Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Practice Wishlist: Rookie Playmakers, Second-Year Standouts & Hopeful Returns

Episode Date: May 30, 2023

The Tennessee Titans hit the practice field for open OTAs again on Wednesday and there are a few things to be looking for. First, Peter Skoronski signed his new deal and appears to be in the starting lineup already. Can Skoronski and his fellow rookies like Will Levis and Tyjae Spears continue to make plays? Next, there are three second-year players who need to show up in a big way. Malik Willis, Treylon Burks and Chig Okonkwo. Finally, Tyler goes over who was not present at last week's practice and who could show up Wednesday.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. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We got Tennessee Titans practice on Wednesday and it's time for the Titans young players to step up. I'll tell you who I'll be watching at Titans practice 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 got Tennessee Titans practice on Wednesday. I'm going to dive into which players I am going to be looking at the most, and it's the young players on the Titans who need to step up in a big way. Before we get into all of that, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Remember, Monday through Friday,

Tennessee Titans content all year round on YouTube and your favorite podcast app always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast where it's your team every day. And shout out to my everydayers out there as well.

Everydayers will be in tune for the next show that we do that will be recapping everything that takes place at Tennessee Titans practice. You aren't going to want to miss that either. Become an everydayer with the Locked on Titans podcast. Again, free, all platforms, Monday through Friday, all year round. But let's dive into the day's news here. And I'm going to use the news as a way to jump into the players that I am looking for. The Titans have officially signed their first round pick, Peter Skowronski.

His name is on the dotted line. So, excuse me. So, that leaves one Tennessee Titans rookie that has not signed their contract yet, and that's Will Levis, but I'm sure that will be coming soon. Sometimes with quarterback contracts, there's a little bit more to iron out there, but it should be coming down the pike in no time. But with that in mind, the guys I'm looking at, again, the Titans young players, and that includes the rookies,

and Peter Skowronski, we'll start with him since that's where the news was. Peter Skowronski is going to start at left guard. The Titans put out a mic'd up video with Aziz Alshier and Alshire, I think, Aziz Alshire, say that correctly.

And basically in the video, you can see multiple plays of full team 11-on-11 scrimmaging. And in multiple of the plays that you can see, Andre Dillard at left tackle, Peter Skowronski at left guard, Aaron Brewer at center, Daniel Brunskill at right guard, Nicholas Petit-Ferrer at right tackle.

That is going to be the starting line, or starting offensive line, and that is what the Titans' starting offensive line should be. So with that in mind, I want to see Peter Skowronski bullying people. I want reports that Skowronski does not look like a rookie. He looks like a veteran in the NFL. The Titans, if you're going to take a guard, which some people are very critical of, that early in the draft, I get it. Then you got to make sure that that player is worth it. So I want good news on Skowronski. There is no margin for error

when it comes to the Titans first round pick this year. Okay. But what I will say is this, that Skowronski may be a guard and that may upset people taking him at number 11, but in this specific draft class, I said it before the draft. I will continue to say it after. This wasn't a fantastic draft class in terms of overall talent. So it's not like a normal draft where you have a ton of guys at premium positions early on. This wasn't a high quality draft class overall. So yeah, you're taking a guard at pick 11, which seems too high. But in this class, like Rancar Thon said before the draft, it's all about getting a blue player, a blue chip player. And that's what the Titans have done. So I want the reports to match that. Will Levis remains unsigned. I want to continue to see progression from Will Levis.

And at the end of the day, him and Malik Willis are battling for the QB2 position. So what happens with Levis, what happens with Malik, it may be early on in the season, but that is going to matter a ton. And every single day and all of the info that we get on Levis versus Willis matters. day and all of the info that we get on Levis versus Willis matters. So the Titans traded up for both these guys, one third round, one second round with Levis coming this year in the second, that battle between them is going to be something to watch. But continuing with the rookies, Tajay Spears, I continue to be excited about Tajay Spears because when he was drafted, I said I like the pick because of how he could be used. He can be a guy out of the backfield.

He can be a guy you actually hand the ball off to who can spell Derrick Henry. He's a guy who's been mentioned as a kick returner, as a punt returner for the Titans. We're hearing, I'm hearing, now you're hearing, so we're hearing that Tajay Spears is being moved around the formation. He's not somebody who's just playing at running back. So I'm looking at Tajay Spears is being moved around the formation. He's not somebody who's just playing at running back.

So I'm looking at Tajay Spears as weapon X for the Titans offense. And I want to continue to hear good reports about not only his play, but the versatility that he's shown by lining up around the formation. So that's key. Obviously, the last three rookies the Titans selected, josh wiley i don't think that i like wiley and i think that he's going to have some situations within the offense where he's going to be valuable but i don't think he's somebody who's going to come out and get a ton of starting level reps early on i think they're going to bring him along slowly tight end is a tough position to

transition to in the nfl so wiley just want to continue to hear that he's learning and I'd like to hear that he's being aligned outside of the formation because that's some of the versatility that he provides. He can line up as a wide receiver. He's a converted wide receiver. So I'd like to see the Titans maybe supplement their wide receiver issue with some Josh Wiley, Jalen Duncan, Colton Dow. Meh, you know, it'd be nice to hear Colton Dow is making an impact.

It'd be nice to hear Jalen Duncan is pushing for a big role on the offensive line, but I just, I don't see it. I don't think it's likely, and I'm not, I guess I'm not going to be disappointed. Like, if we heard that Skowronski or Spears was really struggling, I'd be disappointed. But if you hear that Duncan or Dow is struggling, they they're late round rookies. That has to be the expectation anyway. So nothing really that I'm looking for there. But of course, Skowronski, Levis, Spears,

Wiley, want to see something there. And I'll report that all back to you guys on tomorrow's show. But with that in mind, there are more young players that we need to talk about. We're going to talk about Malik Willis a little bit more. Also, continue to talk about Elijah Molden being used as a safety because it's continuing. And I don't think that it's just cross-training. I think it's something more than that. So we're going to get into that in just a second. Before we do, I want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Built Bars, the best tasting protein bars of all time. You get the best of both worlds with Built Bars. You get all the health benefits that you want from a protein bar.

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You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure that you go to your local Walmart. Go to your local Sam's Club. Go to Built.com. Pick up a pack of the best tasting protein bars of all time. Built Bars. You will thank me later. Titans fans, it's time to continue our preview of Tennessee Titans practice on Wednesday. We just talked about the rookies, and there are a couple of rookies, the top four rookies for the Titans

that I really want to see perform well. I really want to hear positive news from them, specific things looking for, you know, Skowronski starting on the offensive line, Levis battling with Malik Willis, Spears being moved around, Wiley being moved around. I want to hear about all that, but there are older players on the team that are still young players that I think are even more important to watch. So we're going to dive into those guys here in just a moment.

I want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Remember, my everydayers will hear tomorrow's show. It will be a recap of Titans practice. Brickin' down what I wanted to see, what we saw, all the biggest news. You're not going to want to miss that. Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed

to the Locked on Titans podcast and remember it's Monday through Friday. Tennessee Titans content on all apps, all year long, always for free. Moving right along here, of course we got to start with Malik Willis. The battle between Will Levis and Malik Willis, and in my opinion, Malik Willis did look improved based on the videos that we saw, based on the reporting that we heard.

Malik Willis did look improved. It looked like his operation of the offense was improved from last year. He looked a little more comfortable in certain throws and some of the offense was improved from last year. He looked a little more comfortable in certain throws and some of the timing. Now there are certain throws that he didn't look as comfortable, but we saw that with Will Levis as well. There were some inaccuracy issues, fumbled a snap early on on the first day, things like that.

So both of these guys are trying to do their best, but they're having some struggles here and there. So the battle between Malik and Levis, Malik will Levis, is what I want to do every single time. So the battle between those guys is obviously something that we are going to have to watch intently. And not only is it just the battle for quarterback two, but let me say this.

I know that a Tannehill trade is very unlikely, but with the Jimmy Garoppolo news that we talked about yesterday that my everydayers will remember, and then the Atlanta Falcons' Desmond Ritter has been struggling with his accuracy mightily in camp, according to reports, with those two situations at quarterback being super uneven, watching Malik Willis and Will Levis is more than just QB2. It could potentially be

if the Titans feel comfortable enough to go with one of those guys that they can trade Tannehill to one of those places. Unlikely, I know, but situations that have to be monitored. It is easy to sit here and say the Titans

aren't trading Ryan Tannehill when there's no market for Ryan Tannehill. But, as we see with these reports, a market can develop as we get further into the summer. So, something to watch there. Not just the QB2 battle, but if either of these guys step up

and prove to the Titans that they have the ability to be the starter this year, which gives them the flexibility to consider a Tannehill trade. Moving along, though, it's not just Malik Willis in terms of second-year players. Traylon Burks, Chigga Conqua. This year, they have to be star players. Simple as that.

They have to play all season. They have to be productive. They have to make explosive season. They have to be productive. They have to make explosive plays for the Titans. A lot of this Titans offense, and whether it's going to do well or not, is based on Traylon Burks and Chigga Conqua. If Chigga Conqua can be what he was last year for the Titans and take another step,

if Traylon Burks can just stay on the field, these are going to be game-breaking, dynamic players. So, what I want to see in practices be that. I want the reports to say, man, Chigakonkwo and Traylon Burks are dominating these guys. With no Kevin Bayard, no Harold Landry, no Christian Fulton,

I think the Titans offense should be able to have success in practice. No Harold Landry. No Christian Fulton. I think the Titans offense should be able to have success in practice. And I expect Traylon Burks and Chika Conquo to dominate those guys. Chika Conquo, if we, if, if Aziz Alshire, Alshire, whatever, Aziz Alshire, was on another team. And we were prepping for a game. I would tell you that Chica Conquo needs to burn that man.

So he better be in practice for the Titans. Trey Avery was out there starting cornerback at one moment. They're flipping through reps and everything. It's not that big a deal. But, Traylon Burks should be dominating Trey Avery. Traylon Burks should be dominating Roger McCreary. If he's going to go out there and give the too small sign to Jair Alexander,

one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, then Burks needs to bring it against this group of corners for the Titans. Him and the physicality of Sean Murphy bunting would be just excellent iron sharpens iron situations. But Burks should win. If Burks is going to be, I know that people hate this, but it's the reality. Traylon Burks is going to live in the shadow of A.J. Brown. If he's going to get anywhere close to being worth the pick that the Titans took him with,

then he's going to need to go out and dominate the Titans secondary. That's the type of player that you're expecting to see. In his second year, all the reports are he's in better shape, he's faster, he's slimmer. Well, then prove that on the field. I want to hear reports that Traylon Burks is just dominating practice. That's what I expect to hear. And Chika Konkwo, a similar thing.

These guys are going to play such big roles for the Titans that they better show they're capable now. Or it's something to be concerned about. Again, Elijah Molden at safety. Remember I talked about the mic'd up video earlier and I talked about the starting offensive line? In that video, you can also see Elijah Molden is starting at safety. And this is why I push back on you guys saying, oh, they're just cross-training him for depth purposes. I don't think so. Of course, that is part of it. But I think the Titans are preparing themselves to have Elijah Molden as a starting safety in the near, near future.

If things with Kevin Byard turn sour, even after the season, the Titans could look to part ways with Kevin Byard in his contract. Amani Hooker is constantly hurt. The Titans could maybe look to move off Imani Hooker after this season. Either way, I think there's a real chance that Elijah Molden is not just being trained for cross-training purposes, but with the idea that he will make a permanent move to safety,

and the Titans surely would hope that eventually he could potentially be a starter there as well. So, I think that is something to watch here. How well does Moulton play at safety? How often is he there? Those are all things that I'll be looking for as we go into this second week

of OTAs with the Titans in that practice on Wednesday. But with that in mind, we got to talk about who was not in attendance last week at open OTAs with the Titans in that practice on Wednesday. But with that in mind, we got to talk about who was not in attendance last week at Open OTAs and who we hope to see finally show up here in just a moment. We're going to get into that. Before we do, quick hydration break. All you guys, take a drink of water out there.

It's summer. It's hot. It's time to stay hydrated. Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about the rookie players. Peter Skowronski has signed his contract with the Titans. Got a lot of my attention on the Titans rookies at Open OTAs on Wednesday. Not only that, but the second-year players.

We talked about Chig, Traylon, Malik. I mean, there are second-year players that need to step up here. Nicholas Petit-Ferrer is another one. You know, we could go through the entire roster, quite frankly. I'm watching for everything. Malik, I mean, there are second-year players that need to step up here. Nicholas Petit-Ferrer is another one. You know, we could go through the entire roster, quite frankly. I'm watching for everything. But those guys that we talked about, even Elijah Molden at safety is a third-year player.

Incredibly important to watch what he's doing. But we need to talk about the players who did not show up to OTAs last week, what reason they weren't there, who we might be able to expect to come back this week or who we're hoping would show up this week. Before we get into it, 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 all year round on YouTube, your favorite podcast app, always for free. Get subscribed, stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast where it's your team every day. Every dayers, shout out to you guys. Tomorrow, you are going to get

my recap of Titans practice. I'm going to go over everything that you need to know, all the biggest highlights, all the biggest storylines. We're going to be there to break it down and I would imagine we'll be going over OTA reaction not only tomorrow but the last day of the show of the week as well. So make sure that you hit the notification bell. Throw those up on the video if you're watching right now.

Definitely do appreciate the support. But with that in mind, last week some of the key absences. Kevin Byard was not in attendance. Christian Fulton was not in attendance. Danico Autry was not in attendance. Christian Fulton was not in attendance. Danico Autry was not in attendance. Harold Landry was not in attendance. Lonnie Rice was not in attendance.

Dylan Radins was not in attendance. Caleb Farley was not in attendance. You also have a guy like Trevon Wesko who wasn't there, and then some other guys as well, but less important names, no lie. Now, to me, Bayard and Fulton, we know they're working out off-site. It's not because they're injured, rehabbing, not out there. They're just choosing not to come to

voluntary workouts. Hopefully, both of those guys return and get ingratiated with the team, but I'm not expecting it. I don't think that either of them will be back until mandatory minicamp. And Bayard, we got to watch that. But Danico Autry is an interesting one.

Autry did have a knee injury last year. Maybe he got surgery in the offseason. He's still rehabbing from it. He's not ready to go. But Danico Autry could also be an older veteran who just doesn't want to do all the voluntary stuff. Either way, I'm fine with it. If we don't see Bayard, Fulton, or Autry,

it is what it is. I think Fulton should be there. Personally, I think he's in a totally different place than Danico Autry and Kevin Bayard. But nonetheless, no freak outs there. But some of the other guys who I think it is coming back from injury, some of them are obvious, but I think a lot of these guys are coming back from injury,

and that's why they're not there. A guy like Harold Landry, who we know with the ACL tear, Bonnie Rice, Dylan Radins, ACL tear, Caleb Farley, the back injury. If any, if any of these guys who weren't healthy find their way back to practice, Landry, Rice, Radins, Farley, I just think that would be excellent news for the Titans.

Landry, you want him to get his bearings back, okay? Everybody says that you're not quite yourself the first year after ACL recovery. It's after that first year removed from the injury, and you get into your second year since it happened that you really start to be comfortable. Well, with where

Harold Landry got injured, his year will be in August, I think. Could have been early September last year. I don't remember the exact date, but I know it was at the end of the offseason. But he's getting closer to a year, so I feel like it would be best for him to kind of get a slow ramp up.

And I'm sure that's what the Titans are doing, and that's why he's not out there on the field. So I'm okay if Landry doesn't go out there, but if he does, that's just great news. You know what I mean? Similarly, a guy I'm looking at is Caleb Farley. Farley had back surgery during the season. You would hope that he's recovered.

Earlier in the offseason, I swear we got an interview from him where he said he was feeling 100%. So, the issue with Caleb Farley is he needs reps. He was a converted wide receiver to cornerback in college. He didn't get a ton of time to play in college because of the COVID

and some of the other injuries. I mean, Caleb Farley is a guy who desperately, desperately just needs to play. Just needs to get reps, get experience, just go out there and play. And it's best for him to do that in an environment with low stakes,

which is OTAs. That's a great place to make mistakes and learn from them. As you get into training camp, you're fighting for your life out there. You got to play well. But OTAs, these voluntary sessions, is a great way to just make your mistakes, get back comfortable, and get ready for training camp. So I'm hoping that Farley will at least be able to make an appearance so that he can start that gradual ramp up,

because I'll tell you, this is the last season for Caleb Farley in Tennessee. If he doesn't do something, anything, add value to the team. This year, financially, it doesn't make sense to cut him. The Titans would literally lose money to cut Caleb Farley. They wouldn't save anything this year.

So give him one more shot with Chris Harris, with a healthy team to start the year, see what he can do. But to be able to do all that, he needs to start to ramp up and get some reps. So hopefully we see Caleb Farley.

Monty Rice, I mean, he's just had a tough time having a full offseason. And it just has to be a struggle for him. But he talked a lot of jazz online earlier this offseason. So hopefully Monte Rice is ready to show

up and prove the doubters wrong here soon. Raidens, I don't think that he's going to be around for a while. This is why I said I never factored him into any offensive line discussions. I think he's probably going to end up on PUP to start the year, probably not even be on the active roster until the middle of the season. So I don't even have any hope or optimism that we'd see Raidens out there it wouldn't quite make any sense with how late

he tore his ACL week 15 last year so with that in mind that's what I'm looking for at Titans practice on Wednesday I'll be back with you guys tomorrow to recap it all that's going to do it for me today folks as always I am your host Tyler Rowland and this was

Locked on Titan.