Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans CHRISTMAS WISHLIST: New Left Tackle, Star Wide Receiver & Young Depth in Draft

Starting point is 00:00:00 Santa, please bring the Titans a left tackle. I'll talk about that in the rest of my Tennessee Titans Christmas wish list on today's bonus Christmas edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Ho, ho, ho! You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team, every day. Welcome to a Christmas edition of the Locked on Titans podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:47 I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. Today's bonus Christmas edition is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. We got a lot to discuss on this Christmas bonus edition. Number one, Santa, I need a top five pick and a new left tackle for the Tennessee Titans. We're going to go over that.

Starting point is 00:01:15 Then I'm going to look into free agency where Rantaclaus needs to come through big for the Titans. And then finally, I'll talk about some young players I would like to see in the NFL draft at certain positions. Before we get into all that, thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Merry Christmas. Happy holidays.

Starting point is 00:01:38 Whatever you celebrate. If you don't celebrate, doesn't matter. Hope you're having a fantastic week and a fantastic end to your year. Again, get subscribed. Stay subscribed. I'm breaking down the Titans Monday through Friday every single week all year long and always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Throw a thumbs up on the video as well and show some Christmas spirit.

Starting point is 00:02:03 But with that being said, Santa, the big man upstairs, I'm showing you love. I'm representing. Please, my guy, bring the Tennessee Titans a new left tackle. Please. Please. I saw some stats on Twitter.

Starting point is 00:02:23 Titan stats, PBK. You guys know who you are out there. I want to give credit, but I don't remember everything. But Andre Dillard is still second in the NFL in most sacks allowed. He hasn't played since like week 10. It's week 16. It's unbelievable. Unbelievable. And now Jalen Duncan is 13th in the NFL in sacks allowed.

Starting point is 00:02:45 He's barely played this year. He's barely played. We dealt with Dennis Daly leading the league in sacks last year. The year before, or he might have been one behind Jonah Williams. And then the year before that, we dealt with different combinations of Kendall Lamb and David Glastonbury and all these different things. And even at the end of Taylor LeJuan, Taylor LeJuan is one of the most underappreciated Titans

Starting point is 00:03:05 in the history of the franchise. But even at the end, when he couldn't stay healthy, the left tackle play wasn't very good either with Taylor LeJuan off a bum knee that wasn't repaired correctly. At least that's what Taylor LeJuan is accusing, not up to date on the status of how that all played out. Don't really care now. But anyway, the point is,

Starting point is 00:03:26 we have seen for multiple years now, basically since 2020, since 2020, we have seen despicable offensive tackle play. I talk about the left tackle spot because that's the quarterback's blind spot, and I care more about that. But regardless, I mean, again,

Starting point is 00:03:44 going back to Dennis Kelly in 2020, since then, Questenberry, NPF, Radins. I mean, Chris Hubbard gave us a brief reprieve from terrible offensive tackle play. And Chris Hubbard is a guy who hadn't started in three years and got picked up off the scrap heap two weeks before camp. So I am begging you, Santa. I am here on my knees pleading. Alright? I've been nice. Well, I've tried to be nice, Santa.

Starting point is 00:04:16 Alright? And the Titans have been on the naughty list for 20 out of the 25 years that I've liked this team. I'm begging you. I'm pleading. Alright? Let the Titans lose the rest of their games. Let the teams that are set to pick ahead of them win a game. Or let the teams on the Titans schedule lose so their strength of schedule goes down. Whatever it takes. If it takes all of it. It takes a little bit.

Starting point is 00:04:45 Please, Santa. Please. I'm begging Santa Claus and Ranta Claus. Please, Ran. Find a way. Make it happen. Do what you have to do to get this team a left tackle. Because we have seen over the last few years that you just simply cannot have a successful offense when your offensive line is this bad.

Starting point is 00:05:10 You can't. You can't. You can't. All right. And people point to different things. There are trade-offs. Yeah, look at the Bengals model. I would be willing to give it a shot.

Starting point is 00:05:20 But was the Bengals offensive line as bad as this offensive line? You know, there are levels to this. There are levels, all right? And this state of this offensive line, oh, man. It's just hard to watch. It's hard to deal with, and it's hard to evaluate players. Like, it's hard to know just how good Will Levis could actually be

Starting point is 00:05:43 because we don't know because he's under constant pressure and he's getting sacked and the decisions that he makes and the way his throws look like some of these people come in my comments and tear down Will Levis after he's literally getting hit and his arm flutters and it makes the ball go up and it gets picked. Like you're going to blame Will Levis for a bad throw there when he's clearly getting hit as he's throwing the ball and it clearly affected the trajectory of the ball. Like we are never going to blame Will Levis for a bad throw there when he's clearly getting hit as he's throwing the ball and it clearly affected the trajectory of the ball. Like, we are never going to know good offensive football without a good left tackle. So whether it be Joe Ault, Olaf Bashanu,

Starting point is 00:06:14 whether you get somebody in free agency that makes sense, we don't know everyone that's going to be available right now. I would like to see the Titans do both of those things, if I'm honest. But no matter what, no matter what, all I really want is to line up to play football next season and know that the Titans have a starting left tackle that we can count on. I don't need them to be the best left tackle in the NFL. Just don't be the worst, right? Just don't be the worst. Because if

Starting point is 00:06:43 Jalen Duncan played all season, he'd be the worst offensive tackle in the league. If Andre Dillard played half a season, he's the worst offensive tackle in the league. So, I just at this point again, I'm pleading to the big man upstairs, Santa Claus, at the North Pole. I'm begging you, Santa. Please bring this team a left tackle because the woes that we have experienced over the last few years with the position,

Starting point is 00:07:09 it's taken a toll on all of us. Okay? So in the name of Christmas spirit, in the name of decency, in the name of justice and peace, I beg you, Santa Claus, I beg you. Please, please bring the Titans a left tackle. I've said I want it to be

Starting point is 00:07:27 all. Joe is my number one option. I would take all of the shot. Oh, in a second, though, I think the guy's going to be great. But even if it's not them, the second round offensive tackle that we pick the free agent offensive tackles that the Titans pick up. Just please let one of them work. Just please let something work. I can't take another year watching the worst left tackle in the NFL, regardless of who it is,

Starting point is 00:07:53 and watching another year of Will Levis get bent like a pretzel. I'm begging you, Santa. Have some mercy on us all. With that being said, we got to talk free agency, because I got a real wish list there. Let me know what you want from Santa Claus for the Tennessee Titans down below before we get into my free agency wish list though.

Starting point is 00:08:16 Do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Look, as the weather gets colder, the NFL offers stay hot on FanDuel. Look, as the weather gets colder, the NFL offers stay hot on FanDuel. Right now, new customers can get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 money line bet. That's $150 if your team wins. If you've been thinking about joining FanDuel, there is no better time to get in on the action. Look, the app is super easy to use. I love using FanDuel. They got spreads, player props, over-unders, combined a bunch of bets together

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Starting point is 00:09:34 I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Thank you for making Locked on Titans your first listen each and every day. Remember, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy End of the Year, whatever it is you believe or don't believe, I don't care. I hope you're having a great day. We talked about what I really want. What I really want from Santa Claus for the Titans, and that's a left tackle.

Starting point is 00:09:55 And honestly, I don't care whether it's free agency. I don't care whether it's the draft, first round, second round. It doesn't matter to me. The Titans need a left tackle. But that's not all that they need. And forgive me, but my wish list is a little bit longer than just one thing. So I want to dive into what I want in free agency. And again, this is a quick overview.

Starting point is 00:10:19 I'm going to dive into additional names, full breakdowns on certain positions, go through high option, mid option, low option, all that stuff as we get into the off season. So don't worry about that. But again, it's Christmas bonus episode, just a quick rundown of some things I'm thinking. So number one, I need the Titans to go get a free agent wide receiver. Last year, the free agent wide receiver class was not good. No doubt about it. Very poor class, not a lot of high end talent, not a lot of good options there, and it looked like everybody was going to get overpaid, and a lot of them didn't. But you look at this year's class, and yes, some of these players could get franchise tagged.

Starting point is 00:10:54 Some of these players could just re-sign deals with their team. But there are going to be a lot of players who are cap casualties. There are going to be a lot of players who we don't expect to be available that will be. So just keep an open mind here. This is what we know as of right now. For me, the number one option at wide receiver is clearly T. Higgins. Like, it's no doubt about it for me. It's a slam dunk. He's number one. Is T. Higgins the route runner and the separator maybe like a

Starting point is 00:11:19 Brandon Iyukas? No, he's not. But, he's a big, physical, contested catch marvel. Alright? And, he isn't a huge yards after catch guy, but you see him take that slant for 80 yards to the house on Saturday? Because I did. Alright, T. Higgins is an athlete, okay? He's not a combat boot guy who can just go up and jump over people. He's not Mike Williams.

Starting point is 00:11:46 He's better than that. Okay? So, and T. Higgins is from Tennessee. Multiple pictures of him standing in front of No. 5 T. Higgins jerseys from him growing up as a kid. It was written. It was written in the stars. T. Higgins to the Titans.

Starting point is 00:12:02 No. 1 target in free agency. Period. Period. Okay? But after that, there are some great options. Calvin Ridley. Mike Evans. Michael Pittman.

Starting point is 00:12:17 Some great options there. Alright? Some people want to throw Hollywood Brown in there. I don't want Hollywood Brown. Give me a break. Again, conversation for a different time. but you get T Higgins. If you can't, then go get Mike Evans. I know Mike Evans is 31, but he's still a fricking baller. He's got a thousand yards every single year. He's playing some of his best football. Deandre Hopkins broke the curse.

Starting point is 00:12:42 If you had Hopkins and Mike Evans lining up for Will Levis next year, who's complaining about that? Who? Who are you? You're on the naughty list. Okay? But moving right along, if it can't be Higgins and it can't be Evans, then I'm still down with Calvin Ridley.

Starting point is 00:12:55 Now Ridley is older than I thought. He's like 29 years old. But Mike Evans is 31. Ridley is one of the best route runners in the NFL. You want to talk about separation? You want to talk about creating separation? Calvin Ridley is one of the best route runners in the NFL. You want to talk about separation? You want to talk about creating separation? Calvin Ridley is the guy. He is absolutely a top-tier route runner, great speed.

Starting point is 00:13:11 And look, he missed a couple years of football, or a year and a half with injury and then the gambling suspension. He's just getting back into things this year. So, no, he didn't break onto the scene and have Jamar Chase numbers. He's getting back into the swing of things, but he's still been good. So, I would be fine with stealing Calvin Ridley from the Jacksonville Jaguars. I'm cool with that.

Starting point is 00:13:30 Higgins, Evans, Ridley. Then for me, Michael Pittman. Michael Pittman may not be the fastest guy ever, but again, like we just talked about, having a big-bodied guy who can go up and win jump balls when you have Will Levis who just wants to throw up jump balls down the field, that is the combination. It reminds me of Johnny Manziel and Mike Evans from Texas A&M.

Starting point is 00:13:48 Like, Manziel looks so good because he could just, whoop, Mike. Mike's down there somewhere. F it. Will Levis needs that guy. And right now, DeAndre Hopkins is that guy. And Hopkins can do that a little bit. But Hopkins isn't as big

Starting point is 00:14:03 as Evans or Higgins or Pittman. Like, he's just not. Alright? So, I want one of those guys even if they aren't the greatest speed demon of all time. Speed can be addressed elsewhere. And we'll talk about that at the end of the show when I talk about my draft wish list. But outside of wide receivers, and if the Titans, and look, Brandon Ayuk is under contract, people. Everyone's mentioning Brandon Iyuk like he's a free agent. He's not. He's not a free agent. The Titans would have to trade for him. So, yeah,

Starting point is 00:14:36 I'd love Brandon Iyuk too. Awesome. But that would require a trade, not just free agency. Alright? So, keep that in mind. I'd much rather have T. Higgins in free agency than pay draft picks and then on top of that, give a big deal to Brandon Ayuk. Who would you want? T. Higgins in free agency

Starting point is 00:14:53 or trading for Brandon Ayuk? If you had to give them the same contract. And we talk contract, probably going to be $25 million per year. So just keep that in mind. But I also want to see an offensive, a couple offensive linemen in free agency here. Okay?

Starting point is 00:15:06 One offensive tackle to be a starter for sure, whether it be right or left. Don't care. That's why I like Trent Brown. He's played 3,000 snaps at both. Well, 2,700 and 3,000 the other one. Anyways, moving right along. But I don't want to just see an offensive tackle in free agency.

Starting point is 00:15:21 I want an interior offensive lineman in free agency brought in. They don't have to break the bank. Maybe they don't go get Connor Williams, but you've got to bring in somebody who can compete with Aaron Brewer. Now, Aaron Brewer is a free agent, and maybe you guys think Aaron Brewer won't come back, but I think that Aaron Brewer is not going to have a ton of options out there, and he's going to come back to the Titans on a cheap deal, and the Titans have to also bring in another interior offensive line veteran to compete there. You cannot go into next season with Aaron Brewer written in pen

Starting point is 00:15:54 as your starting center. No. So, outside of offensive line, offensive tackle, interior offensive line, one of the top tier wide receivers, outside of that, you look at cornerback. Now, I'm just going to be honest. There are options out there at cornerback.

Starting point is 00:16:14 There really are. I know a lot of you guys are going to start saying Jalen Johnson to me. But, if the Titans get a high-end wide receiver, and the Titans get a high-end offensive tackle, and they get somebody to compete on the interior offensive line and they add some depth at other positions, it's going to be hard to give three big time contracts, even with the 75 to a hundred million dollars in cap space,

Starting point is 00:16:38 the Titans are going to have. So for me, if you look at those three positions, wide receiver, offensive tackle and cornerback, I would rather see the money spent, wide receiver, offensive tackle, and cornerback, I would rather see the money spent at wide receiver and offensive tackle make that better.

Starting point is 00:16:51 Look for cornerback in the draft. Look to sign some value cornerbacks like you did with Sean Murphy Bunting last year, which Sean Murphy Bunting hasn't been perfect, but he's been solid. So I'd rather see that route. I don't really want to see a high-priced contract given to a cornerback. I don't. I just don't want to see that route. I don't really want to see a high price contract given to a cornerback

Starting point is 00:17:06 I don't I don't I just don't want to go that route I would rather put the resources elsewhere Put the money into the pass rush And then try to add Cornerbacks and see what they do in the draft in mid-tier free agency If I had to choose a route, that's what I would do there. So free agency wish list, top end wide receiver, two offensive linemen, some value cornerbacks in the secondary. And let's see what we can shake from there.

Starting point is 00:17:35 All right. But with that being said, we got to talk about the draft. Because outside of the top tier positions that we've all discussed, I want to talk about some depth positions. I want to see the Titans add in the draft. They have eight picks. So definitely the ability to do it. We're going to dive into that in a second.

Starting point is 00:17:55 Do want to let you guys know, though, that today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. GameTime is the best place to buy tickets. Period. I mean, if you buy tickets on other apps, it could be a frustrating time, really. I mean, you don't feel like you're getting the real price when you're looking at the price of the tickets. You don't know if you get the actual seat that they're telling you that you can get.

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Starting point is 00:19:08 Use the code LOCKEDONNFL. That's L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-N-F-L for $20 off. Download GameTime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest price. Guaranteed. Titans fans, we are going to go into my NFL draft Christmas wish list for the Titans. Again, follow along with me. Let me know what is your number one wish from Santa Claus for the Titans. Who, follow along with me. Let me know what is your number one wish

Starting point is 00:19:45 from Santa Claus for the Titans. Who are you looking for in free agency? What do you want at depth positions in the draft? Put together your Titans Christmas wish list down below. But I want to hit a few housekeeping items. Let's call them. Number one, thank you for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen each and every day.

Starting point is 00:20:06 Remember, Locked On has launched the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube. It's called Locked On Sports Today. It's here for you 24-7 covering the top sports stories of the day with local experts from Locked On plus national shows like Locked On NFL, which I do on Thursdays. Go to Locked On NFL, which I do on Thursdays. Go to Locked On Sports today on YouTube and subscribe to the first ever 24-7 national sports streaming channel. Be a part of history.

Starting point is 00:20:33 Look behind the curtain. I'm recording this on Christmas Eve morning before the Titans play against the Seattle Seahawks because I'm going to be traveling all day on Christmas. Another funny thing, this was meant to be a 10-minute bonus episode, and I talk too much, and now it's a full-length episode. So there you go. Congratulations on that. Wanted to at least have a chuckle. I just cannot shut up, y'all. I promise I try. The plan is to not talk so long, and here I am with a full-length 25-minute episode, but did want to mention,

Starting point is 00:21:04 since I won't have time to talk about it, I'll be talking about the game. I'll probably mention it on yesterday's show. Every day you saw yesterday after the game. But, Jeffrey Simmons IR, Jack Gibbons IR, Imani Hooker IR, Nick Westbrook Akine on IR,

Starting point is 00:21:21 the Titans are just falling apart, and I think part of it is purposeful. They're like, hey, some of our veteran guys, no reason to bring them back. And I'm glad they didn't play Will Levis, because that would have been stupid. Hopefully he doesn't play the rest of the two games. But either way, things are going well. I hope that I'm coming to you after the Titans lost to the Seattle Seahawks. That would be awesome.

Starting point is 00:21:43 Titans need that top five pick. And I think they know it now too. But anyways, we talked about my number one wish, a left tackle, which would really be a top five pick. We talked about my free agency wish list at the top positions that I care about. And now I want to talk about the draft.

Starting point is 00:22:00 And look, yes, with the top two picks the Titans have, I want to see them take a wide receiver and an offensive tackle. This is a really good offensive tackle class. It's a really good wide receiver class. Whether you go Malik Neighbors or Fashanu or JC Latham or whatever in the first round, do the opposite in the second with a Xavier Worthy, a Xavier Leggett, I mean a Brian Thomas.

Starting point is 00:22:27 There are so many, so many good wide receivers and offensive tackles in the early parts of this draft that there is no excuse for the Titans to not get one of the top six offensive tackles, one of the top six wide receivers. And that's why it's so important to have a top five pick, not only for the first round, but for every other round after that, like the second round,

Starting point is 00:22:51 where it's so important to have a high pick. So, outside of those two positions, in the first two picks, Titans don't have a third rounder. So, after that, I really, really would like to see a couple of things. Number one, a young interior offensive lineman. So whether Daniel Brunskill is back at right guard,

Starting point is 00:23:15 whether the Titans go with Dylan Radins or Nicholas Petit-Ferrer at right guard, either way, the Titans need to look for a replacement there. Also, that young interior offensive lineman could potentially be a center. You bring Aaron Brewer back for a cheap veteran deal, you draft a center to develop to take his place. That, I want a young interior offensive lineman in the draft.

Starting point is 00:23:44 Period. Outside of that, remember, we're talking the end of the draft here. We know we want offensive tackle and wide receiver. Outside of that, I would like young players in the secondary. Get a young corner in the mid-rounds. Get a safety late who could potentially come in and be a special teams guy, but also develop the Titans.

Starting point is 00:24:07 Try to do that with Theo Jackson from Tennessee. And he went to Minnesota and actually turned into a pretty decent little player. That's the type of thing I want to see the Titans do. Okay. But also it's time to get some linebackers with speed with speed. Okay. Look,

Starting point is 00:24:23 I'm cool with bringing Jack Gibbons back next year in a depth role. Not a big fan of Aziz, but if they bring him back, whatever. I'm not going to fret. But the Titans need, like, they let Monty Rice go. They need to replace the Monty Rice role. A young, fast, physical linebacker. Maybe Rancarton Ranta, Ranta Claus, has had a ton of success in the past with drafting late-round linebackers.

Starting point is 00:24:50 Go to the well again, please. Go get one. They drafted all offense last year. They can't do that this year. I want to see some young depth on defense added to this team at linebacker and in the secondary. Okay? So you get your OT. you get your wide receiver,

Starting point is 00:25:11 you get your interior offensive lineman, then go defense. Add some prospects with speed and athleticism and see if we can't make this team faster. You know what I mean? And those late round draft picks, that is where Rand should succeed. He had a lot of input in San Francisco in the late rounds of the draft. So work your magic, Rand. Let's go, Rantaclaus. I love that.

Starting point is 00:25:35 I made that up. All right. I made that up on the spot here on the show. There are going to be other people saying that now that I put it out into the universe. Don't let them steal it. It's mine, Rant-a-Clause. Let's go. All right.

Starting point is 00:25:46 With that being said, that's going to do it for this bonus and now fully extended full-length edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. It's Christmas. Some of you guys will be listening to this on the morning of the 26th too, though. Hope you had a good Christmas. Happy holidays. Salute. Good end to the year in days of auld lang syne. All right. So, Merry Christmas. Happy holidays. Salute. Good end to the year. In days of auld lang syne.

Starting point is 00:26:06 All right. So, Merry Christmas. Happy holidays. Happy New Year. Tighten up. Help us out here, Santa. We need it. But with that being said,

Starting point is 00:26:16 I'm, of course, going to be back with you guys tomorrow. Talk more about this game. What the Titans need to do going forward. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans CHRISTMAS WISHLIST: New Left Tackle, Star Wide Receiver & Young Depth in Draft

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