Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Cam Ward WILL BE QB1, Predicting Offensive Rookie Starters & O-Line Excitement

Starting point is 00:00:00 Cam Ward is the Tennessee Titans starting quarterback, not just because he was picked number one overall, but because he's the best quarterback on the team. I'll break it down 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 Fandle.

Starting point is 00:00:41 Right now, new customers can get $200 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. On today's show, we are going to be looking at who is going to start on the offensive side of the ball. We'll talk about the offensive line. We'll talk about all of the spots open with the skill position players, but we're going to start with the quarterback spot and Cam Ward. Of course, before we dive in though, do want to 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 here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Speaking of every day,

Starting point is 00:01:23 maybe the off season for the Tennessee Titans, but there is no off season for Locked on Titans podcast. Speaking of every day, maybe the off season for the Tennessee Titans, but there is no off season for Locked on Titans. So, on tomorrow's show, I'm going to be talking about Tennessee Titans OTAs. They have practice this week, next week, mandatory mini camp right around the corner. I'm going to have a 53-man roster prediction coming out next week to tell you who I think makes the team. So much to discuss, I'm gonna keep it rolling here on the Locked on Titans podcast again where it's your team every day. But with that being said, if you aren't an Every Dayer, you need to be one and shout out to all my Every Dayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday as well. Let me know who you are down below or on social media

Starting point is 00:02:00 at Tic Tac Titans. But with that being said again, Cam Ward is the clear QB1. We have talked at length about this Will Levis conversation. You know, you got Adam Schefter out there tweeting, Brian Callahan said today that he's splitting reps evenly between Will Levis and Cam Ward, and we know why that's happening, to sensationalize it, to make it some big thing. But throughout the process, I have said the same thing. All right, the Titans are saying even reps, we still believe in Will Levis, quarterback competition. They're saying these things because they, number one, want to still be able to trade Will Levis when the opportunity arises. Number two, it's better for the Titans if Will Levis plays his best in a

Starting point is 00:02:50 potential trade, whatever could happen. Like all you're going to do if Will Levis got crapped on by the team, came in at a bad place mentally, didn't play his best, didn't improve, then he wouldn't do the Malik Willis thing that happened in preseason last year. Remember just last preseason, Malik Willis played so much better than it turned into a draft pick for the Tennessee Titans. So, in theory, you'd like Will Levis to do the exact same thing. Okay? So, saying what the Titans are saying is clearly for a reason, but throughout that, I have said, hey, this is what they're doing, but on the other side of it, the reality is, you don't draft a quarterback number one overall,

Starting point is 00:03:33 Paul Warren Moon over here to un-retire his jersey and give it to the rookie, you don't do all that for Cam Ward. If he isn't your guy, you don't intend for him to be your QB one. Alright, so regardless of the conversation around the reps and this, and remember Brian Callahan said last week that starting this week with phase three. Starting this week, the reps are going to get a little bit different. You're starting to do seven on seven with the full team, 11 on 11 with the full team.

Starting point is 00:04:02 Now it's time to start preparing. Okay. And that's why I've said, hey, I get what they were doing, but this nonsense can't last any longer because now the reps matter so much. You gotta get Cam Ward ready. You can't sacrifice his readiness for some pseudo competition you're trying to sell with Will Leves. So that's been my position all along. But let me say this, there are some people out there who say, oh, I don't care if it's a quarterback competition or not because Cam Ward is better than Will Levis. Well, you know what? You're right. You are right about that. Now, my position is still, I want Will Levis off this roster by week one. The sooner the Titans can do it, the better.

Starting point is 00:04:45 I think that's better for the locker room, ultimately. But regardless of all of that, I think there's a reality that we need to maybe spend some time with here. Cam Ward is a better football player than Will Levis. They can compete all they want. When I say I don't want Will Levis on the team, I think they should get them off the roster as soon as they can for locker room purposes. I'm not saying that because I'm worried that Cam Ward's gonna lose a quarterback competition to Will Levis. That is not the impotence. It's locker room politics. politics, it's workplace politics, it's alliances and allegiances and backstabbing and whispers and rumors and all the things that can tear a workplace apart are all on the table. When you do what the Titans have done here with Cam Ward and Will Levis, there are people in that locker room who have gone on vacation with Will Levis, who text with Will Levis, who are genuinely good friends with Will Levis. And anytime you have stuff like that, it can create a divide.

Starting point is 00:05:49 So my point about getting Will Levis off the team is much more about the politics and the inner workings of human beings than it is the football. Because Cam Ward has been a better football player than Will Levis for what? Three straight years now? And Cam Ward has been a better football player than Will Levis for what? Three straight years now? And Cam Ward is younger? You know, so, I guess, when we talk about who's gonna star and this and that, everybody, oh, it's an even split and all that, at the end of the day, my position is that I want the Titans to be able to get the most they can out of Will Levis,

Starting point is 00:06:21 and the way that they're handling it allows them to do that. I think that Cam Ward, by week one one should be the clear QB1. It shouldn't even take that long. It shouldn't be a problem because he is better at football than Will Levis. Period. Point blank. End the sentence. So I guess that simple fact. I feel like in all the—and look, it's my own fault, you know.

Starting point is 00:06:48 I can blame myself. I'm the one picking the topics, you know. So you guys could point the finger at me. I don't mind. But throughout all these conversations about why the Titans are saying what they're saying and why they're doing what they're doing and what it could mean and what it could set up and what it could impact, the simple reality, the through line throughout all of it is, Cam Ward's going to be the starting quarterback because he is the best quarterback on the roster. He is the best quarterback that the Titans have. And whether Will Levis ends up on the roster, if I'm wrong,

Starting point is 00:07:21 if I'm wrong, fine, and Will Leves is actually on the team throughout the season and doesn't get traded well that's fine all right at the end of the day I don't think that that's optimal I don't think that that is the safest route to go with your number one quarterback or your you know your quarterback in the future I don't think that that is the optimal path to go down. But at the end of the day, Cam Ward's gonna start because he's just better than Will Levis at football. So I think that Levis is going. I get what the Titans are doing and why they're positioned it the way that they are, and I've agreed with it all along.

Starting point is 00:08:05 I think that when we get the OTAs this week, we see Cam Ward start to get increased reps. But at the end of the day, no matter how it breaks out, Cam Ward's gonna be the starter. He's gonna be QB1, because dang it, he's the best quarterback that the Titans have. It's really that simple. But with that being said, who's Kim Ward going to throw to? I think there are at least two open starting positions on the offense. When we look at the skill position players, let's talk about who's going to fill them. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Starting point is 00:09:46 going to get two hundred dollars in bonus bets make every moment more with Fandle official sports betting partner of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about why Cam Ward is the clear starting quarterback for the Tennessee Titans, despite the noise. And it's simply because he is the best quarterback on the team. So we can forget all of the other nonsense at the end of the day. That's what really matters. But now let's talk about the people who are going to surround cam ward from a skill position standpoint.

Starting point is 00:10:34 Before I dive into want to thank you again for making locked on Titans your first listen tomorrow. I'm going to have a preview of phase three of OTAs. The Titans finally start getting into some team football activities as a whole team, rookies and vets together. I'm going to tell you what I'm looking for the most and then we'll be reacting to that on the show after that and what happened at practice. Can't wait to talk about all that with you guys. And then I think I'm going to do a YouTube mail back later on

Starting point is 00:11:02 in the week to cap off the week. So can't wait to dive into all that with you guys. But talking about the skill position players, go to running back and look running back is simple. Tony Pollard is the starting running back for the Tennessee Titans. Now I will tell you, bit disappointing to me that Tajay Spears has not at least in the conversation. If you would have told me a year ago today, you would have gone back one calendar year. I'm in here telling you, I think Tajay Spears is going to be the number one running back. I think Tajay Spears is a better player than Tony Pollard. That didn't turn out to be the case at all.

Starting point is 00:11:38 And I can admit that. I can admit that that did not turn out to be the case. But the fact that we're here and Tony Pollard is a clear slam dunk home run starting running back and we aren't even considering Tajay Spears as the starter wouldn't make sense and it doesn't and I'm not here to tell you that that's wrong. That's right. Tajay Spears did not prove in any way last year that he was capable of being a starting running back in the NFL. He looks like a guy who will never have the ability to be a lead back and will always, always be the change of pace number two at minimum.

Starting point is 00:12:16 I could see Tajay Spears as a potential satellite number three long term in his career at this point after he leaves the Titans. Here's what we see. Tony Pollard is not a bell cow back, neither is Tajay Spears. They aren't Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, Ashton Gentry, Saquon Barkley. They can't carry the load like that. They have to have more of a mixture. There has to be more of a rotation, all right, than with those groups. Think about, you know, Jacksonville is like ETN and Tank Bigsby. They worked in, you know, like De'Ernest Johnson for a little while. I forget who their third running back was last year. But the point is a lot of teams in the NFL have

Starting point is 00:12:59 a committee approach. Okay. That's the most common approach now. And the truth is Tony Pollard can't be a lead back like Derek Henry was, but Tajay Spears can't be the lead back in a committee like Tony Pollard can. So it's disappointing to me that Tajay Spears going into year three cannot even be in the conversation to can he start at running back? But that's the reality. That's the truth. And if we say anything different than that, we're lying. Tony Pollard is clearly the best running back on the Titans. Now, I think that Tony Pollard is going to break down this year, and I think the Titans are going to be looking to move on after the year. And running back is going to be a massive need for the Titans going into next

Starting point is 00:13:42 season. But part of that is not just Tony Pollard breaking down. It's that I don't think that the Tajay Spears can ever be a lead back in a committee. Now lead back in a committee again is different than Bell Cow back like Derek Henry totally different rules. But at the end of the day, I don't think the Tajay could be that anymore. And I was pretty certain that he could going into last season. So with that being said, Tony Pollard is a starting running back. No doubt about it. No questions, no conversations.

Starting point is 00:14:09 All the drama comes after that, quite frankly, after Tajay Spears even, but maybe there's a conversation to be had if Spears breaks down again, who could be RB2? But I personally think, and we'll talk more about this when we look at position groups as a whole, um, later in the summer. But I think running back as a spot where the Titans will seriously look to add a veteran who's waved after training camp. I think the Titans truly do need another veteran running back in there. If you add Pollard Spears, Callow Mullings, and then another veteran with experience,

Starting point is 00:14:47 think about a guy like Deontay Foreman, you know what I mean? A guy like Jamal Williams, something like that. Like that sort of veteran player, I think, would make a ton of sense for the Titans to protect themselves at running back. But then we get to the juicy one and it's wide receiver. So I think it's pretty clear that Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett are going to be starters. But the question is, Tyler Lockett and Calvin Ridley, neither of them are X receivers. Neither of them can play. Now, Calvin Ridley played X during his year in Jacksonville, but that was widely panned as a stupid decision and it should have been because Calvin Ridley should be playing in the Z and in the slot, not X, and the difference is an X wide receiver is on the line of scrimmage, isolated, faces press coverage all the time. That's not who Calvin Ridley is.

Starting point is 00:15:39 Calvin Ridley is a speed player. You want Calvin Ridley at Z, off the line of scrimmage, putting him in motion, getting him a running start, getting him off press coverage so he can use that speed immediately. You want him in the slot where he's going to see a little bit less press coverage and you can have him in the middle of the field and he can go inside, he can go outside and defenders are more confused and that again allows him to leverage his speed. But Tyler Lockett is another guy who is a smaller player. He has been a Z wide receiver, a slot guy. He's played like two thirds of his snaps outside and then one third of the snaps in the slot every year of his career. Essentially, it's like 500 to 300 or 400 to 200 and stuff like that. 100 to 200 and stuff like that. So neither of those guys play the X.

Starting point is 00:16:28 So if the Titans are in a two wide receiver set, I guess Tyler Lockett and Calvin Ridley are the starters because they're the best two wide receivers. But that just doesn't fit my vision of what you need at wide receiver. One of those two starting wide receivers needs to be a big physical guy who can deal with press coverage. And that's not them. So I think if you're going to make three starters week, one snap one on offense,

Starting point is 00:17:00 I personally think it is going to be Calvin Ridley, Tyler Lockett and Van Jefferson. And I think if the Titans weren't a too wide receiver set on the first snap, it would actually be Calvin Ridley and Van Jefferson. Because Jefferson is six foot one, 200 pounds, a bigger bodied guy, and I think you need that. Tyler Lockett's a little too small. Now, I gotta tell you, I'm struggling with how to do passing downs. Like, again, Tyler Lockett in the slot I guess Calvin Ridley is Z van Jefferson

Starting point is 00:17:30 Traylon Burks that's why I keep coming back to Eleki Omaner I just think he's got a great shot to immediately carve out a role Chim Dike is gonna be playing Z and slot to start. Brian Callahan already confirmed that we know Xavier Restrepo is a pure slot. He is an only slot receiver. Bryce Oliver could play all the positions, but he doesn't strike me as a big physical X. He's more of a Z in my opinion, but he played some X. So, but I just don't trust the talent of a Bryce Oliver. I think he's one of those guys that's being overhyped. So give me Ellic Iomanner.

Starting point is 00:18:09 I guess as the, when we look back at the end of the year, who played the most X snaps, I'm gonna go with Iomanner, but it definitely is a place where I'm not certain who should start because Van Jefferson is the easy choice, but I would go with Iomanner, but being what are the odds that this you know a rookie is starting right away i just think it's kind of low so i'm going to go with van jefferson tyler lockett and calvin ridley as the week one starters at wide receiver you know just veteran guys but i think iomanner eventually takes that slot or that x spot and i think we see a ton of z a ton of Xavier Restrepo in the slot over a guy like Tyler

Starting point is 00:18:49 Lockett. Lockett may be used more as a role player than an every down starter. I could see that happening, but right away, I think Lockett, Jefferson, and Ridley are starters. And then we go to tight end. And I am going to continue to pound this drum. I'm going to continue to pound this drum. I'm going to continue to push this narrative, my agenda, whatever you want to call it. But I think the starting tight end is going to be Gunnar Helm, the rookie out of Texas. I think Helm gives you some of the size and mismatch opportunities that Josh Wiley gives you, but he gives you a little bit more athleticism and wiggle than Josh Wiley gives you.

Starting point is 00:19:24 I think he gives you the ability to add more strength onto his frame as well. And at the end of the day, I think he's a more versatile player and a better blocker than a guy like Chigga Conquo, who when the Titans are running three wide receiver sets consistently, that's their primary set on offense is three wide receivers. Well, Chigga Conquo can't be that only tight end because he's not good enough as a blocker to keep your offense open. I think Chigga Conquo should be used as a wide receiver a little bit more this year. I think he should be used creatively in passing situations as a tight end and the slot, all of that. But starting tight end who gets the most snaps and is out there day one, week one,

Starting point is 00:20:01 I do think it's going to be the rookie gunner in hell. I do. That's my prediction, that's my take, and I'm going to keep it there until I see something to shake me off of it. But with that being said, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about Cam Ward clearly being the best quarterback on the team in my opinion. And that's why all this other talk is really just superfluous stuff. We talked about the skill position players. I think that by the end of the season we have two rookies starting, but week one, Gimme Gunner Helm is the lone starter out of the skill position players as a rookie, but now we're going to talk about the offensive line and I realize something here, okay?

Starting point is 00:20:59 I realize that the offensive line is basically set. But my point is, what an incredible feeling. Now, before we get into that, do wanna thank you again for making Locked On Titans your first listen. For your second listen, check out Locked On NFL Scouting. As training camp gets closer and moves are being made, hosts Kyle Krabs and Joe Marino will make you

Starting point is 00:21:22 the most informed NFL fan this off season. Find Locked on NFL Scouting on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast. But I just want to take you guys into the time machine. Just do you guys remember this time last year? Do you remember what it was like? This time last year. Do you remember what it was like? We were talking ourselves into what the combinations could be. Roster battle on the offensive side of the ball. Sadiq Charles versus Dylan Radens. Who's going to come out a winner? Nicholas Petit-Ferrer against Jalen Duncan against John Ajuku. Who's going to come out? Leroy Watson. Christian Guérin has been added. Who's going to think about that? Just think about it.

Starting point is 00:22:15 Think about where the Titans were at. Think about what those conversations were like. It was terrible. It was awful. And we talked ourselves through it. And that just shows you the opt, even me, the Debbie Downer, pessimist, negative Nancy, but all the stuff that people say I am online and on the show, but even I was optimistic about the offensive line. And we were talking about position battles between Sadiq Charles, Dylan Raden's NPF and John Ojukwu and Leroy Watson. So when I look at the Tennessee Titans starting offensive line and the fact that it is already set in stone, no questions.

Starting point is 00:22:57 There is no, the Titans say, oh, you know, we're not handing out starting jobs in May or whatever they said. Well, not on the offensive line because there are no starting jobs to hand out they're taken and I don't think that the Titans are even going to pretend like there are starting jobs up for grabs on the offensive line. They're not even going to act like there's some competition. Dan Moore, 20 million dollars left tackle. Peter Skowronski, third season as a first round pick, left guard. Lloyd Cushionberry will be the starter if he comes back healthy. If he's not healthy and we get into training camp and he's not ready to go like they said he would be, then we'll start to have, that'll be like the big storyline coming out of training camp,

Starting point is 00:23:43 first week, first couple of days, is if Lloyd Cushionberry is not ready to go. Does that create some uncertainty? But Corey Levin, Jackson Slater, Sam Mustafar, I'm doing it again, right? That's the same thing as last year. Anyways, though, Lloyd Cushionberry, right guard, Kevin Zeitler, been in the NFL 15 years, one of the top five, top 10 guards in the league still. J.C. Latham, now moving to right tackle, who I am so, so excited for, overly enthused about new look J.C. Latham at right tackle. But the fact that the Titans have their starter set in stone, the fact that we don't have to hear about these battles, we don't have to have Siddiq Charles retire in midsummer, which Kevin Zeitler don't do it. Okay.

Starting point is 00:24:37 I know you're 35 and don't do it. Siddiq Charles back in the NFL now, thinking he went to the Dallas Cowboys or something like that, unretired. He must really have hated the Titans situation. I would love to be able to ask him, why did you retire from the Titans after you were set to be a starter? Something about it he just hated, didn't want to do. If he retires again this year and doesn't make it to training camp or doesn't last through training camp, then we know it wasn't the Titans.

Starting point is 00:25:04 But if he plays and like stays on the Cowboys all year or whatever, that'll be interesting. But regardless, that was last year. But the point is going from that to this, we don't know. We don't know if the offensive line is going to be any good. We don't know if it'll be improved. We don't know. We don't know if Dan Moore is going to work out. We don't know. We don't know if Dan Moore's gonna work out. We don't know if Zeitler's gonna stay healthy. We don't know if Skoronsky takes that big jump. We don't know if

Starting point is 00:25:30 Latham is better at right tackle. We don't know if Cushionberry is gonna be healthy. There are a ton of questions. Make no mistake about it. But the fact that those questions are not who is starting, who is starting at two different spots? Who is starting? That to me, I am going to take that and I'm going to be joyful about it. I'm going to be so happy, so relieved that we don't have to deal with that. And please football gods, please just let them stay healthy so we can see what it will look like. I just want to see that offensive line in game action and week one against the Broncos. The Broncos like did they lead the NFL in sacks last year? I'm trying to think off the top of my head the sack standings. They were at minimum top five in sacks last year. They have a ferocious defensive line with Nick Bonito who I love. Nick Bonito. I love Nick Bonito. Anyways,

Starting point is 00:26:22 I love Nick Bonito. I love Nick Bonito. Anyways, Zach Allen had a great season. Zach Allen as they call him, great season last year. So gonna be a tough test, but I do take some, take some time at night to thank my lucky stars that the Titans actually have their offensive line set and it looks competent right now compared to where we were last year

Starting point is 00:26:43 and trying to talk ourselves into it. But with that being said, do want to hear from you guys. Let me know your predictions for who starts on offense down below, or hit me up on social media at Tic Tac Titans. As always, I am your host Tyler Roland, and this was Locked on Titans. Thanks for watching guys!

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Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Cam Ward WILL BE QB1, Predicting Offensive Rookie Starters & O-Line Excitement

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