Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Depth Chart Breakdown & Monday Practice Recap

Episode Date: August 10, 2021

On today's Locked On Titans podcast:The Tennessee Titans released their first depth chart of the season. Tyler breaks down every single position on offense and defense, then tells you what on the depth chart matters or doesn't matter!The Titans had another practice on Monday. Tyler recaps all the big news out of camp including who sat out practice.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.ButcherBoxButcherBox is offering our listeners 2 five-ounce lobster tails and 2 ten-ounce ribeyes for free in your first box! You can only get this special deal when you sign up for a new membership at ButcherBox.com/LOCKEDON.StatHeroStatHero, the FIRST Ever Daily Fantasy Sportsbook that gives the PLAYER the ADVANTAGE. Go to StatHero.com/LockedOn for 300% back on your first play. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, this Tuesday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast is presented by RockAuto.com. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need.

Visit rockauto.com today and tell them Locked On sent you. We got some big news on Monday from the Tennessee Titans as they released their first depth chart of the season. So we are breaking down everything that you need to know. I'm going to go through the entire depth chart on offense and defense so you know exactly where everyone is placed on this first depth chart release. But what I want to do is break up the two sides of the ball. So first we're going to go through the offensive side of the depth chart and I'm going to tell you

what really stands out to me and I'm also going to tell you what doesn't really matter even though it may appear that it does. Then we're going to go through the defensive side of the ball and like with offense I'm going to give you guys all of my big takeaways of what really stood out to me. Also going to tell you what you should not worry about as much including where the rookies are placed on the depth chart. After defense, we will dive in to special teams. And of course, with the kick return duties, there are some things we need to pay attention to that will affect who makes this Tennessee Titans roster.

But that's not it. The Titans did have practice on Monday. And according to Mike Vrabel, it was a very important practice. So we are going to dive into all of the practice notes from Monday to cap off this Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it! Ah, what a beautiful day Monday was in the Titans community. A day where we all come together to not only argue about the depth chart and where the players are placed, but also have separate discussions about how important the depth

chart even is at this moment in time. And that's where I will start just a general discussion about these early depth charts. Before we get into that, though, do want to remind you guys, I'm going to be putting out Monday through Friday, daily Tennessee Titans content here on the Locked On Titans podcast all year round. Make sure you never miss an episode of the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world by subscribing to the Locked on Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream. Follow me on social media, on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans and on Facebook at Locked on Titans

pod. But before we get into all of the names on the depth chart on the offensive side of the ball, I want to make a general statement here and just really want to talk about the fact that even Mike Vrabel at his press conference really downplayed the depth chart, said he didn't even look at it, had to be handed the depth chart during his press conference to answer questions about it. So everything you hear, take with a grain of salt. As Mike Rabel has intimated, this isn't the end-all, be-all of the depth chart

and where it's going to be by the time the season rolls around. But it is a good starting place for us to kind of see some certain things. And there are some answers that we do get from this depth chart. And I'm going to dive into all of that. So just wanted to give you guys my small preamble here that none of this is set in stone. It's just a basis for us to know kind of where things are at and I'll fill in the gaps of anything that doesn't really make a lot of sense. So starting first off, going through the offense, quarterback Ryan Tannehill, the number two 2 quarterback Logan Woodside, the No. 3 quarterback Matt Barkley.

Of course, the battle wages on for backup quarterback, but Logan Woodside has to be miles ahead of Matt Barkley at this moment in time with his familiarity with the Titan system really gives him the advantage here. At running back, you have Derrick Henry, and then you have Darrington Evans, but then the third string running back is Jeremy McNichols with Brian Hill coming after him and then the undrafted free agent Makai Sargent from Louisville coming in at the end and that's surprising to me Jeremy McNichols has been injured for a lot of the early parts of camp and in my opinion Brian Hill is just a far superior player

to Jeremy McNicholas nothing Jeremy McNicholas has done in his career would indicate that he's a better player than Brian Hill now Brian Hill is new to the team so maybe there's some sort of allegiance there but that's pretty shocking to me if Jeremy McNicholas makes this team over Brian Hill I will be confused and sad and angry, quite frankly. But moving forward at wide receiver, the Titans' base offense has three starting wide receivers. So that's a little bit of a change. But the Titans have A.J. Brown, Julio Jones, and Josh Reynolds listed as the starters.

No surprise there. Next on the depth chart, though, we have Marcus Johnson, Chester Rogers, and Nick Westbrook-Akina. And you may be thinking to yourself, where is Des Fitzpatrick, the Titans' fourth-round rookie pick that most people thought would be wide receiver for? Well, the reality here is all of the other wide receivers, Cam Batson, Fred Brown, Mason Kinsey, Kalijah Lipscomb, along with the two drafted rookie wide receivers, Rayce McMath and Des Fitzpatrick. They're all at the back end of the depth chart, especially the rookies who are listed last.

And I'll talk a little bit more about that in just a second. But moving to tight end, this was a big one here. Jeff Swaim starting tight end with Anthony Ferkser behind him, then Tommy Hudson, then Luke Stocker, and then Jared Pinckney. Hear me out here, guys. I mentioned this. We have high hopes for Anthony Ferkser, and I think that he can evolve into a better blocker.

But I've said this numerous times throughout the summer. Anthony Ferkser is never going to be a great blocker. It's just never going to be the case. He's always going to be a role player who is better at catching passes. The Titans have Jeff Swaim as the starter because when they run their base offense out there, it will be Jeff Swaim. If you only have one tight end on the field

and it's early down, you're not going to have it be Anthony Ferkser. He's always going to be a role player. He's never going to be a full-time starting tight end. And I hope everybody understood that coming in, and I've talked about that as well on the show. Moving into the offensive line, you have the starters that we know about, the four, Taylor LeJuan, Roger Saffold, Ben Jones, Nate Davis.

But then the Titans have co-starters listed at right tackle. And Mike Vrabel can say the depth chart doesn't matter whatsoever all he wants, but if the depth chart didn't matter, then Mike Vrabel wouldn't care to not have co-starters and just have one guy starting over the other guy because it doesn't matter right well I guess it does matter a little bit because they want to protect the feelings of Kendall Lamb and Ty Sambrillo. Sambrillo just getting back into camp and getting back into teamwork after dealing with an injury from last year into the start of training camp. Kendall Lamb himself, we'll talk more about both these guys later when we talk about practice,

but Kendall Lamb as well, fighting for that battle. Right now, Kendall Lamb has to have the advantage because he's actually been healthy throughout the all season, but Ty Sambrillo does know the system from last year, so now if he is healthy officially, that might help him close the gap. But no word on that right tackle starter what is very interesting is some of the backup spots the backup right tackle is going to be whoever doesn't win the starting job with the co-starters the backup left tackle David Questenberry who did a pretty good job last year backup left guard Aaron

Brewer although he hasn't participated in camp yet. Backup center, Daniel Murner, despite the fact that he struggled with his snaps. And then the backup right guard is Dylan Radin. So a lot of people were shocked to see the rookie there, but Radins has good versatility as well. And everyone behind Radins as an interior offensive lineman are undrafted free agents lower on the pecking order as well. Adam Kuhn, Cole Banwer, Chandon Herring, newly signed Ross Reynolds, or Jordan Roos. So that's why you would see Dylan Radins pegged in there, but I'm not worried about Radins. I think right now what we do know from Mike Vrabel's recent

comments and the depth chart, Radins probably isn't going to be a starter for the Titans at the beginning of the year. Maybe that happens later on. But it truly does tell us that starting right tackle battle was between the two veterans, between Ty Sambrello and between Kendall Lamb. But got to talk about both those guys in a significant fashion later on in the show. So keep your eyes out for our final segment. But we are going to move forward now,

talk about the defense and the special teams and what that depth chart looks like. Before we get into that though, do want to tell you guys about BetOnline.ag, the fastest and easiest way to bet on all your sports action. Football season is right around the corner, but if you can't wait until kickoff, baseball season is in full swing. So you can get your bets placed over there. Before the next pitch, make sure you get your bets placed over there. Before the next pitch, make sure you head over to betonline.ag. You can use your laptop. You can use your mobile device. Either way, sign up for free today and make sure you use the promo code LOCKEDON. That's one word, LOCKEDON. And when you do, when you do make your first deposit, you'll get a 50% welcome bonus.

That's literally free money from BetOnline.ag. Once again, BetOnline.ag. Use promo code LOCKEDON. BetOnline, your online sportsbook experts. Titans fans, we are going to continue this Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, breaking down the defensive depth chart, the first depth chart we have received from the Titans this season. Let's dive right in with the defensive line. So first off, you have your three starters on the D-line in the Titans' base 3-4 defense.

Danico Autry at defensive end, Tyer Tart at nose tackle, and Jeffrey Simmons at defensive tackle. Behind them, you have Trevin Colley behind Danico Autry, who's been impressive in camp as a backup. You have Kyle Pecco as the backup nose tackle and Pecco is really impressed early on since he's joined the team midway through

training camp through the beginning of training camp at least Kyle Pecco the younger cousin of Dometo Pecco who played for the Bengals for a long time. I'm sure you guys would recognize him if you saw him, but some lineage there as well. And then Larell Murchison listed as the backup for Jeffrey Simmons. I think that's very interesting in itself because we're getting an idea. This is one of those things we talk about what matters, what doesn't matter. We're getting an idea of who is impressing compared to others at certain spots when we talk about the veterans we're not getting a lot of information about the rookies but the veterans because you look at who's behind trevin colley it's woodrow hamilton look at who's behind kyle pecco it's anthony rush look

at who's behind laurel murchison it's naquan jones now naquan jones is a rookie but all the rest of the guys are veterans so we're getting a, accurate depiction here of who is ahead of who early on. Colley over Hamilton, Colley over Rush, Pecco over Rush, Pecco over Hamilton. All of that stuff does, in fact, matter. Now, we'll move to the outsides of the pass rush with the outside linebackers, the edge rushers. No surprise here. Bud Dupree, Harold Landry

slated as the starters. Beyond that, I don't think it's really much of a surprise either to see John Simon and Derek Roberson as the second team edge rushers. Behind them, you have Wyatt Ray, who spent a lot of time on the practice squad with the Titans at times last year and getting bumped up to the active roster. Also, you have a guy like Rashad Weaver, who was on that third team. Now, the Titans do have Ola Adani listed as the third string outside linebacker behind John Simon and Harold Landry, but the reality here is Ola Adani is only going to be asked to play a special team. So, if the Titans really needed a third edge rusher out there, we know it would be the rookie Rashad Weaver. And that gives me a good spot to kind of stop in here and make a note.

So one thing I want to say is, other than Dylan Radins, which the offensive line has been impacted by injuries, other than Dylan Radins, every other rookie is listed last on the depth chart Caleb Farley Elijah Moulton absolutely last on the depth chart the undrafted free agent rookie wide receivers the rookie wide receivers and Racey McMath and Des Fitzpatrick last on the depth chart so it's one of those things Mike Vrabel said in his press conference on Monday that they want to make the rookies earn a spot. That's demonstrated here by having every single rookie on the team as far down on the depth chart as they could possibly be. We know that that's not going to be the case when the season rolls around. So that's one of those things that doesn't matter

when we're looking at these depth charts is where they have the rookies slated. Because right now, all of the veterans, whether they're going to make the team or not, are ahead of the rookies on the depth chart. So there's the biggest grain of salt that you need to take with taking in this depth chart. But let's continue moving through the defense. At inside linebacker, you have Jayon Brown and Rashawn Evans as the two starters. What's a little surprising here, but it goes back to what I was saying with the rookies. They have David Long and then Jan Johnson as the two backup linebackers.

Now that's still surprising to me because BJ Bellow is a guy at inside linebacker who's gotten a little bit of talk throughout training camp. Not a ton, but his name has popped up here and there. and you would think that that would be a sign that he would be ahead of Jan Johnson but no Jan Johnson who we haven't really heard anything about in training camp gets that second linebacker spot but to me this is one of those things we know guys that David Long and Monty Rice are the backup inside linebackers for this team. They're going to be. So this is just one of those examples where the depth chart is. It can be a little bit of silly sauce, but there are some things you can take from it,

some things that you can't, as I've talked about throughout the entire episode. Moving into the secondary here, you have Jackrabbit Jenkins and Christian Fulton as the starting cornerbacks. Just love to see Christian Fulton as the starting cornerbacks just love to see Christian Fulton as a starter would not have been shocked to see Breon Borders as that second starter he has starting experience in the NFL with the Titans having a great camp but Christian Fulton has really been coming on and very impressed to see him in that starting role behind him they have Chris Jackson and Breon Borders and then Breon Boddy Calhoun and Chris Jones and Kevin Peterson.

And as I said at the very end of the depth chart, you have Caleb Farley and Elijah Moulton. We know that's not going to be the case when the season rolls around, but love seeing Christian Fulton get that starting role out of the gate. Then at safety, you have Kevin Byard and Imani Hooker. Then behind them, as expected, Dan Cruikshank and Matthias Farley. Behind them, Brady Brees and Maurice Smith. Going to be really tough for Brees or Smith

to make this roster. So that was all expected. The next big thing here, though, is special teams. And the starting kicker is listed as Tucker McCann with Sam Ficken behind him. I'll talk some more about this competition when we break down Monday's practice, but I don't expect that to be the case for much longer. I do think Sam Ficken wins this job if

they don't go out and get Steven Gostkowski. The kickoff guy is Tucker McCann, although they do keep Ficken and McCann, which I don't expect, but if they were, I would expect McCann to be the kickoff guy. He's got a little bit more boot on the kickoffs than Ficken with some of that punter experience that McCann had from college. Brett Kern as the punter, got Jason Smith behind him, but poor Jason Smith doesn't really have a shot on this team. Then as the holder for field goals, Brett Kern, of course, Logan Woodside, the backup there.

Here's the next big thing, punt returner. Punt returner we know has been a battle between Batson, Kinsey, and Rodgers. Whoever wins that battle most likely wins a roster spot as well. Right now, Chester Rodgers winning that race with Batson behind him and Mason Kinsey behind him. Going to be tough for Kinsey to make this roster, as I've said, throughout the summer. But Chester Rodgers, impressive that he's taken that role. Now as the kickoff returner, Darrington Evans gets that spot. It's a much different role. Kickoff return, you can really line up the ball. You get more of a head start. Punt return, the action is live right now as soon as you get the ball, so it's a different skill set for sure, but Darrington Evans

there. Cam Batson is the backup kickoff returner. Maybe that helps Cam make the team because he provides value on both the returns then long snapper you have morgan cox behind him if something were to happen ben jones but that's it for the entire depth chart that the titans released on monday we are going to get into a conversation about monday's practice though and make sure that you know everything that took place there before we get into that want to remind you guys about the title sponsor, rockauto.com. Rockauto.com is a family business that's been serving online customers for over 20 years. The rockauto.com catalog, remarkably easy to use, easy to navigate. With a few easy clicks, you can get whatever you need delivered directly to

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We are going to cap off this Tuesday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast, breaking down and recapping everything you need to know from Monday's Tennessee Titans practice. And it was a big practice, quite frankly, as Mike Vrabel talked about over the weekend. The Titans brought officials to practice so they can get ready for game-like situations, have penalties called, things like that. Also, Mike Vrabel talked about how Monday and Tuesday's practices are going to be super important leading up to the game on Friday as the team tries to kind of shift from training camp mode into preseason game week mode and operate in that way.

So Mike Vrabel talked about Monday being a big practice, but we did see some players missing who obviously will be out there when the games roll around. Probably not the preseason games, but when the real games come around. The players who were not practicing today include Julio Jones, A.J. Brown, Ben Jones, Nate Davis, Jeff Swaim, and Danico Autry. What I will say is Julio, A.J., Swaim, and Autry all were out riding stationary bikes during practice. Now, Ben Jones and Nate Davis have been going really hard throughout training camp,

so giving them some extra rest days does make a lot of sense. Do want to report that Josh Reynolds, back practicing, was still practicing, so he hasn't suffered a setback or anything that we can see. Now, there was some chatter online about his explosiveness and the videos that are getting circulated around. I'm not willing to touch on any of that based on some videos from somebody's cell phone. And we know that he was banged up earlier in camp, so he's just getting back into the swing of things.

Not really going to take too much away from Reynolds there, but I'm just happy that he's been consistently back out on the field. Now, I do want to report this because we talked about the depth chart earlier. Kendall Lamb did leave practice early after the first team session with an arm shoulder injury on his left side. Not 100% sure what is up with that. He did not return to practice, but it's a good thing that Ty Sambrillo was back in the fold.

And Ty Sambrillo, along with Taylor LeJuan took part in their first full go team periods and when I say full go you can have 11 on 11 and just be moving as a jog through or half speed full go is full on contact live football and Taylor LeJuan and Ty Sambrillo both took place in that today so that's's a great positive sign, especially if Kendall Lamb is hurt and it's significant in any way, then the Titans will need Ty Sambrillo to be ready to be healthy and step up to take that starting right tackle position. Now, it wouldn't be a training camp breakdown unless I gave you guys a Marcus Johnson nugget. And again, Marcus Johnson had one of the best catches of the day

getting his toes down in the end zone in the back corner he was catching balls 40 minutes after practice off the jugs machine as well Marcus Johnson really a big standout in Titans camp and should find a way to make this roster also want to mention that Bud Dupree took place in his first team period activity since he returned. So you love to see that. Now he only went through one of the team periods and then he did some side work. I'm sure the Titans, like Reynolds, like some other players, they're bringing them along slowly. No need to rush anybody back. Now this isn't an injury, but do want to mention that in that first team period for Taylor LeJuan, Derek Roberson was able to get a sack on Taylor LeJuan. Roberson had some other good plays

and run defense as well. So a nice day from Derek Roberson. Not as nice of a day from rookie cornerback Caleb Farley, who at one point in time during team activities, Mike Vrabel stopped the practice and kicked Caleb Farley off the field, sent him to the sideline because he just wasn't given the effort and finish during the play. Mike Vrabel talked about it in his press conference after practice, and he said, essentially, we don't practice that way. We're better than that. It was in the middle of a play. Caleb Farley didn't know what to do. And instead of just looking for something to do, he just stopped in the middle of the field.

And Mike Vrabel said, even if you don't know what you're doing you find somebody to cover you find a zone to cover you do something we don't just stop in the middle of the field so the rookie learning some hard lessons about the culture of the Titans but he's a rookie he's finding his way he's been in practice for less than a week I'm not going to hold Caleb Farley's feet to the fire or anything like that, but a nice chew-out from head coach Mike Vrabel. The last note from practice I want to give to you guys is on the kicking competition. Sam Ficken was 7-7 on the day. Tucker McCann was 5-6.

Why did Sam Ficken get an extra kick? Well, the Titans were practicing some team stuff, some red zone stuff, and in a simulated situation, the Titans had a field goal to kick. They ran out Ficken to do that as the number one kicker. So once again, back to the depth chart, Ficken is being asked to come out there as the number one kicker, but yet isn't the number one kicker on the depth chart because they're going to give the nod to the guy who's been in the organization

for a year and a half now. So that's why you're seeing that. But make no mistake about it. Sam Ficken has been the better kicker since he arrived in Titans training camp. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. That is everything you need to know about the first Tennessee Titans depth chart of the year. And Monday's Titans practice. I'm going to be back with you guys tomorrow for a Wednesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast.

Make sure that you don't miss that and subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans. Thank you.