Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Free Agency NIGHTMARE, Finding a Tight End on the Market & Combine Meeting Nonsense

Starting point is 00:00:00 Free agency is starting to look like a nightmare for the Tennessee Titans. I'll explain why 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. Today's edition of the Locked On Titans Podcast is brought to you by FanDuel. Make every moment more. Right now, new customers

Starting point is 00:00:51 get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $150 if your bet wins. Visit fanduel.com slash locked on to get started. We got a lot to discuss on today's show. Free agency is starting to look like a nightmare at certain positions for the Tennessee Titans. I'll explain why. Also, we're going to continue our Locked on Titans 2024 free agency preview looking at the tight end position. And there's going to be a ton of rumor nonsense for the Titans here in the coming days.

Starting point is 00:01:25 I'm going to give an impromptu Roland's rant on that. Before we dive into all that, I do want to thank you guys 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. Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world.

Starting point is 00:01:43 But with that being said, free agency is starting to look like a nightmare for the Titans, especially, especially at wide receiver and at cornerback because the reality is the top options at each of those positions are simply not going to be available. And this is a reality that, at least for me, I've acknowledged for probably a month now. The realistic outcome here is that none of the top four wide receivers are available,

Starting point is 00:02:17 that none of the top two wide receivers are available, and let's be honest here, that is a nightmare for the Tennessee Titans because what happens is if the top guys that you actually want to spend money on aren't available, then all that leaves you with is the B-tier options. And the problem is if all the top options on the market aren't available, then that means the B-tier options are going to have a stronger market, which means they're going to cost more money where you could get a Gabe Davis for $12 million a year. If he's the best wide receiver on the market, which means they're going to cost more money where you could get a Gabe Davis for $12 million a year. If he's the best wide receiver on the market, you might be paying $16 million a year.

Starting point is 00:02:51 Hollywood Brown, $12 million. You might be paying $15 million per year now because teams are going to need wide receiver help. And if the top options aren't available, then there's going to be more competition for the B guys. And again, that's going to inflate their market. So that's why we've had conversations about wide receiver. And you look, T. Higgins, franchise tag, not hitting the free agency market. Michael Pittman, Chris Ballard, the GM of the Indianapolis Colts, came out and said, Michael Pittman will be on the Colts in September. Whether they get a long-term deal done or they franchise tag and keep him, Michael Pittman is not hitting the free agency market.

Starting point is 00:03:28 All right? Mike Evans. All indications are, and of course these could be wrong, but all indications are that Mike Evans is getting ready to get a long-term deal from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which leaves us with Calvin Ridley. Calvin Ridley is the only top-flight wide receiver that has the potential, the possibility that he might actually hit free agency and be available. And look,

Starting point is 00:03:55 I've said I would love to have Calvin Ridley. I would sign Calvin Ridley in a second if he was available. Yes, he's 29 years old. That's on the older side. But he missed a year and a half of football. So his body is not 29 years old. His body is 27 and a half years old in terms of the tread that's on the tires from being in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:04:16 So I think Calvin Ridley's body and performance is going to be younger than his age because of that time miss. Also, you're stealing him away from Jacksonville while they still have to give up a draft pick because they traded for him no matter what. So if Calvin Ridley were to leave in free agency, the Jags still have to give a third round pick to the Falcons for the trade.

Starting point is 00:04:37 Love that. Steal Calvin Ridley from the Jaguars. They have to give up draft capital still even though he left. You sign him to help Will Levis. And here's the thing, with Calvin Ridley, great route runner. Just great route runner, expert route runner,

Starting point is 00:04:52 one of the better route runners in the NFL. I think that he was a little rusty last year. Again, missed out of football for a year and a half. Comes back, trying to do his best. I know that it wasn't a fantastic year, but still, what are we talking about here? Calvin Ridley still had an excellent season last year. So for me, I would absolutely go after Calvin Ridley.

Starting point is 00:05:12 But let's all be honest with ourselves again. Calvin Ridley's probably not going to be available. Jacksonville's probably not going to let him go. And then you go to cornerback. Jalen Johnson set to get a long-term deal from the Chicago Bears. That should be coming down the pike any day. And LeJarius Sneed got franchise tagged. Now, the Chiefs are letting LeJarius Sneed look for a trade,

Starting point is 00:05:32 but as I said, with T. Higgins, as I said, with Justin Jefferson, the Tennessee Titans are not in a position to trade for one of these high-priced free agents. They can't give up valuable draft capital and give out a big-time contract. That is not where this team is at, okay? They are not in a position to make those kind of moves. They aren't one player away from being a Super Bowl contender.

Starting point is 00:05:55 They need to build out this whole thing. So, basically, what I'm saying is the two positions outside of offensive line where the Titans could stand to spend money, there isn't really going to be a lot of people worth spending money on that are actual difference makers that will get you hyped up for what's to come for the Titans. They're going to be either overpaid B-tier guys

Starting point is 00:06:17 or they're going to be less than exciting depth signing, which the Titans need depth signings. We're getting ready to talk about free agency at tight end. The Titans don't need to break the bank at tight end by any means, but is that going to get you hype? Is that going to get you excited for the season? Probably not. Probably not.

Starting point is 00:06:33 So the best names at the positions the Titans need the most probably never hit in the market. So you need to recalibrate your expectations because what the Titans can't do is the Titans can't go out and spend money just to spend it. Hey, we got $80 million in cap. We need to spend $70 of it. No matter who it is. We got to overpay Hollywood. We got to overpay Gabe Davis. We got to overpay Kendall Fuller. No.

Starting point is 00:07:03 That's not what you do. You don't spend the money just because you have it. All right. There's a kid who I grew up with. We'd get any kind of money. I won't say how he got the money, but he'd get any kind of money and the next day you'd have a brand new pair of Jordans. He'd have a brand new shirt, new designer jeans with holes in them, brand new flat bill hat and he'd be asking you for a dollar to buy a McDub. Don't be that. You can't be that.

Starting point is 00:07:29 You know what I mean? So the Titans want to spend money. We all want them to spend money. But if there aren't players out there worth spending money on, then the Titans simply cannot just spend to spend. So prepare yourselves and calibrate your expectations for the Titans not going out there and dropping buku bucks. One thing that you will need to know, rollover cap is a thing in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:07:53 If you did not know, think about rollover minutes for your cell phone back when that was the thing. All right. If the Titans don't spend all their money, they can roll that cap space over to next year, which would be very, very helpful. Like the Titans had $9 million in rollover cap. J-Rob had like $30 million one year early in his tenure. So that does happen. So I'm just saying I want the Titans to add players. I want the Titans to make a splash.

Starting point is 00:08:17 I want the Titans to do all those things. But if there aren't players available who it makes sense to do that on, you don't do it just to do it. Okay, so I know that some of you guys are going to be absolutely livid if the Titans don't go out and spend $60 million. Recalibrate your expectations right now because the odds are based on the current news and the way things are going that none of these top tier options that we would want to

Starting point is 00:08:38 spend money on are going to be available. So recalibrate, set your expectations in the right place and you'll never be disappointed. But with that being said, we do got to talk more free agency here. It's time to continue the 2024 Locked on Titans free agency preview and dive into the tight end position where the Titans don't really need a ton of help, in my opinion. We're going to dive into that. Before we do, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Get buckets with your first bet on FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook.

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Starting point is 00:09:47 So make sure that you visit Fanduel.com slash locked on and shoot your shot. Fanduel, official sports's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about free agency, the way things are going, and how we need to recalibrate our expectations here. But now, again, I want to continue the 2024 Locked on Titans free agency, the way things are going and how we need to recalibrate our expectations here. But now again, I want to continue the 2024 Locked on Titans free agency preview. We're going to talk about tight ends.

Starting point is 00:10:31 Now we talked about backup quarterbacks. We talked about backup running backs already. If you missed those episodes, go back and check those out. But now getting into tight ends before we do, thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. But I'm going to continue with the hype, happy, and hate tears for our free agency preview. And for me, it's going to be a little weird for you guys to hear what I'm about to lay down.

Starting point is 00:11:04 But here's my thing. Let me start here with kind of an analysis of where I see the Titans tight end position. Chigakonkwo is tight end one. Josh Wiley can be a very good backup tight end in receiving situations. Hopefully his strength improves this year. Help from a better coaching staff, especially Bill Callahan on the offensive line, working with the tight ends. Also, you have tight end coach Justin Otten, who came over from being the running back coach before. Really good in the run game. Really understands blocking schemes. Those two coaches together could get better out

Starting point is 00:11:39 of Josh Wiley and Chigin Kanko in blocking. But at the end of the day, the Titans don't need to go out and spend big on tight end. Whether it be in the draft, whether it be in free agency, the Titans do not need to divert high-tier capital to tight end. They don't need to go out and spend big money at tight end in free agency. There's no need to do that. They don't need to spend one of their top three draft picks in the first four rounds on tight end.

Starting point is 00:12:06 They simply don't need to do that. And let me just say this. A lot of you guys listening and a lot of people in my comments and a lot of people online love Jonu Smith. They love Jonu Smith. All right, Jonu Smith is so great.

Starting point is 00:12:20 Miss Jonu, blah, blah, blah. And then at the same time, those same people will say, oh, Chig blah. And then at the same time, those same people will say, oh, Chigaconquo was a disappointment last year. Chigaconquo failed to meet expectations. Chigaconquo isn't tight end when we can't trust him. But they love John.

Starting point is 00:12:39 Chigaconquo, in his second year, as a fifth round pick, outproduced any season Johnnie Smith ever had with the Titans. in his second year, as a fifth-round pick, outproduced any season Johnnie Smith ever had with the Titans. Now, look, in 2020, Johnnie Smith had eight touchdowns. So, if you want to give him all the credit for those eight touchdowns and say that was a better season, then fine. But last year, Chikokonkwo had 54 catches for 528 yards. 54 catches for 528 yards. 54 catches for 528 yards

Starting point is 00:13:07 in his second year as a fifth round pick. Jonu Smith, as a third round pick, his best season in catches and yards with the Titans was 41 catches for 448 yards. So how can you at one point say, oh, Jonu Smith, I miss Jonu Smith. He was so great. And then also call Chigaconquo a disappointment.

Starting point is 00:13:32 Like Chigaconquo as a lower draft pick in his second year has already outproduced Jonu Smith in his fourth year as a third round pick. It just doesn't make any sense that people hate on Chig but love Jonu. It doesn't line up. So with that being said, my whole point here is Jonu Smith is tight end one. And you look at Brian Callahan's offenses and the teams that Brian Callahan has been involved with over the last nine years, rarely is there a top-flight tight end.

Starting point is 00:14:06 It's just not what his offense is focused on. Okay? And then again, go see my point why I don't want Brock Bowers. We'll talk about Brock Bowers at the end of the show. Alright, so, going into free agency for the Titans, the Titans need a tight end three

Starting point is 00:14:21 or a tight end two who can split time as tight end two with Josh Wiley. Maybe you want a tight end three or a tight end two who can split time as tight end two with Josh Wiley. Maybe you want a tight end to a tight end to be whatever you want to call it. The Titans need a third tight end. They don't need a top tight end. Okay. They need a role player who can block Josh Wiley matchup guy should get better at blocking, but at the end of the day, he's going to help you catching passes. We've seen Chega Conkwo get the ball in his hands. All right? So the Titans need balance at the tight end position,

Starting point is 00:14:54 and that's someone who is a big-bodied physical guy who can block. And that is why my hype tier for tight end includes two people. And they're not anywhere near the top names at the position that are available in free agency. But two people. Number one, Adam Troutman. Former Dayton Flyer. Shout out to DYT. 937, baby.

Starting point is 00:15:20 So Adam Troutman is one of the better in-line blockers in the NFL. He's got a little athleticism and he is a big bodied guy. Josh Wiley is tall, but he's skinny. Chica Conqua is just small overall for a tight end. Troutman is big, physical, can be an inline blocker, and he's going to give you a lot more in the passing game than somebody like Jeff Swaim or Trevin Wesko. You know what I mean? So he gives you some of those qualities of being an in-line blocker who can put his hand in the dirt and be next to the tight end, but he isn't also a complete minus in the passing game.

Starting point is 00:15:57 So I love Adam Troutman as an option for the Titans. I think he would make a ton of sense. Also, Drew Sample. Sample is another blocking tight end coming over from Cincinnati. Obviously, there's going to be familiarity there with Brian Callahan and his system. So I think Drew Sample is really a name to watch. Could be that third tight end for the Titans and ultimately be tight end 2A. You know what I mean? The Titans come out on early downs. They got three wide receivers in Drew Sample. You get the second down, third down, you start to work in Josh Wiley, Chigga Conkwell. Use them more. They'll get more snaps. But situationally, you could use a guy like Drew Sample. So I think Adam Troutman and Drew Sample

Starting point is 00:16:38 are the only guys in my hype tier. Again, the Titans do not need to go out and spend a bunch of money on a tight end. They need a specific type of tight end. And I think Troutman and Sample both fit. Now, as for happy, I won't be hype because I think it's an overpay, but I would be happy because I do like these tight ends. Gerald Everett, who I was standing for a few years ago in free agency,

Starting point is 00:17:04 and Noah Fant. Now, I think those guys are too expensive for what the Titans are going to want to do. You could get Troutman sample for $2-3 million. You know what I mean? But bare minimum. I think Everett or Fant could be looking like $5-6 million. So I wouldn't want to pay that much,

Starting point is 00:17:19 which is why they're not my hype tier. But I just think that Noah Fant and Gerald Everett are good serviceable players. Like, they're just good NFL players. They're not great. They're not my hype tier. But I just think that Noah Fant and Gerald Everett are good, serviceable players. Like, they're just good NFL players. They're not great. They're not elite. They're not all pros. But one thing that bothers me about the casual fan mindset is if a guy isn't a pro bowl, all pro level player, then he sucks.

Starting point is 00:17:38 And that's just not the case. Like, it's just not the case. There are players out there who are never going to be all pro or pro bowl or whatever, but they're just good NFL players. And I think that Noah Fant and Gerald Everett are both that, and they could be helpful within an offense. Finally, my hate tier, my hate tier is any of the high-end tight ends that are going to get paid the most money.

Starting point is 00:17:58 Dalton Schultz, Hunter Henry, Mike Gusecki, Jonu Smith. Jonu Smith doesn't make any sense for the Titans. He's not anything what I just described the Titans need. He's not big-bodied. He's not a great blocker. He's a move tight end. The Titans have Chikokonkwo. Chikokonkwo is a more productive version of Jonu Smith.

Starting point is 00:18:20 So why would I go out and pay $, six million dollars for Jonu Smith? We have Jonu Smith at home, alright? So, to me, any of these tight ends that are going to be at the top of the position in money, I'm not interested in at all. That's not where the Titans are at. That's not what the Titans need. Chica Conqua, tight end one.

Starting point is 00:18:39 Josh Wiley is a primary backup. Get a big-bodied, physical, in-line blocker as your third tight end, and let's ride for cheap. All right? That's what the Titans need to do there. But with that being said, we do got to get into some,

Starting point is 00:18:50 just some nonsense that we got to prepare ourselves for over the weekend. So I'm going to dive into that. Before I do, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.

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Starting point is 00:20:24 Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about the free agency nightmare that the Titans might be facing. We talked about the tight ends in free agency in part three of my Locked on Titans free agency preview. Now, I just want to end the week with a Roland's rant for you guys on all of the nonsense and the rumors that are about to come your way. Okay. Before I get into that, though, thank you for making the Locked On Titans podcast

Starting point is 00:20:47 your first listen each and every day. I do want to remind you that Locked On has launched the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube, and now it's also available on Amazon Fire TV and the Free Fire TV channels app. It's called Locked On Sports Today. It's here for you 24-7, covering the top sports stories of the day with local experts from Locked On, plus our It's here for you 24-7 covering the top sports stories of the day

Starting point is 00:21:05 with local experts from Locked On Plus, our national shows covering every league. Find Locked On Sports Today now available on the free Fire TV channels app. It's rumor season, folks. We're here. And I'm already seeing rumors. Hey, the Titans are interested in this guy

Starting point is 00:21:23 and people are tagging me and all these rumor accounts is ML football and JPA And I'm already seeing rumors. Hey, the Titans are interested in this guy. And people are tagging me. And all these rumor accounts. This is ML football and JPA and NFL rums. And guys, all of these Twitter accounts and these online accounts giving you these rumors. And it's nonsense. It's just nonsense. Okay?

Starting point is 00:21:43 Like, at the end of the day, if you don't see the source's name, like this person is reporting this, and it's just rumor per sources, and it's not somebody that you trust, and it's not somebody that you're aware of, just don't fall for it. You know, like the big rumor that came out on Thursday,

Starting point is 00:22:07 before I recorded this, the Titans are interested in Mekhi Becton. Why would they be? Like, the dude has dealt with a ton of injuries. He's had a ton of work ethic concerns. He's showed his butt online. Not literally. You guys,

Starting point is 00:22:26 I'm using the term. But he's just... It doesn't make any sense. Not only that, but he's a guy who struggled with his weight. He's a huge, monstrous guy.

Starting point is 00:22:38 But how does that fit in the Titan zone blocking scheme? Where you have to be athletic and you have to be nimble and you have to move on your feet all the time. Like, it just doesn't make any sense. The Titans are looking to get away from people who are injury prone, who have shown that they get injured all the time. That is Makai Becton. He is the poster

Starting point is 00:22:59 child for, oh, he's hurt all the time. He's overweight. He's not in shape. He doesn't take care of himself. Like, he's hurt all the time. He's overweight. He's not in shape. He doesn't take care of himself. Like he's everything wrong with the athlete mindset. Everybody listening to this probably at some point wanted to be a professional athlete before you got older and realized, oh, I'm not athletic enough. I'm not big enough.

Starting point is 00:23:20 I'm not going to make it. And a lot of us, including me, I'm not going to act like I don't. I look at people like Mekhi Becton with incredible disdain. You have a monstrous frame. You're 6'8", 300 pounds. You have all the athletic tools in the world.

Starting point is 00:23:37 You have all the resources in the world to be the best athlete that you can. And it's your own work ethic and your own mentality that has led you to be a failure. Now, making it to the NFL, blah, blah, blah, having a contract, calling that a failure, that's probably not fair on my end. All right? Probably not. But let's say this way. The reason you didn't hit your potential with all of those gifts that you were given, not because you worked

Starting point is 00:24:04 for it, but because you just were born and your genetics led you to be a mountain of a man. I have a cousin who's like 6'4", 200 some pounds. If I could have been, I'm 5'5". If I could have been that size, I'm probably getting

Starting point is 00:24:19 some free college. May not be D1 or FBS or whatever, but I'd be going to a D3 school for free. But a lot of these guys just skate on talent their whole lives, and then when everyone is talented like they are in the NFL, oh, now you can't hack it. This is a story as old as time.

Starting point is 00:24:42 People skating on talent without the work ethic. That is Mekhi Becton. Uber talented, all of the physical gifts you could ever want, zero of the work ethic. Why would the Titans go after a guy like that? And again, a big bodied, heavy footed, overweight guy like that, why would you want that guy in a zone blocking system that relies on athleticism from your offensive linemen? So we're giving a guy who's always injured,

Starting point is 00:25:12 who doesn't work hard, who doesn't fit the scheme, we're giving him the opportunity? I don't buy it. I don't buy it. So just be on the lookout. It's rumor season. One other thing I want to say before I go. Every prospect is meeting with almost every team in Indianapolis at the Combine. So, oh, they met with the Titans. Well, yeah, they probably met with 25 teams in the NFL. They're at the Combine doing meetings with teams.

Starting point is 00:25:44 So, just don't let yourself get fooled here by these rumors, by this nonsense, and by these, oh, they met with this team. That doesn't mean anything. There are guys that the Titans have drafted that they didn't meet with. There are guys

Starting point is 00:25:59 that the Titans met with that they didn't draft. So, I'm not saying that everything that you read is fake. I'm just saying, be smart enough to take it with a grain of salt because it is rumor season. It is nonsense season. And some of these rumors and stuff don't even make any sense. So, just keep all that in mind,

Starting point is 00:26:19 especially this weekend with the combine and the drills and the talk and the conversation. Keep all of it in mind. But we're going to sort through all of it on Monday when I get back or Sunday night for the YouTube crowd. Shout out to you guys. But with that being said, that's going to do it for this week and this episode of Locked on Titans.

Starting point is 00:26:39 As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Free Agency NIGHTMARE, Finding a Tight End on the Market & Combine Meeting Nonsense

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