Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Derrick Henry is DIFFERENT, Treylon Burks Underrated & Arden Key Breakout

Episode Date: August 2, 2023

The Tennessee Titans are treating Derrick Henry a little different in camp this year and Tyler thinks that is an excellent thing! Next, the hype around DeAndre Hopkins has made people lose sight of Treylon Burks! Finally, Tyler touches on some under the radar players at camp like Arden Key, Ryan Tannehill and the Kickers.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Underdog FantasyThis episode is sponsored by Underdog Fantasy! Sign up HERE with the promo code LOCKEDON to get your first deposit DOUBLED up to $100.Must be 18+ (19+ in Alabama and Nebraska, 21+ in Massachusetts and Arizona) and present in a state where Underdog Fantasy operates. Terms apply. Concerned with your play? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit www dot ncpgambling.org; In Arizona call 1-800-NEXT-STEP; in New York, Call 1-877-8-HOPENY; in Tennessee, call 1-800-889-9789eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There have been some changes this year to how the Titans handled Derrick Henry during training camp. So while Derrick Henry may be the same animal, he's preparing to be an entirely different beast. I'm going to dive into that on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. 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. We're going to talk about some under-the-radar training camp stories on today's show. Before we get into all of them, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all apps all year round and always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, where it's your team every single day.

I'm in the middle of going through 13 straight days of podcasts for you guys. So I hope that you guys are enjoying the content. Now, we've been breaking down Titans practice for quite some time. The Titans didn't practice on Wednesday, but I'm going to be back breaking down practice for you guys tomorrow on Thursday when the Titans have another training camp practice. So we're going to be talking about that tomorrow and then into the weekend. Friday, the Titans have a practice as well.

So I'll have a bonus episode for you guys then. So again, make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed for free daily Tennessee Titans content all year round here on the Locked On Titans podcast. But we got a lot to talk about on today's show because I've been seeing your guys' comments. All we're talking about is the backup quarterbacks. Why don't we talk about the starters more? All of that. Well, it's a perfect time for our training camp update on Derrick Henry. Not only because of

the date, but look what came in the mail for your boy today. The Derrick Henry Oilers throwback. I'm now an owner. And as a lot of you guys know, my everydayers out there, I'm not a big Jersey guy. I think being a Titans fan for 25 years now has led me to not be a very big Jersey guy.

As a guy who had a Chris Brown jersey, number 29, back in the day, a Vince Young jersey, back in the day of inch young Jersey back in the day. And we could go on and on, but I've had my fair share of Jersey letdown. So not a big Jersey guy, but how could you pass up the opportunity to get these sick jerseys already have a Bayard figure. Why not go with the other pillar of the Tennessee Titans team during this

run that they're on. But with that being said, I'm just overly excited about the Jersey as I'm sure a lot of you guys who ordered yours are as well. Let me know if you guys ordered any jerseys and what player that you went for with the new throwbacks. But as I said at the beginning of the show, Derrick Henry's training regimen has been a little bit different this year. So my recollection of the past two seasons during training camp and definitely during the offseason, we haven't seen a lot of Derrick Henry. The Titans had the tendency to keep him out of some of the more intense parts of practice rather than going through full team. I remember last year, the

Titans were giving carries to Dontrell Hilliard and Julius Chestnut and Son Haskins, and they weren't really having Derrick Henry do a ton of teamwork because they don't want Derek Henry getting more wear and tear on his tires. He obviously gets a lot of carries during the season, all of that. But this year has been different. This year has been different for Derek Henry. He's been out there. He hasn't been kind of pushed away and kept in bubble wrap as much. You know, I'm not saying that the Titans are out there driving Derek Henry into the ground or anything, but with it being a new offense and with there being new concepts, Derrick Henry has to go out there and practice those. I think it's setting him

up. I'm not saying that protecting him in the past few seasons led to issues. I mean, he got hurt in 2021 when he was protected, but I think that Derrick Henry has a ramp-up period. Derrick Henry kind of starts the season a little bit slower than maybe you would expect. And then as we get forward, the offensive line gets traction, the weather gets cooler, all that.

Derrick Henry really comes on. There's a reason we call it D-Hember and not D-September, however that would go. But I think that the Titans are taking a little bit of a different approach. Most of it has to do with the offense. The Titans' offense is changing. They are multiplying. That's not the correct word, but they are diversifying the run game.

For the last few years, since Matt LaFleur showed up in 2018, the Titans have been running a zone-based scheme, that Shanahan, Sean McVay-style offensive run game. All right? They got that from Matt LaFleur. They kept it with Arthur Smith. They kept that going a little bit with Todd Downing. They knew that was their bread and butter.

But over the last few years, the Titans have added in more gap runs, more power runs. Think about pullers and down blocks and stuff that the Titans don't really do right now in their zone concepts. It's not zone blocking. Well, Mike Vrabel is all about being diverse, all about having that multiplicity.

And that requires the Titans to diversify their run game. And I think with the offense changing as a whole and incorporating different styles of runs and different run plays, Derrick Henry had to get out there more than he has in the past few years to practice those and get comfortable. And how do I read this hole? And whose butt am I going off of? And who should be crossing in front of me before I really hit the brakes and hit the gas?

And all of those things are so, so important to a running back's feel, their vision, their momentum, really. So I think it's really smart for Derrick Henry to get ramped up a little bit earlier this year and maybe work a little bit harder in the early stages of training camp, not only to develop that knowledge and that kind of feel of how these new plays and these new run calls are going to work,

but also I think it's going to get him going and he's going to be ramped up from the start. It's not going to be a, oh, I didn't do a lot in training camp. I didn't get any carries in the preseason. Now it might take me a couple of weeks to get the peak. The Titans can't afford that. They need to come out of the gate swinging this year and kind of erase the negativity from the seven game losing streak from last season. So to me, I love this new approach with Derrick Henry. I don't think it's too insanely different than what we've seen

from the Titans the past few years, but with the new offense, with the new run schemes, all of that, I think it is important for Derrick Henry to get a little bit more work this year in training camp and maybe even that last preseason game than he's gotten before. Because the Titans need to stop worrying about the future with Derrick Henry, in my opinion. Derrick Henry's on the last year of his contract. Who knows if he's going to be around after this year. The Titans need to get the best out of Derek Henry right away from the jump, not worry about protecting them, the longevity. They got to get Derek Henry out there and have him playing his best football. So I like this approach of having the training wheels off

a little bit more for Derek Henry in training camp. So Henry's look good. I don't know if you guys have seen some of the videos that the team has put out, the Titan social media group, but Henry is running good. He looks at top speed right away, and I think getting that workload increase earlier this year is helping contribute to that speed, man. He caught a pass out of the backfield and went down the sideline like a freaking freight train, baby.

I can't wait to watch from Derrick Henry this season. So I love what the Titans are doing. I love how there's just a little bit of difference in how they're using him this year at camp. Very excited to see what Derrick Henry will do during the season. But we got to talk about another Tennessee Titans starter who hasn't gotten enough conversation, and it's Traylon Burks.

We're also going to talk some Arden Key. We're going to talk about the kicker battle at the end of the show as well. Before we get into all of that, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. These days, every new potential hire feels like a high-stakes wager for your small business. You want to be 100% certain that you have access to the best qualified candidates available. And that's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs.

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to apply. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about Derrick Henry and a little bit of a change to his training camp routine and what that can mean for the season going forward. But I also want to talk about Traylon Burks just, quite frankly, being underrated at this point. We're also going to talk about Arden Key, the kicker battle at the end of the show. Before we get into all that, I do want to thank you guys again 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, always for free. Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, where it's your team every day. Throw a thumbs up on the video right now if you guys are watching. I don't ask for any money.

All I ask for in return is the press of a button. You throwing a thumbs up on the video really helps the show, really helps the channel, really helps me out, and I definitely do appreciate it. Shout out to my everydayers out there as well. Tomorrow, the Titans practice again, so I'm going to be breaking that down. Make sure that you tune in tomorrow night as well.

But before we actually get into Titans news, we have Titans news. The Titans have made a roster change, okay? They have signed offensive lineman James Murray. Murray was drafted or undrafted in 2018 out of Holy Cross, played two games, only played special teams for the Chiefs in that 2018 season. He's been with the Jets. He's been with the Jets. He's been with the Ravens. He was with the Jaguars practice squad last year.

He was even with the Titans practice squad in 2021. So it's somebody the Titans organization has a little bit of familiarity with there. But he's a guy who's been a journeyman on practice squads throughout his entire career. Again, came into the league in 2018, has only played in two NFL games, and that was in 2018. 12 special team snaps is the most he's ever had on an actual NFL field. So, to me, this is

just a depth signing because on Tuesday, Corey Levin, the Titans' backup center, was not at practice. And you don't know if it's an injury or whatever, but if Corey Levin is injured, this could be a signing to add another body at the center position. I'm not saying that Murray would jump into Corey Levin's spot. That would be Xavier Newman Johnson, in my opinion,

but they need another guy to play third team center. So you bring in a guy like James Murray, see what he can do, have some familiarity with the organization, should be an easy fit. But to make room for James Murray, the Titans had to cut somebody. And it came at the wide receiver position, where I'm sure the Titans are feeling better about their group right now and don't need as many bodies as they have. But the Titans cut undrafted free agent, rookie wide receiver, Jacob Copeland out of Maryland. During the summer workouts, OTAs and stuff, Copeland looked pretty solid.

And he had great speed. But obviously, that hasn't translated to training camp. And when you have guys like Reggie Roberson, Treshawn Harrison standing out, you know, it's probably going to be difficult for a guy like Jacob Copeland to break through anyway. Plus, the Titans have Hopkins, Burks, Phillips, Moore, NWI. That's five right there. There's maybe only one other spot

available. And all of those guys at the end of the depth chart are fighting for it. It makes sense that the Titans maybe start cutting the numbers down at wide receiver and looking for some help at other positions. So wanted to dive into that with you guys, make sure we hit that news. It literally just happened right before I started recording.

So wanted to make sure I get that to you. But at the end of the day, I don't think James Murray is a guy who's even going to have a shot to make the roster. I don't think he's a difference maker in any way. I don't think losing Copeland is that big a deal. So my general feelings on those two roster moves are meh. But anyway, moving right along, we got to talk about Traylon Burks. All right.

And I saw some things come out that kind of brought this to my mind. And I wrote about it for Sports Illustrated on Wednesday. But, well, I aggregated an article from the 33rd team that was about Traylon Burks. We'll get into all of that. Everybody, everybody, you, you right now listening to this, everybody was hype for Traylon Burks. Hype for Traylon Burks coming in to the month of July. Burks this, Burks that.

We talked about Burks a ton. He looks incredible. He's working in the facility. He's going to blow up. He's their breakout candidate. He's the... Everybody talking about Traylon Burks. Then DeAndre Hopkins was signed.

And I mean, I get it. Five-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro, one of the best wide receivers of the last decade. I get it. It's understandable that DeAndre Hopkins, not only is DeAndre Hopkins one of the best players that has played in the last 15 years, but you add him to the Titans that are historically a lowly covered team from a national media perspective, and now the Titans finally have some pop. Now you can actually talk about the Titans in the national media because they got DeAndre Hopkins, and that's fun to talk about.

So look, it is understandable that Hopkins has kind of stolen the spotlight away from Traylon Burks. Now I do want to say, at the end of the day, who cares about the preseason spotlight and all that if Burks comes out and performs? But just wanted to give us a moment to give some of that shine back to Traylon Burks because my God, he looks incredible. He is clearly in better shape. He looks leaner. He looks faster. He looks more confident. And the one thing that I really want to point out

is that Burks came back to the facility in February and said, I'm getting to work. I'm learning this offense in and out. I'm going to know everything that I need to know at every position. We think about, you know, he plays wide receiver and needs to know his plays. There are different positions at wide receiver. When you play wide receiver, it would be like knowing what the center of the guard and the tackle does to know what the X does, the F does, and the Z does. Like, knowing all three of those jobs for every play,

that's a tough thing to do, especially when you're a rookie. So, now, Burks has been in the facility, clear, I know this is an all-season cliche, but,

you got, I mean, Traylon Burks was puffing on his inhaler last year and getting pulled out of practice. He is clearly in the best shape of his life this year, and that's not just a trope for the all season. So everybody, I saw a thing that was like second year breakout wide receivers, and it had like John Mechie on there. And shout out to Mechie, cancer survivor, don't mean to hate

on him, but how in the world could you have a list of breakout second year wide receivers and have John Mechie on it and not Traylon Burks? What are we doing? What are we doing? What are we doing? So, I just have to take a moment here, talk about Burks. And I want to say this. And we're going to talk some statistical predictions as we get closer to the season, like the two-week gap between the end of the preseason and the first game.

We're going to get into some predictions. I'm going to reaffirm my season record prediction. We're going to talk stats, how many yards, catches, all that. I think there is a really good shot that Traylon Burks has more yards than DeAndre Hopkins this year. Let me know down below in the comments.

Am I crazy? Yards. I think Hopkins has more catches. Hopkins is going to have more catches, but Burks is going to have more yards. I think both of these guys can go over 1,000 yards. I just think that people aren't giving Burks his due credit. And what really drove this home for me, what really, really made me believe that Burks is going to really explode,

like a true breakout, Burks was coaching up another wide receiver at practice on Tuesday. Burks said in a press conference earlier this offseason that he used to ask other guys, like, what are we doing on this play last year? Now, Burks didn't come right out and say it, but if you listen to what he had to say,

he was basically saying, yeah, I used to ask for help on plays. And now he is literally out there coaching other wide receivers on what to do, how to align, how to beat press coverage. I mean, I just think that with all the hype for Hopkins, which is deserved,

we've lost some sight of how incredible Traylon Burks is about to be. So just wanted to get everybody more hyped, restore that hype for Traylon Burks, folks, because we're in store for a really nice season from the second-year player. So wanted to talk about Henry, wanted to talk about Burks. Now we're going to talk about the kickers. I'm going to mention Arden Key, Ryan Tannehill, some other starters as well. Can't wait to dive into that.

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and is the best place for best ball. Again, promo code LOCKEDON. Underdog Fantasy. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about Derrick Henry. We talked about Traylon Burks. Get hype again, folks. This guy is about to go nuts. But I want to hit on some other guys that have gone under the radar a little bit

with all the Will Levis and Malik Willis talk and DeAndre Hopkins and all that. I want to go over just some other guys who deserve some love here. Number one, we got to talk about Arden Key. Okay? Arden Key has the potential to be what all of y'all thought Bud Dupree was and for the right price. Now, shout out to Bud Dupree,

my everydayers know, I was not a big Bud Dupree guy. Didn't like the signing when it happened. Little confirmation bias, can't lie. Once things started breaking down, I was like, duh, told you so. But either way, never been a big Bud Dupree guy but it's not because

I think Bud Dupree is a bad player it's because Bud Dupree was insanely overpaid John Robinson what were you doing Matthew Judon Hassan Redick Trey Hendrickson all guys who I wanted more than Bud Dupree go back and check the tapes folks

I ain't lying to you it ain't hindsight in 2020 I said this in Hendrickson, all guys who I wanted more than Bud Dupree, go back and check the tapes, folks. I ain't lying to you. It ain't hindsight in 2020. I said this in 2021 too. I wanted Hassan Reddick. That was my number one edge rusher that I wanted. Trey Hendrickson was number two. But Bud Dupree is a good player when paid properly. If he's not overpaid, he's a fine player.

And I think that Arden Key can be what Bud Dupree was for significantly less. Albert Breer, my coworker at Sports Illustrated, visited Titans training camp. And one of the big takeaways there was the Titans feel like they got a real bargain with Arden Key. He has the potential to be a huge player for the defense and one of the best edge rushers in the NFL. Let me remind you that last year in December, Arden Key had the second most pressures of any player in the NFL behind only Nick Bosa. He said at his press conference on Tuesday that he didn't always take his preparation seriously when he was younger.

He tried to get by on pure talent. He didn't necessarily take care of his body. He didn't necessarily get ready to play. He says he knows what to do now, and that's changed. And if any of you guys have ever played sports out there, you grew up with a knucklehead who had a ton of talent. This dude would be the best player in our whole city if he could just get his head on straight.

Well, Arden Key was obviously talented enough to not have his head on straight all the time and still make it to the NFL, but there is nothing more dangerous than the ultra-talented player who figures it out. And if Arden Key has figured it out, and the Titans, we know the Titans put their defensive linemen

in a great position anyway, and now he's in the Titans system with Mike Vrabel coaching him, I just think Arden Key is about to go nuts. That was my favorite free agent signing when it happened. Out of all the free agent signings, my favorite one was Arden Key. And, whoo, looks like that will be the case going forward as well. I also want to mention Ryan Tannehill here for just a moment. I mean, we've talked mostly about the other quarterbacks throughout the time,

and that's more interesting, in my opinion, because we know Tannehill is going to be the starter. We don't know exactly who's going to be that backup quarterback, although every Titans beat reporter is starting to kind of lean into the, yeah, I think Will Levis will be quarterback too. Because they're seeing it. They're seeing it. It's just obvious.

Will Levis. Anyways, today's not the day for that. But I do just want to say Tannehill has been accurate. He's been in command. Jim Wyatt has him as 46 for 62 on training camp. Tannehill is spending extra time when they're doing special teams work. Tannehill is going over there with his receivers. He's working on what depth of route,

what angle they need to come out, working on all the details with his wide receivers. Tannehill was literally out there running routes to try to show the wide receivers exactly what he wants. He is so committed to making sure that everyone's on the same page this year. So love to see that from the Titans captain, from the Titans leader and Ryan Tannehill. The last thing that I want to mention here is the kicker battle.

Well, let me just at least put in, there's so much to go over. It's hard. And practice is tomorrow. Going to have to talk about that. Treshawn Harrison and Reggie Roberson. I mean, Roberson has caught like four touchdown passes in the last two practices. He's got a ton of speed. He's absolutely

burning people down the field. Wide open on a couple of plays. So Reggie Roberson, shout out to you. Treshawn Harrison, another young wide receiver. Both getting it done right now. And that might have to do with releasing Jacob Copeland. They're like, man, we know which of another young wide receiver, both getting it done right now. And that might have to do with releasing Jacob Copeland. They're like, man, we know which of these young wide receivers

deserve to stay on and which don't. So we're just going to go ahead and do it. The last thing that I want to mention here, though, is the kickers. Caleb Shudick, Trey Wolfe. Wolfe is 26 for 28 so far. Shudick is 18 for 20. All right. Everybody out there, give me a how.

It's Wolf season. I'm sorry, but I thought that they would stick with Shudick. I'm wrong. I think that Wolf is better. Wolf has a much stronger leg. Wolf is a way bigger dude. Wolf is a big guy. He's like six foot two.

So I think, personally, that Trey Wolf is leading the competition. He's gotten more kicks. I talked about passing attempts yesterday and what that means. They're giving Wolf more kicks.

He's made longer kicks. He's got a bigger leg. Welcome to the Wolfpack, baby. I wanted to give you guys that last update there on the kicker. Shurik is 18 for 20, like I said. But again, I think Wolf is the guy. Wolfman.

All right. Let's ride with that. Wolfpack, baby. Let's go. That's going to do it for me today, though, folks. Excited to be back with you guys tomorrow to dive back into some Tennessee Titans training camp practice. We're getting closer and closer to a real game.

There's a real football game on tonight, but that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this is Locked on Titans.