Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Derrick Henry, Kevin Byard are FIREWORKS Plus Breakout Sophomores

Episode Date: July 3, 2023

It is Independence Day and it is a perfect time to celebrate some Tennessee Titans who create fireworks of their own on the football field! First, Derrick Henry makes magic every Sunday, but where is he at in the Hall of Fame chase?? Also, Kevin Byard is possibly one of the most underrated Titans of all time and certainly the best defensive back. Finally, Treylon Burks and Chig Okonkwo should be creating fireworks for the Titans in 2023!!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!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

It's Independence Day and tons of people around America are going to be celebrating with fireworks. Well, let's take a minute to celebrate some of the players that create fireworks for the Tennessee Titans every Sunday 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.

Number one, happy 4th of July for all of my folks who celebrate here in America. If you're watching overseas, it's Independence Day for America. So I'm going to take the opportunity to have some fun on today's show and talk about some players who create fireworks for the Tennessee Titans. Before we get into it, do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find qualified candidates you want to talk to faster. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin. slash LockedOnNFL

to post your job for free terms and conditions apply. Titans fans, it's a holiday here. So like I said, we are having a little bit of fun. I want to talk about Derrick Henry and why he is on the way to being a certified Hall of Famer and one of the best running backs of all time. We're going to talk a little bit about Kevin Byard as well. And at the end of the show, I'm going to talk about some Titans

who should be creating fireworks this season. Before we dive into all of it, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen 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 where it's your team every day. Throw a thumbs up on the video right now if you're watching on YouTube. Help support the channel. Show is always free. All I ask for in return is the press of a button and hit that notification bell as well so you know when all of the content goes live. Shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday

every single week. Do want to let my everydayers know, I am not going to have an episode out tomorrow, which when I'm recording right now will be Tuesday night on YouTube, Wednesday morning for the podcast crowd that listens to the pod on their way to work, things like that. There won't be a show on Wednesday morning, the podcast crowd that listens to the pod on their way to work, things like that. There won't be a show on Wednesday morning, Tuesday night,

but I'll be back on Wednesday night with a show. You'll have it for you Thursday morning. So going to enjoy the holiday a little bit myself. But talking about Derrick Henry here. So at this point in time in his career, Derrick Henry has 8,335 rushing yards. That's to go along with 1,244 receiving yards, 81 total touchdowns. Wait, that doesn't even count the touchdowns that Derrick Henry has thrown. So he does it all and he can pass a little bit of a Friday Night Lights Easter

egg for you guys who are also big enjoyers of that movie. But obviously Derek Henry has been a joy to watch throughout his, I mean, it took a couple of years for him to really get up to the level that we know him at now, about halfway through 2018. Shout out to Eddie George for making that phone call, letting Derek Henry know the situation that he was in unleashed an all time

beast. call letting Derrick Henry know the situation that he was in unleashed an all-time beast and some of the greatest highlights that not only I've seen in football that anyone has ever seen in football Derrick Henry has produced I mean multiple long touchdowns dominating the Texans dominating the Jags just critical moments Derrick Henry has made some of the biggest plays that we've ever witnessed in Tennessee Titans history. And more than anything else, just want to appreciate that. I mean, a 2,000-yard season, there's been eight of those.

Luckily, the Titans have a couple of them. But Derrick Henry in 2020 was absolutely phenomenal. To come back from the foot injury in 2021, he almost had 1,000 yards in half a season. To come back from the foot injury last year with the poor offensive line and still put up over 1500 yards and career highs and catches career highs in receiving yards. I mean, if you took what Derrick Henry did per game last year, I mean, it was awesome. It was awesome to see Derrick Henry evolve into a pass catcher last year.

No one's ever going to mistake him for Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffrey, but it's obvious that he focused on that part of his game, and he got a ton better. He got a lot better, and the Titans gave him more opportunities because of it. Three-time Pro Bowler, one-time All-Pro, Offensive Player of the Year. Derrick Henry is absolutely fantastic. One thing that I do want to talk about, it's kind of his all-time ranking here. Shout out to Easton Freeze.

I saw him put out a stat that he got from NFL Stats or whatever, but he tweeted it out. Derrick Henry, if he has over 1,500 rushing yards this year, will become only the fifth player all time to have four seasons of 1,500 rushing yards or more. The only players that have done that, Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, Edrin James, and Walter Payton. So, would be absolutely incredible.

You look at Derrick Henry all time in rushing yards, he's in the 40s, so he's not quite as far up as you would want. Again, 8,335 yards. But if Derrick Henry were to have 1,500 yards again, which I think that he will, quite as far up as you would want. Again, 8,335 yards. But if Derrick Henry were to have 1,500 yards again, which I think that he will, he'd rocket all the way up to 32nd all time. So he'd jump nearly 20 spots.

Even if Derrick Henry takes a step back the year after that, let's say he gets 1,200 yards the year after. If Derrick Henry puts up 2,700 yards in the next two seasons, he's going to be at 11,000 career rushing yards. That would get him in the top 23 of all time. And at that point, he is a certified lock for the Hall of Fame. If he gets to 12,000, if he gets to 12,000 rushing yards, we are talking about the top 15.

We are talking about one of the best running backs to ever live. And if you consider how the running back position has been diminished, you consider the 2,000 yard season, you consider how Henry completely drove the Titans offense for a few years during the second-best stretch of Tennessee Titans football

in the history of the team since they moved to Tennessee. Derrick Henry's a top-ten running back of all time. Now, some of you guys will say that he is already. Some of you guys will say he's a Hall of Famer now. I'm telling you, just based on his standing all time, it depends on how you want to look at it. Some players thrive off longevity, like a Frank Gore or Emmitt Smith.

Some players have elite, elite, the most elite of peaks ever, like a Barry Sanders, a Walter Payton, a Jim Brown, guys like that with incredible peaks, even though they didn't have insane longevity. Derrick Henry has the potential to have a little bit of a mixture of both with an incredibly, incredibly high peak, the best running back in the NFL for multiple years during his peak, but also a little bit of longevity, more longevity maybe than we saw from a guy like Eddie George. I mean, where Henry's at right now, he's knocking on the

door of Hall of Fame. Give him another 1,500-yard season this year, and I think he's pretty much in. Give him another 12 or 1,000-yard season after, and he's a certified lock. So, may not be first ballot, but Derrick Henry is well on his way to

becoming a Hall of Famer, and we're all just lucky that we get to watch him, because without Derrick Henry over the last few years, it could have been rough. It could have been rough out there, but I want to talk about a Titan who creates fireworks on the defensive side of the ball and is the best defensive back in Tennessee Titans history, Kevin Byard. We're going to talk about that in just a second. Before we get into it, 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 can feel 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. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the right people for your team faster and for free. Super easy to create a free job post

on LinkedIn Jobs. You also get simple tools like screening questions that make it easy to focus on the candidates with just the right skills and experience so you can quickly prioritize who you'd like to interview and then hire. It's why small businesses rank LinkedIn Jobs number one in delivering quality hires versus leading competitors. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to faster.

Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions do apply. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Again, just having some fun today. It's a holiday episode here for July 4th, talking about some Tennessee Titans who create fireworks, something I did last year during the holiday too. It's a fun conversation to have just to remind ourselves

of the fantastic players that we've got to watch over the last few seasons. Of course, that included Derrick Henry. But now I want to talk about my favorite Tennessee Titan of all time, and it's Kevin Byard. I think it's pretty obvious that he's the best defensive back in Tennessee Titans history.

I mean, maybe there are a few cornerbacks that can get into that race, but safety, it's not really even close. I mean, Michael Griffin, Chris Hope, Blaine Bishop. I mean, it's pretty obvious to me that Kevin Byard is the best safety in Tennessee Titans history and I think best overall defensive back in Titans history as well. I want to talk about Kevin Byard a little bit, but before I get into it, I want to thank

you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all apps, always for free. Get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day. But Bayard, and I'm telling you, I made the argument, and I get that the fireworks aren't the same level. Derrick Henry is the biggest fireworks you see in the sky every Sunday. Kevin Bayard may not be that big, but you look at the impact that Byard has had on the Titans as a team on the defense.

And it is obvious that while it's not, like I said, it's not as flamboyant as what Derrick Henry does. Kevin Byard does some incredible, incredible, incredible things on the defensive side of the ball that bring as much value to the Titans as Henry does on offense. And I mean, Byard is a two-time Pro Bowler, two-time first-team All-Pro safety. All-Pro is really what matters. He has played in 114 games out of a possible 114 games.

Since Kevin Byard showed up, despite historic seasons of injuries, Kevin Byard has been on the field every single game. Despite the Titans tanking the game against the Cowboys last year on Thursday night football at the end of the season. Who was out there? Kevin Byard. Who got two inter Who was out there? Kevin Byard.

Who got two interceptions in that game? Kevin Byard. When the Titans quit, Kevin Byard still won't quit. When the odds are stacked against him, Kevin Byard plays his best. They asked this guy to take a pay cut. Unbelievable.

I mean, he's had two seasons of over 100 tackles. He's had five seasons of four interceptions or more. One of those at eight interception season where he led the NFL. Two touchdowns in his career on defense. He threw for a touchdown. And he can pass. I mean, what more do you want? The guy covers.

He can cover in man. He's better in zone, but he can cover in man. He can cover zone. He's physical. Going over 100 tackles twice as a safety. Blitzing into the backfield, getting quarterback hits. He's a leader. I mean, he is durable.

He plays the right way. He practices the right way. I mean, all we heard during the time when Kevin Byard was gone from OTAs is how incredible his leadership is and what he means to the locker room. And then once he came back, all we heard about was the impact he had on the defense, the vibes, the younger players, everybody got hype. Kevin Byard had a big play over the middle, knocked the ball away from Chica Conquo and the whole entire defensive personnel went nuts.

That's a leader right there. That's a leader. When he balls, you ball. And you remember back to obviously the political climate that we were in during 2020. Kevin Byard was the one making the statements for the Titans as a team. He is

the leader of the team. He's a playmaker. The number one thing you can do on defense is get sacks or create turnovers. Kevin Byard is a turnover maker. Those are fireworks. That's what fireworks are on the defensive side of the ball.

Am I right? It's creating turnovers, creating big plays, getting sacks. Now, Kevin Byard's obviously a defensive back. He's not going to rack up a million sacks, but five seasons of four interceptions or more, 27 career interceptions, I mean, Kevin Byard is incredible, and I just, I think because he's on defense, because he's a safety, you know, safety isn't the flashiest position on defense. It's not like edge rusher, cornerback, or even middle linebacker, and things like that where people notice you a lot with the plays that you make.

But it's crazy. The Tennessee Titans don't get a lot of national respect. That's just the truth. Even the Titans' best players usually aren't recognized for how great they are. I feel like Kevin Byard is. Kevin Byard is mentioned by safeties around the NFL. It's like, oh yeah, Kevin Byard is the guy. So, I know that most people are going to take Derrick Henry and I get it.

But for me, Kevin Byard is the best player of this Titans era. He's been there all along. He makes all the plays. And he's just not appreciated enough, even if he's appreciated. We should be appreciating Kevin Byard even that much more. But with that said, I want to talk about some guys who should be making fireworks for the Titans in this upcoming season. We got a little bit of a glimpse of it, but we need to see a little bit more. And that's Chigga Conquo and Traylon Burke. So we're going to get into that in just upcoming season. We got a little bit of a glimpse of it, but we need to see a little bit more,

and that's Chigga Conquo and Traylon Burke. So we're going to get into that in just a moment. Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, a little holiday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. It is the 4th of July, Independence Day in America. We've been talking about some Tennessee Titans who create fireworks out on the field, of course, have to start with Derrick Henry, have to hit on Kevin Byard.

There are obvious other names that you could throw into the mix as well. You could obviously throw in Ryan Tannehill if you wanted, but those aren't the kind of fireworks that I'm looking forward to. You could throw in Jeffrey Simmons, but here's my logic on Jeffrey Simmons. Jeffrey Simmons does the dirty work. Jeffrey Simmons gets sacks and does things like that, but a lot of what Jeffrey Simmons brings to the table

just isn't noticed in a normal way, like fireworks would be noticed. Do you know what I mean? So that's kind of my thought process there. I'm not going over Jeffrey Simmons, obviously fantastic player, but maybe just not the flashy plays that you get from a Kevin Byard or Derek Henry,

things like that. I'm sure you guys understand my logic there, but I want to talk about some guys who will be creating fireworks this season for the Titans. And by God, do they need it before I get into it? I want to thank you guys again, though,

for making the locked on Titans podcast, your first listen each and every day. Shout out to my everydayers out there. Tune in Monday through Friday. It's daily 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. As a reminder for my everydayers out there and for all of y'all in general who are listening,

not going to have a show tomorrow, but I'll be back with you on Wednesday. Have a show on Thursday and Friday as well. So you're going to get four shows this week, just taking one day off for the holiday. And hopefully we don't get any terrible Titans news later in the week. So I don't need to do any emergency podcast, even though there may be some terrible. Now is not the time for that, but just want to talk about Traylon Burks and Chigga Conqua

because the reality here for the Titans is they're going to need both those guys to be absolute freaking studs if they want to have a good season in 2023. Like, Chigga Conkwell has to ascend to a top seven-ish tight end. And I mean, he was ranked number six overall by Pro Football Focus last year. Again, three catches of 40-plus yards, the most of any player. Led all rookie tight ends in yards, catches. Led all tight ends in yards per route run. The explosion

is there. The ability to make explosive plays is there for Chica Conklow. And he absolutely has to capitalize on the opportunity that he's going to get. I think the Titans aren't just going to use him as tight end. They're going to flank him out at wide receiver on normal plays with tight ends on the opportunity that he's going to get. I think the Titans aren't just going to use him as tight end. They're going to flank him out at wide receiver on normal plays with tight ends on the field. They're going to move him in motion as they should. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash time of any tight end in his draft class. The guy is speedy.

We saw it last year with the big plays that he made. I go back to that screen that he got from Malik Willis in Kansas City where he just absolutely barreled through so many people to make a play like that. Like, he's even talked, Okonkwo's even talked about his confidence this year and how it's just different. And speaking of that,

Traylon Burks, everyone has talked about his confidence level just being at a different level. And I do want to mention, Traylon Burks got married over the weekend. That sort of confidence, that sort of comfortability, absolutely critical for a guy

like Traylon Burks. I think that being in a new situation, Burks just doesn't scream extrovert to me. He seems like more of an introverted person, quiet, reserved, not super outgoing. And for people with that personality type, it can be really, really hard going into brand new environments where you have high expectations. Like Burks is the type of guy who is probably going to play his best when he's more comfortable. There are some people who love the adversity. There are some people that when the pressure's on them, when they're in a weird spot, when things aren't going well, they can just do their absolute best in those situations. But that's not everybody. Some people really need to be super comfortable in their situation,

super comfortable with their routine, all of that for them to be at their best. There's probably more people like that than the other way around, but Burks is definitely one of those people. And now he is completely adjusted. He's completely comfortable. He's been with the coaching staff

in the building since February. I'm expecting major fireworks this year from Traylon Burks. Like, I think Burks, I know that Chigakonkwo is the obvious guy for like, well, Burks is the obvious breakout guy. Chigakonkwo is the guy who's shown us a little bit of what he can do,

and he's only going to get more opportunities. But I really think that Traylon Burks has the opportunity to establish himself as like a top 20 wide receiver this year. I still, again, just to recall one play, that long catch over Jair Alexander where he gave him the two small symbol,

that to me is like watching the trailer for an excellent movie that's about to come out. It's like, oh my god, this can be incredible. So, I'm excited to see the kind of fireworks that Traylon Burks and Chica Conqua can produce for the Titans this season. And then hopefully next year, we're talking about those guys

as part of this holiday special episode. But with that being said, that's going to do it for me today, folks. Again, I'll be back with you guys in one day to continue our positional preview series. As always, I am your host, folks, again, I'll be back with you guys in one day to continue our positional preview series. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.