Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Report Card: Will Levis is a B, Two A's at Wide Receiver & Poor Marks on Offensive Line

Episode Date: June 17, 2024

The Tennessee Titans have hit their summer break which makes it a great time to take count of where the roster is right now with a summer report card! First, what grade does Will Levis get going into the year? Tyler has him as a B, but with plenty of room to grow. Next, one huge difference for the 2024 Titans will be the wide receiver room where the Titans feature two A-level players. Finally, on the offensive line there is a ton of potential, but the grades have to start out low outside of center.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!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. Right now, NEW customers get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET. That’s TWO HUNDRED BUCKS you can use to bet everything from the Finals MVP to who's going to hit one out of the park! 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) 

It's time for a Tennessee Titans summer report card, and I'm giving Will Levis a B grade. For now, 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.

Right now, new customers get $200 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $200 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. Visit FanDuel.com slash locked on to get started. Today's show is going to be a summer report card for the Tennessee Titans. I'm going to assign a letter grade to every Tennessee Titans starter on the offensive side of the ball on tomorrow's show. We're going to be doing the defensive side of the ball. Can't wait to dive into all of it with you guys. Play along with me down below in the comments on YouTube or hit me up on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans. Let me know where you agree,

where you disagree. What letter grade would you give to the Tennessee Titans starters? So obviously, that means we have to start with Will Levis. But before we dive into that, do want to thank you again 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. And again, tomorrow, we're going to do the defensive grades. Then the last two days of the week, we're going to be looking at what level of starter are all of the players on the Titans roster. I got some great stuff coming your guys' way. We're going to do AFC South week next week

where we look at the Titans compared to their AFC South division rivals. I'm going to look at what those teams have done this offseason. But with that being said, we are going to start, of course, with Will Levis. Where else could you start doing offensive grades? And I did this exercise on my Twitter account, at Tic Tac Titans Titans when I was on vacation and I was bored and waiting for our dinner reservation and I just typed it out and there are some changes

now that I've had, you know, two weeks basically to think about it and I will say initially I had Will Levis as a B plus and I got to admit, I think that is a bit rich. I think realistically speaking, Will Levis is a B level NFL quarterback right now. I'm not willing to put him any lower quite honestly, because I think what he showed, the flashes he showed, the elite traits that he has. People always get this confused when I talk about it, but Will Levis has two physical

elite traits for NFL quarterbacks right now. His release quickness, how fast he gets the ball out of his hand, his throwing motion, and then his velocity, his power, his arm strength, whatever you want to call it. His ability not only to throw the ball down the field, but his ability to throw the ball with velocity to the sidelines, across the middle. All of that has to be included in arm strength.

And to me, I'm still not willing to go less than a B. I think that Will Levis is a B. I think that's more appropriate right now than a B+. But here's what I will say. I think that Will Levis can be an A- by the end of the year. Like, I think he has that ability with the better supporting cast, with the better offensive coaching at his back and in his ear. I think Will Levis can set. And the way I'm thinking about this is, you know, an A plus is elite. That's top five, maybe top 10, definitely

not any further than top 10. You're talking about the top 10 players, top five players at that position in the NFL. And I don't think that Levis is going to be able to make the jump quite there. But in A-, we're talking about, you know, for quarterbacks, I'd say top 5 is A+. Top 10 is A. Top 15 is A-, and then, you know, B+. So, to me, I think that Will Levis can get to that A-minus mark of being 15-10. Okay? And, of course, I mean, there's the potential to go even higher than that and be a top 10 quarterback in the NFL by the end of the season. But I think,

realistically speaking, we could see Levis take a big jump into the top 12, which I would still give him at about that A- mark. And remember, for quarterback, the grades are going to be a little different because there's only one quarterback out there. So that means you're talking about 32 starters and then backups. Whereas, I think offensive tackle, there are two on the field, so now you're looking at 64 different guys. So the grades do move a little bit.

The curve, I guess, does move a little bit based on the position. But at quarterback, again, I'm giving Will Levis a B right now. I think he can move all the way up to being an A- and if things really, really go well, we could potentially have a top 10 quarterback in A on our hands, but again, I think that on the scale of things that are likely, I think A- is endlessly more likely than being a pure dominant A player. But let me know your grade for Will Levis right now.

Again, I'm going with a B. I think that's only fair. Levis is a 15 to 20 range right now. I think would be a fair place to put him. I think later in the summer, I might actually go through and rank, you know, top to bottom the players in the NFL and where I think the Titans players fit in that. Let me know down below

if you'd be interested in a conversation like that. For running back, some people kind of came after me a little bit for this. I have the Titans running backs as an A-. I don't care who you choose. Tony Pollard, Tajay Spears. I think they're both A-s. I think that they're both A-minuses.

I think that they're both top 20, top 15 running backs in the NFL. Like, I don't really care who you pick there, who you want that to be. I think they're an A-minus. And I think that we could be looking at it as an A-level. Tony Pollard was way better in the second half of last year after he, you know, came off a broken leg. So he was much better in the second half of last year after he came off a broken leg. So he was much better in the back half of the year. And last year, Tajay Spears was a rookie

who was behind Derrick Henry in a bad offense with a bad O-line. I think that Tajay Spears is one of the more underrated players in the NFL right now. I think that Tony Pollard is going to get back to his 2022 level. I don't think it's crazy to say that the Titans have two A running backs by the end of the year. But for right now,

I'll go with an A- for both those running backs. Again, though, that's one of the ones that I put A originally. I'll tone it down just a little bit, you know, with the Tony Pollard coming back. Can he get back to that level? Tajay was a rookie. A lot of it's projection.

But I'm not going lower than A-. I believe in these running backs. Like, I don't, and there's two of them. Like, I think it's pretty simple. They're both A-s with the ability to be even better. So, with a better O-line, more opportunities for Tajay Spears, Tony Pollard being healthier. Like, again, that's why I'm so high on what Will Levis can do

because of what they put around him and the players that he has around him on offense. And that includes both those excellent running backs who may not be Christian McCaffrey, but the running back scale, there's probably 25 or so that are A- or better. I definitely think the Tennessee Titans have two of those. So we're going to talk about wide receiver, tight end, the offensive line, and I think the Titans have two A wide receivers, or A-.

And not everybody agrees, but I don't care. So I'll explain why I feel that way and give you the rest of my grades. Before we do that, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Look, guys. It's summertime. That means baseball.

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But make sure that you visit FanDuel.com slash locked on and add a big win to your summer bucket list. FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. Titans fans, let's continue this summer report card edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Again, offense today, defense tomorrow. Very excited to see what you guys have to say about these grades, what your grades would be.

Gave Will Levis a B, gave the running backs, I don't care which one you pick, an A-. Now let's talk about these receivers, because when I put out my grades a couple of weeks ago on Twitter, of course, like I said, I've changed a few of those after thinking about it. But two grades that I did not change

and will not change. I have the Titans with two A- wide receivers. Two. All right. I'll explain why before I do. Thank you guys 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. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day.

But, I have said over the last few weeks, and I feel very good about this opinion, but I think Calvin Ridley is wide receiver one. I think if you're a Titans fan, and you want the Titans to win as many games as possible, and you want good things to happen for the Tennessee Titans,

you want Calvin Ridley to be the number one wide receiver. It's that simple. One, DeAndre Hopkins, a free agent. After the year, he's older. And what Ridley means to the offense, his separation ability, his speed, playing the Z receiver role, which is where Jamar Chase played for Cincinnati.

Like, if you want the Titans to hit their ceiling this year, you want Calvin Ridley to be wide receiver one. Not only for this year, but for next year. I mean, like, that's important. And I think that Calvin Ridley is an A-minus wide receiver. Look, both of these guys went over 1,000 yards last year. One, Calvin Ridley totally miscast. And Alex Rollins for Underdog Fantasy.

I explained this on this podcast back when Calvin Ridley was signed. I explained it at the end of my film breakdown on Calvin Ridley on the Tic Tac Titans film channel that I made. Calvin Ridley was misused by the Jacksonville Jaguars and Alex Rollins dove into that very deeply in his recent video on Calvin Ridley and how the Titans stole an elite talent. Jacksonville wasted an elite talent is basically what Alex's opinion was. And I agree for the same reasons that I explained months ago. Jacksonville used him as an X receiver.

That made him go up against a bunch of press coverage. It didn't allow him to go in motion before the snap and utilize his speed as much. It was a complete miscasting of Calvin Ridley and his skill set. Now Jacksonville fans will cry and whine and complain that Calvin Ridley dropped passes

and ran the wrong routes and blah blah blah blah blah. But at the end of the day, you took an extra, or you took, let's do it this way, you took an A-list star actor like Leonardo DiCaprio and you made him an extra. You know, like that's not a perfect analogy,

but the point is they misused Calvin Ridley. He was a Z receiver in Atlanta. He's a speed receiver that should be off the line of scrimmage. Why would you use him as a physical X on the line of scrimmage? Like, why would you do that? It doesn't make any sense. It doesn't make any sense. And thank God that some people were like,

well, the Titans hired Nick Holtz. He could have been involved in that. I have talked to people in Jacksonville. Nick Holtz was not making any real decisions in Jacksonville as the passing game coordinator. He was literally a soundboard of, you know, Hey, we could try this. Hey, we can do this. He made no decisions. So they weren't listening to what he was saying. And Brian Callahan has already said that they want to move him around the formation and get him in motion. And so I'm not worried about how the Titans are going to use Calvin Ridley because they've made it pretty clear already.

And I think Nick Holtz, as the Titans offensive coordinator, saw in Jacksonville last year how they misused Calvin Ridley and were like, we're going to do this differently here. Okay? So Calvin Ridley is an're like, we're going to do this differently here. Okay? So, Calvin Ridley is an A- wide receiver. He had frigging like 1,400 yards the last time he had a full season in the right position. So, some people were arguing that Hopkins was an A-

and Ridley was the B+. I don't understand that. If you want to tell me that Hopkins is the B+, and Calvin Ridley is the A minus, well then fine. Like, I guess I'll accept that, that that could be real. But DeAndre Hopkins looked great last year. I mean, were we watching? And that terrible offense, think about it.

Everybody doubled DeAndre Hopkins. Maybe not like a literal bracket on the line of scrimmage with two guys pressing him the whole time like he's a, you know, gunner on punt return, but so many times, teams would have a safety over top of DeAndre Hopkins, literally all the way over on DeAndre Hopkins' side of the field. And then the cornerback is pressing him, and they're not worried about anybody else.

Nick Westbrook-Akene, Traylon Burks, Kyle Phillips, like, you know, Chris Moore. Like, they're not worried about any of these people. And when you know that you're going to be able to get to the quarterback in two seconds, why not double? I mean, we're not worried about anybody else. So, to me, if DeAndre Hopkins went over 1,000 yards last year in that environment,

and now he's got Calvin Ridley next to him, and a Titans offense that's going to throw the ball a lot more, I think the Titans have two A-minus wide receivers. I think the Titans have two top 20 wide receivers. Like, do you think they're outside the top 20? That's really the question. If you think that Ridley or Hopkins are not top 20 wide receivers. Like, do you think they're outside the top 20? That's really the question. If you think that Ridley or Hopkins are not top 20 wide receivers, then I could get maybe you saying they're B+.

But I don't. I think they're both low-end, top 20 wide receivers. And they're A-minuses. You know? Maybe they're on the low end of A-minuses across the National Football League. But I think they're both A-minuses. And I just cannot believe how people talk about Calvin Ridley's season last year when he had 75 catches and, you know, what was it?

Eight touchdowns and went over 1,000 yards. And people act like this guy was a bum. What? After two years of missing football, basically. Blows my mind. Another grade I did not change from my initial rough draft, Tyler Boyd is a B to me.

He's just a B. Solid. He's not bad. Just a solid starter. Not one of the top 30, 40 wide receivers in the league, of course, but he's just a solid B. And that's exactly what the Titans needed, quite honestly,

because if I gave a grade to Traylon Burks, it'd probably be a C. So, let me know what you guys would grade Traylon Burks. He's not a starter, but kind of just fun, right, to grade him. Either way, at tight end, I know that we have talked about Josh Wiley maybe taking the tight end one role and job this year and maybe he does but for this grading

purposes I went with Chigga Conquo and I gave Chigga C plus like he's a low end starter but I think that this grade for the Titans starting tight end could get up to a B

by the end of the year. Take a couple steps forward, whether it be Josh Wiley who assumes it and he just proves to be a better every down tight end, or Chigakonkwo is used more appropriately within the offense, it's going to throw more and be more suited to his skill set. Okay, so I think the Titans tight end grade could get to a B, suited to his skill set. Okay, so I think the Titans tight end grade could get to a B,

but I have it as C plus for right now. Again, one of the worst position groups on the roster, if we're being honest. So that's where I fall on that. But we got to talk about the offensive line because there are some good grades in there. But of course, on that right side, definitely some concern. So we're going to discuss that before we do that. Titans fans, let's cap off our offensive report card,

summer report card for the Titans, giving grades to every Titans starter. Excited to see what you guys have to say about these grades and what your grades would be down below, or hit me up on Twitter, of course, at TicTacTitans, and let me know. But we got Will Levis as a B. Tony Pollard is an A-. Calvin Ridley and DeAndre Hopkins is an A-.

Tyler Boyd is a B. Now we're going to get into the offense on Chigaconquo as a C+. Room to grow, of course, in all these grades, but that's where I'm at right now. We're going to talk offensive line. Before we do, though, thank you again for making Locked on Titans your first listen each and every day. I do want to remind you that Locked on has launched the first ever National Sports 24-7 streaming channel.

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NBA. Find Locked On Sports Today. Now available on the free Fire TV channels app. But I'll start with J.C. Latham. So right now, rookie, starting left tackle, transitioning from right side to left side,

I got to give J.C. Latham a B- right now. A B-. But I think, and initially I had a B on him, but that seems a little, you know, probably best to start it lower. But I think that Latham could get up to like a B plus by the end of the year.

Like, I doubt that he'll be able to crack into, you know, the top 10 left tackles in the NFL. But, I mean, imagine if J.C. Latham was a top 15 left tackle as a rookie. I mean, that would be incredible. What a coup for the Titans to be able to find that guy with the second offensive tackle off the board, transitioning from right tackle to left tackle. Think about that.

So, right now, I'm going to go with Latham as a B+. But I think by the end of the season, that could be a B-. By the end of the season, that could be a B+. So B- for Latham now. I think he's going to be better than a C-level player, which is someone who should be replaced, quite honestly. But I think B- is fair with big room to grow. Now, Peter Skowronski. I think Skowronski with big room to grow.

Now, Peter Skowronski. I think Skowronski might be at the same level, but not being a rookie, having the opportunity to get bigger and stronger going into year two, not having to deal with the draft process like Latham has. I gave Peter Skowronski a B. Now, I had him as a B plus in my initial rating, but realistically that's too rich for what we show, what he saw, what he showed and what we saw last year. Okay. That's too rich. So just a B level grade, but I think Skowronski by the end of the

year could be an A minus level player. I think he could be a top 10, top 15 guard in the entire NFL. Like, I think he could be that good, especially with a better center and a better left tackle next to him than he had at any point in time last year during the season. So, to me, I'll go with a B- for Latham, a B for Skowronski, and I'm giving an A- to Lloyd Cushenberry. Man, I saw recently that somebody did a center ranking

and they had Aaron Brewer over Lloyd Cushenberry. What? What? What? What? What are we doing? Who's in charge? Can I speak with a manager?

Like, what in the world is happening? It's literally insane how you could be a top five center in the NFL and then you come to the Titans and now you're not even top 20. Like, what? It's absurd. Lloyd Cushenberry is an A-. He's one of the top seven to eight centers in the entire NFL, maybe even higher.

Now he gets Bill Callahan as his coach. Like, dude, Aaron Brewer is the worst pass-blocking starting offensive lineman in the NFL last year. What is happening? I don't understand. And the NFL thinks that Lloyd Cushenberry is far better. Look at the paychecks. Aaron Brewer got a one-year

replaceable starter-level deal, like Aziz Alshayer got last year. And then the Texans gave him the most guaranteed money of any inside linebacker signed in free agency this year. But everyone acts like that was a great move. I don't understand. Anyways, Aaron Brewer is on like a

hey, we'll see if we still need you at the end of the year. We'd love to improve on your spot deal for the second year in a row. And Cushenberry got a multi-year deal with good guarantees. I don't know. Whatever. Can't spend too much time on it

because it does fluster me a little bit. Doesn't make a lot of sense. At right guard though, I have Sadiq Charles as a C+. I honestly think all the grades that we've talked about so far, I've been like, hey, this is where I'm at right now.

I can see this getting better. I have Sadiq Charles at a C plus and I think by the end of the year we could be looking at him as a C minus, a D level player. Sadiq Charles may be the favorite to be the starter at right guard, but I don't think that Sadiq Charles is a long term starting right guard. Like the Titans are going to be looking for interior offensive linemen next year in the mid rounds or late rounds of the draft to come in and compete. I'm just not as high on Sadiq Charles as

seems like the team might be. Up and down, miss some time. I mean, there's a reason he was available and got a minimum contract. There's a reason. So I don't think you can make that anything more than a C plus right now. Replacement level starter. Outright tackle, I'm going with a D right now. I don't trust

NPF. I don't trust Leroy Watson or Garan Christian or Jalen Duncan or any of the options. I'm going with a D. Needs replaced immediately. Now, if NPF comes back, he's healthy, and Bill Callahan truly does get the best out of him, I think it could be like a C+. You know what I mean? I think that's where it could be.

But regardless of what happens this year, good or bad, I think the Titans need a new right guard and right tackle next year, and they're going to be looking for them. So there's no way I could give high grades for the right side of the offensive line. No way. But with that being said, again, tomorrow we're going to do defense. Can't wait to dive into that with you guys.

Some big grades on defense, but some bad grades too. Like some bad, bad grades. But with that being said, that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans. We'll be right back.