Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Draft, Free Agency or Both: How to Fill Offensive Roster Needs??

Episode Date: February 24, 2022

The Tennessee Titans have needs up and down the roster, both big and small. So how do they solve them? Tyler plays a game of Draft, Free Agency or both!! Go through every offensive position group to see what the Titans currently have on the roster and how big of a need each spot is. Then, Tyler looks at the best way to fill that need and what route the Titans could go. Draft, Free Agency or Both?? You decide!!Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP3332GMOh4y5PX3q9NFybwSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, it is a Thursday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. And on today's show, we're going to play a game I like to call Draft, Free Agency, or Both. The Titans have needs up and down their roster, both big and small. Well, how do they fill them? We'll talk about that today as we play Draft, Free Agency, or Both

on a Thursday 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. Titans fans, it is a Thursday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. On today's show, we are going to play a game of draft, free agency, or both. We're going to go position by position through the Titans roster.

Look at what they have on the roster right now. Look at how big of a need they have at that position and decide whether to fill that need through the draft, through free agency, or both. We're actually going to do this in two parts on today's show. We're going to do the offensive side of the ball and on Friday's show, we will cap it off by doing the defensive side of the ball. But before we dive into draft free agency or both, do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. If this is your first ever listen to the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream.

Subscribe to the Locked on Titans YouTube channel so you can catch the show on video. Hit that notification bell on YouTube and hit that like button if you're watching right now. You can check me out on social media, on Twitter, at TicTacTitans, on Facebook, at Locked on Titans Pod. I am the only Tennessee Titans content creator pumping out daily Monday through Friday Tennessee Titans content, not only during the season, but all year long. So make sure that you're tapped in at all times. But with all that being said, let's get into a game of draft, free agency, or both.

And we are going to start at the quarterback position. Of course, right now on the roster, the Titans have Ryan Tannehill. And that's a controversial topic right there, but it is what it is. Ryan Tannehill is going to be the quarterback for the Titans in 2022. Now, the backup position is where things get a little more interesting. So the Titans have Logan Woodside as an exclusive rights-free agent, which means that he's been in the NFL for less than three years.

He was an undrafted free agent. So essentially it means he has to come back to the Titans on a one year deal. And of course the Titans are going to do that. If you've listened to the show for any length of time at all, you'll know that I am a Logan Woodside detractor. There's no way around it. I think it's very dangerous and risky to have him as the backup quarterback, but I do believe that the Titans organization and the Titans brass

thinks that going cheap at backup quarterback is a good move because if Tannehill were to get hurt at all, they'd probably be screwed anyway. But, man, I do think it would be valuable to have a guy who could come in for two weeks, three weeks, if Tannehill were to have a short injury, an IR stint, you know, and have somebody who can stem the tide and kind of make sure that the Titans don't sink during that time. If Tannehill gets hurt at halftime and they need somebody to come in in the second half,

I just don't believe that Logan Woodside is the guy that can get that done. But to his credit, he continues to win the training camp battle. And for the first time in a long time, I don't really see a lot of great free agent options that I wouldn't want and feel strongly about to have over Logan Woodside. I mean, Blaine Gabbert is okay, but I don't think he's a significant upgrade for the difference in money. Colt McCoy, I think, would be a good upgrade. But will the Titans spend a couple million dollars on a backup quarterback? I doubt it.

Trevor Simeon, who I've been high on, he was in the Titan system for a while in 2020, got a starting opportunity last year for New Orleans. I thought he did all right. He played okay against the Titans. And that's the kind of quarterback that I'm thinking about. But I just don't see the Titans spending that money. AJ McCarron, maybe, you know, I just don't feel as strongly this year that any of these guys who are available is a better option necessarily than Logan Woodside

when you consider the money. So for me, the answer to the need at quarterback is the draft. I don't think the Titans should draft a quarterback very high, but if you get a good value

on one that you like in the mid rounds, you get one in the late rounds. Hasn't really worked out for John Robinson in the past, but I mean, it's worth a shot in this draft. I think to maybe look for a better option at backup. I'm not drafting a quarterback who I think is the long term starter in this draft, but a backup in the mid rounds in the late rounds, I think could be optional. So if the Titans want three quarterbacks outside of Woodside and Tannehill, I would go to the draft for that need.

At running back, you have Derrick Henry, of course, and then you have Darrington Evans. Those are the guys who are on the roster right now. Now, I have said that I think Darrington Evans could be a potential cut candidate here and save the Titans $800,000, but the reality here is taking a chance on Darrington Evans one more year is probably more valuable to the team than the eight hundred thousand that they could say by cutting him I'm just frustrated uh Darrington Evans is the new roster pirate the guy who

basically does nothing but continues to be on the roster now he's on a rookie contract so it makes a little more sense than his predecessors like David Flewellen. But, you know, with that in mind, I don't think you spend money on the running back position with Derrick Henry's contract and if you're keeping Darrington Evans at $1.2 million. I just don't think you spend more money there, especially when you consider so many teams hit on guys in the draft or even undrafted rookies every year that are incredibly productive. Look at Elijah Mitchell and what he did for San Francisco last year

in the sixth round. So draft or even undrafted free agency, that's what I would do for the running back position. I would look for somebody to push Darrington Evans and the guys that are available in free agency that make sense maybe as like a scat back guy to contend with Darrington Evans. You know, you got Duke Johnson, who obviously has experience with Tim Kelly and Mike Vrabel, Jarek McKinnon, who just played pretty well for the Chiefs.

Devontae Freeman had a pretty good resurgence with Baltimore. Maybe he'd come up and back up Derrick Henry and give you some scat back pass protection and also be able to tote the rock and give Henry a little bit of a break. But I just don't really see the value when guys are getting drafted and coming in and playing those roles anyway. So for me, if you're keeping Evans and hoping for him, you got Derek Henry around, maybe you bring back Hilliard or you bring back Foreman and then you draft a guy to compete. So I would go to the draft to fill any need at running back. The last position I want to talk about in our first part of our conversation

is fullback. The Titans don't need anything. I'm not going free agency draft or both. I'm going none because you have Torrey Carter, who I think is the starting fullback going forward. And then Corey Blossom game is a restricted free agent. I don't think he's going to be offered anything substantial. You give him a non-guaranteed deal.

Let him come into camp and see if he can beat out Torrey Carter, even though I don't think that's going to happen. I substantial. You give him a non-guaranteed deal, let him come into camp and see if he can beat out Torrey Carter. Even though I don't think that's going to happen, I think that's the better move for the Titans. Then you can put Corey on the practice squad and keep him around with the organization. I don't think there's a huge need for him out there in the NFL. So none is my answer for fullback.

But we're going to move into very interesting positions to talk about tight end and wide receiver. Now, before we get into those, do want to tell you guys about betonline.net. Football season might be over, but basketball is full steam ahead, both pro and college hoops. For all the latest odds, totals, and player performance props, make sure that you go to betonline.net. Betonline.net is the number one spot for all your sports betting needs. Betonline remains the one spot for all your sports betting needs. BetOnline remains the best spot for all your sports scores and news during any season.

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on whatever platform you do streaming on YouTube as well. But continuing our game of draft, free agency, or both. We just went through the backfield with running back, fullback, and quarterback. Now we want to get to tight ends and wide receivers, which are probably the two biggest needs for the Titans. So, maybe my answers won't surprise you guys, but let's talk about wide receiver first. So, the Titans have Julio Jones, A.J. Brown on the roster.

And outside of, you know, the practice squad group of Cody Hollister, Des Fitzpatrick, Mason Kinsey, Josh Malone was just signed to a futures contract. So outside guys that are roster bubble guys, really they just have AJ and Julio. Nick Westbrook-Akina is an exclusive rights free agent. I explained that earlier with Logan Woodside, so I do believe that he will be back. But with only really those three wide receivers in the fold

and then the group of practice squad guys that I talked about a second ago, I think the Titans got to hit both free agency and the draft. You look at free agency, and here's the thing. Let me make this point. My belief is what the Titans try to do is they try to fill every need with a veteran in free agency, whether that be a cheap veteran or an expensive veteran. I think they try to fill the need in free agency so that they can go into the draft with a best player available approach as much as realistic possible. I mean, it's not

completely best player available ever. It does have to match up with the value of the needs that you have as well. But generally speaking, you can go with the best player available at the spots that you have needs at. And I think that the Titans will try to do that again. And that means that I do believe they will bring in a veteran free agent into the wide receiver room before we get to the draft. Now, how much money will they spend at that spot? I don't really know, but some candidates that I think could be in the realm of possibility. some candidates that I think could be in the realm of possibility. Think about Will Fuller, who's had injuries in multiple seasons in a row that's going to discount his price consistent with his talent when he's on the field.

He's had some suspension concerns in the past. Maybe you can get Will Fuller to reunite with Tim Kelly and potentially get a cheap value for a field stretcher. That's something that Titans fans have kind of wanted in the past. So that would make a little bit of sense. Maybe his price tag, maybe $6 to $8 million, something like that. And maybe that's too much for the Titans to go into. I would perfectly understand that.

They tried to go with Josh Reynolds last year before they got Julio over here. So maybe that's the case. But maybe he'd take a discount to try to rehab his image and go back and get another contract. Who knows? Not counting on that at all. Don't mean to be like overly optimistic about Will Fuller, but maybe that's an option.

It would fit what the Titans need on offense, that vertical stretch guy. They could see a reunion with Kalief Raymond. Kalief Raymond made $2.9 million last year. I don't think he's going to be a lot more than that. He was worth his value there. So maybe Kalief Raymond comes back for the Titans, a better receiver than when he left.

Another option, maybe like a Juju Smith-Schuster, who made $8 million last year and had injuries. So maybe he gets a little bit less. He takes $5 or $6 million. And he's a guy who will block as well. So maybe those are some options for the Titans in free agency. We know that there are a ton of options in the draft early, like, you know, Drake London, Traylon Burks, Garrett Wilson, Chris Alave, Jahan Dotson. I mean, they're Jameson Williams. Even they're going to be options for the Titans in the draft there, for certain.

I think they got to hit it, from both sides. I think they got to add some sort of veteran free agent there, and I don't mean bring back Chester Rogers, or Marcus Johnson, I mean, the Titans need new blood in there, and need to try to get a good value.

They need a guy like Josh Reynolds, and hopefully this year, they realize, that, you don't want your, all of your wide receivers outside of your stars for their best trait to be blocking. Maybe you need guys who actually get open and catch the ball. And maybe they're not the best blockers ever. I mean, I understand that the team wants the versatility and they play the system that they play.

I get that, but you're just out there with guys who are better blockers than they are at catching the ball, like Cody Hollister or Nick Westbrook-Akina, you know? They got to have real wide receivers. I think that's the lesson that they've learned from this year. So you hit it in free agency with a cheap, good value veteran. You also hit it in the draft as well early on in the first, you know, three, four rounds minimum.

I think it's got to be first round or you trade back into the second round. You hit it once in the second round, at minimum the third round. You got to hit wide receiver unless they make a big splash in free agency, which I'm not expecting, but I would go with both. That would be my route. As for tight end, I mean, right now, Jeff Swaim, Michael Pruitt, Anthony Ferkser, all are free agents. So the only real tight ends worth anything on the roster

that I think could even compete to make the roster are Tommy Hudson and Briley Moore. You got Austin Fort on there as well. I'm not counting on any of those guys. This is a both situation. No doubt about it. I think you hit your tight end one in free agency because it's very rare for a rookie tight end

to make a big starting impact early on. Yeah, you can look at the two guys taken in the top 10 in recent years, but that's not where the Titans are going to be picking a tight end. And there are no tight ends in this class that have that kind of immediate impact talent. There are some good tight ends, but not that. So you hit Gerald Everett, Hayden Hurst, Tyler Conklin. Hit one of those tight end.

Get you a tight end, one that has versatility, some run after the catch, can block. Boom, there you go. You bring back one of Jeff Swaim and Anthony Ferkser, depending on the type of tight end that you want to draft because there are a ton of different tight ends that you could go with. I mean, you could go with a Kate Otten type of guy who's kind of that Jeff Swaim, more geared towards that.

You could go with a Greg Dolchich type, and he's more of an Anthony Ferkser kind of guy. So whatever type of tight end you want to draft, bring back the opposite of that from last year as your tight end two. Boom. There we go. I'd like to have Jeff Swaim back. If he's slotted properly, Swaim can be a good blocking, heavy package, tight end two. He can't be a tight end one.

That's what we know. So if you want to go with a Dolchich type or more of a route running tight end, I know Isaiah likely can block too, but say you got eyes on him, whatever happens there, you can go back and get either Swaim or Ferg sort of balance that out. But you go in free agency, you get the tight end one, and then you draft somebody as well. So hitting both on both wide receiver and tight end.

But that's going to do it for those two position groups. Now it's time to talk about the trenches. It is time to talk about the offensive line, which we should expect some changes there as well. Before we get into that, though, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. On tomorrow's

show, we are going to go through the defense position by position and play draft-free agency or both. So make sure that you check that out. But now, for right now, your second listen should be the Locked on NFL Draft podcast. It's hosted by Ryan Tracy and

former NFL cornerback Eric Crocker. They bring the NFL draft to life every single day with insights and analysis on all the different prospects and from NFL Front Office's point of view. It's free and available wherever you get your podcasts.

Titans fans, we are going to cap off this Thursday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We are going to wrap up part one of draft, free agency, or both.

Going position by position through the offense. We talked about quarterback, running back, fullback. We talked about wide receiver and tight end. Now it's time to go into the trenches. It's time to talk about offensive line,

and we are going to start with the offensive tackle position. So right now, the Titans have Taylor LeJuan, they have Kendall Lamb, and they have Dylan Radins, which is Radins even a tackle anymore? Who knows what the Titans are doing with that? But it's only two guys, really. When you consider, Kendall Lamb's probably going to be a cap casualty.

They're probably going to go ahead and cut Kendall Lamb to save $3 million. So when you think about that, it's only really two guys. And do they even view Radins as a tackle long-term? They might view him as a guard. I mean, he might be playing left guard next year

if they cut Saffold. Who knows? Who knows? But either way, free agency is the route to go. The Titans have drafted too many tackles recently. They need to worry about some other things for a moment, especially early. If they want to take

a tackle late in the draft, in the mid-rounds, go ahead. But first, you early. If they want to take a tackle late in the draft, in the mid rounds, go ahead. But first, you know, two picks can't be a tackle at this time. They got to hit other positions and take swings elsewhere. They just have to. So with that in mind, free agency is where I think they should go. And this may be a little bit annoying to some of you,

which I understand. But Dylan Radins barely played last year. So you want a rookie tackle in the draft? Basically imagine it's Dylan Radins, okay? The Titans need veterans at offensive tackle right now. Especially if, either way, if Radins is playing left guard, you don't want to have Radins at left guard and then have a rookie at right tackle and have two really, really young guys on your line.

You don't want to do that right away. And then, if Radins is playing right tackle, you're going to need a veteran to back him up just in case things go poorly. And I think that the best route to go is to reunite with a familiar face. The Undertaker, Dennis Kelly.

You brought over his brother to be on your coaching staff. He's a free agent after a year in Green Bay. Bring back Dennis Kelly. He had a great year at right tackle for the Titans. I agreed with the decision to part ways with him. It saved the Titans $7 million and Danico Autry's contract was $7 million. So, I

agreed with the decision to let Dennis Kelly go, but now, just reunite. Get him back in the locker room. Get him back in the fold. And even if it's not at starting right tackle, he can back up Dylan Radins. He can back up Taylor LeJuan. And it just gives you comfortability there

that you're not going to be swimming out to sea with a young guy, a rookie, or somebody who you don't know. And that's why I also think, I also think you bring back David Questenberry. And here's my thing. If he's your third string tackle, he had good moments last year.

For, you know, parts during the season, he was the most consistent lineman the Titans had. He had a very good year in run blocking. So you bring back Questenberry and here's the thing about Quest. He can play some guard too if needed. So now that gives you depth at guard if Radins doesn't work out,

if, you know, you got to move Aaron Brewer to center if you can't retain Ben Jones. There's a ton of different things that could play out. But I think having Dennis Kelly and David Questenberry back in the fold would be a good move.

Ultimately, I think Dylan Radins is the long-term left tackle of this team. That's my opinion. So, I don't think you need to make some crazy early draft investment in tackle because you have your left tackle of the future and you can continue to supplement your right tackle position.

So for me, it's free agency at offensive tackle. Bring back Dennis Kelly. Bring back David Questenberry. Add to that depth. You got Dylan Radin starting at right tackle, Taylor LeJuan on a restructured deal starting at left tackle, and even if you don't, you got Dennis Kelly

and Taylor LeJuan starting at right tackle again with Questenberry backing them up. Either way, that's the route that I would go to try to keep the money low because neither Questenberry or Kelly are going to get big deals. They'll probably be around $1 million at max, maybe a little bit above for Dennis Kelly, but that's it.

So that's the route that I would go. As for the interior offensive line, right now at center, the Titans have Corey Levin and Daniel Myrner. Oh, God. That's dangerous. And then at guard, they have Roger Saffold, who I think will be a cap casualty and be cut. They have Nate Davis,

of course. They have Aaron Brewer, and then they have Michael Roos. I said Michael Roos. Titans fan in me couldn't help it. David, Jordan Roos, Jordan Roos. And I think Roos is pretty sweet. You know, he's just one of those guys that you like having on the team, the face mask thing and the hair and the, you know, I don't know if he's ever good enough to really stick, but he's on the roster right now. And I'd like to have him at least on the practice squad as somebody to continue to develop. But either way, Titans very thin there despite the numbers in terms of real talent. Safford's probably going to be gone. So Nate Davis and Aaron Brewer

starting at guards. Aaron Brewer maybe have to start at center, and you need a new guard on the left side if you can't bring back Ben Jones. That's why my answer to draft free agency or both for the interior offensive line is both. You got to bring back Ben Jones in free agency. You just absolutely have to. There's just no way around it. You got to bring him back. So that's the free agency aspect of this.

If they don't bring Ben Jones back, then they need to bring in some sort of veteran cheap free agent to at least have a veteran on the interior, period. You got to have a veteran guy there. Make sure you get Ben Jones back in the fold and then you go to the draft. We know that there are options early in the draft like Tyler Linderbaum, Kenyon Green, Zion Johnson, etc. There are some good options in the mid-tiers as well.

We'll start going over that when we get closer to draft preview time. The Titans will have options in this draft to add competitive interior offensive linemen. I think you do that. If you hit wide receiver or tight end early and you don't take the offensive line, then you go offensive line after that. That's kind of my view.

You hit playmaker, pass catcher with your first pick, or you hit interior offensive line, and then you do the opposite with that next pick in the third round pick 90. That's how I view it. Pass catcher and interior offensive line help. Whatever you want to do with those, that's probably the way that I would go about it if you possibly can. Of course, they don't always control how the draft is going to fall to them,

but you know what I'm saying. That's what they have to be looking for and trying to make plays to make that happen. I don't think the Titans need a huge draft class this year. They had a good, big draft class last year. I think a lot of those guys are going to contribute. Radins, Farley, Molden, Rice, Weaver. I think those guys are going to contribute. Even maybe, you know,

McMath and Fitzpatrick may ultimately find a way to contribute this year if they improve. So I think when you have a big draft class last year and guys that should be on the roster, you can go with a smaller draft class this year, which means you can kind of maneuver around your picks. And the Titans have six picks right now, so they have the ability to kind of jump around

and target the guys that they really need to add at certain spots. So both for the interior offensive line. Remember, I am going to be back tomorrow to go over the defensive side of the ball in part two of draft free agency or both. And then next week on the Locked on Titans podcast, we are hitting our free agency preview running.

Going to be going over all the options in free agency for the Titans. Maybe some expected price ranges. And, you know, what guys make sense for the Titans schematically as well. So excited to dive into free agency preview next week. But draft free agency or both part two will be coming tomorrow. That's going to do it for me today, though, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.