Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Depth Chart REVEALED: Jack Gibbens Over Monty Rice & Malik Willis over Will Levis

Episode Date: August 9, 2023

The Tennessee Titans released their first depth chart of the preseason and there were some interesting takeaways. First, the linebacker competition is fierce, but in a surprise Jack Gibbens is listed as a starter. Next, the Titans have done the expected and have Malik Willis listed as the backup quarterback for Saturday's game. Finally, the Titans kicker battle will be one to watch as the preseason kicks off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tennessee Titans fans, we have an upset alert. The team released their first depth chart of the season, and linebacker Jack Gibbons has overtaken Monty Rice. We're going to talk about that and more depth chart battles on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked on Titans, your daily on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans.

The Tennessee Titans have released their first depth chart of the season. We're going to go over all of it on today's show. Starting on defense, Jack Gibbons with the upset has overtaken Monty Rice for the time being. Malik Willis, as expected, listed as the second string quarterback over Will Levis. And there are some questions on special teams that we're going to dive into as well before we get into all of it. Do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Underdog Fantasy. Visit underdogfantasy.com or just find them in your app store and sign up with promo code LOCKEDON to get your first deposit doubled up to $100.

Also, want to thank you guys for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all apps and always for free. It's your team every single day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. So make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. Throw a thumbs up on the video

if you're watching right now. The show's always free. All I ask for in return is the press of a button. Of course, shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday. I got some great stuff coming for you guys tomorrow. The Tennessee Titans have practice. We'll be covering that Friday.

I'm going to have an extra bonus episode for you guys, a sixth episode this week with a little preview of the Titans' first preseason game. Who are the players who have the most pressure? Who are the players who must play? Who are players who should sit in this game. I'm going to go over all of that. And then on Saturday, immediately after the game is over, I'm going to be going live,

breaking down all of the action with you guys. Don't miss any of it. Make sure, again, you get subscribed, stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast. A little bit of a longer intro there. Wanted to keep you guys up to date as to what is coming on the show though. But let's dive right into this depth chart. Of course, we're going to start on defense. Jack Gibbons, the second year linebacker, is listed as the starting linebacker next to Aziz Alshayer. This is not something that I think would have been expected coming into the year. I think most people would have looked at a guy This is not something that I think would have been expected coming into the year.

I think most people would have looked at a guy like Monty Rice. I think Monty Rice has been the favorite all along. And I mean, it's not just my interactions with people online. There are people within the Titans media who are big fans of Monty Rice coming into the season. And I know that a lot of you guys hate when I do the I told you so's. But I will say, we talked about this on the that a lot of you guys hate when I do the, I told you so's, but I will say we talked about this on the show a couple of weeks ago. In my opinion, the most overrated

Tennessee Titan coming into this training camp was Monty Rice. I didn't see a certified starter. I didn't see a guy who the Titans absolutely had to have on the field at all times. Now I'll also admit where I was right, where I was wrong. I thought that it would be the veteran Ben Neiman who would be the guy challenging for the spot. It's not even Neiman at all. It's Jack Gibbons. If we look at the depth chart again here, it's Chance Campbell who is listed higher on the depth chart than Ben Neiman. So you have Aziz Alshier and Jack Gibbons, Monty Rice behind Gibbons, Chance Campbell behind Alshier, Benty Rice behind Gibbons, Chance Campbell behind Al Shearer,

Ben Neiman behind Campbell, and Luke Gifford behind Rice, and then Otis Reese as the undrafted free agent rookie underneath all of them. So, a little bit surprised by the order of the depth chart. Now, these can change. This is the first depth chart of the preseason. None of this is set in stone.

This doesn't mean that this will stick until the beginning of the year, but still just a shocker to see Jack Gibbons. And I mean, Mike Vrabel talked about this a couple of weeks ago. He said that Jack Gibbons is a guy that has a lot of good length. He's a taller, longer player than Monte Rice, but Monte Rice is a quicker, faster guy who can kind of go sideline to sideline. But when you look at Aziz Alshire, who is go sideline to sideline. But when you look at Aziz Alshire,

who is that sideline to sideline physical linebacker, I think a guy like Jack Gibbons, who maybe is a little bit better in pass coverage, can utilize that length, match up on a tight end and man coverage. I think Gibbons is a better varied skill set to go with Aziz Alshire, who is the starting linebacker. Talked about Aziz yesterday, my everydayer as well, remember? So probably not as shocking as maybe it seems, but I don't think anybody would have told you that Monty Rice wasn't the favorite

for that linebacker spot next to Aziz coming into the year. So that's something that immediately stood out to me. Behind that, I go to the defensive line. You look at Jaden Peavy right behind Danico Autry. That's pretty interesting as well. Peavy talked about being able to go up and down the line of scrimmage. So maybe if he could play that defensive end role that Danico Autry plays and back up Jeffrey Simmons at DT and play a little bit of nose tackle.

I mean, what a great depth piece Jaden Peavy will turn into. Also, got to mention here, Arden Key starting over Rashad Weaver. When Key was signed, we talked about who would get that outside linebacker spot across from Harold Landry. And with the reports coming out of camp about Arden Key, I think Weaver has definitely improved. You hear about more lower body strength, more discipline as a player. We'll see that as it plays out in the preseason and the season.

But Arden Key has been an absolute superstar at Tennessee Titans training camp. So no shock to see the veteran player there as the starter, but definitely something I wanted to note. What I did want to note here is that Sam Okweanonu is ahead of Thomas Rush, is higher on the depth chart at outside linebacker than a guy like Caleb Murphy. The two undrafted free agents, Rush and Murphy, I think have a great chance to unseat Okweononu, but they obviously haven't done that yet.

And the last thing that I wanted to talk about, look at the safety position. Kevin Byard, Imani Hooker, behind Kevin Byard, Elijah Molden. They have Elijah Molden listed as a safety now, full time. He's not listed with the cornerbacks at all. And also want to note, Christian Fulton and Sean Murphy Bunting listed as your starters, but there is a slash in between Murphy Bunting and Roger McCreary, which means or.

Roger McCreary is the starting slot cornerback. The Titans play 55% or more of their defensive snaps in nickel. So Roger McCreary is a starter. The Titans start with five defensive backs, basically. So McCreary has the slash next to him. But back to safety, we talked about Elijah Molden cross-training at safety. And there was the conversation of,

is he still more of a corner and he's just helping a little bit out at safety? Are they trying to move him to safety full time? And I think it's pretty obvious now that if the Titans have their way and things go well, Elijah Molden will be a full time safety with the ability to be a backup slot cornerback. I still think that Elijah Molden will play that slot cornerback role on early downs like he did in his rookie season. He wasn't their full time slot. They would take Molden off play that slot cornerback role on early downs like he did in his rookie season. He wasn't their full-time slot. They would take Molden off the field on third downs or obvious passing situations and bring on

Buster Screen. So I think that instead of Buster Screen, you're going to have Roger McCreary. They're going to have McCreary in more often than they had Screen in, but they can still use Elijah Molden as that first down pseudo linebacker in their nickel defense. It'll be Fulton and Murphy bunting on the outside, fired and hooker back deep, four defensive linemen, two linebackers, and then you'll have Elijah Molden who is a slot cornerback, but again, can function as a pseudo linebacker there because of his instincts and his physicality and his toughness. So I like what we see here. I like Moulton at safety, but just some interesting things

that popped out to me on the defensive side of the ball from the Titans' first depth chart of the year. But we got to talk about the offensive side of the ball and Malik Willis still holding on to the quarterback two spot over Will Levis. But there are some other interesting things that we need to talk about as well. Before we get into all of that, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Underdog Fantasy. August is here, and you know what that means.

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Sign up with the promo code LOCKEDON. That's one word, LOCKEDON. And you're going to get your first deposit doubled up to $100. That's Underdog Fantasy. Promo code, locked on. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We just went over the defensive side of the Titans' first depth chart of the year. We're going to get to the offensive side of the ball, and we're going to do special teams at the end of the show as well.

But before we get into it, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all apps and always for free. I'm going to do a bonus episode on Friday. I'm going to do a bonus episode on Saturday. Then I'm right back with you guys on Sunday night, getting you ready for a week of joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings. I mean, it's another 13, 14-day stretch of free Tennessee Titans content

every single day. Nobody, nobody in the Tennessee Titans game is doing what I'm doing and putting in the work for you guys like I do. So make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast. Tomorrow, we're covering practice. Friday is a preview of the preseason game. Saturday, a recap of the preseason game.

I'm going to have a 10-minute instant reaction right after the game is over. I'm going to come back with a 30-minute reaction as well. So make sure that you stay locked into the Locked on Titans podcast. Looking at the offensive side of the ball though, popping up the depth chart on the screen right now for my folks on YouTube to check out. I'll be going over everything you need to know for my podcast folks as well.

Don't you worry. But obviously the number one thing that everyone will want to talk about is that Malik Willis is over Will Levis on the depth chart. And if you've been listening to the show, my everydayers will know that is what my expectation was. Malik Willis deserves to start in this first preseason game. Now is not the time to take

the quarterback two spot away from Malik Willis. He deserves to hold it right now until it's proven that Will Levis is better on the field in games. That's what really matters. So Malik Willis should stay at quarterback two for right now, and that's what I expected. So not really a shock there, but of course,

it's a big storyline. We got to mention it. But moving forward, I want to look at right tackle. Right now, you look at the Titans offensive line, Andre Dillard at left tackle, Peter Skowronski at left guard, Aaron Brewer at center, Daniel Brunskill at right guard,

and then you have Chris Hubki at left guard, Aaron Brewer at center, Daniel Brunskill at right guard, and then you have Chris Hubbard at right tackle, the free agent signing that the Titans just brought in a couple of weeks ago. Mike Vrabel has been complimentary of Chris Hubbard, saying that he's doing a good job, he's acclimating himself, he's a professional, he's studying up, all that. But I think what's more interesting than Chris Hubbard being at right tackle, because I think with Jermarco Jones being kicked off the team

with Nicholas Petit Ferrer's suspension, I think Chris Hubbard right now was the obvious choice. But behind him is what I think is most interesting in that you have Zach Johnson, who, in my opinion, has been more of a guard, more of an interior player. But Zach Johnson is listed as the backup right tackle. And I know that John Ajuku right now is hurt. He's listed as the third

string left tackle, but Jalen Duncan is listed over at left tackle. I'm just kind of surprised that it's not Duncan or Ajuku who are the guy listed at backup tackle. Now again, OJ is hurt. John Ajuku, OJ. I'm going to call him OJ from the rest of eternity. I think he's going to make the roster at this point. But OJ's hurt. So maybe if he wasn't hurt,

he would be listed at right tackle and be the backup. But maybe that's not the case either. Maybe they see Duncan and OJ as left tackles at this point. And I just think that having Chris Hubbard at right tackle and then Zach Johnson as the backup right tackle is just a very, very scary, scary place to be. I would rather see Duncan or OJ get that opportunity after Hubbard. Let's develop a rookie tackle and see if maybe one of these rookies can jump in during the season and help.

I think that makes more sense than kind of a journeyman veteran like Zach Johnson. But moving right along, Kyle Phillips. If you look at the depth chart, Kyle Phillips is listed as wide receiver five. And look, guys, some people were like, what the heck is that? Because you have Traylon Burks, you have Chris Moore, you have DeAndre Hopkinsks, you have Chris Moore, you have DeAndre Hopkins, and you have Nick Westbrook-Akene,

and then you have Kyle Phillips, and Rayce McMath is the other guy. But here's one thing that I want to point out to you. The Titans only have two wide receiver spots listed on their depth chart. Their base formation, in their opinion, is two tight ends and two wide receivers. I talk about this when I talk about Kyle Phillips, how he's a one down player in the Titans offense. The Titans do not like to run a ton of three wide receiver sets. They like to have their two tight ends.

Not only that, but when we talked about the draft and we talked about all these different players like a Josh Downs and all of the small, there was a lot of small wide receivers in this year's class. And I said, I couldn't see the Titans taking Jackson Smith and Jigba at number 11 because I think he's a slot-only player, and the Titans only have a slot receiver out there on third downs most of the time, unless it's a second and long. And maybe that changes a little bit with Tim Kelly,

but this is a Mike Vrabel football team. They're not going to go away. And they have Derrick Henry still. They're not going to go away entirely from their love of tight ends and their use of tight ends. So, keep that in mind. That Kyle Phillips is the starting slot wide receiver. But if the Titans were in their base formation

with two wide receivers out on the field, it's never going to be Kyle Phillips. The Titans are never putting Kyle Phillips out there when there's only two wide receivers on the field. They're not. It just doesn't make sense. Is Kyle Phillips at 5'11", 197 pounds, going to go dig out of safety on an outside zone to Derrick Henry?

Do you want him doing that? No. I would much rather have Nick Westbrook-Akene doing that. I would much rather have Rayce McMath doing No. I would much rather have Nick Westbrook-Akeney doing that. I would much rather have Rayce McMath doing that. I would much rather have Chris Moore doing that. So there's no need to freak out. Kyle Phillips is going to be exactly what you guys think he's going to be. And him being fifth on the depth chart, there's no slot wide receiver on the Titans depth chart. So of course, Kyle Phillips is going to be listed behind NWI and Chris Moore, guys who would play in a two wide receiver set in a base formation

more than Kyle Phillips would. So, I don't think that that's that big of a deal either. The last thing that I wanted to mention here, and I'm going to bring the depth chart up on the screen one more time. Tight end. So, I have been a big proponent of Kevin Rader. I think that Rader offers positional versatility. He can be a blocking tight end.

He can also play at fullback, which Mike Vrabel talked about this last week, that now, rather than having a fullback and using a roster spot on that, like they did with Corey Blossom game and then Torrey Carter after that, now we'd rather just have a fourth tight end who can do tight end stuff if you need him, but also play a couple of snaps at fullback. At practice on Tuesday,

there was a play that there was a video of where Chicka Conquo was the fullback, and they tossed the ball out to Derrick Henry, and Conquo was his lead blocker out of the fullback position. So, there are different ways to do that. But the reason I bring that up is Kevin Rader isn't listed as one of the top four tight ends.

You have Wesco at one tight end spot. You have Chig Okonkwo at the other tight end spot. No surprises there. Josh Wiley is behind Chig Okonkwo. But behind Trevon Wesco is Alize Mack, the journeyman who's been in the NFL since 2019, been on different practice squads, different rosters, this and that, but Alize Mack has been impressing in training camp. He's been making catches over the middle of the field on seam

routes. He's been taking contact. He's been blocking. He's been physical, so the fact that Alize Mack is over Kevin Rader already when Rader has history with the team and Alize Mack was added this offseason, that's pretty big for Mack. Mack was banged up during practice this week. Hopefully that won't impact him and he can get those valuable preseason reps.

But I thought that was very interesting that Mack has already overtaken Rader. He's over Rig. He's over Thomas Odukoye, which isn't really a big surprise to me. I don't think Thomas Odukoye is an NFL player. But Alize Mack, good stuff. Already ahead of Raider. And I think that's something to monitor going forward.

But with that being said, we are going to dive into the special teams. And I know it's just special teams. But I think there's some interesting stuff going on at kickoff returner that we need to talk about. So we're going to dive into the special teams. And I know it's just special teams. But I think there's some interesting stuff going on at kickoff returner that we need to talk about. So we're going to dive into that in just a moment. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We're breaking down the first depth chart of the season for the Titans. Will all of this stay the same? Probably not, but still fun to dive into what it looks like

right now before the Titans take on the Bears this Saturday. Speaking of taking on the Bears this Saturday, again, I'm going to have a game preview for you guys. We're going to cover practice tomorrow, which is Thursday. On Thursday night, I'll be covering practice. That'll be your Friday morning podcast for my commuters. Got something special for you guys that will be up on your way home on Friday night if you're a podcast person. If not, it'll be up on Friday night for YouTube if you're on the YouTube crowd. We're going to have a game preview for

the preseason game, and then I'll be going live after the game on Saturday, breaking down everything that we need to know, everything that happened, so you guys won't miss any of that. Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all apps. Always for free to your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast.

But let's look at the special teams depth chart here to kind of round things off. We got Caleb Shudick ahead of Trey Wolf. And let me tell you, I am a proud member of the Wolf Pack. Let me hear it. Trey Wolf is who I think wins this kicker position. One, he's a much bigger person. He has a much stronger

leg, and I think he's more clutch. So, we've been talking about, my everydayers will know that we have been talking about two-minute drills all week long. It was day one, Malik Willis getting exposed. That was a weird comment.

Day two, Malik Willis bounces back, but they've been doing two-minute drills unscripted with about a minute 10 on the clock, starting at the 25-yard line, got to go get a field goal, blah, blah, blah. Well, those drives on purpose are meant to end in a field goal because the Titans want to test their kickers. Caleb Shudick on day one went nine for nine

and then missed both the field goal attempts that he had in the two-minute drills. So he went nine for nine in special teams period, and then when they were going through an actual simulation, he missed both his kicks. I think it was 47 yards and 48 yards, missed both. Well, Trey Wolfe comes in. Wolfe hits both his kicks. I think it was 47 yards and 48 yards. Missed both. Well, Trey Wolf comes in. Wolf hits both of them.

The one for Malik Willis at 33 yards, and then the one for Will Levis at 47 yards. By the way, I did get that incorrect on yesterday's show. I said that Will Levis' group didn't go down and get a field goal and that Malik Willis' was the only one. I read my notes wrong. That's on me. I corrected it in the comments,

but wanted to say something as well now that it's on my mind. But Trey Wolf came down and made those kicks. So, bigger guy, stronger leg, more clutch. I, once again, am a proud

member of the Wolf Pack. Oh! But with that being said, I want to look at some other stuff here that popped out to me. And number one is at kickoff returner. So we have Stonehouse at punter. Stonehouse is the holder. Kyle Phillips is the punt returner. No shock there. Mason Kinsey behind him. Tajay Spears behind them. But at kickoff returner,

Morgan Cox at long snapper, of course. Kickoff returner, they have Julius Chestnut., of course. Kickoff returner. They have Julius Chestnut. And then they have Ahsan Haskins behind him. And then Tajay Spears behind him. I'm going to say this. I think this is nonsense. I think this is nonsense. So, to me, what's happening here is

the Titans don't want their actual kickoff returners to take a bunch of kicks in the preseason and get hit and get beat up and blah, blah, blah. So I think that Julius Chestnut is actually like their third or emergency kickoff return option when the actual season arrives and the Titans just want to get him reps in the preseason so, you know, their other guys aren't taking a beating. That's why I don't think that Kyle Phillips will return a punt during the game. I think it'll be Mason Kinsey right away.

They're not going to let Phillips take those hits right now. Maybe in the last preseason game because they need to rep it in live coverage. Probably, but I don't see it here. So I think that Haskins or Spears would actually be your kickoff returner if this was the season, and Chestnut would actually be like your third or fourth returner, maybe even a guy on the practice squad that you would call up if you needed him. But I think for the purposes of keeping everybody healthy, not taking those big hits on special teams, that's why Chestnut is listed as the

starter at kickoff return. If this was week one, I teams. That's why Chestnut is listed as the starter at kickoff return. If this was week one, I certainly don't think that Chestnut would get that start. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he proves me wrong. He has some great returns. That remains to be seen. Either way, I'm going to be here to break it all down with you guys. Again, another reminder,

tomorrow, we're going to be breaking down everything that happens at Thursday's practice. Friday night, going to have a game preview for you guys for the preseason game. Saturday night after the game, going to be here to break it down. That's going to do it for me today. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this is Locked on Titan.