Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans DRAFT A QB in 2025, Elite Wide Receiver Talent is Needed & Edge is a Top Concern

Episode Date: October 6, 2024

The Tennessee Titans sit at 1-3 on their bye week and while they may turn it around, they also may not and that would lead to a high pick in the NFL draft. If this is the case, would the Titans consider a quarterback like Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward? Also, if the Titans look at position players, wide receiver would be near the top of the list and a player like Tetairoa McMillan would be an excellent fit. Finally, if the Titans elect to go defense, would it be cornerback or edge rusher? Tyler thinks edge is the top need and cornerback would be dangerous.Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitansTicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=ascFollow 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!Hillsdale CollegeAll of Hillsdale’s courses are self-paced so that you can start whenever, and tune in wherever. Plus, you can go deeper with readings, quizzes, discussions - or just enjoy the lectures. Go right now to hillsdale.edu/lockedon to enroll. There’s no cost, and it’s easy to get started. ZbioticsGo to zbiotics.com/LOCKEDONNFL to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use LOCKEDONNFL at checkout.PrizePicksDownload the app or click HERE and use code lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelPlace your first FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - guaranteed ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.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.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month.RobinhoodThe new gold standard is here with Robinhood Gold. Sign up at robinhood.com/gold Terms apply, for product specific disclosures visit robinhood.com/gold. Investing involves risk. Rate may change. Gold membership is offered by Robinhood Gold, LLC.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)

The Tennessee Titans must consider a quarterback at the top of the 2025 NFL Draft. That and more on today's edition of Locked on Titans. 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 Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked On Titans Podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. Today's edition of the Locked On Titans Podcast is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. 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 terms and conditions apply. It is a mock draft Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We're going to be taking a look at what options the Titans might have at the top of the NFL draft. Quarterback, wide receiver, maybe defense. I'm going to go over all of it before I do. Do want to thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else.

Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day. Speaking of every day, shout out to my everydayers out there. Tune in Monday through Friday. Couldn't do it without you guys. And if you aren't an everydayer, well, you need to be one because the Titans are going to be finished with their bye week now.

There's plenty of games ahead. Tomorrow, we're going to look at the rest of the AFC and where the Titans sit in the standings and where they need to go. Then we're going to take a look at the Titans as a whole through the first month on offense and defense. And Thursday, it'll be crossover Thursday with Locked on Colts. So get ready for the game this weekend. But with that being said, again, we are doing a mock draft Monday on today's show. And I know a lot of you guys will say, Tyler, the draft is so far away from now. We don't know

where the Titans are going to be picking. And I do understand that sentiment. I really, really do. But at the end of the day, the Tennessee Titans are 1-3 right now. And the Bears don't look to be a great team. The Jets don't look to be a great team. The Titans have a tough schedule coming up with the Colts and then on the road for Buffalo, on the road for Detroit. Right now, the odds are higher that the Titans have a top pick in the draft than otherwise.

So we have to acknowledge those realities. And one of the other realities that we have to acknowledge is that the Titans may be considering quarterback if they do get a pick that high. Will Levis has not been good this year. That is the truth of the matter. Yes, the offensive line could be better. Yes, there are play calling things where maybe Brian Callahan could be better. I'm higher on Brian Callahan's performance this season than some other people.

But the truth is, Will Levis has not played well. And if you can't accept that, then it's going to be tough to have any conversation with you about what this team needs to do going forward. And if Levis continues to not play well, which I want Levis to continue to play for the Titans, give him the entire season as the starter. Either he figures it out and he starts to play well, which I want Levis to continue to play for the Titans. Give him the entire season as the starter. Either he figures it out and he starts to play better, or you give yourself a top pick. But the question is, would you use that top pick on a quarterback? And looking at some of the mock drafts around the NFL, I've seen from Tankathon, the Titans go with Shader Sanders from Colorado.

You look at CBS. You look at USA Today. They have the Titans taking Quinn Ewers from Texas. Let me just go through my initial thoughts here on these quarterbacks. Look, I have not scouted these quarterbacks in depth or anything like we will do when we get closer to the draft, but the reality is some of them fit better for the Titans. You look at a guy like Shader Sanders, who very good rhythm passer. He's able to get the ball out of his hands quick. He's accurate. He can hit the short intermediate areas of the field. He plays with poise. And he's a guy who's played behind a bad offensive line at Colorado with all of the pressure in the world on him every single game. So I know a lot of people

just don't like Sanders, no matter what. You're just not going to like him. You don't like his dad. You don't like the bravado. You don't like all the other things. But look at him purely as a football player. I think he would fit very well in the Titans quick rhythm passing system. Now, Shadrach Sanders maybe can't drive the ball down the field, doesn't have the insane arm strength, and he's a guy who's mobile and can maneuver in the pocket, but he's not a dynamic runner per se, but I think he would fit for the Titans. So looking into his game, I know there's a lot of noise around Sanders, but I do think he fits the scheme of what the Titans would be looking for.

Now the question becomes, are other quarterbacks with more dynamic skill sets better options? You think about a Cam Ward from Miami. Now, Cam Ward has freak arm talent, incredible playmaking ability, great mobility as well. He's much more of a second reaction playmaker than a guy like Sanders. But he can slip on his fundamentals at times when he's trying to make plays. He has the tendency, as we've seen in the last few weeks, to kind of maybe make that back-breaking mistake or

lead to a turnover. So would the Titans want to walk down that path again after having a turnover heavy guy like Will Levis? Cam Ward maybe has the most talent of these quarterbacks, and if it's not Cam Ward, it might be a guy like Jalen Milrow. Now, Milrow has to get better at the mental parts of the game, throwing with anticipation, being more accurate with his ball placement. But he's got a great arm. He's obviously got the running ability as well. So it just depends on what the Titans are going to be looking for going forward. And honestly, out of all those guys,

I think Sanders would truly be the best fit for the Titans. Maybe a guy like Quinn Ewers gets in the conversation. Ewers has good arm strength. He can hit all the different levels. He's a smart player, of course, but the injuries are a concern. He can't really playmake outside of the pocket, doesn't really have the mobility. And me personally, in today's day and age,

in the way that football is played now, I need a quarterback with a little bit more mobility. So Sanders is kind of the bare minimum for me of what I would accept. Ewers is a little too immobile, I guess is the word, that I'm looking for. So I don't think I would be as interested in Quinn Ewers as some of the other more talented passers like Milrow, like Ward, like Sanders. But the question really becomes for the Titans, would you rather have Will Levis starting in 2025 or a veteran quarterback?

You know, say they keep Mason Rudolph around and make him the starter, or they go out and get somebody else who's kind of a veteran, like a Sam Darnold situation. Would you rather have somebody like that and then a position player, a wide receiver, a cornerback, an offensive tackle, a defensive end? Would you rather go that route with a veteran or Will Levis, or would you rather take one of these quarterbacks? And at the end of the day, I think the Titans need to consider quarterback

if they end up with a top five, top six pick again. But I am not sold that quarterback is the right move for the Titans, no matter what happens. I think the quarterbacks in the next draft class, Arch Manning, Nico from Tennessee, not even going to try that last name. Depends on what happened with Garrett Nussmeier from LSU. He comes out and doesn't. The question is, would it be better to just take a position player and make the team better and then look to get your quarterback

in 2026. Now, that's a long ways to wait for the Titans, but I do think if I had to make that decision, I would go with a position player and roll with Will Levis at quarterback in 2025, and then in 2026 draft, look for the quarterback that I want, understanding that I'll trade whatever it takes to get up and get my guy if Levis doesn't work out. Of course, if you don't want Will Levis, you're totally out on that. Then replace Will Levis with a veteran quarterback of your choice. It's all about quarterback or a different quarterback for the Titans

and then a position player in the draft. And I think I would lean with getting the position player and strengthening the team. But what position players would make sense? Going to look at wide receiver, Going to look at defense right now. Before we do, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. When you're hiring for your small business,

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Slash. Locked on. Titans fans, let's continue today's Mock Draft Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about the quarterbacks at the top of the draft, who I think fits best, why I think the Titans should ultimately pass on a quarterback at the top of the draft in 2025.

But now, let's look at what they should do at their pick, wherever that happens to be. I wanted to say a number right now. A lot of these mock drafts have the Titans with the sixth pick. Who knows where they ultimately end up. But again, right now,

odds are that it's a pretty high pick in the draft. So the Titans don't go quarterback. Where do they go? I'm going to tell you before I do. Thanks again for making locked on Titans. Your first listen at your team every Locked on Titans your first listen. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Podcast Network. But for me, I really like the wide receiver option at the top of the draft.

You have a ton of different guys at the top of the draft who I make sense, who I think make sense for the Titans. You have Trey McMillan, T-Mac from Arizona. You have a guy like Travis Hunter, who, will he play cornerback? Will he play wide receiver? Will he play both? I don't know, but I do know

that Travis Hunter is a great football player who I would love to have on the Tennessee Titans, no matter what. Also, think about a guy like Luther Burden from Missouri who could be an option for the Titans as well. Either way, I think the need at wide receiver is way bigger than maybe some people want to admit. Think about the Titans wide receiver position right now. You have Calvin Ridley who's going to be here for a little while, absolutely, after signing the big contract. But outside of that, DeAndre Hopkins is a free

agent at the end of the year. I think that's something that not a lot of people understand or realize. DeAndre Hopkins is a free agent. Why would he come back to Tennessee if they have a high pick like that again? Why would they extend him when he's 32 years old and he already started the season banged up? DeAndre Hopkins, I do not believe will be on the Tennessee Titans next year. Also, Tyler Boyd, I think Tyler Boyd will be back with the Titans, but Boyd isn't a playmaker. Boyd isn't a guy who's going to change the football game. He's just a solid role player at this point in his career who will be 30 next year and Calvin Ridley will be 30 as well. The Titans have a desperate need for a young wide receiver

that could be a playmaker for them. They absolutely do. And for me, the top wide receiver is T-Mac from Arizona, McMillan. I mean, 6'5", 212 pounds. I've seen him compared to a guy like Mike Evans. He's got good yards after catch ability as well to go with that size and that speed. I think that you have your Z-wide receiver and your speed guy in Calvin Ridley who you can motion and be off the line of scrimmage,

deep crossing routes. He is the speed guy. But what you need to go with him in the role that DeAndre Hopkins is filling this year is the physical X receiver, the jump ball winner, the contested catch guy, the one-on-one guy. I have talked consistently about the fact that I like for my wide receiver group to be built like a basketball team. I want the small shifty slot receiver.

I want the do-it-all shooting guard. I want the rangy, big, tall center like a TMAC. You know what I mean? I want the speed guy. I want a varying skill sets and varying sizes. I want all different kinds of stuff at my wide receiver group so that no matter what the matchup is, I have the opportunity to win the matchup. I can put different guys on different defenders and find a way. So I want that versatility in my wide receiver group. And a guy like T-Mac would make perfect sense. Now, at some point, it gets down to pure talent, okay?

And a guy like Travis Hunter, if he wants to play wide receiver at the next level, then I'm drafting him as a wide receiver. And I would love to have Travis Hunter on the Titans. Make no mistake about it. The dude is just a pure football player. I think ultimately Travis Hunter should play cornerback in the NFL because that is a more rare position in terms of talent. There are a lot of good wide receivers.

It's hard to have a really good cornerback. So I think that Travis Hunter, for the benefit of Travis Hunter, should play cornerback. But if he wants to play wide receiver, I am absolutely in think that Travis Hunter, for the benefit of Travis Hunter, should play cornerback. But if he wants to play wide receiver, I am absolutely in with drafting Travis Hunter, a guy who can win those contested catch situations, has great speed, has good size. I would love that pick. And then think about a guy like Luther Burden, who is a yards after catch guy. To me, his skill set, he's not quite as big as, you know, T-Mac, but still a guy who I think could be a game breaker for the Titans.

So I would have him third on my list right now. If ultimately Travis Hunter wants to play cornerback, then I would have Luther Burton second on my list. But T-Mac from Arizona is the clear best fit. Now, outside a wide receiver on the offensive side of the ball, what about offensive tackle? And, you know, in all the mock drafts that I went through, the Titans did not pick an offensive tackle.

I saw quarterback a bunch like we talked about. TMAC was a pro football focuses mock draft pick for the Titans. I like that. They kind of had the philosophy idea to give Will Levis 2025 to bring in a position player. And again, if you don't like Will Levis, you don't want him to be the quarterback next year. I know some of you guys are going to be unrealistic about these things. And you're just like, no, Will Levis, no, no, no. Jesus Lord. But put a veteran

quarterback in there if that's what you want. I don't care. But, you know, taking an offensive tackle would be an option, but a lot of these, Will Campbell, Kelvin Banks, they're already off the board. Now, even if one of those guys is on the board, let me say this. I want the Titans' offensive line to be as good as possible. I really do. But taking Peter Skowronski, taking J.C. Latham,

and then following that up with offensive tackle again in the draft, I'm not saying that you don't take offensive tackle high in the draft, like with your second round pick or something like that, but I think it would be a misuse of resources at the end of the day to use three straight first round picks on the offensive line. Like, I think that is missing opportunities to add great players. You know, like the question would be right now, JC Latham has been really good this year,

but ask yourself, would you rather have Malik neighbors who has been one of the best players in the entire NFL who impacts the game more? You know, that's the question. So to me, if you went JC Latham already instead of Roma Dunzey, and you went Peter Skowronski instead of Zay Flowers, which is a conversation that we know happened behind closed doors with the Titans in 2022 or 2023,

I don't think you can make that decision again and take an offensive tackle over a wide receiver. But let me know how you guys feel about that. On offense, would you favor wide receiver? Would you favor offensive tackle? For me, it's wide receiver, especially if it's Trey McMillan. But we got to talk about defense too, because I think the biggest need for the Tennessee Titans going into 2025 is actually on the defensive side of the ball. Before we get into it, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Hey, Titans fans. Yes, I'm talking to you, Titans fans.

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That's $200 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet on FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. So make sure that you go to FanDuel.com. Titans fans, let's cap off today's Mock Draft Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. As a reminder, tomorrow I'm going to look at where the Titans stand within the conference, where they stand within their division after the week five games have finished, where they need to go,

what kind of hole they've dug themselves into. Wednesday, we're going to take a look at the team as a whole over the first four weeks. At least that's the plan right now. Thursday, crossover Thursday with my guys from Locked On Colts. That's going to be a great conversation. And then Friday, I'll have a game preview for you guys as we get ready for the Titans to hit the football field once again.

But, capping off this Mock Draft Monday, also check out Locked On NFL. I'm the lead host of Locked On NFL. I do Locked On NFL Monday through Friday now. So, get your Titans news with me. Get your NFL news with me. It's Locked on your team every day. But we talked quarterback. We talked offensive position players.

Now we got to talk about the defensive position players because I think that the Titans' biggest need on the team going into 2025 is edge rusher. That is secretly their biggest need. You have Harold Landry who's going to be in the final years of his contract with very little guaranteed money left, making a lot of money on the salary cap, $17 million over the next two seasons, okay?

And then outside of him, one of the biggest issues, everybody is so focused on quarterback, so focused on offensive line, so focused on special teams, that people are missing what might be the second biggest issue for the Titans so far. And that's the pass rush. The Titans are not getting pressure on the quarterback. Harold Landry has four sacks, but it's so inconsistent.

You look at like pass rush win rate or pressure rate. Harold Landry's not anywhere close to the top of the league right now. Like he's not a guy who's getting consistent pressure on the quarterback. Jeffrey Simmons has had a slow start to the season. Tavondre Sweat, good, but he's never going to have the impact that an elite edge rusher would have on the team. So for me, you look at edge rusher, I think that's a primary need, whether people want to accept it or not. So I think that a guy like Nick Scrout, a guy like James Pierce Jr. from Tennessee, who's had a slow start to the season for Tennessee as well. A guy like Abdul Carter from Penn State. Again, who's the best edge?

Who will be the top edge taken? Those things are conversations for the end of the year, but the point is there are going to be three pretty good edge rushers. And who knows who steps into that conversation as we get through the college football season. There are going to be edge rushers that are high at the top of this draft. Defensive line and edge are really good positions in this draft. Now, the theory may be to that, hey, if this is a good edge rush class, then maybe you can wait on edge rusher in the second round,

you know, go somewhere else. But I got to tell you, if the Titans have a chance at an elite edge rusher, they have to take it. The question becomes, are any of these guys an elite edge rusher? Is there a Miles Garrett, a Nick Bosa, a Micah Parsons, a TJ Watt? Are any of those guys going to be that? We can't know for certain right now. We can't know that.

I know a lot of you guys probably have your opinions on that, and that's fine, but let's let this college football season play out before we make that determination. But I'm just saying, edge rusher is absolutely a primary need for the Titans. If you don't think it's the number one need for the Titans, then it's at least number two. So I would be perfectly fine if the Titans went defense early in the draft and wanted to take one of those edge rushes.

You have one of those edge rushers with Harold Landry as your secondary rusher, with Jeff and Devondre Sweat in the middle, and Sebastian Joseph Day has been a pretty good player so far for the Titans. You have a much better defensive front than you do right now with Arden Keith. Okay? So I'm fully on board. For Edge, I do want to talk about this, though, because in Yahoo's mock draft for the Titans, they had the Titans taking Will Johnson, the cornerback out of Michigan.

And I think Will Johnson is a good player. I do. I think he's a great player. Great college football player. But I do not think the Titans could take cornerback with their number one pick. After signing Chito to a multi-year deal that they're not going to be able to get out of after year one, they're going to have Chito next year. You have

Roger McCreary, who will be going into the final year of his contract, so maybe whatever. Jarvis Brownlee Jr. is going to be a player for the Titans, and then you just gave LeJarrius Sneed a bunch of money and traded a third-round pick for him. You cannot trade your third-round pick in 2025 for LeJarrius Sneed a bunch of money and traded a third round pick for him. You cannot trade your third round pick in 2025 for LeJarrius Sneed and then use your

first round pick in 2025 on another cornerback. Mike, you simply can't do that. Again, what this is about is management of resources. When you go to the grocery store, you have a budget. Alright? You can't just spend 50% of your budget on meat.

Then you have nothing else. You have no produce. You have no carbs. We all manage our resources every day. So you have to start looking at roster building from a resource management standpoint. And you cannot put that many of your eggs in the cornerback basket. You can't.

Especially look at the Titans defense so far. It's been the number one statistical defense, but only forced one turnover, not getting consistent pressure on the quarterback. The way that you get turnovers is to pressure the quarterback into mistakes. So the Titans have a great secondary right now, and they're doing a really good job. But it's still not enough

to create turnovers because the consistent pressure isn't there. You cannot go cornerback with your first round pick. You just simply can't do that. But with that being said, again, tomorrow we're going to look at where the Titans are at within the AFC, where they're at within the AFC South as a division, talk about what they need to do going

forward to turn this thing around. Make sure that you throw a thumbs up on the video, throw a tighten up down in the chat. That's going to do it for today's Mock Draft Monday. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.