Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans OTA Wishlist & Things to Watch: Can Burks Practice Fully, Depth Spots & Injury Returns!

Episode Date: May 26, 2022

The Tennessee Titans have begun their Phase 3 organized team activities and there are plenty of questions surrounding the current roster! Tyler goes into everything he is wondering about and things to watch for! First, can Malik Willis take QB2 away from the entrenched Logan Woodside? Can Treylon Burks actually make it through a practice? Next, head into the trenches as Tyler examines both the offensive & defensive lines to see what spots are up for grabs and who could take them! Finally, how many linebackers will be kept? What will roles look like in the secondary?Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitansSupport 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 “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, it is a Thursday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. And on today's show, the Titans are in the middle of Phase 3 organized team activities. And mostly, the entire team is out at practice. I'm going to go over some of the things I want to see and some of the questions that I have at this stage in the offseason. Will Ryan Tannehill continue to teach Malik Willis who will end up being the starting

offensive line and what depth positions are open on defense? We're going to talk about all of that and more on a Thursday 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. Titans fans, it is a Thursday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast, Wednesday night, if you're watching on YouTube. But yesterday we did a recap of the Titans practice from Tuesday.

The Titans were off practice on Wednesday. So now I kind of want to look at my wish list for this phase of OTAs, some of the, I guess, things that I've picked up from the first two practices for the Titans. So we're just going to go through some of those OTA-related topics on today's show. Before we get into it, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. If this is your first ever listen to the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream.

I am going to be putting out daily Monday through Friday free Tennessee Titans content on all platforms, not only during the season, but all year long. That includes on the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Make sure you subscribe over there. Smash that notification bell so you know when all the content goes live. Throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching right now. You can follow me on social media on Twitter at TicTacTitans.

You can follow the show Facebook page on Facebook, of course, at LockedOnTitansPod. But with all the housekeeping out of the way, let's dive into my wish list slash comments on OTAs for the Titans. So number one, for me, it starts at the quarterback position. I hope that Ryan Tannehill continues to teach Malik Willis. Now, I don't know Ryan Tannehill personally, so I'm not going to sit here and say that he would be like this. But, it's easy to be nice to the young guy and it's easy to mentor the rookie and

do all that when the cameras are on you. Also, when you really do have complete job security in 2022, barring an injury, there is no way that Ryan Tannehill will not be the starter for the Titans this season. So when you have the job security and when you know the cameras are on you, you do the right things. I get it. But is Ryan Tannehill going to continue to help Malik Willis? If Malik Willis plays awesome, if Malik Willis is having a great day, he's looking good,

will he be like, you know what I'm saying? I don't know if he will or he won't, but one of my big questions is, will Tannehill continue to teach Malik Willis and be helpful as he said he would in his press conference on Tuesday and as the practice

video showed on Tuesday will he continue to do that and that leads me into this question can Malik Willis overtake Logan Woodside for quarterback two I know some of you guys think that that's a far-gone conclusion that yeah that's obviously going to happen. But I'm not certain. Based on my experience with this coaching staff, I think that Logan Woodside is certainly quarterback two right now. Can Malik Willis advance enough? Can he learn the playbook enough? Can the tutelage of one Ryan Tannehill help him? It already looked like, on Tuesday,

Malik Willis has made adjustments to his throwing mechanics. We're already seeing development there. So with that development, with the entire team around him, can Malik Willis take over that quarterback two role? For me, that is a big one. Okay, that's a big one right there. Also, moving forward but staying in the backfield, Dontrell Hilliard versus Trenton Cannon. I mean, that is a battle to watch

because you got Hassan Haskins, who's kind of the backup power back behind Derrick Henry, but then who will be that number one scat back? Who will be the number one complimentary back? Hilliard has the leg up from what he did last year, but Cannon has a similar skill set

and he's a better kick returner which gives him more roster versatility and value. Of course you have guys like Jordan Wilkins or Julius Chestnut, the undrafted free agent.

But to me, the battle really comes down to Dontrell Hilliard versus Trenton Cannon. I want to see how that shakes out. I think a lot of it will have to do in special teams. The last question that I'm going to ask here before we get into the trenches in the middle of our show is, is Traylon Burks ever going to get in shape? Can Traylon Burks go through an entire practice? Are we going to continue to make up medical reasons with no confirmation to make excuses for him?

Are we going to get some info that definitively tells us he's got some kind of medical issue? Did the Titans know about that medical issue when they drafted him? There are just so many questions behind this situation. Now, am I freaking out about it? No. There's no reason to panic. But

I would love to see the Titans' first round pick go through a full practice and look like he's in shape and conditioned enough to handle it. Now, we're in the prime time to get that conditioning going, but there are guys who showed up to OTAs in condition ready to go for full practices. And we have not seen Traylon Burks be able to do that yet. Also, the bottom end of the depth chart for wide receiver, Des Fitzpatrick, Racey McMath,

Kyle Phillips, Mason Kinsey, Cody Hollister. Are these guys going to be able to carve out a role for themselves to make themselves an actual realistic help to the Titans this year? We know Traylon Burks, Robert Woods, Nick Westbrook, Akina.

But what about the back end? That's what I'm interested in seeing. How those guys battle it out. All of these reps matter for those guys trying to make the team. That's why you never see low end of the roster guys skip OTAs, okay? Guys on the roster bubble. That's why. Because they all matter.

So that's what I'm going to be looking for at the skill position spots. Well, I will say at tight end, can Chigaconquo immediately come in and take the third tight end spot behind Swaim and Austin Hooper over Tommy Hudson, over Briley Moore? I'm watching for that as well. But with the skill positions out of the way,

we're going to get into the trenches, not only on offense, but on defense as well. Before we get into that, though, do want to tell you guys about the best tasting protein bars in the galaxy from our friends over at Built Bar. You get the best of both worlds when it comes to Built Bars. Yes, you get all the health benefits you want from a protein bar.

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puffs were absolutely phenomenal. The brownie batter just absolutely delicious. Go to Bilt.com right now. Use promo code LOCKED15. You're going to get 15% off your order. Once right now. Use promo code LOCKED15. You're going to get 15% off your order. Once again, that's promo code LOCKED15 for 15% off at Bilt.com. Titans fans, we're going to continue this Thursday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. We just talked about the skill position players on offense and kind of my wants and needs from Titans OTAs.

Now I want to get into the trenches and the interior, not only on offense, but also on defense as well. Before we get into that, I do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure that you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream, Monday through Friday, daily free Tennessee Titans content on all platforms. Stay locked in to the Locked On Titans podcast. We just talked about Tannehill.

We talked about Hilliard vs. Cannon. We talked about Traylon Burks getting in shape. We talked about the tight end three spot. Now I want to look at the offensive line and there's just so much up in the air with the Titans offensive line. So much up in the air right now. We know. So much up in the air right now.

We know Taylor LeJuan's going to start at left tackle. We know that. We know Ben Jones is going to start at center. We know that Nate Davis is going to start at right guard. But we know nothing else. Literally nothing else. Dylan Radin's a right tackle. Nicholas Petit-Ferrer. Maybe a veteran that they bring in off right tackle. Nicholas Petit Ferrer.

Maybe a veteran that they bring in off the street. Maybe Jamarco Jones. Left guard, Aaron Brewer. Jamarco Jones. Dylan Radin's. We literally don't know. There are multiple options that could realistically happen at every single open spot. At the two open spots, I should say.

So, to me, watching not how necessarily the reps play out or the performances is what I mean. Who plays with who? Now, Jim Wyatt even said on Tuesday in his OTA recap article, Mike Vrabel will not allow the media to say what spots guys are in. But, we did get a nugget that I talked about on yesterday's show. About

when guys split up into individual groups, Dylan Radins went with the tackles. And if we know, this is like Wordle to me guys. It's like Wordle. We got three greens. We got green, green, green. Then we got a yellow. And then we got a black.

So we're trying to guess the Wirtle here with the little bit of clues that we have. And I would say Dylan Radins going with the tackles during individual drills is a yellow box. It's a yellow box. It's a yellow box. That's what I would call that. So, if we have that, I think, and I got to tell you guys,

I know that this is just absolute nonsense, but hey, we're all in this together. So, in my Madden franchise, playing with the Titans in 2022, to be real, which I'm all about being as realistic as possible, not what I want, not what I need, which I'm all about being as realistic as possible. Not what I want, not what I need, what I think is going to happen. I started right into right tackle. I put your Marco Jones at left guard.

I really do think that's going to be the Titans starting offensive line. If we don't see any additional additions, any additional signings, watching an OTAs and getting little nuggets like where Dylan Radins went, that right there, to me, is the best breadcrumbs that we're going to find as we try to unravel this mystery, folks.

But that piece of information, along with the three green boxes that we already have, I think give us a good indication of where things are going. But that's obviously the biggest thing to watch going forward for the Titans. On the defensive line, interior defensive line at that. T. Air Tart, Naquan Jones holding it down.

But I think there's going to be at least two more guys on the interior defensive line of course you have Jeffrey Simmons and Danico Autry duh and then you have Naquan and you have Tart that's four I think the Titans will probably carry

six defensive linemen, five edges, five inside linebackers, maybe six at two categories, six outside linebackers, six defensive linemen, five inside linebackers. That's what I think it'll be.

Some combination of that. So when you think about that, that means that there's going to be two spots on the interior defensive line that are open and available. And heck, I could even see a guy like Tartt or Naquan Jones who are undrafted free agents who played well and we liked, but they're still undrafted free agents. So it makes it obvious to me that they're not above reproach. If somebody absolutely beats them out in camp, they'll lose their spot.

But I think that Tartan Jones have done enough that they get a roster spot. So with Nico and with Jeff, that basically leaves Deshaun Hand, highly touted guy out of Alabama, Kevin Strong, who played pretty decent for the Titans last year in spot duty. Obviously, they trust. The two undrafted free agents.

Haskell Garrett from Ohio State. Jordan Peavy. I mean, who is going to win those last two spots? For me, I think it's going to be Deshaun Hand and Jordan Peavy. I really do think Deshaun Hand has a ton of talent, has good size. If they can get the most out of him, which I think they can, I think he could be a contributor here. And Jordan Peavy just has nice size,

which could give him versatility up and down the offensive line. So that's kind of my guess right now, my early guess. But watching that battle unfold, OTAs matter for that, okay? OTAs matter because it's not necessarily with no heavy pads on, not full pad and not full contact. It's not necessarily who plays better. It's do you know where to be? Do you know the play?

Do you know your assignment? How do you interact with your teammates? How do you respond to coaching? All of that is what is most important right now. So with the trenches out of the way, we're going to move into the back end of the defense to cap off today's show. We're going to talk about the linebacker battle. We're going to talk about the edge battle, cornerback rotation, third safety, even a little special teams sprinkled in there as well. So very excited to dive into that. Before we do, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day.

As for your second listen, make sure you check out the Locked on NFL podcast. It's free and available on all platforms Monday through Friday, including the Locked On NFL YouTube channel. I am actually the host of the Thursday show today for the National Locked On NFL podcast. So I would appreciate your support if you guys would go check that out. But we're going to cap off this Thursday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast.

We talked about the skill position guys on offense. We talked about the trenches on offense and defense and my questions, wish lists, comments on OTAs. We're going to cap off with the rest of the defense. I just reminded you guys, thank you for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen. Make the Locked On NFL podcast your second listen.

Diving in here, or back in, I guess you could say, to the inside linebacker spot. Yeah, we know the three linebackers. Zach Cunningham, David Long, Monte Rice. Got those, filed away, good to go. But, what about Dylan Cole and Chance Campbell? If the Titans do keep five inside linebackers,

maybe they both stick. Maybe so, but if they only keep four and they decide to go six and six on the D-line and edge, who is going to win that last spot? Dylan Cole or Chance Campbell? I think Chance Campbell has more upside as an actual linebacker, which if the Titans only keep four inside linebackers, that puts a premium on actually playing linebacker. But I do think right away Dylan Cole would be better at special

teams. We saw Dylan Cole make that big force fumble against the Saints last year on kickoff return coverage. That was awesome. So who gets the roster spot? And then, whoever the fourth linebacker is, let's say it's Cole or Campbell, are they able to beat out Monte Rice? Monte Rice had a season-ending injury. He is limited in practice right now. Could those increased reps for Cole or Campbell allow them to overtake Rice as the third linebacker?

I don't think so. But all things are possible, guys. All things are possible. You can't rule anything out. But I'm more interested in Dylan Cole, Chance Campbell, who gets that fourth inside linebacker spot. And I would imagine that it's going to come down to special teams. Because if Chance Campbell can be just as going to come down to special teams because if Chance Campbell

can be just as good as Dylan Cole on special teams but a better linebacker prospect who's younger I think it makes sense to go with Chance Campbell but ultimately I think the Titans keep all five. Five edge five inside linebacker six defensive lineman. That's my early

initial guess right now but the other linebacker spot is edge rusher. That's my early initial guess right now. But the other linebacker spot is edge rusher. And of course you have Harold Landry. You have Bud Dupree. But can Rashad Weaver get back enough to take over the third edge rusher spot? If Weaver is not ready to be the Titans' third edge rusher this season,

and all they have right now is Ola Adani, David Anini, an undrafted free agent, Justin Lawler. The Titans are in trouble there. That's another spot along with the offensive line. I could see the Titans making a veteran addition throughout the summer. They need another rotational rusher. Ola is a great special teams player,

and I think he's a solid fifth rusher. But with Bud Dupree's health concerns, Rashad Weaver coming off of a major injury, the need for a solid third rusher is so, so important. Can Rashad Weaver be that? That's the question. I don't know if I would count on that though. So again, this is a spot. If you had Landry, Dupree, Weaver, Ola, and Ryan Kerrigan,

I think that would be a great group to go into the season with. But in the secondary, the cornerback rotation, I think, is what's most important. You're going to have Farley. You're going to have Fulton. You got Elijah Molden, Roger McCreary, Buster Screen, Greg Maben, Chris Jackson. My interest is

could McCreary wrestle away the slot cornerback position if Farley doesn't put his best foot forward coming back from injury? Does that give McCreary an opportunity to play on the outside and kind of cut his teeth there to get him more reps? But really what I'm looking at is that Molden versus McCreary. I think that Molden will be the slot cornerback on early downs. I think that McCreary will be the slot cornerback on passing downs. But how that shakes out,

is Elijah Molden improved enough in pass coverage where he can be a full-time slot? shakes out. Is Elijah Molden improved enough in pass coverage where he can be a full-time slot? Is Roger McCreary ready to play run and blitz from the slot to potentially take over that role full-time?

Those are the things that I'm really watching. Will Elijah Molden play some safety? And Roger McCreary and Elijah Molden are both on the field in Titans' dime package. I mean, those are the things that are really tickling my fancy right now. At safety, it all comes down to

is A.J. Moore good enough to be more than a special teams player? Can Theo Jackson be ready enough to actually contribute year one? I think they're going to need him to be. Will Lomas, my buddy, pointed out that he thought one of his big takeaways from the Titans press conference after the draft was they were really set on replacing the dang Crookshank role

well, with a guy like Elijah Molden with a guy like Theo Jackson they have a chance to do so so will those guys grab that role by the horns that's what I'm watching for that's a question that I have and chance to do so. So will those guys grab that role by the horns? That's what I'm watching for. That's a question that I have and want to see play out. On special teams, Caleb Shudduck, the kicker from Iowa,

Shudduck, if someone knows the exact, I couldn't find it. I Googled it. I looked. So I'm going with Shudduck. But he's been balling in OTA so far. Randy Bullock has a home here. But man, kicking's all about confidence. And if Bullock gets smoked by the undrafted free agent, I think there's a good chance that Shutuk could take that spot.

And I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility either. That's the whole point. Let guys compete. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. Hope you guys enjoyed. The Titans are back out on the practice field on Thursday. So I'll be recapping all of that for you guys to send you off into the weekend on tomorrow's show. But that's going to do it for me today, folks.

As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.