Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Cam Ward SECOND PLACE in AFC South QB Rankings & Wide Receiver Group Climbing Ranks

Episode Date: July 5, 2026

The Tennessee Titans are focused on climbing the AFC South as a team, but at each individual spot they need to make moves as well. Specifically, at quarterback where Cam Ward needs to move up the rankings from the bottom to near the top and with everything that has been changed, he's prime to do it. Helping the cause will be Carnell Tate and his fellow wide receivers. If there is any position the Titans have climbed up with this offseason, it's the wideouts. Hopefully, the running game can aid in that as well with the Titans running back group being one of the better in the division. Tight end rankings could look very different by year's end as well if Gunnar Helm breaks out. The issue for the Titans is the offensive line is still ranked last and there isn't much hope for that to change by the end of the season.   LOCKED ON TITANS EVERYDAY CLUB: https://lockedontitans.supercast.com/   Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans   TicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop...   Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans   Follow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod   Subscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LockedOnTitans   Everydayer ClubIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. From the opening whistle to the final kick, Let There Be Goals on FanDuel. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started now. Odoo Great organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon.   Betterhelp This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.Sign up and get 10% off at http://BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON. 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) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Cam Ward will be the second best quarterback in the AFC South this year. That may not sound great, but it's going to mean incredible things for the Tennessee Titans. I'll rank the AFC South 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 Rowland Titans fans. Today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast

is brought to you by Odu. Great organizations win because operations matter. That's why you should get Odu try for free today at Odu.com slash locked on. That's ODO.com slash locked on. On today's show, we are going to rank every single offensive position group in the AFC South. I'm going to tell you where the Titans land.

I'll tell you why I'm worried about their rights. ranking at offensive line. I'm excited about the jump up at wide receiver. And of course, we got to talk about why I think Cam Ward could be the second best quarterback in the division and why that's a great thing. But first, I want to talk about how these teams stack up overall as a squad. And I think right now, it would only be fair to have the Tennessee Titans number four. You would have, I think Jacksonville number one, Houston number two, Indianapolis number three, and the Titans number four. That's the only.

only fair way to do it. That's how they should rank going into the season. But I have to tell you by the end of the year, I think that the Houston Texans are going to be very, very good this year. We're going to talk about each of these individual teams, what they've done this all season, how the Titans can face off against them, how they match up, get some on the ground coverage from our locked on host throughout the rest of the week as it's AFC South Rivals Week. But I think by the end of the year, I see the Texans having a very, very good year and being number one. Jacksonville taking a little bit of a step back, Indianapolis, taking a big step back,

and the Titans jumping Indianapolis. So as for the teams themselves, I would go Houston, Jacksonville, Titans, Colts, by the end of the season. But talking about the quarterbacks specifically, and we'll flesh out where the Titans land in the division as a team overall more as the summer continues. But for quarterbacks, I think right now,

you would have to have Cam Ward last, right? You would have probably Trevor Lawrence, number one, Daniel Jones, number two, C.J. Stroud, number three, Cam Ward, number four, just based on the one-year performance. Now, we contextualize that performance, right?

And we know the coaching, the wide receivers, the O-line, the game flow of each game and the fact they were losing and T& all pass rushers, getting to Cam Ward, all that stuff, we know. But that's how if you were, trying to be fair and reasonable.

If you weren't a Titans fan, you'd have to rank it that way. But I will tell you, by the end of the season, again, I think Cam Ward will be the second best quarterback in the division. Look, Trevor Lawrence, I think, was overrated for the beginning of this career, but over the last couple of years

has become underrated now. I think Trevor Lawrence is a good quarterback. I think he's somewhere between 12 and 20. You know what I mean in the NFL quarterback rankings? Trevor Lawrence is a good quarterback. And I think the Jags have a good offensive line. I think that they have the best wide receiver group in the division, as we'll talk about here in a moment.

I think Liam Cohen is an excellent offensive coach. So I think Trevor Lawrence is talented. He has become underrated. I will have him at number one. But I'm going to have Cam Ward at number two. by the end of the year. And I think that's a two-part conversation, in my opinion. The first part is my belief in Cam Ward.

I think that Cam Ward is a much better player than the numbers tell you last year. And I would imagine most of you guys who have watched the film breakdowns I've done on Cam, listen to the conversations that we've had on this show with the context, watched him yourself. You've seen the highlights. You've seen everything. You've watched the games. We know that Cam Ward,

is much more talented than what his statistics or what you would think from the low lights. We know that. So, if I believe in Cam Ward's talent and they get him much better weapons, which we'll talk about how the wide receiver group has gotten off the mat, baby, we're not last anymore. But much better weaponry for Cam Ward.

Much better. Even if you don't like Brian Daible, even if you're a Brian Dable doubter. You have to admit that he's a better football coach than Brian Callahan. And a better guy to develop Cam Ward than Brian Callahan. Right, right.

Even a skeptic, even a downright hater would have to admit that Brian Dable is a better coach for Cam Ward than Brian Callahan. So the improvements there, hopefully the general improvement in the team, which, again, we cannot overstate how hard it was for Cam Ward to play when the team was losing every single game

and losing big in a lot of games. Losing early in a lot of games. Teams could just tee off. Pass rushers, pin their ears back. The Titans had one of the worst run games in the entire NFL. Brian Daibble has historically had very good run offense.

better than his pass offenses. So if I know that Cam Ward is super talented and I know that his situation has vastly improved in certain areas and I add in that I think the Texans are going to be very good this year but I don't think C.J. Stroud is special at this point. I think C.J. Stroud is like Jared Gough.

He could be Jared Gough at his best. He's never going to be, Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert, you know, in that class of player. I don't think that C.J. Stroud is better than Baker Mayfield at this point. And I was a C.J. Stroud believer. And I think that C.J. Stroud again, I think you could win a Super Bowl with Jared Golf. You just, your team has to be incredible everywhere else. I think the Texans could win the AFC with C.J. Stroud. If Stroud plays 25% better, than what he played in the playoffs.

Just don't have all the crushing tournament. Like the Texans would have been in the Super Bowl if Stroud just played the level he played at his rookie year. Now, his rookie year was special. I don't even need rookie year Stroud. If he plays a little under rookie year Stroud with what the Texans have, they'll be fine. But Cam Ward is more talented.

Like to make special plays. Cam Ward is going to make more special plays than C.J. Stroud. Now, C.J. Stroud probably down to down more accurate, more precise, more of a pocket passer, more Joe Burrow than Patrick Mahomes, for certain. But if Stroud is going to have the inconsistency that we saw the last couple of years and have since Bobby Slowick left, why would I believe he would be better than Cam Ward, even if his team?

See, I think the Texans O'Line got better. The Texans have a good wide receiver group. Their running backs got better. We'll talk about all that when we talk about the Texans. for an episode. But the Texans can be awesome this year and Cam Ward be better than C.J. Stroud is basically my point. And I think that's what's going to happen.

And Daniel Jones, man, I'm telling you, I just don't bite. Everybody can talk about the injuries and all of that. The last couple of games of Daniel Jones last year, it was starting to come back down to Earth. And their weapons are worse. I think the O line is a little bit worse. It's still a good offensive line. We'll talk about that.

But I think the weapons are a little worse. Daniel Jones coming off a major injury in each leg when he's a guy who uses his mobility. The Colts roster in general is just a little bit worse. They may not be winning as much. And what are the odds that Jonathan Taylor goes on the first half tear that he went on last year? Nobody knew what to expect with Daniel Jones

at quarterback for the Colts. Now they do. I think that changes things. Daniel Jones is Daniel Jones, man. I got to shout out one of my old school buddies if they're listening, they know who they are. But we used to fight about Tua and Daniel Jones all the time. He would say Tua's better.

I'd say Daniel Jones is better, and it's hilarious how throughout their careers, it has gone back and forth of, oh, look, Daniel Jones, he wins the playoff game. He's definitely better than Tua. Then Tua goes to the playoffs, has a great ear with Mike McDaniel. He's definitely better than Daniel. He's terrible. Then Daniel Jones is resurgent.

He's definitely better than Tua. Two will have a good year with the Falcons. Daniel Jones will have a bad year with the Colts and it'll go back and me and him will argue for the rest of eternity like we do, like Magneto and Professor X. But the point is, I think Daniel Jones is prime for a downfall.

I don't think the Colts are as good this year as they were last year. They're not going to be able to recapture that magic. I think it's much more likely that the Colts have a complete blow up after the season and they get rid of Shane Steichen. they get rid of Chris Ballard. They totally restart there.

They accept Daniel Jones has one more left on a bad contract and they try to totally restart. I think that's more likely than the Colts recapturing their first half magic. So I don't think Daniel Jones is going to be better than Cam Ward. Now, Daniel Jones looked good last year. So again, if you're doing the rankings right now, sure, having Cam Ward over Daniel Jones to someone else may sound crazy. But to me, again, I think Cam Ward is going to be

the second best quarterback in the division this year. And I think that that means the Titans are going to win a lot more games. And it's going to be a lot more fun to watch them play. And I think a big reason why Cam Ward is going to be able to move up the rankings this year and finish the year at number two, potentially number one, is because the wide receivers got a lot better. And is it nice to see the Titans moving up that list? Do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you

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But we will take it. the less, from the opening whistle to the final kick, let there be goals on Fandall, visit Fandall.com to get started now. Let's continue today's edition of the Locked-on Titans podcast. Again, we're ranking the offensive positions in the AFC South. I talked about the teams overall at the beginning, and the Titans are in fourth right now, but I think they'll climb up to third throughout the year.

I think Cam Ward will climb from fourth right now all the way up to second in the division by the end of the year, and it's a great thing and a big reason is the wide receivers. Before we dive into the wide receiver rankings, 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 you get subscribe, stay subscribed. It's your team every day. Speaking of every day, shout up to my everydayers out there, tuning in Monday through Friday. Couldn't do it without you guys if you aren't an everydayer. You need to be one on tomorrow's show. We're going to rank the head coaches

and rank the defensive side of the, ball. So make sure that you don't miss that. And it's rivalry week. So we're going to talk Jaguars, Colts, Texans. They each get their own episode, a ton of good content coming your way. Make sure you stay locked in with the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world locked on Titans. But with that being said, I have the Tennessee Titans. Right now, I think you would say the Titans are third in the wide receiver rankings. So they have moved up from fourth to third, in my opinion, already just based on the

off season. The Colts are last after replacing Michael Pitman, Jr. with, I might have said Michael Portman, or Michael Porter Jr. earlier, because I've been thinking about NBA free agency and the Lakers' loops and all this different stuff. But Michael Pittman, Jr., being replaced by Nick Westbrook-Akekekeke is not a very good replacement for the Colts.

If you want a good wide receiver group. If you have Nick Westbrook-Akekeena as one of your starting wide receivers, I'm going to rank you last. like I did with the Titans most of the time. I'm going to rank you last. So the Colts are last, in my opinion, no matter what. I would put the Titans third right now just based on preseason rankings.

I think the Texans, because Nico Collins, I expect Nico Collins to be a better player than Cornell Tate. I don't think that Cornell Tate will be as good as Nico Collins. So I give them the edge of that. Jaden Higgins, Xavier Hutchinson, Jalen Noel is really good depth. I would say that's almost good or better than the Titans' depth with D.K. and Ridley and Iow Manor.

Tank Dell, when Tankdale was healthy, he's absolutely phenomenal. And I would say, you could say he's just as good, if not better, than Wondell Robinson. So if I think Nico Collins is better than Cornell Tate and a healthy Tank Dell is better than Wondale Robinson, and their depth is close to the Titans' depth, Ridley, D.K. I.O.

over Higgins, Hutchinson, Noel. I would take the Titan, but if I have Nico and Tankdale better, I got to give them the edge. And then I think the Jaggs wide receiver group is absolutely ridiculous. BTJ, Jacoby Myers, Parker Washington, add Travis Hunter in there. That top four, I think that might be the best top four in the entire NFL. So I am very high on Jacksonville's wide receiver group.

But I think that by the end of the year, I think the Titans could be number two because if Ridley stays healthy Ridley Robinson Tate that top three is better in my opinion than Collins Higgins Dell like the total top

because if Calvin Ridley is healthy the entire season he is better a good bit better than Jaden Higgins in my opinion. Even though he's getting older, I think Higgins is a good player. I see Higgins as like a Michael Pittman Jr. type guy. That's how I see Jaden Higgins.

That's who I compared him to coming out of college. But Calvin Ridley, healthy, in a good offense, with Cornell Tate is the number one, and Wondell Robinson getting attention in a slot, giving Calvin Ridley free run to roam around the field. That's better than Jaden Higgins. So the Titans' top three could be better than the Texans. And if Chim Dikey O'Manor, if one of them

takes a step forward to be a starting level wide receiver, that's better than the Texas. So I think the Titans will finish the season at number two. And then I'm still keeping the Jags number one. I can't change that. I can't do that. So that's where I'm at with the wide receiver group. But let me just say this.

for the Titans to move up from last to third, and maybe during the season, maybe some of you guys already say, their second best already. Okay, maybe that is the case. I hope you're right. I just need proof before I can put them there. Call me a skeptic, which I am.

That's fair. But I'm just saying it's nice, even though it's a spot, and I think they could move up two spots, and it feels good. And if Carnell Tate is an absolute dog, if he truly is a number one wide receiver, if Carnell Tate is in the Nico Collins.

Nico Collins, Cortland Sutton, Drake, London, well, Cortland Sutton maybe isn't quite as good as those other guys, but, you know, I kind of see them in that. They're not the elite Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase, AJ Brown, Amon Ross, St. Brown, Pooka, J.S.N.

They're not quite there. Like, Terry McLaren, Nico Collins, Drake, like that group, you know, if Cornell Tate is in that group, folks, we're lit. You know what I mean? Like hype, hype. But we're moving. And that's what's important. I think if there's any position that you could look at on the Titans this year

that wasn't solved that you could look at and say, hey, maybe they solved it. Wide receiver is probably the one. It ain't maybe corner if Marcus Harris is good, but I don't believe that it's edge. It's definitely not offensive line. Wide receiver cornerback, we hope. I'm skeptical on corner more than I am wide receiver. So give the Titans there. the tight ends. Just quickly. We'll throw the

tight ends in here. Number one has to be the Colts, right? I mean, come on. And I think right now, if you were fair, right now people would probably rank the Titans last. It'd be the Colts because Tyler Warren is the best tight end in the division.

Probably the Texans, Dalton Shultz, Foster Moreau, just solid veterans who you know who they are. Brenton Strange and Nate Berkichard, the new rookie controversial draft pick of the Jags. Them and Bellinger and Gunnerhelm are probably fighting for the third or fourth spot. I would say, but I think by the end of the year,

the Titans are going to be number two there. I feel very confident in that. I think Gunner Helm is really going to break out this year. I think he's going to have 6,700 yards, six or seven touchdowns, you know, 50 to 60 catches. I think Gunnor Helm is about to go crazy. and Daniel Bellinger is going to be a key piece. I think Daniel Bellinger is just as good as Foster Moreau.

Daniel Bellinger might be just as good as Dalton Schultz this year. Schultz is getting a little older. So I think the Titans are going to be number two. And listen, I think Helm and Bellinger are a better one, two, than Warren and Mo Alley Cox or whoever else the courts are going to have as their number two. But Warren is just so good, man. They got to take the number one spot.

But the Jags, Breton Strange just got a contract extension. He's not bad. Maybe the Jags will be over the Texans because I think Shultz will take a step back. But Brent and Strange is just okay. Gunther Helm's going to be better than him. Get out of here with that. But we got to go to the run game, to the trenches, running back offensive line,

where I think the Titans maybe have their best ranking preseason-season-wise and also definitely their worst ranking. preseason wise. Do you want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by Odu. Running a business shouldn't feel like you're trying to connect a bunch of systems that were never designed to work together. You got one app for accounting, you got another for inventory, you got another for sales, and somehow none of them talk to each other. That's where Odu comes in. Odo is an all-in-one business management software that brings every part of your business together in one powerful platform.

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That's OD OO.com slash locked on. Fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Again, we're ranking the offensive position groups on the AFC South. We've talked quarterback, we've talked wide receiver, We've talked tight end. We talked about the teams overall, and we'll dive more into my thoughts on all the AFC South teams

throughout the week. It's AFC South rivalry week. I do want to thank you for making Locked on Titans your first listen each and every day. Speaking of every day, you guys got to join the Locked on Titans every day or club.

Hit the link down below in the description. Make sure that you get joined up if you want to be a true Locked on Titans every day you're going to get commercial free versions of the podcast in your favorite podcast app. You're going to get added to a locked on Titans group chat.

You're going to get early access to my content. I'm going to send early links in there for you guys for the film breakdowns this season. A lot coming your way in terms of value in the Locked on Titans every day or club. Make sure you hit the link down below in the description and join today. With that being said, though, let's do the good news first before the bad news. The running backs. I think right now you have to say the Titans have the second best running back group in the AFC South.

period. Quite honestly, if you wanted to really hammer down that it's the running back group, the Titans clearly have the best. The Titans have the best running back group by far. Because after Jonathan Taylor, who was clearly the best running back in the division,

after Jonathan Taylor, DJ Giddens, they just brought in Seth McGowan, out of Kentucky. Ulysses Bentley, that's creative player. undrafted a free agent from last year. But they're terrible outside of Jonathan Taylor. If anything were to happen to Jonathan Taylor, that run game is in trouble. DJ Giddens is okay.

It's okay. But he's like a two or three in a committee. He's not the dog that Jonathan Taylor is, one of the top six or seven running backs in the NFL, if not higher. So if you wanted to really put it on depth, then the Titans are the best. But come on, man. Jonathan Taylor, I can't put the Titans running back group over the Colts.

So running back group rankings right now and at the end of the season. I don't see them changing. The Colts are number one. The Titans are number two. The Texans are number three and the Jags are four. I don't understand Jacksonville's approach to running back. They let Travis HM, E.E.N., whatever. You know, all he did there by doing that is make everybody have to say his name twice.

But they're really relying on Bichal Tuten, who had a fumbling problem in college. It's explosive. But on Chris Rodriguez, who was with Liam Cohen at Kentucky, La Quint Allen, Amir Abdullah they brought in. That's, there's not a lot to like right there. So that's last place for me. and David Montgomery, who's a solid back in Woody Marks, who I think is an explosive running back and decent backup,

I think that's better than Bichael Tutin and Chris Rodriguez. Give me David Montgomery and Woody Marks over that. Now again, I think there's a huge gap before you get to Tony Pollard, Tage Spears, and even added Nick Singleton. And then Jonathan Taylor, above all. But like, running back,

probably the spot where the Titans have the most certainty of having a good ranking within the division. Now, sadly, we've got to come here once again, the offensive line. I didn't feel as confident about this. I think the Colts might take a step back this year. The Jags' offensive line was pretty good last year. I think the Texans' offensive line got a lot better as well.

So, like, I don't know. I don't quite know how to feel about the offensive line. You'd have to rank them right now. Colts number one. I think you'd say Jags number two, Texans number three, and Titans 4. Because the Jags were good last year. The Colts were awesome until Daniel Jones got hurt.

The Texans' offensive line wasn't great, but it was better than the Titans. I think the Texans' offensive line had some good additions, like Keelon Rutledge, who they stole from the Titans, or the Titans were trying to steal from them. them is really the best way to put it. You add Wyatt Teller who went healthy is a good player. Ursary was better than I

expected in year one. And Braden Smith, I think that's a big loss for the Colts because now he's going to be the right tackle for the Texans. And Jalen Travis at right tackle for the Colts. I don't know about that. Quentin Nelson's a year older. Bernard Raymond's a year older. Matt Goncaves

Tanner Bornellini are okay players. Good. But I could see the Colts offensive line finally taking a step. back. Houston's taking a step up. Jacksonville's is just solid. But I don't think the Titans is going to move. Like, what maybe if J.C. Latham ball is out and Dan Moore has an above average year. Schlotman does good. Jackson Slater takes a huge jump forward.

Maybe the Titans can move up. But I'm sorry. I don't see Cordell Vosson or Jackson Slater. Austin Schlotman as good enough guys to raise the Titans' rankings. If J.C. Latham gets better, and Latham turns into the player that we hoped he would be, and he's a really good starting left or right tackle. And Pete is still a top five guard. It's likely that Dan Moore is probably still an average to blow,

average tackle who will want replaced after the year. And then Shlopman will be a replacement level center who will say, oh, we kind of need to improve. there, he's okay. And guard will say we still don't have an answer. That's what I fear we're actually looking. I think that's the most likely outcome is we're getting a

right guard and free agency next year because we don't have one. And we're trying to take a left tackle early in the draft. That's my expectation. Right guard and free agency, left tackle in the draft, keep Schloteman one more year.

There you go. That's where we'll probably be. And then one of Kugin, Fernando Carmona, Jackson Slater, one of those guys will find a way to compete with Schlotman at center, and maybe they take it long term, but I doubt. So, I mean, that's where I expect the Titans to be. There's no way I could rank them any higher than fourth in the ranking. So again, by the end of this year,

I think Cam Ward will be the second best QB in the division. I think the Titans will still have the second best running back group. I think they'll have the second best wide receiver group. I think they'll have the second best tight end group. And I think they'll have the worst offensive line. And I think that'll make the Titans a much, much more competitive football team. But again, tomorrow, we're going to do head coaches and we're going to do defense. Can't wait to dive into that.

That's going to do it for me today, though, folks, as always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was locked on Titans.