Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Mike McGlinchey Rumors, Free Agent Options at RB if Henry is traded and Henry Compliments

Episode Date: March 2, 2023

The Tennessee Titans need offensive line help desperately this offseason. They need to look to free agency and the NFL Draft to solve the issue. One of the top names on the free agent market is offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey. A current rumor has McGlinchey being interested in the Titans and that is good news. Next, if Derrick Henry is traded, who are some running backs in free agency that could make some sense for the Titans. Also, if Henry isn't traded, who are some complimentary options that would fit with the King.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.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

According to the Combine Buzz, one free agent offensive lineman is interested in joining the Tennessee Titans. I'll tell you who it is and why it would be a perfect match 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, we've got a lot to discuss on today's show. Mike McGlinchey, one of the top free agent offensive tackles on the market, is interested in the Tennessee Titans according to recent rumors. And we will continue our free agent preview and take a look at the running back position. Who are some running backs that make sense if the Titans do trade Derrick Henry? Who are some running backs that make sense

if the Titans just look for a compliment to Derrick Henry? We'll go over all of that. Before we get into it, I do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Make every moment more. Place your first $5 bet to get $150 in free bets. Win or lose, just visit fanduel.com slash locked on to get started today. Also, 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. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure you get subscribed and stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast where it's your team every day. Starting in here, we've got a little bit of a rumor from Jared Stillman. Of all people, a local Nashville radio show host.

He's been at the Combine. And look, guys, we get all these free agent deals. The moment, the moment that free agency kicks off, you start to hear all these details. How can these teams have all of these contract details work out the moment that free agency opens when they're supposed to just be able to start talking? Well, it's because of the combine. All of these general managers, all of these heavy hitters for all of these different teams are all in one place in Indianapolis for the combine,

and that's where all of these discussions start. So while I'm not telling you that we are going to 100% believe this rumor or this report from Jared Stillman, I am going to tell you that the combine is a place where a rumor or buzz like this would begin, and we could actually believe that it's a conversation that is happening. So what exactly did Stillman have to say? Well, here is the tweet, quote, hearing there is interest from free agent tackle Mike McGlinchey in joining the Titans. McGlinchey knows Rand Carthon from San Francisco and could be an option at either tackle spot. Played left tackle in college at Notre Dame before playing right tackle in San Francisco, he figures to have a robust market. And this comment from Jared Stillman also comes in combination with John Lynch, the San Francisco 49ers general manager, basically saying that they don't expect they'll be able to sign Mike McGlinchey because they're not going to be able to pay Trent Williams and Mike McGlinchey two top

offensive line salaries at the same time. So they said if for some reason McGlinchey, two top offensive line salaries at the same time. So they said if for some reason McGlinchey doesn't find what he's looking for, then San Francisco would be interested in having him back. But John Lynch even said that's very unlikely to happen. And I would think a team like the Titans would be one of the reasons why that is unlikely to happen. Put it this way, McGlinchey would be a home run signing for the Titans for a multitude of different reasons. Number one, McGlinchey's a pretty good player.

He was ranked the number 29th best offensive tackle in the NFL by Pro Football Focus with a 70.1 overall grade. He was the 21st best run blocking offensive tackle in the NFL with a 70.7 grade. Now, he was only 44th in pass blocking with a 65.4 grade, but you compare that to Dennis Daly and Nicholas Petit-Ferrer, both of them were 50 or below. So, still a big upgrade. And remember, there are 64 starting offensive tackles with two on each team. So, being ranked 21, 29th, 44th,

these aren't top tremendous offensive tackle grades, but they're solid starting level offensive lineman grades at the end of the day. And that's what the Titans need. The Titans aren't going to be able to go rob one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL. They're not going to be able to go take Laramie Tunzel, or they're not going to be able to go steal Trent Williams from San Francisco.

They got to work with the market that is there. We're going to go over the market more as we continue our free agent preview. But you're looking at Orlando Brown, who might be franchise tagged by the Chiefs. Once again, that's probably the most likely option to happen. And other than that, you have Caleb McGarry and Mike McGlinchey. Would you rather play Caleb McGarry, who's probably a $15 million a year player,

pay him $20 million because he's the number one tackle on the market? Or would you rather pay a guy like Mike McGlinchey? I think it would be better to pay Mike McGlinchey $15 to $17 million rather than break the bank for a player who maybe isn't worth it. At the end of the day, one of the big things the Titans are looking for is durability. McGlinchey played 17 games in 2022. He has played at least 12 games in four out of his five seasons in the NFL. Two years of 16 games when it was only 16 games,

and then last year, 17 games. So he's a guy who plays football. He stays out on the field. Not only that, but as Stillman said, could be interested in following Rand Carthon from San Francisco to Tennessee. There might be a comfortability factor there for Mike McGlinchey that makes sense, and versatility. If we're all worried about, well, NPF could play right tackle, what would we do with, well, NPF could slide to guard, What would we do with that? Well, NPF could slide to guard, and I don't think that would be that big of a deal.

But at the end of the day, McGlinchey played left tackle in college, so it wouldn't be insane to think that he might be able to flip over and play left tackle. But I still think you sign McGlinchey, you move NPF to right guard or left guard, you draft Paris Johnson or Broderick Jones or one of the other tackles that you guys like, maybe an Anton Harrison, a Jalen Duncan,

DeJuan Jones, on and on and on. And you still have the ability to put the best five offensive linemen out there for the Titans. So I think it makes a ton of sense. I think that McGlinchey is probably my number one target for the Titans in free agency. And whether you want to believe the report or not, if you choose to believe it, it's nice to know that McGlinchey is probably my number one target for the Titans in free agency. And whether you want to believe the report or not, if you choose to believe it, it's nice to know that McGlinchey may have some interest in coming to the Titans as well.

But with that being said, we are going to continue our Locked On Titans 2023 free agency preview. Earlier in the week, we talked about the quarterback free agent market. Now I want to get into running backs. And there are two paths that the Titans are going to go down. If they get rid of Derrick Henry, which I don't think is going to happen, but we can at least plan for it. If they get rid of Derrick Henry,

what would be some options for them in free agency? And then the more likely option, if they keep Derrick Henry, who could be a complement to Derrick Henry? As we know, with Derrick Henry's skill set, there needs to be a complement back who can catch the ball out of the backfield as well. So we'll go into both different paths of free agency at the running back spot

in just a moment. Before we get into it, I do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. It's the best part of the NBA season right now. Literally the best time in the NBA. And it's also the perfect time to download the FanDuel Sportsbook app, America's number one sportsbook app. Right now, new customers can get a no-sweat first bet up to $1,000.

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We just talked about the Mike McGlinchey rumors or the buzz and what that can mean for the Titans, how good of a fit McGlinchey would be. I think it would be excellent for the Titans to lock Mike McGlinchey in at right tackle, left tackle if necessary. But, man, if the Titans could come out of this offseason with Mike McGlinchey at right tackle and Paris Johnson Jr. at left tackle, we are cooking, ladies and gentlemen. That would be very, very exciting. But we do have to continue the show and talk about

the running back options on the free agent market. We talked about quarterback before. We're hitting running back today. We'll get wide receiver, tight end, offensive line all in the coming days, and we'll wrap up all of the offensive and defensive positions by the time free agency kicks off on March the 15th. But I want to kind of take this a different way than just going top of the market, mid-market, bargain bin. You got to look at this two different paths. Now, there has been some buzz that the Titans could trade Derrick Henry. I think that's nonsense. I don't think the Titans are going to trade Derrick Henry,

but I didn't think the Titans would trade A.J. Brown. And look what they did. So I can be wrong. I've been wrong before. I'll be wrong again. And maybe I'm wrong. And the Titans do trade Derrick Henry. Well, if they do that,

they certainly can't rely on Hassan Haskins. And there's no guarantee that they're going to be able to get a running back they like in the draft. It's a pretty good running back class. But at the end of the day, the Titans have so many needs outside of running back, you can't always guarantee you're going to get the prospect that you want. So the Titans may decide to get rid of Derrick Henry's $16 million cap hit and get somebody a lot cheaper. Again, not my expectation, not what I

think is going to happen, but we have to prepare for anything that could come down the pike. So if the Titans do that, some names that could make sense. Number one, Raheem Mostert. Mostert runs like his hair is on fire and he is still one of the fastest players in the NFL. His market evaluation right now is like two and a half million dollars on a contract. So the Titans could choose to go super, super cheap. Now, Mostert's been in the league for eight years. He's run for over 2,500 yards, 14 touch. It's funny that Mostert's been in the league for eight years and he's run for 2,500 yards as his career total. And Derrick Henry ran for 2,000 yards in one season. It's pretty funny just to think about that.

But either way, either way, Mostert has had injury issues in his career. He's been in and out, in and out, but he played 16 games last year for the Miami Dolphins. And if the Titans went this path, they would most likely be drafting a running back, signing a cheap running back in free agency. So it wouldn't be as big of a deal if Mostert got hurt because it's the running back position. You just go get a Deontay Foreman or a Dontrell Hilliard off the couch. They might do all right, as we saw in 2021 from the Titans. And keep one of those names in the back of your mind,

or both of them in the back of your mind. So you go out and get Mostert. You also draft somebody. You got Hassan Haskins as well. Now you have a running back by committee that doesn't sound as enticing as having Derrick Henry on your team, of course. But if you look at how teams have won the Super Bowl in recent years, that's kind of how they do it.

Because you don't want to spend a lot of money at running back. It's just not important enough to do that. So if the Titans got rid of Derrick Henry, I think it would be a major shift in how they approach the running back position and they would want to go with somebody cheap and Mostert has that connection to San Francisco where Ran Carthon was.

Again, he still runs hard. He's a downhill runner with great speed. Could make some sense. If they want to go a little bit more expensive than that and go for somebody with a little more talent, Kareem Hunt. Kareem Hunt's a free agent now. He's expected to get around maybe $5 to $7 million. Hunt's had his past issues.

We're all aware of that. But he's also super talented. He's a super talented back, and he's done a great job as the second fiddle in Cleveland. I mean, he's played six seasons in the NFL. He's got 4,025 yards and 31 rushing touchdowns to add to 211 catches, 1,806 receiving yards and 17 receiving touchdowns. The guy can do it catching the ball out of the backfield. He can run the ball as well. So despite the past issues, if the Titans were comfortable with that, I think, you know, saving yourself a lot of money on Derrick Henry and then bringing in a guy like Kareem Hunt, you could still have a very talented running back for a lot cheaper, who honestly has a more diverse skill set than Derrick Henry. So again, driving this point home,

I do not think that Derrick Henry will be traded, driving this point home, I do not think that Derrick Henry will be traded, but at least you got a plan for what might happen because I didn't think A.J. Brown would be traded either. But outside of those two, Deontay Foreman. Foreman looked like baby Henry for half a season. With the Titans in 2021, he had 113 carries, 566 yards, three touchdowns. I mean, Foreman had some great moments. He was better than Derrick Henry in the playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. He's had 203 carries, 914 yards, and five touchdowns last year in Carolina. So almost a thousand-yard performance from Deontay Foreman.

I think that if you got rid of Henry for some reason, go get Deontay Foreman for two to three million dollars and let him run it. You've seen him do it before. Again, a lot of running back production comes down to the offensive line. If you can block it up front, you can grab a guy off the street like Foreman

and still get a lot of good yards. I mean, the reality here is the Titans ran for about the same amount of yardage in 2021 in the first half with Henry as they did in the second half with Foreman and Hilliard. So it's at least a conversation worth having that if the Titans did trade away Derek Henry, I think bringing back Foreman to be the lead back along with a rookie could make a lot of sense.

The last name that I want to mention here is Dearness Johnson, another guy coming from Cleveland who's just behind Nick Chubb, and Nick Chubb is a freak, okay? Nick Chubb, Derrick Henry, Jonathan Taylor, those are like the best running backs in the NFL as pure runners. So you could see why these guys would be behind Nick Chubb, but Dearness Johnson has only played four seasons in the NFL, and he has not had a lot of tread on the tires.

He had 100 carries in 2021 when Nick Chubb was hurt, but outside of that, he had four carries in a season, four carries in a season, 33 carries in a season. I mean, he does not have a lot of tread on the tires. So Dearness Johnson is a guy who's shown when you give him a good amount of carries, he can be a pretty good running back. I mean, the year he got 100 carries in 2021, he went for 534 rushing yards and three touchdowns

and still had 19 catches for 137 yards. So he's not a guy who's just a one-trick pony. He can get out of the backfield and catch the ball a little bit, even if that's not his pure skill set or anything like that. So I think a guy like Dearness Johnson, who may be 27 years old, but has not had a lot of tread on his tires, could come in and prove to be way better than the contract that he would get paid, which is probably going to be like two to three million dollars. So that could make a lot of sense for the Titans if they do part ways with Derrick Henry.

But now we got to transition and talk what I would admit is the more realistic route the Titans will probably go. And that's getting a complimentary back to Derrick Henry because I don't think Hassan Haskins is that. I don't think Julius Chestnut or Jonathan Ward or anything like that. And again, like I said, the Titans have so many needs. They may not be able to use a draft pick on a running back. They just might not be able to find the time to do that. So who are some complimentary options to go with Derrick Henry? We're going to discuss that in just a moment.

Before we do, I 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 on all platforms, all year long, and always for free. But now for your second listen, check out the Locked On NFL Draft Podcast. You got Damian Parson and Keith Sanchez. They provide in-depth coverage of the biggest NFL draft prospects. They'll give you deep dives into sleepers and hidden gems that can change the Tennessee

Titans franchise. leapers, and hidden gems that can change the Tennessee Titans franchise. Find Locked On NFL Draft wherever you get your podcasts on YouTube, your favorite podcast platform. It's part of the Locked On Podcast Network where it's your team every day. Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about the rumors about Mike McGlinchey and his interest in the Tennessee Titans. We talked about some free agent options for the Titans

if they were to trade Derrick Henry. But now I want to take the realistic path of looking at some options on the free agent market for the Titans if they look for a complimentary piece to Derrick Henry. Do want to remind you guys though, I am going to be continuing the 2023 Locked on Titans free agency preview

throughout this week and next week. We're going to be going position by position through the free agent market. Running back may not be one of the big needs and one of the most interesting free agent conversations we are going to have, but wide receiver, tight end, offensive line is all next, and those are going to be barn burners.

So make sure that you lock in to the Locked on Titans podcast. But with that being said, we do got to look at some of these options on the free agent market that would be good compliments to Derrick Henry. And a name that I have been asking for to go with Derrick Henry for a few years now is Jerick McKinnon.

McKinnon may go back to Kansas City because the odds are he's not going to get more than about $2 to $3 million on the free agent market. So if the money is the same everywhere, why not go back to Kansas City where you know you're going to be used properly and you got a chance to win a Super Bowl. So I wouldn't begrudge Jarek McKinnon whatsoever if he decided to just go back to Kansas City. But if the Titans were able to add Jarek McKinnon, my God, would it be a perfect, perfect fit with Derrick Henry? I mean, McKinnon had 56 catches last year, 512 yards and nine touchdowns.

All of those numbers are better than the best wide receiver or tight end on the Titans last year. Robert Woods had like 52 catches, 530 yards and three touchdowns. McKinnon, as a running back, beat all of those numbers. That's a guy I want to compliment Derrick Henry. That's also a guy who you might be able to use in the slot and you could use as a gadget player to try to get some opportunities.

So McKinnon would be perfect. I wanted Jerick McKinnon a few years ago. I wanted him last year. I'm expecting him to go back to Kansas City, but my God, that would be a perfect fit with Derrick Henry. Perfect complement of skill sets right there. On that note, another guy, maybe not as sexy of a name, but another guy who could do that and give you a little bit as an actual runner too

is Kenyon Drake. Kenyon Drake is going to be even cheaper than Jerick McKinnon. He's expected to get about a million.5 million to $2 million. He's had years of 32 catches, 239 yards, 53 catches, 477 receiving yards, 50 catches, 345 receiving yards. Just last year, he had three catches for 291 yards. I mean, the guy can still catch the ball out of the backfield and make plays. And he has a little bit more as an actual runner than Jarrett McKinnon,

a guy you can actually hand the ball off to. So I think Kenyon Drake could make some sense for the Titans. The last name that I want to mention here is Dontrell Hilliard. Look, Hilliard led the Titans in receiving touchdowns last year. Now, I think that's more of a commentary on how piss poor the Titans offense was than it is Hilliard being so talented. But either way, he was able to do it.

He fit nicely. And again, he's one of those receiving satellite backs who can compliment Derrick Henry's power skill set. Okay? So, Hilliard, if they brought him back for $1 million, $2 million, like they paid him last year, I think that could make a ton of sense. 21 catches, 177 yards, four touchdowns before he got injured, has kick return ability. I think that Hilliard is a really good match with Derrick Henry. If they brought Hilliard back, I wouldn't be mad about it. I'd rather see them get somebody in the draft,

but I recognize, like I was mentioning earlier, the needs for the Titans that are much more important than backup complementary running backs, so they may not be worth using a draft pick on that position. I get that, but at the end of the day, if Hilliard was back, couldn't be mad about that. He does fit very nicely, and we've already seen what he's able to do within the Titans offense.

Even though it'll be switching from Todd Downing to Tim Kelly, there will be some carry over as we discussed on yesterday's show. So I think Hilliard could still be used successfully within the Titans offense, and again, be a nice compliment to Derrick Henry's skill set. Those are some running backs that make sense for me,

depending on what path the Titans take. That's going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this is Locked on Titans. you