Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Cam Ward is CONFIRMED #1 Pick After Owner Visits in Private Jet

Episode Date: April 2, 2025

The Tennessee Titans are less than a month away from the NFL Draft, but there should not be any drama with their first pick as Cam Ward will be the selection and if you didn't believe it already then the Titans' owner Amy Adams Strunk flying the private jet down to visit Ward at his private workout should be all you need. Also, JC Latham is moving to right tackle and with that we should expect a big second-year leap from the top ten pick from 2024. Finally, Bryce Oliver will get an opportunity to be a surprise contributor for the Titans, especially with Treylon Burks expected to disappoint. 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!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. 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)

After the Tennessee Titans owner took a private jet to meet with Cam Ward, it's clear he's the quarterback of the future. But it's also clear he's the biggest X-Factor in 2025. That and more on today's edition of Locked on Titans. 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 Roland Titans fans. Today's edition of the locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by game time. Download the game time app, create an account, use the code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase on today's show we're gonna take a look at some superlatives of the offseason so far and looking forward to 2025 who will be the Titans biggest X Factor on offense who is in a make or break year who will take the biggest leap this year who will be the biggest surprise the biggest disappointment again we're gonna focus on the offensive side of the ball

and then on tomorrow's show, we're gonna do the defensive side of the ball. But before we dive in, do wanna thank you for making Locked on Titans your first listen each and every day. Remember, 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 every dayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday. Couldn't do it without you guys. If you aren't an every dayer, you need to be one. Because again, tomorrow we're going to do the defensive stuff.

And then next week, we're starting our 2025 Locked on Titans NFL Draft Preview, where I go over 180 to 200 NFL draft prospects at every single position. With that being said, though, do want to dive into the X factor for the Tennessee Titans, and it is clearly going to be Cam Ward. Quite frankly, this is the same conversation that we had for most of the offseason last year. Will Levis will be the X factor.

And guess what? Will Levis played poorly. And it ruined the Titan season. So indeed, Will Levis was the X factor and now Cam Ward is going to be the X factor. If Cam Ward comes out and has a poor rookie season, the Titans are probably not going to be a very good team. Brian Callahan is probably going to get fired. If Cam Ward comes out and has a pretty good season for a rookie, then the Tennessee Titans will likely be a pretty decent team.

I'm thinking if Cam Ward does not have a good year, the Titans win about three to five games. If Cam Ward does have a good year, Titans will probably win six to eight games. I would imagine I think that's absolutely possible with a good performance from Cam Ward. So his performance at quarterback and how the Titans support him is going to be the X factor for the entire season. We are back in the same exact boat that we were in last year where what happens with Cam Ward this year is all that matters.

And I know some of you are saying right now, Tyler, you keep saying it. Cam Ward talking about Cam Ward. You don't know that he's going to be the pick yet. They could still stop. Stop. I've said it for weeks now. If you didn't believe me then, then maybe you'll believe me now when I tell you that Adam Schefter from ESPN mentioned that the Tennessee Titans owner, Amy

Adam Strunk went to Miami's pro day to meet with Cam Ward took the, well, East and freeze from A to Z sports also reported that Amy Adam Strunk took the visit there met with Cam Ward the private jet all that Easton said in his recent article quote then for his private workout every team officially returned with every team official returned with one very notable addition controlling owner Amy Adam Strunk. She went down to meet the player she plans to soon root for as the face of the franchise.

NFL owners don't typically make it a habit of meeting with prospects ahead of the draft unless they expect to take them. Her trip and introduction to Cam went very well. So Schefter, a national reporter, is reporting that the Titans owner went and met with Cam Ward at the private workout. Easton Friese, a local reporter, is reporting that Amy Adams-Trunk flew down to meet with Cam Ward. And I had someone point out to me that the Cleveland Browns owner, Jimmy Haslam, met with Sam Darnold before that draft where they ultimately picked Baker Mayfield. Okay, great. But what I would also mention here, and it's something that, uh, my guy on Twitter,

uh, the Russ said, this is particularly notable in Amy Adam Strunk case because she is not a hands on owner compared to guys like Jimmy Haslam or Jerry Jones. If she's making the trip, or Jerry Jones, if she's making the trip, there's a significant purpose behind it. And that is the best way to put it, fully agree with that. Amy Adams-Trunk is not the type of owner that wants to interfere in metal and all this stuff, guys. That's just not what she wants to do. She doesn't want to have to do that. She wants the football people to handle the football stuff. If she is getting on her private jet and flying down to Miami to meet

Cam Ward personally, they're taking Cam Ward ward personally. They're taking cam work guys. They're taking cam work. Not only that, but. Shoulders Sanders private workout is on Monday shoulders Sanders pro day is on Friday. Brian Callahan, Chad Brinker, not even going to the pro day. Amy Adam Strunk is not going to make a visit with Shader Sanders. Easton Freeze confirmed that earlier. He retweeted my tweet

and said, no. So I don't know what else, what other information you would need to feel confident that the Titans are picking Cam Ward or what information you would need to understand that that's what's happening, but that is 100% where we're at. And I would further double down for you and say that Brian Callahan spoke, um, with Kevin, Kevin Clark, I believe who works for the ringer. Uh, no, he works for ESPN now, Kevin Clark and Brian Callahan said that he went back and watched his interviews with rookie Joe burrow, like during the draft process. And he said it was a reminder for him of how they approached Joe burrow's rookie year.

The game plans that they set up for him, how much information they gave him, how they operated, how they taught the offense to him, what order, what pace. He said he went back and looked at all that stuff to remind himself what they did. Why would he do that? Because they're taking a quarterback number one overall, just like the Bengals did Joe Burrow, and he needs to refresh himself on what the plan was that they went through with rookie Joe Burrow so that he can use that plan for rookie Cam Ward. Guys, we can talk about the words that we hear from the Titans all we want, but the actions more than anything clearly tell us that the Tennessee Titans are taking Cam Ward

and Cam Ward is the X factor going into next year. Now, some other players that I think are going to be critical, which player for the Titans is in a make or break season? There were a few options that I could have gone with, but I went with Peter Skoronsky. So look, Pete played well last year. He was one of the best pass blocking guards in the NFL. But I wouldn't say that Peter Skowronski played to a level where I would say, oh, he's going to be an all pro next year. He was just good. He was a good guard.

And the thing is, when you take a guard number 11 overall, you expect better than just good. Like right now, I don't think the Titans would re-sign Peter Skowronski after his rookie deal based on what he's done so far. I think you could get the level of play that you're getting from Peter Skowronski with a mid-round rookie or you could sign a veteran who's a solid player. Like Kevin Zeitler was a solid player like Kevin Zeitler was a better player last year than Peter Skoronsky. So rather than pay Peter Skoronsky $15 million a year, like Will fries, just

Scott or freeze, whatever his name is, rather than pay that sort of level of money to a guard, which is what Peter Skoronsky would likely want to command. You'd be better off getting another Kevin's. You know what I mean? So to mean it's not make or break for is Peter Skowron ski going to be a starter in the NFL is Peter Skowron ski a good player it's make or break of is Peter Skowron ski going to be worth the first round pick the Titans spent on right now. I don't think you can say

definitively that's a yes. He was worth it. So to me this third season the Titans are gonna have a better offensive line around him. He's gonna be in his third year. He's had the opportunity to build strength. He's had the opportunity to get accustomed to playing guard. This is a make-or-break year for whether Peter Skowronski is going to be a difference making offensive lineman or not. Right now he is not. He's good, but he's not first round, 11th pick, top 5 guard in the NFL like we were hoping. So to me this is a make or break season for Peter Skowronski and whether he's just going to be a good starting player or whether he's going to be a blue chip guard in the NFL. It's time to show it right now.

And the Titans are going to have to make a decision on his fifth year option soon. So it's time to step up. It's time to make it happen. But with that being said, who's going to take a leap this year? Who needs to bounce back? Who's going to be a surprise contributor? Who's going to disappoint this year? I'm going to go over all of those answers.

Excited to see your guys' answers down below in the comments or hit me up on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans and let me know. Today's episode is brought to you by Game Time. Look, the college basketball tournament is coming to a close, but you still have time to watch your favorite team live, feel the energy of the crowd, witness the unforgettable moments. There is nothing like experiencing a big game in person and getting tickets to those big games shouldn't be stressful. And that's where game time comes in, making it easier than ever to grab

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Cam ward is the X factor for the Titans this season. No matter what Peter Skowron ski is in a make or break year for the trajectory of his career. But now I want to look at some other things and I want to look at who needs to take a leap for the Titans and who needs to bounce back this year for the Tennessee Titans. Before we get into it, do want to thank you 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.

Make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day. But my take a leap name is JC Latham. JC Latham has to take the leap for the Tennessee Titans. And again, we talked about it with Peter Skoronsky, but JC Latham was taken with the number seven overall pick. If you're taken as a top 10 offensive tackle, you should be one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL. You can't just be good. You got to be great. That's why I took you with a top 10 pick. You know what I mean? Like that has to happen, especially a guy like Ola, uh, Olu

Fashionu look pretty good for the jets at the end of the year. Talisa Fowaga had good moments while dealing with injury. We still have to see Troy Fontanu as well. Joe Alt was phenomenal in year one. So a really good tackle class last year with a lot of good tackles in it. JC Latham has to prove that, you know, he should have been picked really good tackle class last year with a lot of good tackles in it. JC Latham has to prove that, you know, he should have been picked higher than all those guys. And I think something that will obviously contribute to that is him going back to

right tackle. A lot of people looking at JC Latham coming out of the draft said, Hey, Latham is a right tackle. He's not a guy who could play it left tackle. He doesn't have the natural athleticism that you need to play left tackle. And it's hilarious to me that some people will argue right tackle is just as important as left tackle. Right tackle is just as important as left tackle. But there's no difference. You got to blah, blah, blah.

But then they move JC Latham and, you know, other people in the NFL who are scouts who get paid to scout players say, well, he's more of a right tackle. Well, if left tackle and right tackle are exactly the same, then why would anybody ever say that it's because they're not exactly the same and protecting the blind side of the quarterback requires better pass protection than the front side of the quarterback. And that will always be the case. So left tackle will always inherently have a little bit more value than right tackle because most quarterbacks are right handed. So with that in mind, though.

If J.C. Latham is going into year two and in theory, he should take a big leap from year one to year two anyways, because instead of spending his off season training for, you know, the draft process, he could spend his off season working on football. And Brian Callahan said earlier in the week that JC Latham was quote, ready to roll at right tackle. He's receptive. He knows blah, blah, blah.

But the Titans need JC Latham to turn into a Penne Sewell level player. That's what they need. He needs to be a physical force. He needs to be a dominant player. JC Latham needs to be Brian Callahan. I believe it was Brian Callahan, but I heard a coach and I think it was Callahan again. Talk earlier this all season about how you need seven difference makers on your team. That's what you need. Seven, one of them probably needs to be your quarterback and then three on defense, three on offense. JC Latham needs to be one of those difference makers. He needs to be a dominant shut down, right tackle that can move bodies in the run

game and can lock you down by himself on his side of the ball. That's what he needs to be. So will he be that? Obviously, I can't know for certain. It's just a guess. It's a prediction for me at this point. And quite honestly, I mean, Jesus could make predictions and still get majority of them wrong. That's just the way that the world is.

You never know what's going to happen. But if you're asking me who's the guy who's going to take a leap for the Tennessee Titans offense this year, it is JC You never know what's going to happen. But if you're asking me, who's the guy who's going to take a leap for the Tennessee Titans offense this year, it is J.C. Latham. Year or two, moving back to right tackle, having Kevin Zeitler next to him. I think J.C. Latham is going to take a massive leap this year. Now, not necessarily a leap, but a guy that has to bounce back this year. It's Tajay Spears. This is a big season for Tajay Spears. Great rookie year, obviously played all 17 games, all 17 games, 453 rushing

yards, two touchdowns, caught 385 receiving yards in a touchdown. That's a great season for a rookie running back. We're talking about 900 total yards or 838 to be exact, you know, in three touchdowns. That's a really good year for a mid round rookie playing behind Derek Henry. Keep that in mind. But last year only 12 games. 312 yards his average per carry went down from 4.5 to 3.7. Receiving yards 224 on 30 catches, 22 less catches. He just needs to be available. He just needs to be available.

Tajay Spears is a really good complimentary back, really good complimentary back. Like no matter who is the lead back. But here's the question. If Tajay Spears wants to be a part of, this is year three for Tajay Spears. I think the reality is he's only going to be on the team for this upcoming year and the next year. You just need to cycle through mid-round running backs. Draft another Tajay Spears. He's not special enough to where you can't replace him in the NFL draft. So that's why I continue to say I wouldn't be shocked if the Titans drafted a running back this year and maybe even kind of high. If the Titans were to execute a trade down,

I could see them going wide receiver and then running back in round three. Tony Pollard cannot handle the amount of carries that he was given last year another season. He is a committee back, maybe the lead committee back, but he's a committee back. He can't carry the ball like Derek Henry 300 times a year. He's going to break down. And we saw Tony Pollard break down at the end of last year because Tajay Spears was injured for a lot of the year. So with Tajay Spears and his health, Tony Pollard breaking down naturally as most normal running backs do around his age, Titans need a running back. And for Tajay Spears, if he doesn't bounce back and show that

he could stay on the field, the Titans might need two running backs by this time next year. So Tajay Spears looks like a weapon, but he needs to bounce back this year and prove that he could stay on the field. But now I want to talk about a guy who I think could make a surprise contribution and a guy who probably going could make a surprise contribution and a guy who probably gonna end up disappointing you. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Before we do, do want to thank you again for making a Locked on Titans your first

listen each and every day for your second listen, check out Locked on NFL draft. Guys, it's draft season. We're deep and heavy into draft season. And if you want to get caught up on all of the draft stuff that you possibly can, you got to check out locked on NFL draft. And as another reminder, we start our locked on Titans, NFL draft preview series next week. So I'm going to devote a whole entire day, probably to cam ward and Shader

Sanders. Um, and then, uh, we'll probably talk about, well, I'll probably do like Shader Sander, I'll do a full day on cam ward, well, I'll probably do like Shadr Sandor. I'll do a full day on Cam Ward and then I'll do Shadr Sandor's to start an episode and all the other quarterbacks after that in the final two. We'll hit running backs, wide receivers, every position. I'll go day one guys, day two guys, day three guys. So you're acquainted with everybody in the pockets where the Titans could get them. But with that being said, to cap off today's episode, and remember tomorrow we're doing the defense, a guy who I think could be a surprise contributor

is Bryce Oliver. Now, I don't think that Bryce Oliver is a starting level wide receiver. Bryce Oliver should not be wide receiver one, two, three, but he could probably be wide receiver four. And I think your wide receiver four has the ability to get you up, you know, 300 to 400 yards in a season has the ability to catch 30 to 40 passes, a touchdown or two, maybe three, even if you're NWI and you get super luck, then you could score nine touchdowns. You know what I mean? But I think Bryce Oliver and listen, it's not even just me thinking it. Brian Callahan literally said this.

He said he thinks that Bryce Oliver can take over that Nick Westbrook Hikine role, and that is like your number four wide receiver. So I think Bryce Oliver who caught six passes for 95 yards last year for the Titans started to work in more at the end of the year as some of the injuries started to happen. I think Bryce Oliver can come in and be just as good as NWI. I mean, he's not going to put up nine touchdowns, but I think for the role within the offense, he can give you everything that NWY was giving.

He can, he, he's going to know every position. He's going to be versatile. He's going to be reliable. Like I think Bryce Oliver can do that. Now don't some people are going to be out there and they're going to be overestimating what you should expect from Bryce Oliver. I'm calling him a surprise contributor. I think if he gets from, you know, 300 to 400 yards, 30 catches, like that would be

a massive surprise contribution from Bryce Oliver, it would be very helpful to the Tennessee Titans, especially considering I don't think there's any way. That the Titans turn their wide receiver room into a really good wide receiver room at this point. Like it's going to be a bad room no matter what they do. You know, even if they add Luther Burden and Amari Cooper, like it's not a great room. Although Calvin Ridley, Amari Cooper, Luther Burden, that does sound pretty good. I actually might have changed my mind on that if they could pull that off, but I doubt that happens.

But either way it's possible. But I think Bryce Oliver can be a surprise contributor for the team. And then finally, the player most likely to disappoint, Shocker is Traylen Burks. Like I talked about this on yesterday's show. I'm just so sick of him getting opportunities, him getting chances. I would play Bryce Oliver over Traylen Burks at this point. I think there's more optimism in Bryce Oliver. I just don't buy Traylen Berks at all.

And with the ACL not ready for training camp, like you could just already know that Berks is going to be banged up throughout the year. He's going to have like one good catch in the first two months. And people are going to be like, oh, maybe you can know it's not going to happen. It's over. And I personally think that the Tennessee Titans need to cut bait with Traylen Burks and wash their hands of one of the worst trades in NFL history. Like if the Titans want to become good again, they need to exercise the demons of the mistakes of the past regime. And that includes finally getting rid of NPF, finally getting rid of Traylen

Burks, that's what needs to happen. So talk about who's most likely to disappoint this year. Wasn't a very difficult find. Traylen Burks is that answer. But again, curious to hear your guys's answers on tomorrow's show. We're going to do the defensive side of the ball, but that's going to do it for me today, folks, as always, I am your host Tyler Roland, and this was locked on tight.