Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans NEED Justin Simmons at Safety, Best Free Agent Tackles & Needed Depth Spots

Episode Date: May 1, 2024

The Tennessee Titans have gone through the first major wave of free agency and the draft, but there are still holes remaining on the roster. Most notably at safety where the lack of talent requires th...em to go out and make a big move. The best one they can make is signing All-Pro Justin Simmons and they have the money to do so. Next, the Titans solved one tackle spot with JC Latham, but right tackle is still a big concern. Pickings are slim though and the Titans may be better off riding with Nicholas Petit-Frere. Finally, there are also holes at edge, center and tight end, but other than edge, there aren't a lot of good options for help. Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans TicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc 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!Home ChefNo more asking "what are we going to have for dinner" thanks to Home Chef and their chef designed recipes. For a limited time, Home Chef is giving Locked On listeners 18 free meal, free dessert for life, and free shipping on your first box. Head to homechef.com/LockedOn today.   Monopoly GO!Get in the game and join your friends. Download MONOPOLY GO! now free on The App Store or Google Pay. The mobile hit twist on classic MONOPOLY. 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. LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply. 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 LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning GUARANTEED That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – win or lose! 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)

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Starting point is 00:00:00 The Tennessee Titans have a major need at safety, and they need to sign Justin Simmons. I'll explain why on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. 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 Monopoly Go. I admit I have a competitive side and it is a big fan of Monopoly Go, the mobile hit twist
Starting point is 00:00:43 on classic Monopoly. Join your friends and download Monopoly Go now, free on the App Store or Google Play. We're going to talk about the remaining needs the Tennessee Titans have after the draft and what veteran free agents could fit the bill. We're going to talk safety, offensive line, some other needs as well. Before I get into it, I 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.
Starting point is 00:01:14 You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Shout out to my everydayers out there. Hope you guys have enjoyed this week of shows. Tomorrow, I'm going to have a mailbag for you. So send those questions to me at tiktaktitans on Twitter. And I'll make sure to answer them on tomorrow's show.
Starting point is 00:01:34 But today is about looking at where the Tennessee Titans roster sits after the draft. We talked about draft grades. We talked about long-term. We talked about short-term impact for this rookie class. But now we look at where the roster is and where it needs to improve. And the number one spot that stands out to me is safety. The Tennessee Titans do not have two starting safeties, in my opinion. So obviously, you have Imani Hooker. I'm very high on Imani Hooker. I thought the conversation earlier in the offseason in some portions of the fan base about cutting Imani Hooker was absolutely insane. And obviously that looks insane now. We can confirm that that is as crazy as it sounded when it happened in real time.
Starting point is 00:02:14 But outside of Imani Hooker, the Titans don't have another starting level safety. Now, I know that some people will immediately jump to Elijah Molden. And look, I was a huge fan of Elijah Molden his first year as an early down nickel. He struggled to play man coverage for the Titans. He's not somebody that you want garden slot wide receivers a ton. But as an early down nickel that could basically play as a pseudo linebacker, blitz off the edge, wrap up and make tackles, take on blocks, play with physicality, blitz, all that stuff. Elijah Molden
Starting point is 00:02:45 did a good job there. But the realities of his situation is he cannot guard wide receivers one on one. He is not going to be trusted in coverage in tight situations with quick wide receivers. So considering that, he was moved to safety. And I saw Elijah Molden as a dime safety. Somebody who can, again, play that dime linebacker role next to a traditional linebacker, four down linemen, one real linebacker, Elijah Molden, and then the rest of the defensive back. And that's the role that he played for the Titans last year. And that second year for him was just plagued with injuries. So we barely saw him. But last year, he got moved to safety, started making an impact as a dime safety. I think even he could play as a deep free safety if you don't have him one-on-one and it's just his job
Starting point is 00:03:29 to kind of read the defense, make sure he doesn't get deep. He can provide you some versatility there. But on a down-to-down basis, Elijah Molden is not a starting safety. So with that being said, the only other people on the roster at safety at this point are Mike Brown, who missed most of last year with injury, Matthew Jackson, an undrafted free agent from last year, and Shaheem Carter, who's been with the organization as kind of a roster bubble guy, practice squad, maybe up here and there. None of those guys are going to be starters for you as well. I think Mike Brown and Elijah Molden are going to battle each other
Starting point is 00:04:02 for that dime safety role, along with a guy like James Williams, who the Titans just drafted out of Miami. So really the big hole at safety is that second starting spot. And the Titans need a starting caliber player to fill that spot. And that's why I think they need to go out and sign Justin Simmons, the former pro bowler from the Denver Broncos. He was released as a cap casualty this offseason. Again, two Pro Bowls. This is a guy who's played in 118 career games. Made a ton of starts.
Starting point is 00:04:32 He's been one of the better safeties in the NFL for the last few years. Still just over 30 years old. So I think he's got some good play left in him. He's had 30 interceptions in his career. 30 interceptions. Okay? 19 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 600 and 4
Starting point is 00:04:54 tackles. I mean, he's been an all-pro. Not only a pro-bowler twice, he's been an all-pro player four times, including last year when he was second team All-Pro. Just last year, a Pro Bowler and a second team All-Pro. So, to me, this is a high-level player.
Starting point is 00:05:13 He had three interceptions last year, had six the year before that, five the year before. This is a guy who has consistently made plays on the ball for the Tennessee Titans. And the Titans have, you know, $20 to $25 million of cap space. They can make this happen. They can make this happen. And he is by far, by far the best safety on the market. And the fact that he's still out there,
Starting point is 00:05:36 he's got to be waiting for the right deal. And the Titans need to be the team that blows the doors off and get him in the building. You get him a physical rangy safety that makes plays on the ball, along with Amani Hooker, along with LeJarius Sneed, along with Chito, along with Roger McCreary, add in Jarvis Brownlee.
Starting point is 00:05:53 I mean, that's the best secondary in the NFL. I think that is absolutely one of the top three secondaries in the NFL. So Simmons, to me, is someone that you have to go get. And I am just hoping and wishing that at some point during this week, we're going to hear that the Tennessee Titans signed Justin Simmons. And I'm going to have to come on here
Starting point is 00:06:13 for an emergency podcast to break down the move. Okay, because he is the guy the Titans need to go get. It is by far the clearest, most obvious need for the Tennessee Titans. Okay, because I would, you know, we're going to talk about offensive tackle next. But if I had to choose between Nicholas Petit-Ferrer at right tackle and Justin Simmons at safety versus having Elijah Molden starting at safety
Starting point is 00:06:40 and then one of the free agent offensive tackles we're going to talk about, it's really not close. I'm taking Simmons and riding with NPF at right tackle under Bill Callahan. So when you think about it that way, to me, again, it's not close. Simmons is the number one free agent target on the board for me. Now there are other options at safety as well. I think Marcus May is a guy who does make some sense. He has history with Denard Wilson during their time together with the Jets.
Starting point is 00:07:04 May is just not the level of player that Justin Simmons is, though. He's not as good in coverage. He is willing to be physical. He can come down and blitz. He's going to be able to come forward and make plays and hit guys over the middle. But he's just not a guy who's going to be as good and as reliable and as consistent in coverage. And he's not going to be a guy who takes away the ball as much as Simmons does at this point in his career either. So that's why Simmons is ahead of him. But also you could look at a guy like Quandre Diggs,
Starting point is 00:07:28 who played for the Seattle Seahawks recently. He's kind of a back-end guy who could be that rangy, free safety, allow Amani Hooker to play more towards the line of scrimmage. That could make sense. If we really want to start going down, Eddie Jackson, who is with the Bears for a long time, turnover machine, good in coverage, Eddie Jackson, who is with the Bears for a long time, turnover machine, good in coverage, willing to come up and play. He's not the level of player that maybe some of the other guys that we talked about, Quandre Diggs, Justin Simmons,
Starting point is 00:07:52 but he's not a terrible guy either. I would take him over Elijah Molden as the starter. And then Tracy Walker, who is a safety for the Detroit Lions, who got suspended for gambling and has been reinstated. He could be an option as well, but after missing some time with the suspension, I think now you're getting really risky if you want to go with Tracy Walker.
Starting point is 00:08:08 So to me, the Titans need to go out and get Justin Simmons the final piece to one of the best secondaries in the NFL. And as having a defensive coordinator who's a secondary guy, I think if you give him an elite secondary and allow him to really focus on everything else, you're going to be cooking with gas on defense. And the Titans definitely need to, we all worry about the offense
Starting point is 00:08:30 getting better, but the defense needs to perform better also, even though the defense performance last year was a tad underrated, in my opinion. But that's conversation for another day. So go sign Justin Simmons. Let me know out of those safeties which one you would prefer for the Tennessee Titans. But now we're going to talk about the next big gap in the roster,
Starting point is 00:08:48 and that's right tackle. Before we get into it, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Monopoly Go. All right, game off. We got to pause here and talk about Monopoly Go. I know what you're saying. Flag on the play.
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Starting point is 00:09:48 There's always something fun to discover in Monopoly Go, so get off the bench and go download Monopoly Go for free on Google Play or the App Store. Game on. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We're looking at the biggest remaining roster holes and the free agents that are available that could fill them. I've talked about safety.
Starting point is 00:10:25 I'm going to talk about offensive tackle. Before I get into it, though, thank you again for making Locked on Titans your first listen each and every day. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Also want to remind you guys, ton of film content that I put out on the Tic Tac Titans film channel here on YouTube. All of my film breakdowns on JC Latham and Tavondre Sweat and Cedric Gray. On Thursday morning at 8 a.m., I'm going to have a dual breakdown
Starting point is 00:10:51 of Jarvis Brownlee and Jaquan Jackson. And then on Friday, I'm going to have a quick breakdown on James Williams and Jalen Harrell. So you don't want to miss any of the film content that pairs up with our conversations here. Locked on Titans is always going to be conversational. The biggest news, the hot topics, everything to discuss. But the Tic Tac Titans film channel here on YouTube is all the film content that you will
Starting point is 00:11:14 ever need all year round. So make sure that you check that out. Description for that channel is down below in the description. The link for that channel is down below in the description. But with that being said, let's talk about offensive tackle because, of course, the Titans bring in J.C. Latham. And as I talked about earlier this week, my everydayers will remember, J.C. Latham is OT1, all right? He is the number one offensive tackle on this team right away, and he better be. You know, he needs to be with where the Titans picked him at number seven in the NFL draft. So J.C. Latham at left tackle sounds like that's going to be the plan.
Starting point is 00:11:48 And I think that they wouldn't move J.C. Latham to right tackle until he proves for a whole season that he can't play on the left. All right? And that honestly, quite honestly, that makes things a little complicated when we talk about the free agent options. But if you have J.C. Latham at left tackle, and then you have Peter Skowronski at left guard, and then you have Lloyd Cushenberry at center, you have Dylan Radins or Daniel Brunskill at right guard,
Starting point is 00:12:15 and maybe Sadiq Charles battles in there as well, right tackle is where you really start to wonder what's going to happen. Now, Nicholas Petit-Ferrer is the odds-on starter at right tackle right now. He's the guy who makes the most sense. And I would also remind you that earlier this offseason, we heard the coaching staff say, Dylan Radins is going to start out at guard. Nicholas Petit-Ferrer and Jalen Duncan are going to start out at tackle.
Starting point is 00:12:43 Okay? So you have to take what the coaches said into account here before you say, Raidens can go back to right tackle. They're telling you, Raidens, they want Raidens at guard. They want Skowronski at guard. They want NPF and Jalen Duncan at tackle.
Starting point is 00:12:57 Okay? So right now, we would have to consider that. Then, you also add in that Leroy Watson was added with a seventh round pick this year in a trade with the Cleveland Browns.
Starting point is 00:13:08 Somebody who worked with Bill Callahan, who was an undrafted free agent in 2022, who's been on practice squads for most of his career, who was a converted tight end out of college and converted to offensive tackle, who's still developing. So the Titans go out and get Leroy Watson. So to me at right tackle, Jalen Duncan is going to be your backup left tackle. Leroy Watson and Nicholas Petit-Ferrer are battling for right tackle. And again, I'm giving the edge to NPF, who's a younger player,
Starting point is 00:13:33 who could develop more. So, like, if NPF is the tackle, which is what I think it is right now, that is incredibly risky. Okay, because in 2022, he played 16 games, gave up five sacks, and 35 pressures, along with eight penalties.
Starting point is 00:13:57 And that's while getting a ton of chip help from tight ends and running backs. So, I thought we saw flashes from NPF, but the production was not there. The concern is there. Then he gets the gambling suspension, which, you know, I'm not really going to hold that against him all that much.
Starting point is 00:14:13 Clearly, there was some misinformation or lack of understanding. He comes back earlier than the suspension is supposed to be for. I think that's water under the bridge. I'm not going to hold that against him in terms of what he can be in the future. be for, I think that's water under the bridge. I'm not going to hold that against him in terms of what he can be in the future. But when he did play in 2023 before getting hurt, he only played 66 snaps over the course of three games. 66 snaps is basically
Starting point is 00:14:35 one full game in the NFL. He gave up three sacks and 11 pressures and had four penalties. Imagine if he played one game and gave up three sacks, 11 pressures, and had four penalties. I mean, 66 snaps, that's one game worth of action, and that's how he performed. So you add that to what we saw in 2022,
Starting point is 00:14:59 which he was a rookie, and you're like, oh, you know, that is risky. But right now, that's where the Titans are at. And I got bad news for you, folks. There aren't a lot of good options. And if the Titans are serious about playing J.C. Latham at left tackle, and that's where they want him to go, that makes things even more difficult to solve in free agency.
Starting point is 00:15:18 Because you look at the best options available. Andrews Peet, who the Titans met with before the draft. But Andrews Peet has only Titans met with before the draft, but Andrews Pete has only played 78 snaps in his entire career on the right side of the ball, and it was in 2015 when he was a rookie, and he played 78 snaps at right tackle. His entire career since has been at left guard or left tackle, and last year played at left tackle. He's a left side player. Donovan Smith, who was the left tackle for the Chiefs last year. Zero snaps in his career. He's a guy who's over 30. Zero snaps in his career on the right side. Seems risky. Charles Leno. Another guy. I think Washington
Starting point is 00:16:01 was his last team. Longtime starter in the NFL. 14 snaps at right tackle in his entire career. I mean, you could look at DJ Humphries, who was the starter for the Arizona Cardinals over the last few years, but, I mean, he's only played 750 snaps on the right side, and that was back in 2014, 2016. My notes are a little fuzzy. I have terrible handwriting.
Starting point is 00:16:36 Sometimes I write notes and I can't even tell what I said. So, somewhere in the mid-2010s, he played 750 snaps at right tackle and hasn't since. Those are risky plays if you want to keep J.C. Latham at left tackle. Now, if they were going to play Latham at right tackle and you want to bring in Pete at left tackle or one of these guys at left tackle, maybe that would make some sense. Jason Peters, long time tackle for the Eagles. He's played 652 snaps on the right side and played there last year, but he's like 40 years old.
Starting point is 00:17:06 Is that really what we want to do? So the only other option out there that has vast experience at right tackle and could be an upgrade over Nicholas Petit Ferrer is Chris Hubbard. Now, Chris Hubbard is not a long-term answer, but Chris Hubbard played well last year. I mean, through the eight, nine weeks of the season that he played before he was out for the rest of the year with injury,
Starting point is 00:17:31 I think he had a torn pectoral, torn bicep, upper body tear that knocked him out for the season. Before that, he had one of the best pass block win rates in the NFL. The Titans helped him and were giving him chip help and all that stuff, but it wasn't enormous. He wasn't getting a ton of double team help. He just did a really good job at right tackle. So if he's healthy, to me, the real answer for the Titans,
Starting point is 00:17:58 the only guy that I think would make sense to bring in here at this point is Chris Hubbard, who is familiar with the organization, familiar with the town, has vast experience at right tackle, 3,374 snaps. Compare that to 78 for Pete, 0 for Smith, 14 for Leno, 650 for Peters, 750 for Humphreys, 3,374 snaps. So if NPF is really performing poorly in training camp
Starting point is 00:18:30 or in these mini camp workouts and stuff that the Titans are doing over the next few weeks, next month, then call Chris Hubbard, see if he's healthy, and bring him back. At this point, that's the only option. And if they decide not to do that and just ride with NPF and Leroy Watson, honestly, I can't blame them because there's not a lot of
Starting point is 00:18:49 good options. But there are other holes on this roster that the Titans could fill with veteran free agents. I'm going to tell you what they are, who's available. So we're going to talk about that next. Before we do though, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. It's winner-take-all time in the NBA and the NHL. And FanDuel is giving you a shot to bring home a big win of your own. Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. You could bet on the Nashville Predators to keep this series going. You could bet on the Denver Nuggets to win the championship
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Starting point is 00:19:58 And make every playoff moment count. FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We're talking about the remaining roster holes for the Titans and what veteran free agents are out there that could fill those holes. We talked about the two biggest needs on the team, in my opinion, safety and offensive tackle. But now we got to talk about some other spots that definitely still need some depth.
Starting point is 00:20:42 And the number one issue, in my opinion, is the edge. And there are some good options available for the Titans at Edge Rusher to bring in. Before I dive into it, thank you again 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. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. There is a reason. This is the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world by far.
Starting point is 00:21:05 So, get subscribed. Stay subscribed. But, edge rusher. So, the Titans have more talent at edge rusher than they do, in my opinion, at safety or right tackle, which is why I didn't put it as one of the top two needs for the team right now. You got Harold Landry. You got Arden Key. Now, I think Arden Key is a third edge rusher. The problem is, in my opinion, the Titans are missing a
Starting point is 00:21:35 top-tier edge. Like, they're missing their T.J. Watt, Brian Burns, Josh Allen, Miles Garrett, Nick Bosa. Like, you know, Miles Garrett, Nick Bosa. Like, you know, they're missing that. Okay? And if they had a player of that level having that player at the top, Landry is their secondary rusher,
Starting point is 00:21:57 Arden Key is their third rusher, Rashad Weaver is their fourth rusher, that would be a great edge rush group. Like Like that would be a great group because Landry Landry is like a tier, a bottom tier two high tier three pass rusher, even at his best. And he looked great after the bye week last year. I'm going to do a Tic Tac Titans film breakdown on Harold Landry second half of the season later on in the summer. But they don't have the right slotting there
Starting point is 00:22:28 because they don't have that dominant primary pass rusher. Okay? So without that, they just need more depth. You're not going to get that right now. And honestly, that's why I didn't want them to take Dallas Turner or Jared Verse or Latu. I don't think those guys are that either. I think they're Harold Landry level pass rushers.
Starting point is 00:22:47 And I don't want to take one of those guys in the first round. Remember, Landry was a second round pick. Great second round pick back when J-Rob was doing work, man. What a run J-Rob went on from 2016 to 2019 before the wheels fell off. People tend to forget that and don't give him credit for that. But that is like the best run of talent acquisition in this franchise's history, man. Like you got to go back to the Super Bowl era, you know, to like the Javon Kers pick and Keith Bullock and all that.
Starting point is 00:23:14 Like J-Rob went on a nasty run of picking up talent, man. Just a great job. But anyways, that's a long time ago now. Long time ago. But anyway, so I didn't want to take any of those edge rushers because I don't think they're that top-tier guy. I just simply don't. And if you're not going to get that top-tier guy,
Starting point is 00:23:33 then you definitely still need depth. Because, like I said, I see Arden Key, and again, go back to what the coaches have said to us this all season, we've already heard from the coaching staff that Arden Key is a rotational pass rusher. That's what they called him. All right? And we know that Rashad Weaver is not a starter now.
Starting point is 00:23:51 We know that. And never came to fruition. He is a depth pass rusher who's terrible at setting the edge in run game. So isn't Arden Key, though. Both Arden Key and Rashad Weaver are terrible in run defense, setting the edge.
Starting point is 00:24:07 So they don't have a guy that does that. So, you look, and I'm not saying all of these guys are good at that, but you just need more depth at the end of the day. If you're not going to have top-tier talent, you need more depth. Emmanuel Ogba played for the Dolphins recently. Big-bodied. He's more of a 4-3 defensive end, but at this point, you could maybe rush him on the interior,
Starting point is 00:24:28 use him as a 5 technique in your base defense, let him rush in a rotation. Carl Lawson, I know he's dealt with some injuries, but at the price that you're going to get these guys for, very, very cheap, veteran minimum type deals, Carl Lawson could make some sense. Another guy who was in New York, I think around the same time as Denard Wilson, 2021.
Starting point is 00:24:50 Yannick Ngakwe. Now, to me, I'm not interested in Yannick Ngakwe. He's been known to be an issue in the locker room. And him and Arden Key have similar skill sets, in my opinion. They're just pure rotational pass rushers. So I don't really see the value there. Tyus Bowser. Now, Bowser is also a guy who's had a ton of injury problems early in his career. Some people talked about potential nerve issues. Will he ever play again?
Starting point is 00:25:16 I don't know. But if he's healthy and he's good to go, he has some versatility. He'll play against the run, maybe drop back in coverage. He was a guy I really liked coming out of college because he's just a versatile do-it-all outside linebacker. Charles Harris, another physical guy who could kind of be similar to Emmanuel Ogba in a way. Shaq Lawson, potentially another big physical guy coming from a lot of time in Buffalo. But a name that I'm really interested in, and if you've been following me for quite some time,
Starting point is 00:25:44 this is going to make you laugh. Bud Dupree. Bud Dupree. All right, look. I hated the Bud Dupree signing. I did not like the Bud Dupree signing when it happened. The beginning of the end for J-Rob, why would you give Bud Dupree $18 million a year
Starting point is 00:26:01 when he's been the fourth best pass rusher on his own team for his whole career. Never made sense to me. He was the fourth best pass rusher on the Titans behind Simmons and Autry and Landry. Why is that guy getting paid more than everybody else? Doesn't make any sense. It never did.
Starting point is 00:26:16 But you're not going to pay Bud Dupree $18 million anymore. Bud Dupree is getting veteran minimum deals. He played for $3 million last year. Bud Dupree is not a one-on-one good pass rusher. Doesn't have great pass rush moves. He more just plays with effort and motor. But you know what he does do very well? Set the edge in the run
Starting point is 00:26:36 game. And I just talked about how the Titans don't have anybody other than Harold Landry who is good at setting the edge in the run game. Key and Weaver are pass rushers. They don't do well in run defense. Bud Dupree can be very good in run defense. Now, I don't think Bud Dupree had a good time in Nashville. I don't think he enjoyed himself, so I don't think he would ever come back here, but if they could somehow, some way convince him to do it, I think as a rotational
Starting point is 00:27:02 edge who could set the edge against the run on early downs and play with strength and motor and physicality, Bud Dupree for a veteran minimum would be a great signing for this team and where they're at an edge. So, I know that it's crazy to hear me say that,
Starting point is 00:27:19 but there's a big difference between paying Bud Dupree $18 million and paying him a veteran minimum. So, I'm in on Bud Dupree if the Titans would bring him in, but I don't think he would ever want to come back here. One time I tweeted that I never wanted to sign Bud Dupree, and he liked it. So he's probably not a big fan of me either,
Starting point is 00:27:36 but it is what it is. I was right. Anyways, to center, the Titans don't have a backup center. They have Lloyd Cushyberry. Maybe Daniel Brunskill could be your backup center, but the reality is Brunskill has played 566 snaps in his whole career at center. He's played 2,600
Starting point is 00:27:56 at right guard. So center is his second most snaps out of all the offensive line positions, so he could probably do that better than tackle People act like Brunskill can be a tackle and all this You're just not informed, quite honestly About who he is as a player and what he does well And where he works He's an interior player, not a tackle
Starting point is 00:28:16 So learn that throughout his career But right guard is where he needs to be But maybe he could do some backup center duties I just think you're playing with fire trying to do that. So Connor McGovern, older player. Corey Levin, campaign to get signed by the Titans. The Titans, I think, are going away from the pure zone run system that they've used, though,
Starting point is 00:28:38 and I think they're going to have more gap run and more power run and be more versatile in the run game, which they've been making their way there over the last few years, but I think they're really going to do that now. And they've been drafting power players and bringing in power players like Latham and like Sadiq Charles. So I just don't know if an athletic, agile guy like Corey Levin is a good fit, but I would be all for it. I would be all for it. Mason Cole had some time with the Steelers. Another guy who's used to playing in a gap power scheme. They're switching that in Pittsburgh now,
Starting point is 00:29:08 but, you know, he would have experience there. So that could be an option. And being in the AFC North, Bill Callahan probably has a good idea of what Mason Cole is all about. The last position I want to talk about is tight end. And look, I wanted a bunch of run-blocking, big, physical tight ends. And the Titans didn't go out and get any of them. And now they're all off the market. So the only ones that are left are guys who
Starting point is 00:29:28 you know well. Jeff Swain. Trevin Wesko. Maybe you get like a Nick Vanette. You know what I mean? Either way, the Titans are in a tough spot at tight end. And Thomas Odukoye, or one of their undrafted free agents, is going to have a great opportunity to make this roster. But they need a third tight end who's a big time blocker. Maybe not so much in the past game. Maybe it doesn't help you much. That's what Wiley and Chigurh are for, but they definitely do need a blocking tight end.
Starting point is 00:29:54 But with that being said, let me know how you feel about some of my suggestions down below. Who would you bring in and what positions? As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.

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