Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans FIRST PICK Trade Up Mock Draft, Mid-Round Steals and Controversial Last Pick

Episode Date: February 19, 2023

What if the Tennessee Titans traded up to the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft? Would they select CJ Stroud or Bryce Young? What would they have to give up to get there in the first place? Tyler answers all these questions and does a full seven round mock draft as if the Titans made the move. What picks did the Titans have left and what players were found with them? Tyler goes over two mid-round steals he was able to select and finished off the draft with a controversial selection!!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!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.Ultimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get startedFANDUEL 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

This is what the Tennessee Titans draft class would look like if they traded up to the number one pick. 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, it's Mock Draft Monday. And with all the conversation about the Titans potentially trading up to the first overall pick,

I want to do a Mock Draft Monday episode where we look at what a draft class would look like for the Titans if they did trade up to the first overall pick. So we're going to get into that in just a moment. Before we do, I want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by the Ultimate Football GM app. Have you ever dreamed of becoming an NFL general manager and managing your football franchise? Then this game is definitely for you. To download the game, just visit ultimate-gm.com

or look it up in your app store. My listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when you use the promo code LOCKEDON in the game store. But I want to thank you guys for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all platforms all year long and always for free. Make sure you get subscribed and stay subscribed to the Locked On Titans podcast.

But we got to get into the first overall pick. But before we do, how did the Titans get there? So what I did was I used some of the draft trade charts that are available. The Jimmy Johnson model, the Rich Hill model, the Fitzgerald Spielberg model, Spielberger model. And I tried to use those to get a trade that was pretty close to as fair as you could have it and pretty close in value as well. And what I ended up with was the trade for the Tennessee Titans to go up from the number 11 pick to

the number one pick. Obviously, they give up number 11. They're going to give up pick number 41, the Titans' second round pick this year. They're going to give up pick 184, the Titans' sixth round pick this year. They're going to give up pick 184, the Titans' sixth round pick this year. They're also going to give up the 2024 first round pick and the 2024 third round pick. So the number one pick overall is worth about 3,000 points on the classic Jimmy Johnson model.

This trade right here with the Titans gets them to about 2,960. So all the models say give or take about 10%. But five picks, number 11, number 41, and number 184 in this year's draft. And then the Titans first round pick and third round pick in next year's draft. Five picks right there. Get the Titans up to number one. Now, maybe you want to throw in an extra pick from next year. The Titans should have some extra late rounders. Maybe you want to do something like that just to bridge that additional gap. Perfectly fine with me, but that right there is a similar offer to what the Titans would probably have to give up to make that happen. With that trade, the Titans move up, and with the number one pick in the NFL draft, the Tennessee Titans select C.J. Stroud, quarterback out of Ohio State. Look, for me guys,

the conversation about the number one quarterback spot in this draft comes down to Stroud or Young. It's cut and dry for me. Levis, there's a little bit of work that needs to be done there before he gets to his best self. Same thing with Anthony Richardson, who we know is a bit more of a project out of that top four quarterback group. But Stroud is ready to come in right away. Bryce Young is ready to come in right away. So it was only a conversation between those two players. But when you look at those two players, for me, I went with Stroud because it's a bigger bodied guy, six foot three, 218 pounds. He's going to be able to hold up against the struggles and the wear and tear of playing in the NFL week in and week out. While he doesn't bring

the playmaking ability of a Bryce Young who can run around and navigate the pocket and make plays on the run and all that. You give C.J. Stroud a clean pocket and he is going to dice you up. Number one attribute for C.J. Stroud is his accuracy. He is incredibly accurate all over the field to it, all three levels, whether it be deep, intermediate, short, to the sideline, over the middle, Stroud has incredible accuracy. Not only that, he isn't a guy who throws at one speed. He's not like Levis who throws a lot of rockets all the time. No, CJ Stroud can throw the rocket in if he needs to. He can layer and get these touch passes over the middle of the field, over top of defenders. Not only that, but anticipatory

throws. And in the NFL, you have to be able to process quickly what the defense has done, what's going to be open based on your current route combination, and you've got to be able to throw passes with anticipation. You can't just see everything come open in the NFL. And I would take you back to when Rand Carthon was just hired as the Titans general manager early this offseason. Boy, that seems like a million years ago, doesn't it? But he went on Chris Long's podcast,

and they asked him, what are the two biggest things that you look for in a quarterback prospect? And what was his answer? Accuracy and anticipation. So, no. CJ Stroud doesn't bring the cannon arm that maybe you see on Mahomes or Josh Allen or Will Levis, for example.

Maybe he doesn't play his best when he's got pressure in his face constantly all the time, but that's something I think that can improve. He just didn't have to deal with that a lot in college. And no, he doesn't quite run around as much as Bryce Young. He doesn't have the pure running ability of an Anthony Richardson or anything like that. But what I would say is, although C.J. Stroud didn't run a lot in college,

a lot of that ties into the offensive line situation. He simply didn't have to. And when he was asked to in that national championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs, Stroud was able to use his legs and turn that into a major plus when it comes to his game. I think what we saw from Stroud against Georgia is more of the player that Stroud will become than what we saw with him against some of the lesser opponents where he didn't have to play his best football all the time because Ohio State's offensive line was also very good. So you got a guy who's just deadly accurate all over the field,

can layer passes over defenders and anticipate and process quickly, and you add in the potential of his ability to use his legs. It's not like he's a poor athlete. He's not Tom Brady or Peyton Manning clunky in the pocket or anything like that. He's got the ability to use his legs. It's not like he's a poor athlete. He's not, you know, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning clunky in the pocket or anything like that. He's got the ability to do it. And we saw it against Georgia. So for me, Stroud gives you everything that you want

in a modern day quarterback. Sounds like exactly what Rand Carthon is looking for out of a quarterback. And at the end of the day, Mike Vrabel has Ohio State connections. So he's going to have a good idea of who C.J. Stroud is. I think C.J. Stroud is my number one quarterback. If the Titans made a move up to number one, I think he would be the selection.

So right there, that's the first pick. We got to continue this mock draft Monday. The Titans don't have a lot of picks, but I think I got a great draft class with the picks that we had to work with here. So I'm going to dive into that in just a moment. Before I get into it, though, do want to let you know that today's show is brought to you by the Ultimate Pro Football GM app. Guys, like I told you at the beginning of the show, you truly get to monitor and manage every aspect of your football franchise with the Ultimate Pro Football GM game.

You can hire and fire coaches and coordinators, set your scheme, set your formation, draft guys, sign free agents, cut players for salary cap reasons. I mean, you have total control over the franchise. And with the NFL season being over, it's a great way to pass time until we get back to next football season and beyond. The game's incredibly addicting because it's challenging. It's a great way to pass time until we get back to next football season and beyond. The game's incredibly addicting because it's challenging. It's realistic. It's not too easy where it doesn't feel like a good challenge for you.

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inside the game store. You're going to get a 100% free boost to your franchise. The ultimate pro football GM app. Start your dynasty today. Titans fans, we are going to continue today's Mock Draft Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We're doing today's Mock Draft as if the Titans traded up to the number one overall pick. They give up number 11, number 41, and number 184 in this year's draft. Combine it with the first round pick and and number 184 in this year's draft, combine it with the first-round pick and the third-round pick in next year's draft,

and they move up to number one and select C.J. Stroud, the quarterback from Ohio State. But where I'm really excited about this mock draft is my next two picks, the pick I got at 72 and the pick I got at 149. I think we've got some really, really good players that could really help the Titans, even though we gave up a lot to move up to number one. But before we get into those picks, do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day.

Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all platforms and always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed. And if you're watching on YouTube right now, please throw a thumbs up on the video. The show's always free. All I ask for in return is the press of a button. It goes a long way to help the channel out and I do appreciate it. But with that being said, let's dive back into our mock draft results here.

We took CJ Stroud. We got our quarterback of the future. Now, let me set mock draft results here. We took CJ Stroud. We got our quarterback of the future. Now let me set the groundwork here. If the Titans were to do this, in my opinion, it would be because they went out and got a left tackle in free agency or a tackle of some kind, whether that be a Caleb McGarry, a Mike McGlinchey, whether that be an Andre Dillard, an Isaiah Wynn, something of that sort, a Juwan Taylor even is a possibility. The Titans go out and get a tackle. Let's just say it's Andre Dillard. They get Andre Dillard to play left tackle.

They bring Nate Davis back to play right guard. So you've got NPF at right tackle, Nate Davis at right guard. You're going to have Ben Jones, Aaron Brewer, or Corey Levin starting at center. And that means left guard is a position that is open and a position that hasn't been filled. Now, I have been very skeptical of Dylan Radin's ability to have a chance for that spot coming off the ACL tear. Not certain how that recovery process is going.

And it seems the coaching staff doesn't want to, you know, give Dylan Radins any fair opportunities anyway. So with that in mind, I'm viewing the left guard spot as open for the Titans. And got a perfect player to fill that need at left guard at pick number 72, Steve Avila. at pick number 72, Steve Avila. Steve Avila from TCU, 6'4", 340 pounds. Avila is a monster, quite frankly.

Big-bodied guy, incredibly strong, has great anchor. He's not going to be bullrushed over. And after watching Aaron Brewer play left guard all season last season, to have a guy with a strong anchor that can hold up against a bull rush from an interior defensive lineman I mean that feels pretty great not gonna lie that feels pretty great for the Titans so you got that and uh Avila has good get off off the line of scrimmage quick first step explosive first step which within the Titans scheme, whether they want to continue to add in more power runs, he fit perfectly with that. They want to stay with zone concepts as well. He's got to get off the line of scrimmage to be able to execute those plays. Now, one thing that I will say, his angles on his initial blocks on the line of

scrimmage do need work. That's a coaching point. He's got to take a better angle to get on his initial defender to make sure that he can stay on that block, execute that block. But for me, that's something that you can work with. You got a guy with that much raw strength who can anchor and pass protection right away. That's important. Look, the Titans have good run blockers. The Titans, no matter who they put in, seem to get good run-blocking ability out of their offensive line. Avila may be a guy who's better at pass protection early on as he continues to improve with those angles and his hand usage as well could improve. But that's what coaching is for.

That is what coaching is for. So to get Steve Avila at this stage in the draft at pick number 72, I don't really think you can beat that. Now, there were some other options on the board. Tucker Craft, South Dakota State tight end, Dayan Henley, who I think is an excellent linebacker in the mid-rounds, linebacker out of Washington State, could have went that direction. Caillou Blue Kelly, the cornerback from Stanford, Cedric Tillman, wide receiver from Tennessee, was there Joe Tippman, another interior offensive line out of Wisconsin. Those were options that

I did strongly consider Tippman or Cedric Tillman. I did. I did. Those were conversations, but I think Avila is nasty. He's exactly what the Titans need. And with that glaring hole at that left guard spot based on this mock offseason path for the Titans, I felt he was a great option. So with that number 72 pick, the Titans go ahead and pick Steve Avila. Going to plug him in right away at left guard and be ready to rock next year with Andre Dillard, Steve Avila, Ben Jones, Aaron Brewer, Corey Levin

at center. One of those three. Nate Davis at right guard, NPF at right tackle. Love that for the Titans. A pretty solid addition to the offensive line, and we're moving. We're cooking. So we got a left guard, we got a quarterback, and now there's a lot of picks that go but we get down to 149 and I'm surprised that this guy is available but the more draft reports I read and things like that it is likely he'll be there in the day three kind of muck of wide receivers. And it's Jonathan Mingo from Ole Miss, a guy I'm a big fan of. Now, look. Mingo doesn't run the best routes in the world.

He's a little bit of a rudimentary route runner at this stage. He is a guy who doesn't have incredible deep speed down the field. He's going to have great vertical separation. He's not a guy who does a great job of plucking the ball out of the air with his hands. He can be a little bit of a body catcher at times. But to me, 6'2", 225 pounds, monster size for a wide receiver.

And this man is so strong. It makes sense. You look at that size. I mean, he is yoked up. He plays with incredible power. Dealing with press coverage at the line of scrimmage, not a problem for Jonathan Mingo because he's so strong. Even if you get contact on him, he can get through that contact and get into his route. Also, incredible with the ball in his hands. Yards after catch ability, runs with power, runs with strength, and he's a playmaker. He's not just a guy who's going to try to bowl through everybody with his strength.

He can seize spaces. He can set defenders up with moves. I don't want to compare him to another Ole Miss wide receiver who played well in the Titans scheme. But if the Titans can get back, Traylon Burks has shown he is a down the field threat. He has made great plays down the field as a rookie already. You get Jonathan Mingo running those quick bang routes, those strike routes that the Titans used to use all play action strike route to AJ Brown over the middle. That disappeared in the Titans offense. If you can have Jonathan Mingo running

that while you have Traylon Burks running a deep cross or a deep post, a blaze out, you put those two together. I think you've got something there. I think you really, really got something there. So to get a guy who could fit perfectly within the Titans scheme, he could be used in the slot, he could be used as a gadget player, he could be used as a handoff jet suites too. I mean, he's like a wide receiver version of Chigaconga. That's what the Titans want as a playmaker. So you put Mingo with Burks and Chig and CJ Stroud throwing him the ball.

Woo! I mean, we are cooking, Titans fans. But we got one pick left. The Titans' seventh round pick at 230. And I got a little bit of a controversial option here, but I think it's the right move for the Titans. So we're going to get into that in just a moment. Do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast

your first listen every day. As for your second listen, check out the Locked On NFL podcast. You get all your Titans news here with me. Get all your national NFL news with the Locked On NFL podcast. It's also Monday through Friday, free and available on all

platforms, always free all year round. And I host the Thursday show. So go on over to the Locked On NFL YouTube channel or the Locked On NFL on your favorite podcast app and subscribing would be showing me a little support as well. So with that in mind, we got to get to the last pick of this mock draft. I'm going to do a little bit of a recap for you guys as well. All right, Titans fans. We are going to cap off this mock draft Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast.

We took CJ Stroud with the first overall pick after trading five picks to move up to that number one overall spot with the Chicago Bears. Stroud, great accuracy, great touch, anticipatory thrower. That checks every box of what Rand Carthon has said he wants in a quarterback. I think he's got a lot more potential to use his legs than he showed throughout college, and we saw it in the Georgia game when the lights were the brightest. Yes, he doesn't have a cannon arm like some of these top quarterbacks in the NFL

like Herbert or Mahomes or Josh Allen, but he can get it to all three levels of the field. It's not something that's going to hold him back. So I like C.J. Stroud as my number one quarterback in this draft. We took Steve Avila, the guard, out of TCU. The Titans signed a left tackle in this draft. We took Steve Avila, the guard out of TCU. The Titans sign a left tackle in free agency. They bring back Nate Davis. They slide in Avila at the left guard position,

and you have a competent starting offensive line. Then 149, we got Jonathan Mingo from Ole Miss who can give you, maybe not as well, but can give you some of what A.J. Brown gave you as a prospect and get that bang route, that strike route back into the Titans offense that they missed so much last year. He would pair perfectly with Traylon Burks. Burks has shown he is a down the field weapon and a down the field threat. I like Burks as the guy who can take the top off the defense, make contested catches down the middle of the field. He showed he could do that as a rookie already.

So you get a guy who's deadly run after catch on intermediate and short routes. Perfect pairing there moving forward. And to get Domingo at 149, excellent pick there. And then we have the final pick of the draft. And I could have gone defense. I could have gone another wide receiver. I could have taken a chance on an offensive lineman.

But to me, you're getting into the sixth and seventh round. You're looking at special teams prospects, guys who are going to play on special teams, not guys who are going to be starters right away. So what I did was, I have said throughout the offseason, the Titans need to cut Randy Bullock, the kicker. They're going to save $2 million on that move. Randy Bullock is not worth

$3 million as a kicker. I'm sorry. I'm sorry he's not. So with pick number 230, I went Jake Moody, the kicker, out of Michigan. This guy made a 59 yarder last year. He's got the most points in Michigan history, the most field goals made in Michigan history. He never missed an extra point at any time in college. One hundred percent. He went 23 for 25 as a junior. He went 29 for 35 on field goals as a senior. The Lou Groza Award winner, Jim Harbaugh called him a Michigan legend.

A Michigan legend. So, I like to pick a Moody. You get a cheap kicker. I mean, look at Evan McPherson for the Bengals who came in and just gave them a weapon immediately. I think Moody could be that for the Titans. So, I know some people are tearing their hair out right now. You picked a kicker in the draft, but you don't want to let Moody get to undrafted free agency. He might go elsewhere. And I just think you saved $2 million

on Bullock and you add in Jake Moody. You've given yourself a great chance to have a great punter with Ryan Stonehouse and a great kicker for the next decade at that point. So here's a recap for you guys up on the screen. Number one, CJ Stroud traded five picks to go up and get CJ Stroud. And yes, I traded future draft capital, a first round pick and a third round pick in next year's draft. But as we outlined last week, the Titans may have up to a hundred million dollars in cap space next year. Definitely are going to have between like 50 and 80. So you don't need as many draft

picks next year because you have so much free agency money. So you get C.J. Stroud in. You add in Steve Avila to play starting left guard. You got free agent left tackle. Steve Avila at left guard, either Ben Jones, Aaron Brewer,

or Corey Levin at center, Nate Davis back at right guard, and NPF at right tackle. So offensive line in a good place. Jonathan Mingo at wide receiver, absolutely love that fit for the Titans at pick number 149. He would fit perfectly within their offense. And then Jake

Moody at kicker at the end. No, not a lot of defense in there. No defense whatsoever, but that's a sacrifice. You are willing to make the Titans have a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball. You bring back David Long, you add in Harold Landry, and I think the Titans have enough talent on defense to continue to be very, very good and do what needs to be done to make this team a winner. The defense is good to go. You add these pieces on offense, and, I mean, you've got $37 million to cap to play with if you get rid of Ryan Tannehill.

So you can do that, bring in Stroud, who, in my opinion, isn't much worse than Ryan Tannehill right now. I mean, I saw somebody give a draft comparison of CJ Stroud and do Ryan Tannehill as that player. Stroud fits perfectly in the Titans scheme. So you get Stroud in. You get $37 million in cap space to add to the offensive line to bring back Nate Davis, David Long

maybe add in another veteran wide receiver as well add in a rotational edge rusher you add in Steve Avila to fix the line Jonathan Mingo, now you got a kicker I mean, I love this draft class. I could not believe when I decided that I was going to do a mock draft

where the Titans traded up, I was like, man, this is going to be ugly. Am I even going to get anybody that I want and get Nabila and Mingo? I mean, I mean, Mingo is one of my guys. I like Nabila a lot, but Mingo is one of my guys in this draft. I love what he can bring to a quick-hitting offense like the Titans.

So, I couldn't tell you how satisfied I am. I wanted to throw a tight end in there at some point in time, but if you got $37 million in cap, you can bring back Austin Hooper. So, I just love this mock draft for the Titans. I love the idea. You're able to cut Tannehill, cut LeJuan, cut Dupree,

cut Woods, cut Cunningham, cut Bullock. I mean, this would be a great offseason path if that's the route that the Titans go. The most likely path? Probably not. But one that I would be very, very happy with if the Titans were able to pull it off.

But that's going to do it for me today, folks. I'll be back with you guys tomorrow. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.