Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Rashad Weaver's Last Stand, Lack of Depth at Edge Concerning & Free Agent Options

Episode Date: July 17, 2024

The Tennessee Titans edge rusher spot needs more talent, but this close to the season, it is hard to imagine reinforcements coming. That means fourth-year player Rashad Weaver has to take his last chance to step up for the team before hitting free agency. Next, the options after the top three are slim as well, so will any of the young and unproven players make a name for themselves? Finally, if the Titans do look at add a veteran, there are names like Emmanuel Ogbah & Carl Lawson who could be a fit.Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitansTicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=ascFollow 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!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.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY! That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON and add a big win to your summer bucket list!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)

Tennessee Titans edge rusher Rashad Weaver is heading into year four, and it's his last chance to be a starter for the Titans. 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 FanDuel. Make every moment more. As the sports wind down this summer, They stop sporting like we want them to, but this summer, FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily. That's right. There's something for everyone every day all summer long. Visit FanDuel.com slash locked on to get started. We are going to continue our positional preview series on today's show.

We've gone through the entire offense. We've gone through the entire offense. We've gone through the secondary. We talked about the interior defensive line. And today we are going to live on the edge and talk about the Titans edge rushers. I'll give you my locks, my bubble guys, my long shots as well. And I think the Titans should continue looking at free agency for an edge rusher. So we'll go over the options there. Before we get into all of it, do want to thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast

your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Speaking of every day, shout out to my everydayers out there.

Tune in Monday through Friday if you want an everydayer. You need to be one. This is the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world for a reason. With training camp kicking off next week and the season right around the corner, there is no better place to be. So with that being said, though, let's talk about this edge rush group for the Tennessee Titans because it's okay up top. There isn't a lot of depth, but I still think the Titans may need to add a free agent edge. Now, what could happen to prevent them from needing a free agent edge is the emergence of Rashad Weaver. So Weaver's career has been very up and down so far with the Titans. Didn't really do much his rookie season.

And then in year two, with Harold Landry out, he had five and a half sacks and was a really good rotational edge rusher for the Titans in the pass rush. Like, everybody was excited about, I call him Dream Weaver. He's giving quarterbacks nightmares. He's the Dream Weaver. He's giving quarterbacks nightmares. He's the Dream Weaver.

All right, no copyright strikes, but I had high hopes for Rashad Weaver as a rotational player for the Titans. But then, in 2023, with Harold Landry back, he has his role completely minimized. He goes from 640 snaps in 2022 to 240 snaps in 2023, five and a half sacks in 2022, down to zero again in 2023. Played 33 games with the Titans, only had 49 tackles. He didn't play much more on special teams last year, which will be important, but if Rashad Weaver is ever going to step up and go from being a fourth round pick to a starter for the Titans.

Now is the time. This is his last dance. He's in year four of his rookie contract. He'll be a free agent after the year. He needs to have a good year and to have a good showing to prove he can stay in the NFL after this season. Now, I'll tell you this. I do not think that Rashad Weaver will be back on the Titans next year. I don't think that that's going to happen.

But he's going to be on the Titans this year. He is a lock. To me, Rashad Weaver, Harold Landry, Arden Key are the locks to make this team on the edge. That's it right now. Those are the only ones. And Rashad Weaver is the one who we don't necessarily know what we're going to get. We know what we're going to get.

We know what we're going to get from Arden Key. He's going to be a rotational guy, high energy, good pass rush moves, good athleticism, but he's not going to be great against the run. That's where Rashad Weaver really has to step up. Look, we saw in 2022 when he gets opportunities, he's going to get to the quarterback. But can he improve his discipline?

A guy who rushed way too far up the field way too often, giving quarterbacks lanes to run. A guy who was not good at setting the edge against the run. Is Weaver with maybe better coaching this year? He looks slimmed down. He looks more explosive. Is he going to be somebody who can improve on those things? Because so far, he hasn't really improved a ton. He's just who we thought he was going to be somebody who can improve on those things? Because so far, he hasn't really improved a ton.

He's just who we thought he was going to be, and he hasn't got better at critical places where he needed to improve. So in better shape, with the contract year motivation, with the new coaching staff, with the new scheme on defense, this is Rashad Weaver's last chance to step up. And look, I've been a fan of Rashad Weaver. I think that he's a solid rotational player, but if he can improve upon those two things going into this year, he could be a starter for the Titans because at the end

of the day, the Titans need another starting edge rusher. They have Harold Andrie, but in my opinion, and it's been this way since they signed him, Arden Key is a third pass rusher he is a rotational pass rusher Arden Key is not a starting level edge in the NFL and in his last two stops where he played well and got his career back on track it was as a third rusher as a rotational rusher not a starter every down so there is an opportunity for Rashad Weaver to step into that role and step up and be that guy. And that would really help him out with his next contract next year. And it would help the Titans out as well. But that's where the conversation comes in. Should the Titans be looking at a free agent? Because I just don't know. And they would know whether Weaver's made those improvements.

But honestly, the areas of Rashad Weaver's game that need to be cleaned up, that need to improve, that need to be better, we're only going to know that with the pads on because it's against the run. It's physicality. And he's a big enough guy to do it. I mean, 6'4", he's big.

So he's a big enough guy, and he's slimmed down, so clearly they feel that even if he slims down a little bit, he's still going to have the strength to execute his job. Can he take that next step? Can he be a starter for the Titans for a year in a spot where they really, really need somebody to step up and be good against the run? You know you're going to have a pass rusher in Arden Key.

You really need a third edge rusher to round out your rotation. Honestly, I think the Titans need four, but three can really do a good job. You can do a good job with a rotation of three. The Titans had Landry key and Autry last year, and that was pretty solid for them that that did the job. So can Rashad Weaver step up and be that guy? He's never going to quite be the replacement for Danico Autry that people thought that he could be. I think that's obvious now, but he can still take steps to be a starter for the Titans this year. Obviously, I think Harold Landry is going to have a great year. After the bye week last year, Harold Landry was fantastic. One of the top 10 edge rushers in the NFL last year, just after that bye week when he felt better, when he got back to normal after the ACL tear.

I expect a big year from Harold Landry here, but he's going to need some help. And we know Key is just a tertiary rusher. The Titans need another rusher in there, and specifically need someone on early downs who can play against the run. Can Rashad Weaver do that? This is his last chance to do it with the Titans, so we will see.

But with that being said, there are some bubble guys here. There is an opportunity to make this team on the edge. A lot of teams like to keep five or six edge rushers, and the Titans only have three that are obvious. So who are the other bubble guys who could make it? And I think the Titans could look in free agency to add an edge rusher as well. We're going to talk about that at the end of the show. Before we get into all of it, though,

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That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We're wrapping up here, not the last episode, but second to last, the Penn Ultimate Positional Preview episode, talking about the edge rushers. We talk about Rashad Weaver, Who I think. Harold Landry. Arden Key.

We know what we're getting there. Rashad Weaver is kind of the wild card. Of the top three edge rushers. They really need him to step up. And hit his potential. But outside of that. A lot of question marks. In the battle for the final few edge spots.

Will they keep four? Will they keep five? Will they keep six? I don't see how they could get to six. Unless they add a free agent here. We'll talk about some possible free agents later in the show. But looking at the guys currently on the Titans roster who could take these edge spots. Before I tell you who they are,

I do want to thank you again for making the Locked on Titans your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day.

But number one, we got to talk about the year two players. Thomas Rush, Caleb Murphy. So both of them are similar sizes. Thomas Rush, 6'3", 250. Caleb Murphy, 6'3", 254. Thomas Rush came 6'3", 250. Caleb Murphy, 6'3", 254. Thomas Rush came from Minnesota. He is more of a physical, all-around, versatile, outside linebacker, edge guy, I would say.

And then Caleb Murphy, who is just a little bit heavier, four pounds or whatever. I would imagine their weights aren't exactly the same as they were in college anyway or during the measurements. But Caleb Murphy is more of your pure pass rusher. He had a billion sacks in college for a low-level college program. Fair estate, I believe that it was.

But they're different players. Thomas Rush is, again, more of a do-it-all, Swiss Army knife, can drop back in coverage a little bit. Maybe not as good of a pass rusher as Caleb Murphy is, but can do other things better. And I think that that might give him a leg up here. I think that Thomas Rush is a guy who didn't get ahead of Caleb Murphy last year, but with the new scheme and the new coaching staff could be ahead of Caleb Murphy this year. I mean, Caleb Murphy played in three games last year,

had two tackles. Didn't really do what we were hoping that he would, but he's an undrafted free agent rookie coming from a small school. It takes time to acclimate. Caleb Murphy could be far better this year. But I think Thomas Rush really has a chance to get one of these outside linebacker spots. I think his versatility is something that is going to be attractive to the new Titan scheme with dropping back guys in coverage

and blitzing from different places and moving all around. I think those two guys are going to be in a battle for one spot. I think that Thomas Rush has the leg up right now, despite Caleb Murphy having the leg up last year. I think that's a difference. But those are two, again, what we're talking about here is two undrafted free agent guys from last year. Neither of these guys are good enough to be the edge four on this team.

And that's why I'm going to talk about free agents because the Titans need another certified edge guy, in my opinion, because you don't know what you're going to get from Rashad Weaver. You can't know for certain with the up and down nature of his first three years. And I don't know that I can count on Thomas Rush or Caleb Murphy. Now, there are two rookies who I think are also on the bubble here. And it's Jalen Harrell, Titans seventh round pick out of Michigan and Khalid Duke, the undrafted free agent out of Kansas state, six foot four, 244 pounds. I think Jalen Harrell will make this team. I think when you see undrafted free agent

guys like Thomas Rush and Caleb Murphy and then you think about, oh, the Titans went out and added a couple edges, it's a new regime. It's a new coaching staff. They are going to look for guys who fit better for them. You know what I mean? Or guys that they're more interested in. And I think that Jalen Harrell, with what he showed at Michigan,

could really find a way to make the team. He can drop back into coverage. Yeah, maybe he's not, you know, elite at it, but he can do it, and he did it a lot at Michigan. Not only that, but good speed to power, straight line speed guy. He needs to work on some of his pass rush moves. He needs to develop more moves, counters to the things that he does. He's really just a get around the edge, play with it.

He's an effort pass rusher. It reminds me of a cross sport comparison here in the NBA, in basketball centers. You have skill centers who are like, you know, uh, Nicola Jokic is the best version. Um, uh, Alprin Sengun from the Houston Rockets, uh, DeMontis Sabonis from the Kings. Those are good examples of guys who maybe don't have overwhelming athleticism at the center position, but they have a lot of skill. They can shoot, they can pass, they can read the floor, good positioning, stuff like that. And then on the flip side of that, you have what I would call energy bigs

or effort bigs. Think about a guy like JaVale McGee. If you're a Lakers fan during their title run, Dwight Howard is probably the most famous energy effort big of our lifetime. He's probably the best version of that. Tyson Chandler was another guy

like that. The Dallas Mavericks, if you watch them in the finals, both their guys, Derek Lively and Daniel Gafford, they're both energy effort bigs. All right, we'll get away from the basketball comparisons here. I think you guys get the point. But I see Jalen Harrell as an effort energy edge.

Maybe he doesn't have like the skill level. He doesn't have the bend. He doesn't have the elite athletic traits. He doesn't have gross power that could just overdo everything. He doesn't have gross power that could just overdo everything. He doesn't have some of these phenomenal skills that you want to see from your top end edge rushers. But he's just going to play with great effort all the time. And he's got enough of

the leadership capabilities. Jim Harbaugh said that he was like the heart of the Michigan defense, which that gets you a lot of credit right there. That's a culture-setting player. And Brian Callahan talked about how when they first got to Cincinnati with Zach Taylor, they wanted to go get guys from big-time programs who had played in the college football playoff

because those guys knew what it took mentally to win. And Jalen Harrell may not be the most fancy and impressive, you know, skilled player, but he plays with effort. He plays with energy. He's going to hustle. He's going to be a good locker room guy. He's going to live on special teams. So I think Jalen Harrell's on the bubble here,

but I think there's a good chance that he makes this team. I just don't think that he's good enough to be the Titans' fourth edge rusher. I could see him as a fifth edge rusher. Now, a guy that I think is very interesting is the other guy that I mentioned that's a rookie, and that's Khalid Duke, 6'4", 244 pounds out of Kansas State. So he's a little bit of a smaller edge rusher at only 244 pounds. But at that size, he is a guy with great speed and bend. It's like the opposite of Jalen Harrell.

This is a guy who doesn't have a ton of great, I'm not saying he's like a bad locker room guy or doesn't have the leadership and blah, blah, blah. I just mean from like a skill set perspective. He's not powerful. He's a guy with good speed, good bend. He just doesn't have a lot of strength, got shorter arms, which makes it hard to kind of deal with some of these longer offensive tackles.

But I think that Duke is a guy who can learn a lot from Harold Landry, who is also a little bit of an undersized edge rusher with great bend and acceleration and speed. So if Duke can learn from Landry, he might have a chance to eke onto this roster as like the sixth guy. I really do think he would be more of a practice squad developmental guy, but if he impresses enough in training camp, anything can happen. So this group of guys on the bubble,

Thomas Rush, Caleb Murphy, Jalen Harrell, Khalid Duke, I'm just not super high on any of them. I would like them. I think the Titans could keep a couple of them on the back end of the depth chart on the roster, but I wouldn't really count on any of these guys to make an impact on defense in the games, more special teams impact than anything. And I would really want an edge rusher that can make more of on defense in the games. More special teams impact than anything. And I would

really want an edge rusher that can make more of an impact in the game. More of a veteran that you can count on. And there are guys available in free agency. And I'm going to tell you who they are right now. Before I do though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Fan

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Make the most out of your summer. It's FanDuel, official sports betting partner of the MLB. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We've been breaking down the edge, rusher, spot. I went over my locks at the beginning with Harold Landry, Arden Key, and talked about Rashad Weaver being a lock, but really needing to step up this year in his fourth year with the Titans. Then we talked about the guys on the bubble, which you got two second-year players in Thomas Rush and Caleb Murphy,

two rookies in Jalen Harrell and Khalid Duke. Now I want to talk about the free agent options because at the end of the day, I do think the Tennessee Titans need to add a free agent edge rusher before training camp. And they have said that they were looking at free agent edge rushers earlier. They talked about safety. They talked about edge rushers.

So maybe one of these happen. We will see. Before I get into the names that I like, do want to let you know that Locked On has launched the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube. It's also available on Amazon Fire TV. It's called Locked On Sports Today. Locked On Sports Today is here for you 24-7

covering the top sports stories of the day. You get local experts from Locked On. You get coverage of every league with our national shows. Find Locked On Sports today. Now available on the Free Fire TV channels app on Amazon and also streaming 24-7 on YouTube. But the name that I have liked the most throughout the last month, month and a half,

I guess we could say, is Emmanuel Ogba. Ogba is a bigger bodied guy. month and a half, I guess we could say, is Emmanuel Ogba. Ogba is a bigger bodied guy. He's a power rusher. I don't even know if you would really, he's more of a 4-3 defensive end than an outside linebacker, but that is what I'm looking for.

I am looking for a guy with physicality, a bigger bodied player who can play physical against the run on early downs. Again, Harold Landry, smaller edge. Good against the run though. Landry don't play around. He's good at everything, really. Arden Key, not good against the run. Not physical enough.

Not strong enough. Doesn't have enough in his back pocket. He gets pushed around like nothing. Rashad Weaver, same thing. He's undisciplined, just has not been good against the run. Okay, he hasn't. So I want somebody who is good against the run, who can be physical and hold up against offensive tackles and set an edge,

and that's Emmanuel Agba. And the other name that I really like is Carl Lawson. So Lawson had his injury issues with the Jets when he left the Bengals and went to New York. But now he's a free agent. He's on the market. And I think that, I think that could be a big help for the Titans at the end of the day. And if he's healthy, if he's healthy,

well, then I think there's a chance that, you know, they could be getting a really good season out of him at the end of the day. So that's what I would be looking for. Carl Lawson or Emmanuel Ogba make a ton of sense for me. But, but, but, but, but, but, but, there are some other names that could still be helpful that maybe I'm not going to be as jazzed about, but that makes sense.

Charles Harris, again, 29 years old, played with the Lions for a while, and Shaq Lawson played with Buffalo for a little while. I think both of those guys could be good additions. They don't, to me, have as much appeal as Emmanuel Ogba and Carl Lawson. Lawson, specifically with the Bengals connection, you're probably going to get somebody who you know what he's about. Brian Callahan's going to know what Carl Lawson is about at the end of the day.

So those are my top two, but Harris and Shaq Lawson could make some sense. A name that I do want to throw in here, a guy that I liked coming out of college is Maji Sanders out of Cincinnati. Got drafted by Arizona. Played last year in Houston. He's still a young player at 26.

He's a big edge. I believe 6'5". If I recall back to my scouting of him a couple years ago. That might be... He's maybe more of a mystery than Ogba or Lawson or Harris. But there might be more high-end upside right there, though, for the Titans. They could still maybe get more out of Maji Sanders, and he could, like, replace the Rashad Weaver role next year. So does that help you as much as I think the Titans need help right now?

No, it doesn't. But it can help you down the road and there's some potential there. So for me, I prefer Ogba. I prefer Lawson. I think I would actually take Lawson over everybody. Carl Lawson. But if they can't get either of those, honestly, I would be okay with bringing in Majay Sanders

and seeing what he had to offer. I think that would be wise for the Titans. But with that being said, that is going to do it for today's show. That is the edge rusher position. Again, Titans training camp starts next week. Tomorrow, our last show of the week, we're going to talk about these interior linebackers, these off-ball linebackers, these inside linebackers.

Jack Evans is linebacker one, and I think he's gone a little underrated by the Tennessee Titans fan base. I'm going to talk about that tomorrow, but that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.