling in from California. Just wanted to quickly get your thoughts on Indomitian Sioux and the potential that you think the Titans may have to go after a guy like him. I know he'll probably command a pretty decent chunk of change coming out of his year with the Rams going to the Super Bowl, but it's probably an out-there possibility. But just wanted to get your thoughts if you guys think the Titans may go after a guy like Sioux. Thanks. Yeah, so we're back to Indomitian Sioux talk again, just like we were last year, really,

when we were all kind of begging the Titans to sign him and be a difference maker up front. We're having the same conversations this year. I want to know what he's going to want to be paid. He's, you know, on the backside of his career, not quite what he once was, still a very good player in this league. I think pro football focus had him just outside the top ten as far as defensive interior guys go.

Guy that I think could really help this team kind of replace the Austin Johnson snaps. Maybe you kick Jones inside the nose tackle. Maybe that's something they're interested in. Look, we know the Titans were interested in signing him last year. Maybe they're interested again on a one- or two-year deal. We'll see. But, you know, I just think knowing Stu, I think he's going to want to get paid again. I think it's probably going to drag out.

If I remember correctly, he was one of the last big guys to sign. So I'm not holding my breath there, but I think the Titans will probably kick the tires. Yeah, because I think he might have gotten released later. It was something weird. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, that's right. And the Titans, I mean, by all accounts by all accounts, we're in on it.

I mean, I think it might have been down to the Titans and the Rams. And, you know, he – and we don't know what, you know, the Titans offer was. You know, he had said that it was more about winning than about money because he was, at the end of his career, obviously made a bunch of money on that second contract that he signed. But, I mean, at the end of the day, if one thing is willing to offer $5 million more, it's always kind of hard to turn that down. So, yeah, I mean, I think they would be interested again, like they were last year.

They're in a different cap spot this year than they were last year. They don't have quite the money that they had last year, speaking of the Titans, just because, you know, they paid Ted LeJuan. Marcus Mario has got a big number for next year. So it'll be interesting to see what they do there. But, yeah, I mean, there's no reason that they wouldn't pursue him again. Then it'd just be kind of interesting to see where his head is, if he wants to stay with the Rams, if the Rams want him back,

all that kind of stuff. I mean, obviously, if it comes down to the Titans and the Rams, you know, everything else is pretty equal. He's going to choose the Rams. They're obviously closer. So, I mean, I think that's basically. He's going to choose the Rams. They're obviously closer. So, I mean, I think that's basically what it came down to last year. But, you know, the Rams may have other things they're trying to do.

So that'll definitely be something to watch. But, yeah, I mean, I think he would be a good guy for the Titans to go after. I think that he could definitely help them, like you said. And just gives them more options. Mike, we were able to talk about wanting to be multiple. If you've got a guy like Sue then you've got there's more things that you can do with that defensive front so yeah I absolutely think that that would be

something that they should look into and then again it would change the draft conversation a little bit if he did sign here because then you don't necessarily need an interior defensive lineman as early because you've got that guy that can help you do some things there. So, yeah, I mean, I think that he will be on the radar, but, you know, no idea, obviously,

at this point if he ends up with the Titans or not. All right, so we thank both guys for calling in. Again, if you want to leave a voicemail and be a part of this show next week, 615-787-8762. That's the number. Call in. Leave us about a minute long voicemail and we will get to it. Hopefully we'll have three or four to do a show at the end of next week. Things will start ramping up here in a little bit. The Combine is a couple weeks away. We'll get some more answers on some of these guys and then we'll be full-blown free agency draft season. This is probably

one of the deader parts of the year as far as the NFL goes, just a week or two after the Super Bowl. But once we hit the combine, it's full speed ahead until draft season. So we'll have plenty of stuff to talk about. Again, subscribe to the podcast so you get the episodes as soon as they're available.

Don't have to worry about when they're coming out and downloading and that kind of stuff. So for Terry, this is Jimmy saying thanks for listening to Locked on Titans, and we'll talk to you again next week.