Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans L'Jarius Sneed is a SHUTDOWN CORNER, Domination in Data & Fake Knee Issue Concerns

Episode Date: March 25, 2024

The Tennessee Titans got one of the NFL's premier shutdown cornerbacks when they traded for L'Jarius Sneed and the proof is in the numbers. First, look at Sneed's matchups with some of the top receivers in the NFL and you will see domination. Next, Sneed looks even better by the numbers when you compare him to the rest of his peers. Finally, some are concerned about Sneed's supposed knee issues, but there is no data to suggest that concern is logical. Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans Follow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod Subscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. RobinhoodRobinhood has the only IRA that gives you a 3% boost on every dollar you contribute when you subscribe to Robinhood Gold. Now through April 30th, Robinhood is even boosting every single dollar you transfer in from other retirement accounts with a 3% match. Available to U.S. customers in good standing. Robinhood Financial LLC (member SIPC), is a registered broker dealer. 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. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelNew customers, join today and you’ll get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS if your first bet of FIVE DOLLARS or more wins. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started. 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)

New Tennessee Titan, LeJarius Sneed, is the definition of a shut-down cornerback, and I'll prove it 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 GameTime.

Download the GameTime app, create an account, use the code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. A lot to dive into here. Legereus Sneed is a shut down cornerback. We're going to go over some of his biggest matchups from last season. Talk about how he compares to other cornerbacks in the NFL, and I'll finally address those knee concerns. We're diving into the data on today's show. Before we get into it, 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. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world. Shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday. A lot of great stuff coming for you guys later this week. Tomorrow, I'm going to talk about how LeJarrius Sneed impacts the Titans defense, the players around him, even Will Levis as well. So a lot to discuss. We're going to dive into today's show. Before I do, throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching on YouTube.

Show's always free. All I ask for in return is the press of a button. And again, my birthday was last Friday when the LeJarrius Sneed trade happened. I'm asking for a birthday present from you guys, and that's some five-star reviews on Apple Podcasts. But with that being said, it's time to dive in. Because if you guys are hip-hop fans like me, then you know that Young Jeezy is your favorite trapper's favorite trapper. Well, I would tell you that Legereus Sneed is your favorite cornerback's favorite cornerback. All right?

He is an absolute stud. Now, since the trade happened, I've talked about it anecdotally. Yes, physical at the line of scrimmage, press, man coverage, speed and athleticism to go with anybody, but I want to prove it. I want to prove it to you guys using some data, using some numbers, and we got to start with the top tier matchups that LeJarrius Sneed was in in 2023 because one of the big talking points here is the Titans have acquired a true definition of a shutdown lockdown number one corner. And I don't know about

I don't know about you guys, excuse me, but to me, the definition of a shutdown corner is a guy who's going to go mano-a-mano against your number one wide receiver, and he is going to win all day long, and that is exactly what LeJarrius Sneed did in 2023. Let's look at some of these matchups. Number one, Justin Jefferson,

who might be the best wide receiver in the entire NFL. LeJarius Sneed held Justin Jefferson to two catches for 14 yards. A.J. Brown, a name that we all know very well, one catch for four yards against LeJarius Sneed. Jamar Chase, who may be the best wide receiver in the NFL as well. Two catches. 27 yards. Oh, oh, you want to keep going?

What about Stephon Diggs? Another one of the NFL's top wide receivers. One catch. Three yards. Oh, okay. That's not good enough for you. What about Devontae Adams? All right. Devontae Adams had six catches for 66 yards. Okay, that's not good enough for you. What about Devontae Adams? Devontae Adams had six catches for 66 yards.

Two matchups. A pretty good day. A pretty good performance against LeJarrius Steed. The best you're going to find. But we keep going. DJ Moore, one catch, four yards. Garrett Wilson, three catches, only 24 yards. Cortland Sutton, fine, we'll throw him in there. One catch, 23 yards. Garrett Wilson, three catches, only 24 yards. What? Cortland Sutton, fine, we'll

throw him in there. One catch, 23 yards. Tyreek Hill and Keenan Allen got zero catches. Hold on, wait. Carry the two. Yeah, zero catches on LeJarius Sneed in their matchups. Okay? So we have gone through some of the top tier. Oh, and you want another name? Calvin Ridley. Two catches. 32 yards. We just went through 5, 6, 7 of the top 10, 12, 15 wide receivers.

Some of the best wide receivers in the NFL. And they did absolutely nothing against LeJarius Sneed. One-on-one, and we're not talking about just, hey, I'm playing off coverage, hey, I'm playing my side of the field. We are talking about LeJarius Sneed shadowing these wide receivers. Where you go, I am going, and I am locking you down. LeJarius Sneed had the number one highest shadow percentage in the NFL. Nobody moved around with the best wide receiver on the other team

like LeJarrius Sneed. So, again, I have talked anecdotally about how huge this is for the Titans defense and how great of a player LeJarrius Sneed is. But these are the numbers to prove it here. He is a pure number one lockdown, shutdown CB1. And again, I've said it, I've told you it at the line of scrimmage, following the wide receiver, go left, go right, in the slot, doesn't matter. And again, LeJarrius Sneed started out in his NFL career working in the slot.

And then eventually the last couple of seasons moved to the outside. So he's had experience in the slot. He's had experience out wide. And that gives him the ability to go with your No. 1 wide receiver no matter where he wants to line up. You think that lining your No. 1 wide receiver up in the slot is going to get him better opportunities? Not now.

Because LeJarrius Sneed will go with him if he has to. So, I just love those numbers from LeJarrius Sneed. Again, some of the biggest and best wide receiver names in the NFL. Justin Jefferson, A.J. Brown, Jamar Chase, Calvin Ridley. Man, it's nice to say Calvin Ridley's name in that list and know that he's a Tennessee Titan as well. Stephon Diggs, Devontae Adams, Garrett Wilson, DJ Moore, Tyreek Hill, Keenan Allen. I mean, these are some of the best wide receivers you will find in the NFL.

Some of them, some of the best wide receivers we've seen in NFL history. And Snead, one-on-one consistently. Think about playing against all of these guys every single week and the worst performance you gave was against Devontae Adams, six catches, 66 yards. Like, that, there is, there are more stats that we're going to get into because what I want to do is I want to look at some of the raw stats from LeJarius Snead, like some of the box score stuff, and then I want to look at how of the raw stats from LeJarius Sneed, like some of the box score stuff.

And then I want to look at how he compares in some of the advanced data analytics to the rest of the NFL's cornerbacks. But these numbers by themselves, week in, week out, lockdown production from LeJarius Sneed. So what I want from LeJarius Sneed for the Titans is someone who can come in and be that number one cornerback who you can say, hey, we're putting you on their best wide receiver and we have confidence that there's nothing they're going to be able to do.

And that is exactly what LeJarrius Steed has done. And we talk about the division. We talk, the names I just went through, Nico Collins, Michael Pittman, good players, good players. But are they these names? No. Gabe Davis? Ha! Ha ha! No. Gabe Davis? Ha!

Ha ha! Ha! Gabe Davis. Man, Jacksonville really messed that up. As their number one wide, like, if LeJarius Sneed is locking down Justin Jefferson, A.J. Brown, Jamar Chase, Stephon Diggs,

D.J. Moore, Tyreek Hill, Keenan Allen, what do you think he's going to do to Gabe Davis? What an incredible trade for the Tennessee Titans. Again, he shuts down your number one wide receiver. He is your favorite cornerback's favorite cornerback. No question about it. But that's just LeJarius' need on his own. How does LeJarius' need look within the rest of the NFL cornerback group?

Spoiler alert, he's a baller, okay? And I'm going to show you some of that data, and we'll talk about those knee concerns at the end of today's show. Before we continue, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. GameTime is the best place to buy tickets. Period. No questions asked.

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Lowest price. Guaranteed. Titans fans, let's continue today's deep dive into LeJarius Sneed, who is a true No. 1 shutdown corner. We just went over some of his big primetime matchups that he dominated from last year. Now I want to look at LeJarius Sneed more in the landscape of the NFL's cornerback group. We looked at him individually and what he did week in and week out,

but now I want to compare what LeJarrius Steed was able to do with some of the advanced data to the rest of the cornerbacks in the NFL and then we'll talk about those knee concerns at the end of the show. Before I continue, thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee

Titans content all year round, always for free. Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day. But some of the raw box score numbers for LeJarius Sneed, some of just the typical counting stats that you would hear. Number one, completion percentage.

61% completion percentage in his career. In his entire career. That's with some early struggles, you know, as a young player before he really found himself and who he is. 61% completion percentage for his career. Don't test him. Alright?

Not only that, but he's had 10 interceptions in his NFL career. He's had at least two every single year. I have a playoff interception as well, so you could call it 11. He's had 40, 40 pass breakups. He had 14 passes defended in 2023.

Elite ball production here. I mean, a guy who is just not allowing his man to catch the football even if they throw at him. He's had 303 tackles in his career. He had 120 in 2022. So this is a guy who we've talked about the coverage. We're all breaking down the coverage. We're talking about, you know, yards, catches,

and the elite matchups. We're talking breaking down the coverage. We're talking about, you know, yards, catches, and the elite matchups. We're talking about completion percentage. I mean, he's a guy who's willing to come up and tackle in the run game. Again, started out as an inside player, as a slot cornerback. And when you play in the slot, you must be physical. So he's giving you everything that you want in coverage. All the while, you know he's willing to come up and play the run and willing to hit.

Like, deadly combination. Deadly combination. Let me throw this at you here as we get from some of the raw box score stuff to some of the advanced data. According to NextGenStats, out of 45 cornerbacks in the NFL in 2023,

with 400 or more coverage snaps, so you're in coverage, 400 snaps or more, 45 cornerbacks qualified. LeJarrius Sneed is one of four cornerbacks. One of only four cornerbacks that didn't allow a touchdown in the regular season.

You're not scoring. You're not catching the ball. Look, if you're a number one wide receiver, you're doing nothing. If they throw the ball to you, LeJarrius Steen's knocking it away. If you do catch it, he's tackling you right away. And when you play him, you're not scoring. Zero touchdowns allowed. Only four cornerbacks out of 45 that qualify. I do also want to say this. You want to know who one of those other four cornerbacks was? Roger McCreary. I've been trying to tell you guys how good

Roger McCreary is, and some of you just do not understand. You just don't get it. You don't see it. You don't, you know, and look, I don't mean to talk down. Some of you just don't know the game well enough to see it and slot cornerback. You're not watching film, blah, blah, blah. I get it, but some people are brash and harsh and outlandish about Roger McCreary not being a good player,

and you're just, you're insane. He's one of the best nickel cornerbacks in the entire NFL already. What are we talking about? Anyways, this is about LeJarrius Sneed, not Roger McCreary, but the point remains. Now you have two cornerbacks out of the four that didn't allow a touchdown last year. And they're both on your team,

in your secondary, in your cornerback room. This is how big the LeJarrius Sneed trade is. I mean just absolutely critical. You move forward. Ben Arthur, Fox Sports did a great article on LeJarrius Sneed a while ago, but pointed out

LeJarrius Sneed was second in the entire NFL in coverage success rate. 66.7%. Two-thirds of the time, LeJarrius Sneed is going to win. Alright?

So, number two in coverage success rate in the NFL. Number two in expected points allowed per target.. So when they target LeJarrius Sneed, the expected points allowed is minus.33. I mean, he is literally removing points from the other team. So second in both of those great data categories. Then, passer rating allowed. Third best in the NFL. 55.5. Do not throw at LeJarius Sneed. Another one.

Completion percentage. I talked about his career completion percentage earlier. He was fourth in the NFL in completion percentage allowed. 50%. In the NFL, incompletion percentage allowed, 50%. I think 81 targets on the year only gave up 42 catches. Just absolutely absurd. And it gets even better. It gets even better. You look at yards allowed per target.

Like when they actually throw at him how many yards he's allowing. LeJarrius Steed was fourth best in the NFL with only 5.34 according to No Flags Films. Again, more from No Flag Films. Sixth in the NFL in ball production. That's interceptions and pass breakups. We talked about it already. Sixth in the NFL in the total between PBUs and interceptions and pass breakups. We talked about it already. Sixth in the NFL in the total between PBUs and interceptions.

He was 10th in forced incompletion percentage. 18.6% of the times they threw at him, he forced an incompletion. So whether you want to look at the raw data, whether you want to look at all this advanced analytics, whether you want to look at his matchup data against the number one wide receivers in the NFL, whether it's just LeJarius Sneed on his own, absolutely dominant. Whether it's LeJarius Sneed within the context of other cornerbacks in the NFL, absolutely dominant.

I mean, what more could you want? What more could you want? What more could you want? He checks the boxes all over the place. We talked about his impact on the Tennessee Titans as a team, playoffs, the draft, Super Bowl contention, all that on yesterday's show. Drilled in today to look at LeJarius Sneed as an individual and his production and his stats. And then, like I said, tomorrow, we're going to dive into how he impacts his teammates and what it could mean for Jeffrey Simmons,

Will Levis, Chito, Roger, all those guys. This is a ripple. That's why I said yesterday that this moves the needle for me in a big way in terms of how I feel about the Titans with their win total, playoffs, the division chances, Super Bowl window, all that. Like, LeJarrius Sneed is that great of a player. And if you didn't believe me with the anecdotal evidence that I gave you over the first two episodes we talked about it, then I hope you believe the data that's right in front of you right here. Let me know which stat sticks out to you the most. But now I got to address these concerns about LeJarJarius Sneed's knee

issues. I think they're totally unfounded and overblown, and I got data to back me up on that as well. So we're going to get into it now. Before we do, though, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Say goodbye to busted brackets, because I know your bracket is busted right now, folks. Because FanDuel lets you bet on every game of the tourney,

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We talked about the raw stats, the advanced analytics showing how dominant LeJarrius Sneed is. But now I want to keep looking at that data. And I want to use the data to talk about the major concern that people have with LeJarrius Sneed. There's talk about the contract, the trade compensation, but anybody who has anything bad to say about this trade typically is going to hit on the Legereus Sneed knee concerns.

All right, before I get into my thoughts on that, do want to let you guys know, thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. But I want to ask you, are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day? Do you have to turn down the volume with all the shouting? Make the switch to Locked on Sports today.

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and he never practices, and it's blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and I've heard it all. And I think it's all, quite frankly, nonsense. Just like how I felt about the Tajay Spears thing. Look, if you have a guy who is injury prone, who misses games, who isn't on the field,

and it turns out that, you know, there's some underlying issue or whatever, then yes, it's fair to have concern. But not with guys who play football. Like, it just, it doesn't make any sense to me that you would have like, you know, to me it would be like, hey, watch out. When the gas is low, this car really starts to underperform. Even though there's no example of the car underperforming when it's low on gas. Like, it's just a, we think this might be a concern.

This might be an issue. And there's no logical evidence to point to, like people who are still worried about Tajay Spears. He can't handle the load. His knees are going to give out. What evidence do you have to tell you that? Where is the evidence to prove that? Or are you just being concerned for no reason, just worrying for no reason?

Worrying is like paying a debt that may never come true or that may never come due. It's the right way. Paying a debt that may never come true or that may never come due. It's the right way. Paying a debt that may never come due. I'm not worried about LeGarrius Sneed's knees. You know why? Because I look. Oh, wow.

15 games played 2022 or 2021. 17 games played in 2022. 16 games played in 2022, 16 games played in 2023, deep postseason runs where he didn't miss time. LeJarrius has been playing 20 games a season for four straight years. And all he does is go out there on the football field and play and dominate. But yet everyone's worried about this knee issue. Well, the knee issue didn't bother him in Kansas City.

Last year, he played 1,260 snaps. That's the second most snaps of any player in the NFL. And this is a guy that you're telling me you're worried about durability concerns? Like, Titans fans have been so worried about the injuries for so long, and they're so worried about signing injury

prone players, and if you missed a single freaking game with a hamstring injury, Titans fans don't want you. Because you're an injury prone guy. And then you got a guy who played the second most snaps of any player in the NFL last year, who's played 15 games, 17 games, 16 games, and Titans fans are still worried about durability? Like, what do you want? What would make you

happy? What would make you not have concern? Another thing that I want to point out, according to FWordsPod, my guy Zach Lyons, the Chiefs had 63 practices last year from the start of the season to the Super Bowl. 63 practices. Well, Jerry Esteed was a full participant in 68% of those practices. 43 practices. He was a full participant.

Only 14 of 63 was he limited. That's only 22%. And then he only missed a did not participate. He only missed six practices all year. And all six of those practices were in the last two weeks of the regular season. He missed all three practices in week 17, and then he played 100% of the snaps in the game. And then he missed all three practices in week 18, but he rested because the Chiefs had their situation figured out. So it was a DNP for rest because he was their best cornerback,

one of their best players, and they just rested guys in the last week of the year. So like, where is the evidence? 17, 17 of the 20 games. He had 100% snaps. So again, look, maybe a freak accident happens. You never know. Like knock on wood, whatever.

But there is no evidence in LeJarius Sneed's playing career to say that he has durability issues that should spook fans in a severe way. It's just not there. It's not in the data. It's not on the tape. So, whether it be his ability to lock down number one wide receivers, whether it be his comparison analytically to other cornerbacks in the NFL,

whether it be the injury concerns that are unfounded, you look at the data, you deep dive into who LeJarrius Snead is as a player, and it is clear the Tennessee Titans have got a number one lockdown, shutdown freak cornerback. What else could you possibly want? What else could you be upset about? If you're a Tennessee Titans fan, you have no choice. There is no standing ground to be anything other than completely excited

about this move. Absolutely fantastic. But with that being said, also, I just want to throw in a couple more things here at the end. Shout out to Ron Davenport, ESPN, to Ron Davenport. I called TD a friend of mine. We talk quite a bit. He does great work, obviously. But he pointed out Snead ran a 4.3740 at the combine. Had a 1.51 10-yard split. 41-inch vertical. 10-foot, 9-inch broad jump. I mean, he's a freak.

His RAS score, which is a term that you guys should be familiar with as we move into draft season, his RAS score was a 9.46. So, elite production in his career, elite in matchups, elite athletic profile, durability is fantastic. Again, for the Titans to get him for a third rounder in 2025

and a freaking pick swap in the seventh round, LeJarrius Sneed is your favorite cornerback's favorite cornerback. But with that being said, again, tomorrow, I think the plan is, the plan is to talk about how LeJarrius Sneed impacts everyone around him. But as always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.