Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans AFC South Rankings: Top Corners in Division, Struggles in Back 7 & Pass Rush Fails

Episode Date: June 24, 2024

The Tennessee Titans added a ton of talent on the offensive side of the ball during the offseason, but not as much was given to the defense. In Part Two of our AFC South position rankings, we dive into the defense. The Titans have the best cornerbacks in the entire group, but really fall behind elsewhere. Safety and linebacker are both big concerns while the pass rush talent that used to be the Titans' strength, is now a major weakness. 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 Tennessee Titans have the best cornerbacks in the division, and it's not even close. I'll rank all of the defensive position groups in the AFC South 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.

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It's part two of our AFC South position group rankings on today's show. I'm going to tell you why the Tennessee Titans have the best cornerbacks in the division. It's really, really not even close. Then we'll look at some other positions, including safety and inside linebacker, where the Titans certainly fall behind. And then we'll talk about the pass rush as well, where the Tennessee Titans went from the top to near the bottom. Before we get into all of that, though, do want to thank you 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 that you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day. Speaking of every day, shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday. The rest of the week, we are going to be doing a deep dive into the Titans division rivals. Tomorrow, we're going to look at the Houston Texans.

Then we'll look at the Indianapolis Colts. Then we'll finish off with the Jacksonville Jaguars. See what these teams have been doing this offseason and where I think they stand compared to the Titans. But with that being said, let's talk about the cornerbacks in this division because like I've said twice now, the Titans have by far, by far, by far, as far as you can imagine, the best cornerbacks in the division. Like it's really not even close. It's night and day. Quite honestly, the Titans have

a great group, one of the best groups in the NFL. And then all the other three division rivals, I think have very bad cornerback groups at the end of the day. So best groups in the NFL, and then all the other three division rivals, I think, have very bad cornerback groups at the end of the day. So you look at the Titans. Of course, they add LeJarrius Sneed. That's a top five cornerback in the NFL. We have talked about LeJarrius Sneed's impact on this defense, his ability to play press, his ability to play press man, his ability to play press even when he's in zone with the safety behind him. I mean, LeJarrius Sneed can literally do everything that you need him to do, and he does it at a very high level. Competitive player, played in the biggest games, played against the best opponents. We went through all of the different high-level wide receivers that he shut down last year during

his great run in 2023. So LeJarrius Sneed, not only the best cornerback in the division, but he is one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL by far. And then you go to Chito. Chito Bay, who's that? I mean, we are talking about a guy who was the number one cornerback on the Cincinnati Bengals good defense during their Super Bowl run. You know, Chito has the ability to be a, I would say a mid-level, number one corner in the NFL. Now he gets to be a number two cornerback. Absolutely huge. And then again, Roger McCreary is one of the most underrated players in the NFL. I've said it the last few weeks,

but I like how the national media is starting to kind of catch up on how good Roger McCreary is. I think he's probably a top five to top eight slot cornerback in the NFL right now. Absolutely fantastic. So you got all three of those guys as your starters. And I honestly think that Jarvis Brownlee Jr. is better than some of the starters on some of the other teams in the division. Like, I think JBJ is going to be really good, guys.

I just have that feeling. I just have the feeling. But you look at the other cornerback groups. I put Houston number two. Derek Stingley Jr. is the best cornerback out of the rest of the division. Alright? And then Kamari Lassiter is a rookie. Will he be good? I don't know. Could be, though. But Jeff Okuda, I wanted the Titans to go out and sign Okuda as some depth at cornerback.

Now, obviously, the Titans did way better than Jeff Okuda. I'm not, you know, crying over spilt milk by any means. I would much rather have what the Titans did at cornerback than go get Jeff Okuda. But I thought Okuda was a nice, cheap, high upside option that the Titans could have gone after. So he's, you know, number three, number two corner for Houston. Might be all right. CJ Henderson, another former first-round pick who flamed out that the Titans could have gone after. So he's, you know, number three, number two corner for Houston.

Might be all right. CJ Henderson, another former first-round pick who flamed out and has been a disappointment. Houston's got some, at least some talent there. You know, in the slot, they got Dez King, the ageless man, you know. But at the end of the day, that's not a great group. That's not a great group. That's an okay group. Second best group in the division, in my opinion that's not a great group. That's not a great group. That's an okay group.

Second best group in the division, in my opinion, but not a great group by any means. And then I have Indy number three. Look, I like Juju Brents. I like Julius Brents coming out of college. I think he could be a good cornerback, a really good cornerback. And I think he showed some flashes so far. But after that, Jalen Jones,

Dallas Flowers, Daryl Baker, they don't have any other good outside cornerbacks. Kenny Moore is good in the slot, but Kenny Moore is getting up there too. He's an older player. All right. Is he going to be able to hold up? And then they're moving Jalen Simpson, who was a safety in college, like a deep free safety, and they're moving him to cornerback. I don't get that. I don't really like that move. Emery Hunt, football game plan on Twitter, does great draft work. One of the best draft analysts in the business. He questioned that move as well. The Colts are moving a bunch of people to different positions they didn't play in college, and I don't know

about that. So we will see. But, you know, considering that, how can I have them anywhere close to the top? And then finally, you have Jacksonville. Look, Tyson Campbell is a good player, but Ronald Darby as your number two corner, I don't know. And then they bring in Darnell Savage, who's been a versatile player for the Green Bay Packers, safety, slot, blah, blah. And it looks like they're going to run

Darnell Savage at slot. I mean, being a full-time slot is different than the versatile weapon that he was in Green Bay. But I will say, I do like Jerrion Jones, the young rookie cornerback who's a slot guy for Jacksonville. I think he could be a pretty good player. But at the end of the day, the point remains here. The Titans cornerback group is vastly superior to the other cornerback groups in the division. Like they might have one, you got Stingley, you got Brents, you got Campbell.

They might have one good cornerback, but the Titans have three good cornerbacks. And quite honestly, I think that Jarvis Brownlee Jr. could be better than Jalen Jones, Ronald Darby, Kamari Lasseter. I just think out of all of the positions, all of the positions that we talked about on offense yesterday and we're going to talk about on defense today, there is no bigger gap between number one and number two than the cornerback groups.

It's really not even close. And again, play along with me down below. I appreciated seeing what you guys had to say. Even the fans of other teams crying in the comments about how unfair and biased I am. I don't care what you have to say. All right. Anyways.

So got other other teams fans watching the show. I'm winning that interaction, folks. I already won that. So you guys keep complaining. Titans fans will know that we're speaking truth in here. So Titans quarterback group way far ahead of everybody else's. But I got to tell you, the rest of the defensive rankings, not so great for the Tennessee Titans. So play along down below in the comments.

I'm going to dive into the rest of the defense now. Before I do, though, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Look, guys, I love sports. You know it. I love them so much that I never want them to stop. But look, the playoffs are winding down. NBA Finals are over. Ugh, Celtics. NHL Finals, probably by the time that you hear this, will be over or about over.

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whatever you want to call it in hockey, Oilers minus 105 on the money line like that. So head over to FanDuel.com slash locked on and start making the most out of your summer. FanDuel, official sports betting on and start making the most out of your summer FanDuel, official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball. Titans fans, let's continue today's breakdown, rankings, whatever you want to call it, of the defensive position groups in the AFC South. We just talked about cornerbacks where the Titans have a clear advantage, but now I want to get into the rest of the defense,

and there isn't much of an advantage for the Titans in those areas. Before we do, though, thanks again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day, Monday through Friday. Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. It's your team every day. While other podcasts and other content creators are taking a break right now, I continue going five days a week for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else.

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Let's get this thing going. All right? With that being said, though, we talked about corner. Now let out here, folks. Let's get this thing going, all right? With that being said, though, we talked about corner. Now, let's talk about safety because I have the Tennessee Titans as the third best safety group, but here's the reality. None of these safety groups are good. None of them. Like, there is not a good safety tandem in the AFC South. Some groups have one good player or two okay players, but nobody has a star safety, and there isn't a great combination. I put Houston number one, and it's funny because you talk to people in Houston. They would tell you that the biggest weakness on the team right now,

the biggest hole on the roster, is it safety, but I think they have the best right now, the biggest hole on the roster is it's safety. But I think they have the best safety group in the league. I really like Jalen Petrie. I've been a big fan of Jalen Petrie since he came out of Baylor. I think that he's shown signs, needs to be more consistent, needs to not play so undisciplined,

needs to kind of just take a deep breath. You know what I mean? Jimmy Ward been a solid starter in the league, but he's getting up there. I like Kalen Bullock, the safety that they got out of USC. So I'm going with Houston, even though, again, people in Houston would tell you that their safeties are the weakest part of the team.

But safeties are just super weak across the division. So even with that being true, I still think they're the top safety group. And then I would probably go Indianapolis. I know that Julian Blackman has dealt with a ton of injuries lately, but I think he's a good player. And Nick Cross had his struggles. Don't get me wrong about that. Had his struggles, but those are two starting safeties in the NFL. You know what I mean? They're starters. Then I go with Tennessee. I got Tennessee third. Imani Hooker,

I think that Imani Hooker is the best safety in the division, but after Imani Hooker, it's so bad, man. It's just so bad. Elijah Molden is not a starter. Mike Brown is not a starter.

And then we're getting into Matthew Jackson, the undrafted free agent group, like Keaton Ellis. You know, like, what are we doing here? It's just not a great group. Imani Hooker is a good player, very good player, I would even register to say. A very good player, but yikes, man. Titans don't have, that's why I have been banging the table

saying that the Titans need to go sign Justin Simmons because not only would that take them to the top of the division in terms of safety tandem, that would take them near the top of the NFL in terms of safety tandems. Like, Justin Simmons is that good of a player. Again, all pro, last year, still at 30 years old. So, I think the Titans desperately need to make that move.

Right now, I don't see two starters on the team, which is why I have them third, even though I think Amani Hooker is the best safety in the division individually. And then last dive, Jacksonville. And look, I really like Andre Sisco. I do. I've been a big fan of Sisco since he came out of Texas. I like Andre Sisco.

But Antonio Johnson, Andrew Wingard, Andrew Wingard, man, he's the roster pirate of Jacksonville. Like, there's a few roster pirates for the Titans that have to have blackmail or something on the organization to continue keeping their roster spot. Shout out David Flewellen, who is the original roster pirate when I took over the podcast. We've had a few since then, but Jeremy McNichols was another guy in there.

Just kept hanging on, hanging on. Chris Jackson became a roster pirate by the end of his run. NWI, you might want to call him that, although I think NWI has produced more than any of those guys, so he can at least say he deserves his roster spot. I won't make him a roster pirate, but anyways, I mean, maybe you could say Caleb Farley at this point, roster pirate, but when you're a first-round pick, it makes sense. I usually save the term for undrafted guys or guys it's like how is this guy staying on the team anyways to me Andrew Winger in Jacksonville is their roster pirate uh but yeah I put Jacksonville last not a big fan of that group not a big fan of that group at all and I had Jacksonville last

a cornerback too uh their secondary is looking rough. Okay. But they put all their resources into other things. So we'll see if that works out for him. Speaking of other things, linebackers. I have the Titans fourth at linebacker, and it's probably no surprise. If you listen to my starter grades from last week, I had the Titans linebackers pretty low at the end of the day. I don't think it's a very good group.

Especially Indianapolis has Zaire Franklin, EJ Speed. That's my number one linebacker group is the Colts. Zaire Franklin is the best linebacker in the division. Very good player. EJ Speed, okay player. But, you know, next to Zaire Franklin, that's the best linebacker group in the division. And then I would have to go with Houston.

I would have to go with Aziz Alshayer and Christian Harris. They even have Henry Toto as well behind. Here's my thing. I'm not very high on Aziz, and I didn't want the Titans to pay Aziz, especially not what the Texans paid him. I think the Texans completely overpaid. But Aziz is just an average starting linebacker in the NFL.

Just average starting linebacker. Not great. Not terrible. Just you could replace him with like 10 other average linebackers, and it'd probably be about the same, but still, credit where it's due, you're an average starter in the NFL, and that's pretty good. Christian Harris, ascending young player, I don't think he's everything that Houston is acting like he is, but still a good player. They're still both better than anybody the Titans have.

So you got to take that into account. I don't even have the Titans third, though. I have Jacksonville third. Foyasai to Lua Khan is a very good player. All right. I don't think he's as good as Zaire Franklin, but he is a good player, okay? After that is where it gets shaky for Jacksonville.

Devin Lloyd has not lived up to his draft stock. He's not, you know, he just simply is not. And I like Chad Mumma as well, their backup linebacker. I think he might even be better than Devin Lloyd at the end of the day. So I gave Jacksonville third. Alua Khan, again, good player. But after that, I'm not a big fan of Devin Lloyd personally. So that probably has a lot to do with it.

And then the Titans. You know, Jack Gibbons is linebacker one right now, in my opinion. Like, Kenneth Murray and Jack play different positions. So you could say whatever you want, linebacker one, whatever. But you guys know, I've said it it I'm not a fan of Kenneth Murray did not like the signing do not like him as a player I don't know the guy I mean he could be a good time he could be great person you know could be Jesus Christ for all I know but he's not a very good linebacker so anyways and then Ced Gray, I think would be a good player. I think he'd be a starter for the Titans this year, next year.

But he's still a fourth-round rookie. And you've got to keep your expectations in a realistic spot. So, tough for the Titans. Cornerback number one, yes. But safety, I have him at third. Linebacker, I have him at fourth. And I've got to tell you, it doesn't get a lot better when we get into the pass rush in the defensive line either.

So I'm going to talk about that next. Titans fans, let's cap off today's AFC South defensive position group rankings. I've gone through the secondary. I've talked about off-ball linebackers. We've done the back seven of the defense. Now let's talk about the front line. Let's talk about edge rushers. Let's talk about interior defensive line.

Before I get into it, though, I do want to thank you guys again for making Locked On Titans your first listen each and every day. Also want to let you know that Locked On has launched the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel 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. You cover the top sports stories of the day and all the major sports. You get coverage of every league from all of our national shows.

Stop watching ESPN and Fox Sports. Garbage. All right? Find Locked On Sports Today. Now available on the free Fire TV channels app and streaming 24-7 here on YouTube. With that being said, though, looking at the front line of the defenses in the AFC South, and we'll talk about edge, and I have been saying, like with safety, for months now, the Titans need to go sign a veteran edge rusher. At this point, there's nobody out there that is a major needle mover in any way, quite honestly. That's

why edge is the number one need for the Titans going into next year. In my opinion, some could say wide receiver, some could still say offensive line. Some might say linebacker, although I know that I've trashed the linebacker group, but I just am not high on paying big bucks for linebackers or drafted them in the first two rounds or anything like that. No, no, I don't want to do that. Let's focus on edge. Okay. Titans need more pass rushers because I have them as the fourth worst edge group in the division. Think about it. Number one has to be Houston. You're lying if you don't say it's Houston.

Will Anderson, Daniil Hunter, they have Derek Barnett, but just, I mean, Daniil Hunter and Will Anderson. What more do you need? That is a great group. That's one of the top groups in the league. And then Jacksonville. Josh Allen is phenomenal. I mean, he is just incredible. Jacksonville was smart to pay him.

He's incredible. So I give Jacksonville the second spot because Josh Allen, and look, Trevon Walker has not been what folks had hoped when they picked him number one overall. Okay? But, he still came on last year. The back half of the year last year,

Trevon Walker played good football. Okay? I think he finished with like nine and a half sacks, something like that. Like, he's getting better. And everybody knew when that pick happened that he was an athletic, toolsy guy, which is what freaking...

Why can't I think of the general name? Trent Baalke, which is what Trent Baalke always goes for, right? Baalke always wants traits, measurements, athletes. We'll coach him up, and we'll get the best out of him. Well, if you think about that, it was always going to take a little time. So Trevon Walker going into year three,

I just think he continues to get better. And he may not be the number one pick that people hoped he would be, but he's still a good player. And then they have Travis Gibson. Titans fans will remember him as their third, which is a solid rotational pass rusher. Then at number three, I have Indy. Quiddy Pay. Starting to ascend. Dealt with some injuries.

Maybe not as good as Colts fans at Hope, but still shown a lot of signs. A lot of flashes. And then, I think Samson Ebecom is super underrated at the end of the day. They just added Latu Lele. Or Latu Latu? Lele. What am I doing here. They just added Latu Lele. Or Latu Lele. Lele.

What am I doing here? They just added Lele, who was the top defensive player drafted. I think he'll be a good player. He maybe isn't the athlete that you would hope, but he's so refined with his pass rush moves and his pass plan. If he could stay healthy, he's going to be a good player. He's going to be a solid player. I think he'd kind of be like Harold Landry. You know what I mean? Landry's a better athlete, but I just think they could kind of be

similar in terms of production. So, with those three guys, I just think that's a better top three than what the Titans have. Harold Landry, I think, is probably the fourth best edge rusher in the division but Arden Key is a third Rashad Weaver we like it would not be insane if Weaver didn't even make the team this year old old regime old scouting style maybe Maybe he doesn't fit. You know? So, I just think it's hard to put. Maybe you could argue the Titans are third over Indy,

but I got to have him at fourth, personally. I got to have him at fourth. And then finally, the interior defensive line. I have the Titans third. I have number one, Indianapolis. DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart. I even like Raekwon Davis, who they picked up in free agency. I wanted the Titans to pick him up as a big-body nose tackle.

DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart, that is excellent. Okay? That is really good. So they're obviously at the top. And then I would go Jacksonville. They bring in Eric Armstead. I like Roy Robertson Harris. I always have. You know? He's up there. I like Roy Robertson Harris. I always have.

He's up there with John Franklin Myers. Three named dudes who don't get enough credit, man. They just don't get enough credit. So I like Roy Robertson Harris. And then, I gotta be honest, I really like the two draft picks that Jacksonville made on the D-line with Mason Smith and Jordan Jefferson out of LSU. Second round, fourth round. Second round for Mason Smith was

definitely higher than people expected, but man, he just six, five long arms, good feet. Like, I like Mason Smith. So, the problem is I like some of these guys so much before the draft, and then they

get drafted to AFC. Like Dayo Odengbo, who I didn't mention for the edge rushers for the Colts. I love Dayo. I know he was coming off the torn Achilles, but man. And then he goes to the Colts, and he turns out to be solid. Then I have the Titans. Look, Jeffrey Simmons

is the best interior defensive lineman in the entire division, period. But after that, Sebastian Joseph Day, sweat. It's just not that good. It's like how I felt about the edge. Like Harold Landry is a good player, really good player. But after that, yikes. And then finally, I have Houston.

If I were to tell you the biggest roster hole in Houston, I think it's their interior defensive line because they have Fulafu Takashi, who's a pretty solid run stuffer, blah, blah, blah. But Danico Autry? Look, Autry is an excellent one-on-one pass rusher. He is still going to get sacks. But you can't play him as an interior defensive lineman against the run.

He was terrible against the run last year. Terrible. So at his age, he is just not in a position to be a three-down player, run stuff and all the time and all that. You just can't do that. That's just not what he should be doing at 34 years old. Okay? And then they have Tim Settle, who's an older player, played for Buffalo for a while. But anyways, anyways. I have the

Titans at third there. So, number one, cornerbacks. Third in safety. Fourth in inside linebackers. Fourth at edge. Third at interior defensive line. It's a good thing that next year's draft is defensive heavy. It's defensive top heavy because the Titans need some more talent on defense. That's a fact. But with that being said, again, remember tomorrow, deep dive into the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts the next day.

Jacksonville Jaguars the next day. I'm going to have the host of those shows, Locked on Jags, Locked on Texans, Locked on Colts. I'm going to have those guys on so they can give their own boots on the ground perspective. All right. So make sure that you guys check that out. But as always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland.

And this was Locked on Titans.