Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans AFC South Deep Dive: Houston Texans Overrated Offseason & Titans' Upset Chances

Episode Date: June 25, 2024

The Tennessee Titans had a fantastic offseason where they made a lot of big-time moves, but they have been overshadowed by the Houston Texans who also made some high-profile moves, but some of Houston's moves got way more love than they should. Next, Coty Davis from Locked On Texans joins the show to give his take on the Texans' offseason and what the biggest hole remaining is. Finally, Tyler gives his prediction for how the Texans' season goes including their final record and place in the AFC South. Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans TicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans Follow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod Subscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET. That’s TWO HUNDRED BUCKS you can use to bet everything from the Finals MVP to who's going to hit one out of the park! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON and add a big win to your summer bucket list!   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)

The Houston Texans are the favorite in the Tennessee Titans division, but I think their offseason has been massively overrated. I'll explain why on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. You are locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. 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.

Today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. It is time for our AFC South deep dive episodes. We are going to start with the Houston Texans. I'm going to go over what the Texans have done so far this offseason. Why I think it was an overrated offseason as well.

Then we'll talk to Cody Davis from LockedOnTexans to get some behind enemy lines information. And then finally, I'll make my prediction on the Texans record and where they finish within the AFC South. Before I get into it, I do want to thank you for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else.

Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. And speaking of every day, shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday. If you aren't an everydayer, you need to be one tomorrow. I'm going to be doing the Indianapolis Colts. Same setup as today. Then we'll finish off

the week with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Excited for all those conversations and to hear what you guys have to say about their off seasons so far. But make sure that you like the video, hit subscribe. A lot of you guys who watch on YouTube actually aren't subscribed. So let's get to 15,000 subscribers. All right. Before the season kicks off, that would be wonderful. But with that being said, a lot of people acted like the Houston Texans had one of the best off seasons in the entire NFL. And look, I understand why I'm not ignorant enough to act like I don't see why people are high on the Houston Texans off season. But I think when you get into the details a little bit, it's a tad overrated.

Like the Texans offseason was good, but it wasn't phenomenal. It wasn't great. I wouldn't put it as one of the best offseasons in the NFL. To me, the Texans offseason was like a B or a B-, which is higher than the grades that I give to the other AFC South teams. But I think the Titans had a better offseason than the Houston Texans.

Think about it. You bring in Stephon Diggs in the trade, but then you restructure his contract to basically make it a one-year deal, which I think with the disgruntled nature of Stephon Diggs being in an offense with a lot of mouths to feed, Stephon Diggs could easily get frustrated and start being a malcontent in the locker room. If he was unhappy in Buffalo when he was getting 1,400 yards

and 100 targets every year, what's he going to do in Houston when he's on a one-year contract and his financial future is on the line? Plus, if you look at Stephon Diggs at the end of the season last year, he definitely took a step back. And that's just what happens with wide receivers at that age. So I don't think the Stephon Diggs trade was a bad move, but I think it definitely has way more potential to blow up in Houston's face

than people want to admit. Also, they go out and they sign Daniil Hunter. And look, Daniil Hunter, excellent player, absolutely. But he's in his 30s. They gave him two years of big-time money. I think it's like $25 million a year. And they had a guy named Jonathan Grenard, who I thought was an excellent ascending player,

who's a younger player who got less money. So I don't understand the move from Jonathan Grenard to Daniil Hunter. It may look good right now because Hunter had a great season last year, but I think that's a risky move to go to an older player and give him that kind of money. Same thing. The two guys that they stole from the Titans, people want to freak out about that.

I do not look highly on those moves. Danico Autry is a good, good player, no doubt about it. But if you look at the Texans depth chart, which we did earlier this week, is he really going to play interior defensive line on a consistent basis? He can't stop the run. He's not going to hold up against double teams from interior offensive linemen. He is a one-on-one situational pass rusher at this stage in his career is going to be 34 years old. And they gave him, what, two years, $10 million a pop. That's? I mean, the Titans were paying Danico Autry $7 million a year,

and I think that that is a fair market value, $10 million. And then you look at Aziz Alshire. I had been vocal throughout the entire season. Aziz is a good average starter. He is an average starting linebacker. The Texans paid him like one of the best starting linebackers in the NFL. Aziz Alshire got more guaranteed money than Patrick Queen. That's an overpay by the Texans.

That is an absolute overpay. All right, so I know that Aziz had a good year statistically for the Titans, but again, I think that's an overpay when he's just an average linebacker. All right? So, you know, those are like the big four moves that they made. Other than that, obviously they draft Lassiter out of Georgia,

Blake Fisher, the offensive lineman out of Notre Dame, Kalen Bullock, who I do like Kalen Bullock as a safety, Cade Stover, who I don't like. Look, people accuse me sometimes of Buckeye bias. I'm telling you that's not real. I don't have a bias towards Ohio State Buckeyes. If anything, I'm more critical of the things I love than most people. All right, Cade Stover runs in combat boots.

I do not think that he's like a for sure NFL player. So taking him in the fourth round, I thought, was a reach. So the draft is just okay. You know, Kamari Lasseter is good, but do you want him to be your starter from week one? I don't know. Blake Fisher, not impressed with the athleticism. Kaitlin Bullock, I like.

Cade Stover, not that much. I'm not that impressed with the draft that the Texans had either. They lost Sheldon Rankins on the interior defensive line, which I think is a big weakness for the Texans right now, is their interior defensive line. They lost Devin Singletary, who I am, oh yeah, we got to throw in the Joe Mixon thing. Duh, can't miss out on that.

Totally overrated move. Joe Mixon thing. Duh. Can't miss out on that. Totally overrated move. Joe Mixon is an average running back now. Like, why are we, again, they lose Devin Singletary. I am not 100% positive that Joe Mixon is significantly better than Devin Singletary. Like, I don't think that that's a guaranteed thing. So the Joe Mixon thing is so overrated. Out of all the moves they made, the one that gets way too much hype

is the Joe Mixon move. He's just an average running back in the NFL. He's not a difference maker. He's not a game changer by any means. They lose Jonathan Grenard, like I mentioned before. They lose Malik Collins, another guy on the interior defensive line. I think the Texans got weaker up the middle.

I don't think their secondary is very good either, and we talked about that earlier this week. So they made some moves. I'll give them a B, B- for the offseason, but people acting like they had one of the best offseasons in the NFL and they just made all these massive upgrades. I just think that's an over-exaggeration. I do.

Now, where will the Texans finish in the division? I'm going to answer that at the end. But first, we're going to talk to Cody Davis from Locked On Texans for some inside information of what's going on in Houston and his thoughts on the team. Can't wait to dive into that. Before we do, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you

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Now, excited to get into a little behind enemy lines information here about the Houston Texans. We're going to hear from Cody Davis, host of Locked on Texans. One of them, shout out to John Hickman, the other host. Obviously, big fan of both you guys doing great work down there. But before we do, do want to thank you again for making Locked on Titans your first listen each and every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed.

And I know a lot of you guys out there like to hear those other podcasts in the AFC South and see what these guys have to say about the Titans and when we play and all of that. So make sure you guys check out Locked on Texans as well. But got a great guest. Like I said, Cody Davis from Locked on Texans covers the Texans on site as a beat reporter for SI for Locked On, covers the Rockets as well, and a fellow Kobe Bryant stan. Yes, sir. Mama mentality, but with that being said, Cody, how are you doing today?

Man, I'm doing good, man. Just enjoying the off season as you know we are so called in the break period for the lockdown so i'm just enjoying it man you know i know our listeners probably miss our monday shows but don't worry probably within the next two weeks especially with training camp less than a month away we will be back at five days a week you know me and my co-host john just want to take a quick breather. Yep, absolutely. I agree 100%. I try to take my little reset during this time during the year.

But football will be here before you know it. And one of the teams that made the most waves this offseason, along with the Titans, were the Texans. So with all of the big moves that they made, they added, you know, a bunch of different people. I'll let you kind of paint the canvas on it, but what was the biggest move the Texans made this all season in your opinion? I know a lot of people are going to say Stefan Diggs. Of course, he's the biggest name that a lot of people know. And of course he's one of, Tyler, I'm pretty sure

you'll agree with this statement. It's been a top five, top 10 wide receiver at that position over the past decade but for me in terms of what the Houston Texans actually needed for me is Joe Mixon um and I said that because the one thing that I go back to and I know I say this a lot on locked on Texans but when you go back you take a look at the playoff game where they lost against the Baltimore Ravens um I was in Baltimore and that that Saturday night, that Monday night, well, not Monday night, that Monday morning when we talked to him when he came back to Houston, and all throughout the combine, Coach D'Amico Rice always talked about every single position that he thought needed an upgrade, but he always kept talking about

the improvements that they needed in their rushing attack. And, of course, as you guys know, like this time last year, we thought that Damian Pierce was going to be this team's number one running back. But unfortunately, you know, whether it was due to personal struggles, whether it was due to, you know, him trying to get a get a hold of Bobby Slowy's playbook. Year two was a big disappointment for him. But, you know, Devin Singletary came in and did what he had to do. But the one thing that Coach D'Amico Ryans and his staff kept talking about was how are they going to improve their rushing attack, especially knowing that your offensive coordinator is Bobby Sloy, coming from San Fran.

You know how they love to utilize their rushing attack. You know that's what the Houston Texans will definitely want to try to do right here in the city of Houston. Them bringing in Joe Mixon, another guy that's been near at the top of his position. I know he isn't Derrick Henry. No one near close is Derrick Henry. But knowing that they brought in a running back where they could utilize both in a rushing attack, passing attack, and I think he's one of, if not the main reason, that gives them that big dynamic that they need on the offensive side of the ball. Well, I know he's a versatile threat too,

watching him in Cincinnati. You know, he can catch the ball out of the backfield, obviously is strong enough to run in between the tackles. Made some good plays against the Titans when the Titans played against the Bengals quite a bit over the last few years. So maybe, you know, a little past his prime, but still a very versatile and effective running back.

Definitely think that that could be seen as an upgrade for the Texans. They made a lot of other moves. I have to ask you, which of the big moves they made, would you consider their second biggest move than the acquisition of Stephon Diggs or the Daniil Hunter signing? Obviously, it was so many big moves, it's hard to pick. So I was a little surprised when you picked the Mixon one. Well, yeah, and that's the reason why I picked the Mixon one, because that was their biggest

need on the offensive side of it. I mean, if you look at that wide receiving core, I mean, Nico Collins, he's trying to solid him himself as a top five, top 10 receiver. Same thing with Tank Dale. You know what you was going to get out of him coming back and don't get me wrong um they definitely wanted to add more weapons for cj shark to utilize in the passing attack um and i remember going back to the combine when i asked coach demico ryan's and indy uh what are some of the attributes that he's looking for in terms of improving their wide receiving court he told me somebody that could

create separation and somebody who can go out there and make big plays. And what Stephon Diggs is known for, creating that separation and of course, making a big play. So it's almost like a given. But the second biggest move, of course, to me, is more so of a tie because yes, Stephon Diggs, but since you already said his name, I would love to share some light on him. And that's the Neil Hunter, you know. And I think the Neil Hunter is definitely going to have an opportunity to make this Houston Texans front for a lot scarier. I mean, just go back and take a look at what they was able to do with Jonathan Garnard. And I thought for sure Jonathan Garnard was going to come back. You know, he had a career year, you know, 12 and sacks you know somebody who has been talking about him for a while exactly i mean i think ever since

you and i've been covering both the texans and titans you know he was always a guy that i brought up and to see his growth and development year after year after year and to pair him alongside will anderson jr and by the way this is a defensive team that just created i believe they had set a franchise record of like 48 or 49 sacks so it's like okay of course they're going to bring majority of their um front four back and to see all of those guys depart but you replace jonathan jonathan ganar with the nil hunter a guy who has just had a career high himself, 16 and a half sacks. It's like, whoa, what are we doing here? So, you know, and, and, and that's another thing, you know, being around coach D'Amico Ryan's for well over the year and I have an opportunity to

talk to him both on and off the record, you know, his number one thing is in order for the Houston Texans to reach their quote unquote championship aspiration, his biggest thing has always been in order for us to meet those goals, we know we got to do on the offensive side of the ball, but we got to make sure that we take care of the opposing team's quarterback. Because when you look at a list of the top five, top 10 quarterbacks in the league, majority of them is going to come through the AFC. And in order for the Texans to make sure that they get to where they want to be and help this franchise get to a place that they never been before,

Coach D'Amico Rhymes knows it's going to be very important that you make it uncomfortable for Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes or whoever the case might be. Will Levis doing the regular season, maybe doing the wild card game. Who knows? Who knows? So, you know, it's just like I think we saw what this team was able to do with Jonathan Gunnar but knowing that this defense is going to take a step

forward with Daniel Hunter says a lot about his acquisition alone 100% what what do you think is the biggest hole remaining on the roster that we talked about how good the roster is up and down what is there a big weakness left or any kind of hole that you see the safety unit that's been my biggest concern you know actually I really thought going into this offseason that there definitely was going to try to improve their defensive backfield and look I'm still a big believer in Jalen Petrie yeah I know I know he had a very, you know, another disappointing year too as well. But we had an opportunity to talk to him doing OTAs. And one of the things that I love what he said, he said the biggest lesson that he can take through his

first two years was trying to contain his aggression, play a little bit smarter. And that made a lot of sense because there was a lot of time last year where it seemed like he was trying to replicate the success of his rookie season and there was moments where he just seemed like he was just running all over the place um being out of being out of you know position and stuff so you know i still believe in jalen petrie but it's like can he take that leap that the houston texans need going into year three and it's not just jalen petrie it's also jimmy ward as well jim Jimmy Ward has always been one of the underrated guys in the league for me, but he's always had issues with his injuries. And I'm looking at it from a standpoint, if the Houston Texans are reaching championship aspirations, trying to get to that conference

championship game, maybe representing this conference in New Orleans in February in 2025, who knows? They're going to have to make sure that both of those guys step up. And to me, especially considering how so many teams cut their near or top safety at the start of free agency, I thought that that was going to be a position that they was going to address. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Outside of drafting Caleb Bullock, who I think is going to be a good player, but you really don't want to put that much on a rookie at this stage in his career. Yep. No, the Titans are in a similar boat at the safety position.

All these veteran safeties on the market, you thought they would maybe add somebody, bring somebody in, and they have not done that so far. So we'll be on the lookout for that. Real quick, Cody, 15, 30 seconds left. Where do you think the Texans end up in the AFC South this year um I think they're going to repeat as divisional chances by the way I do want to throw this in I think we're going to have the most competitive and arguably the best division coming up for this upcoming season especially with the four quarterbacks we got but I think the Houston Texans due to you know the success of CJ, man,

I really do think that they're going to have an opportunity to repeat as division champs. Yep, that makes sense. And right now, obviously, that's the betting favorite, so I wouldn't expect you to say anything other than that. Well, Cody, thank you so much for coming on. Glad to get that behind-the-scenes information from you, someone who covers the team on a daily basis.

I look forward to our conversations once the season actually starts as well, but stay locked in here with the Locked on Titans podcast. I got more AFC South Houston Texans conversation coming for you now. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about the Texans moves that they've made so far this offseason and why I think they're a touch overrated.

We also heard from Cody Davis about his thoughts on the Houston Texans. Definitely thank Cody for jumping on. But now I want to kind of give my final thoughts on where I think the Texans finish in the division and what I think their overall record will end up being. Before I dive into that, thanks again for making Locked on Titans your first listen each and every day. Again, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round,

always for free. Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed. But I also want to let you guys know that Locked On has launched the first ever National Sports 24-7 streaming channel. It's on YouTube, and now it's also available on Amazon Fire TV. It's called Locked On Sports Today. Locked On Sports Today is here for you 24-7. We're going to cover all of the top stories of the day in sports.

You're going to get local experts from Locked On like me. You're going to get national coverage of every single league. Find Locked On Sports Today now available on the free Fire TV channels app and of course right here on YouTube. But although, I will say this, although I think the Texans offseason has been a touch overrated, at the end of the day, the Texans have the best quarterback in the division, and to me, it's not particularly close.

I think that C.J. Stroud is an excellent player, and I have. And it's not some sort of bias or whatever, like just from last year when I loved Stroud coming out of college, I thought he was the best quarterback in the draft during his draft. Um, and that proved out in year one. Now Stroud could always take a step back. Things change year to year. People were crowning Trevor Lawrence a few years ago and he's been up and down. So, like, these things aren't finite. You know, it's not a guarantee that Stroud will be amazing, but I just have a lot of faith in C.J. Stroud.

I think he's a very good player. And the Texans, even though I think some of their offseason moves were overrated, they still had a good enough team as things stood that I still think they're going to be a good team. So for me, I think Houston finishes like 11 and six, I think. And I'll be honest. I still think they win the division. I, I can't sit here and tell you that I think anybody else is going to win the division. I think that it's more likely that Houston is far and above the class in the division, and then you have the Colts, the Jags, and the Titans fighting for a wild card spot,

fighting for that second spot in the division where everybody is 7-10, 8-9, 9-8, and then the Texans are 11-6, 12-5. That's where I think they're going to be. It'll be curious for me because if the Texans do do that, they win the division, they have a good record, they go on to the playoffs, whether they win or lose, Bobby Slowik is going to get a head coaching job. And we have seen consistently that when these defensive coaches,

which I think D'Amico Ryans is a good head coach, just like I thought Mike Vrabel was a good head coach, but when these defensive coaches lose their offensive coordinators, what are you going to do now? Can you replace that offensive coordinator with somebody who's just as good as the previous guy? We saw it happen to Mike Vrabel. When he lost Arthur Smith, lost some of the magic.

That's just the reality. He lost some of the magic of what made the team great. Now, there were plenty of other things that we can point to that hurt the team, like John Robinson's moves and, you know, the hires that happen after you lose Arthur Smith. But at the end of the day, that'll be the big thing. But that's not a problem until after this season because Bobby Slowick ain't going anywhere for right now. And you guys know that I am high on Bobby Slowick as well.

I think he's a very good offensive coordinator. I think he's going to be a head coach very soon. I don't think that's a hot take to have. So to me, I look at the Texans. I do think that they're vulnerable in the secondary. I think they're vulnerable in the interior defensive line. I think they're vulnerable in the interior offensive line as well. I'm not over the moon about those things. So up the gut right there, the Texans are vulnerable, but otherwise they have very, very solid players

across the board at their other positions. Good edge rushers, solid linebackers, solid tight end, solid tackles, good wide receivers, solid running backs, and obviously, I think, a great quarterback in C.J. Stroud. So while I'm not as high on the Texans offseason as others, as I've explained, and as I went through at the beginning of the show, I still think that they're the class in the division right now. So I have them finishing first in the AFC South.

11-6 is my record prediction for Houston. I can see them being a game better than that, quite honestly, if things really break well. But overall, they're at the top of the mountain right now. And anybody that wants to win the AFC South is going to have to knock them off. And I think that's going to be a tough task right now. I think 2025 is really the year to look at when maybe they start to come back down to earth, depending on the Stephon Diggs situation.

Some of those pieces on defense start to get older. That'll really be the year where I look where maybe the Texans take a huge step back, but I don't think it's coming right now. Let me know down below what you guys think is going to happen with the Houston Texans this year. What's your record prediction for them? Where do they finish? Excited to see what you guys think is going to happen with the Houston Texans this year. What's your record prediction for them? Where do they finish?

Excited to see what you guys have to say. Tomorrow, we're going to be talking Indianapolis Colts, who I am nowhere near as high on the Colts as the general consensus. Like, every year, we do this thing where the Colts get the hype. But I'll talk more about that on tomorrow's show. Endlessly frustrating regardless though. But with that being said, that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland.

And this was Locked on Titans. Thanks for watching!