Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Rookie Roles: Will Levis QB2, Tyjae Spears is a Weapon and Josh Whyle's Limited Role

Episode Date: June 19, 2023

The Tennessee Titans brought in six rookies in the 2023 NFL Draft and now we are getting a picture of what roles they could be playing during the season. First, Tyler confirms that he thinks Will Levis will be QB2 during the year and why it is a great thing that Peter Skoronski is boring. Next, out of the two offensive playmakers in round three and five, one is underrated and one is overrated. Finally, will either of the Titans last two picks make the roster to have a role?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!BirddogsGo to birddogs.com/lockedonnfl and when you enter promo code, LOCKEDONNFL, they’ll throw in a free custom birddogs Yeti-style tumbler with every order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED 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

I think that Will Levis will be the backup quarterback for the Titans this season. I'll explain why, plus dive into what role I think the rest of the Titans draft picks will play in 2023 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, diving into what roles each of the Titans drafted rookies will play in 2023. Can't wait to dive into the list before we get into it. Do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all apps all year round, always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast where it's your team every day. Now, my everydayers will know we are in the midst

of my positional preview series. Taking a little detour today to talk about some rookie roles. But on yesterday's show, we talked about who should be the starter quarterback. Obviously, Ryan Tannehill. Who should be the backup at quarterback? Who's the dark horse to make the roster? We dive into the entire position. We're going to do that with every position going forward

and on tomorrow's show, we're going to dive into running back. We're going to talk about, can Derrick Henry still lead the Tennessee Titans to the playoffs? Also talk about a breakout star from the running back position and a dark horse to make the roster from the running back position. So we're going to dive into that tomorrow. My everydayers be excited, but let me know down below as well. If you're an everydayer to the show, definitely do appreciate, appreciate the support, throw a thumbs up on the video as well, if you're watching, but diving right in here. I talked about it on yesterday's show when we dove into the quarterbacks, but just to reaffirm here, I do think that Will Levis will be the Titans backup quarterback. He will be quarterback to going into the season. That is ultimately his role for 2023. And at the end of the day,

there's multiple reasons. I've spent a lot of time talking about all the different reasons, but it comes down to familiarity with a pro-style offense, which is a big reason why Will Levis was drafted in the first place. And we just have to acknowledge the reality that there are politics at play here. And I know that in a perfect world, people would say that Mike Rabel is going to play the guy who earns it no matter what. And I hope that that would be true. But at the end of the day, again, the Titans traded a second round pick or traded a third round pick in 2024 to move up in the second round to draft Will Levis

after they had Malik Willis in the third round last year. Essentially, the Titans gave up three third roundround picks. One a second. Three top three-round picks to get the two quarterbacks that they have. And I just think at the end of the day, the politics of the decision is going to lead us to Will Levis being the backup quarterback.

And as I said yesterday, I'm not necessarily believing the Malik Willis hype just yet. He is just vastly improved and he's going to be a clear option for the Titans. I just think there are a ton of political reasons in the locker room, or at least in the front office, of why they want to go with Will Levis with what they've invested in him. And at the end of the day, I don't think that there's a big gap between those guys right now like it's being portrayed, I guess. But with that being said, we've talked about the Will Levis Malik Willis situation quite a bit. I just wanted to reaffirm

that to start off the show. But now I want to move into Peter Skowronski, the Titans actual first round pick. Despite the attention that's paid to Will Levis. The Titans made a first-round pick. And I wrote an article on Sports Illustrated at alltitans.com on Monday where basically I said that Peter Skowronski is boring. And that is a great thing for the Titans because his role is going to be exactly what everyone expected it to be. He is going to be a starting offensive lineman, one of the best offensive linemen on the team, and he has been that from day one.

Right now, Skowronski is the starter at left guard. He could even potentially play left tackle if Dillard doesn't hold up his end of the contract. If Nicholas Petit-Ferrer struggles mightily. Now, with NPF, and we'll talk about NPF as we get into the tackles in the offensive line with the positional preview, but NPF

had struggles in his rookie year. Now I have said that I thought that he was fine and that if he had some more talent around him and the offense could help him out a little bit more, he would have been in a much better situation. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe

Nicholas Petit Ferrer's struggles will continue. Maybe he's not set to be a starting offensive tackle in the NFL. Maybe they got to move him inside. Maybe he's just not a starter at all. We don't know right now. That's something that's going to play out in front of us throughout the season that will be interesting to see just how good can NPF be. But if he's struggling and it continues, they could move Skowronski out to right tackle as well. He is just going to be a versatile piece that you know you're going to get high level play from. It reminds me of Elton Jenkins in Green Bay. Gives you that same positional versatility. So for me, Skowronski, his role is certified. He's a starter.

He could be a high level starter on the Titans offensive line. And like I was saying, thank God that he's boring because Burks had the asthma and the conditioning drama. And then Caleb Farley with the injury drama and the, and the risk of that pick. And then of course, Isaiah Wilson and everything that went on with that. This is the first year in three years that the Titans haven't had any legitimate drama with their first round pick at this stage in the game.

So that is nice. So shout out to Peter Skowronski. So Will Levis, I think, will be the quarterback too. Skowronski will be a starting offensive lineman right now at left guard, but I think he could easily be moved around. That's what I see as the role for the top two rookies that the Titans drafted, but we're going to go through the rest of the draft class, and I want to tell you why I think out of the two guys that we talk about next,

I think one is maybe underrated, and the other one might be a little bit overrated at this stage in the game. So we'll talk about that in just a moment. Before we get into it, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, America's number one sportsbook. And baseball season is in full swing. Go Red Legs. There is no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel.

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But don't miss your chance to snag a no-sweat first bet up to $1,000 when you join FanDuel today. Again, just go to fanduel..com slash LockedOn to sign up. FanDuel, official partner of Major League Baseball. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We're talking about what roles each of the Titans drafted rookies will have this season. I already talked about Will Levis at quarterback, and I think he'll be the backup. Talked about Peter Skowronski being a starter on the offensive line and being a good set of boring, but we're going to move into some of the offensive playmakers that the Titans

drafted, namely Tajay Spears in the third round and then Josh Wiley in the fifth round. And like I said a second ago, I think that there's potential here that one of these guys is underrated and one of them is overrated. And for me, Tajay Spears is underrated. And when the pick happened, I love the pick. I think that Spears can not only be running back two for the Titans, but he can be an offensive weapon. We talk about this team not having a lot of talent at wide receiver. Tajay Spears can split out wide. Tajay Spears can be used in the slot. The Titans can use Spears on screens, on draws in the backfield. And that's just with the regular using him as the passing down running back

and letting him spell Derrick Henry with 8 to 10 carries a game. So that's on top of the normal running back two duties. Spears can add some versatility in there. They can bring him in motion, which we've already heard in OTAs. The Titans offense is showing a ton of motion with Spears coming in motion from the slot, jet motion, orbit motion. They can do a ton of different things with Spears in the offense,

not just in the backfield at running back. So I think that is very important. And we even heard from Craig Aukerman that they're going to use Spears as a potential kick returner. They're giving him some work there to see what he can do. So some value as a kick returner, the gadget things you can do with them on offense to expand things and use his explosiveness,

just being a regular RB2 as well, all of that together, even though there is hype for Tajay Spears, I still feel like people are underrating what his effect on the offense can be. And I think that some people were scratching their heads. I saw it in the comments. Some people were scratching their heads when the Titans took a running back in the third round thinking no wide receiver, no tight end, no more offensive line help. There are so many other places the Titans could have gone.

When we see how Tajay Spears is used within the offense, I think that people are going to be surprised at just how valuable that pick actually was. So really excited about that. And again, Tajay Spears' role for 2023, offensive weapon. That's how I see him. But moving into the guy then, obviously, on the flip side of things, that I think has the potential to be overrated, and I would say even overrated by me.

Immediately coming out of the draft, I really like Josh Wiley in the draft. He was one of the guys that I always found doing mock drafts and kind of preparing for what it might look like. Josh Wiley, the, the tight end out of Cincinnati was one of those guys that I always found myself picking in the fifth or sixth round. I know that there was a lot of value early with the Tucker crafts and the Darnell Washington's and the Musgraves and Michael Mayers and all that.

But I just thought that the Titans would go other directions early, which they did. I mean, they found chicken Conquo in the fifth round last year in a tight end group that wasn't as deep as this year's draft. So you start to think about it. If they waited until the fifth round for the tight end last year and hit, and this group's even better this year, then they'll probably wait till around the same time again

and think that they can find a guy who can have an impact like Chig Now, I think Chick Oconqua turned out to be a little bit better than maybe they were expecting him to be. And I think we saw that with the snap counts early in the year. It took until halfway through the year before Chick started getting his due with the snap counts. And I still think that they were never there. So to me, they probably saw the same thing with Wiley. But at the end, when you look at how the Titans use tight ends in this offense, there's really a good hunk of snaps for two tight ends. I think that that makes the most sense, especially you could compare it to Austin Hooper last year, which is kind of who I think the Titans are looking at Josh Wiley in the Austin Hooper role. But Wiley isn't the veteran that Hooper is,

so I don't think you can count on him to just immediately step in. Chica Conk was going to take a big bulk of those Austin Hooper snaps. That's the reality there. So I just think that Trevon Wesco is the guy that people think, oh, Wiley and Chick and these guys.

Trevon Wesco was brought in to play in the Jeff Swain role. So, to me, it's Wesco and Chicka Conqua that are going to get the most snaps. They're going to get the bulk of the snaps at tight end with Wesco being that in-line, hand in the dirt, basically extra offensive lineman that Jeff Swaim was. I mean, Wesco's played in the NFL four years. I think he has eight catches.

We're not talking about a guy who can threaten in the passing game. But the Titans put Swaim out there last year a ton, 57% of offensive snaps, somewhere close to there. So the Titans are going to use that extra offensive lineman tight end quite a bit. And then they're going to have Chigokonkwo as the secondary tight end because you've got to get him on the field. So I just think Josh Wiley has the chance to kind of be

pushed out a little bit. And we were all spoiled by Chigokonkwo, in my opinion. Okonkwo did more than rookie tight ends normally do, especially fifth round rookie tight ends. Rookie tight ends often have one of the toughest transitions in the NFL from college to the pros because blocking a defensive end in the NFL is just a different beast than blocking defensive ends in the AAC. You know what I mean? And Josh Wiley was never really used as like a pure in-line guy anyway.

He did a little bit of that, but he was more of a guy who they moved around the formation. So it's not like Wiley had a ton of experience with dealing with that caliber of defender anyways. So I just don't think that Josh Wiley is going to get quite the opportunities that a lot of people see.

Rookie tight end, two guys ahead of him that the team is going to prioritize, especially in their roles. I think that Josh Wiley is going to be a match-up dependent role player for the Titans. If they know that a team likes to play a ton of man, they're going to put Wiley on the field, start in a condensed formation, spread out, have Wiley isolated on the outside by the sideline in the red zone

and toss a ball up to him and let him go try to moss a linebacker. I think those situations. Third down, coming in, you got two wide receivers, Chig in the inside slot, or Chig in the outside slot, Wiley in the inside slot. Again, a matchup against a linebacker or maybe a shorter safety. Elijah Molden has

been playing some dime safety for the Titans. If the Titans had a matchup of Josh Wiley against a 5'10 defensive back, they would have to attack that. So I think that Wiley may not be the every Sunday producer that some people, even including myself,

maybe thought initially or hoped for initially is what I should say. But I think he can be a, certain weeks, he is going to have a big impact because there are matchups that dictate that he can play more and take advantage. So I have a matchup dependent role player as the role for Josh Wiley in 2023. So Skowronski, starter on the offensive line, Will Levis, backup quarterback, Tajay Spears, offensive weapon, Josh Wiley, match-up dependent role player. We're going to get into the Titans' last two draft picks, Colton Dow and Jalen Duncan, and what their roles are going to be in just

a moment. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We're going through the roles that I think all of the Titans drafted rookies will fill in their initial season with the team. We have talked about the Titans' first four picks. Peter Skowronski is a starter on the offensive line. Will Levis, I think, will be the backup quarterback. Tajay Spears, an offensive weapon.

And then Josh Wiley, a matchup-dependent role player. Now we're going to get into the last two picks. Before we do, I 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 on all apps, all year long, always for free. Get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day.

Shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday. Couldn't do this thing without you. Just so you guys know, we are going to continue the positional preview for training camp. We did quarterback yesterday. We'll be doing running back and wide receiver in the next two days unless, of course, some major news breaks, some major talking point gets going, I try to, you know, be an improviser out here.

I don't want to be a stationary, in-the-pocket quarterback with no mobility. If the rush comes, I got to get out and make a second reaction play. So I try to look at it that way when I'm doing the show. But the plan is, of course, to continue our positional preview, talk about running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, all of that in the coming shows. But with that being said, I want to talk about the last two players on the Titans here that were drafted. Number one, we have Jalen Duncan. And I got to admit, I came out of the box strong on the Duncan pick. I didn't like it. Duncan was a red flag guy for me coming into the draft based on all the scouting reports

that I read based on what I had heard from some folks. Duncan wasn't a guy who was known as a hard worker, wasn't a guy who put a lot of time into his craft. He's a guy who's kind of skated by on having really, really good physical gifts. Wasn't somebody who showed a lot of effort out on the field at all times, finishing through the whistle, things like that. People questioned whether he loved football enough to really do it. So when I heard all of those things, read all of those things, and then I see the Titans pick Duncan, it's like, okay, you're taking a chance on a guy with high upside skill,

but just has not shown that he has the personality type, or at least the want to. Maybe he does have the personality type, but he just hasn't put in the effort, just hasn't put in the effort to maximize those gifts and those skills and those traits that he has. And to me, that just seems like the opposite of the Mike Vrabel player. Mike Vrabel would rather have a guy

who cares about the team, gives 100% effort, first in last out. At least Vrabel tells us that's the type of player that he wants. But then they take Jalen Duncan who out of all the players in the draft, he is one of those guys who people question

his work ethic. So it was just surprising to me and with that I came out of the gate strong. And to be honest with you, maybe I don't feel like I remember when I reacted to the pick when it happened. I called it a terrible pick and this and that. Taking a dart throw in the sixth round on a guy with athletic talent and gifts that showed moments that just needs tutelage. He's incredibly raw. Jalen Duncan is as a prospect. He's just incredibly raw. And a lot of people say it's because he didn't put in

the work to, to, you know, craft and craft his skill and, and hone his skills is the word I'm looking for there. So if the Titans can flip the switch on a mentally, then, then maybe it's not a terrible pick. And I guess I understand with a late round dart throw, you try to get a guy like that and see what you can do. So maybe the pick wasn't terrible. But I still don't believe in Jalen Duncan. I don't think that Duncan is going to make the 53-man roster. I think the Titans will cut Duncan, bring him back on the practice.

He made it all the way to the sixth round. the Titans will cut Duncan, bring him back on the practice. He made it all the way to the sixth round. A lot of teams just similar to how I feel, didn't want anything to do with Jalen Duncan. People thought he had third round talent.

All the scouts and all the reports that you read leading up to it, Jalen Duncan third round, maybe even second round. Fell all the way to the sixth round because other teams heard about things that I'm telling you about now that I talked about after he was picked. So I think that he doesn't make the 53.

He ends up on the practice squad. He's simply a practice squad project for the Titans. That's his role in 2023, his practice squad project. Even if he goes to the practice squad, maybe again, a flip or a switch is flipped and he turns into a productive lineman for the

Titans on the bench, maybe even a starter and all that, but I just don't think that's going to be his role in 2023. I think it's going to take more time, even if that happens. Practice squad project for Jalen Duncan. Colton Dow, seventh round wide receiver.

To me, his fate with this team depends on what happens with DeAndre Hopkins. I don't have a great role for him right now. I don't have an answer on Colton Dow because I think what happens with Hopkins is really what is going to make the difference for Colton Dow and his place on the Titans roster.

So, number one, I'll just put it like this. If the Titans bring in DeAndre Hopkins, I don't think Colton Dow makes the team. Because here's what I see. Let me just start from here. Burks, Kyle Phillips, that's two. NWI, Chris Moore, that's four. So right there, that's the four. If the Titans get Hopkins and add it to that, then that's five, okay? But if they don't get Hopkins, then I think the Titans will keep two more wide receivers.

I think the Titans will keep six wide receivers. So if it's Burks, Phillips, NWI, and Chris Moore, and they don't get Hopkins, I think they'll keep Racey McMath and Colton Dow. I think Colton Dow and Racey McMath are battling each other right now. And if there's no Hopkins, they'll both get on. Because I think Dow is a better wide receiver than Racy McMath, but not as valuable on special teams.

And I think Racy McMath is more valuable on special teams, but not as good as a pure wide receiver as Colton Dow. The thing is, the Titans need both of those guys right now, as things stand. They need the special teams value of McMath, and they need another guy who they can actually put out there to catch the ball. If they bring in Hopkins, then I don't think there is as big of a need for Colton Dowell

and you would rather have the special teams guy in Ray C. McMath. So if Hopkins is brought in, I think that McMath makes it over Dowell. So if Hopkins is brought in, I think that McMahon makes it over Dow. If Hopkins is not brought in, I think Dow and McMahon make it. That's where I'm seeing that position battle right now. So be curious to see what happens with Hopkins.

Again, I think it'll make a difference in whether Colton Dow has a chance to make this roster or not. And if he does make this roster, he's simply a project wide receiver at the end of the bench. I mean, that's all you can ask for with a late round pick like that.

But with that being said, that is my thoughts on what roles all of the Titans rookies will play in 2023. I'm going to be back with you guys tomorrow, probably breaking down another position. That is going to do it for me today, though, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this

was Locked on Titans.