Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans ROSTER PREDICITONS: Xavier Restrepo's REVENGE, Will Levis is CUT & Stacking O-Line

Episode Date: June 28, 2026

The Tennessee Titans are a long way from roster cut down day in August, but it is never a bad time for some ROSTER PREDICITONS. The biggest roster question on offense comes at wide receiver where Xavier Restrepo's impressive offseason has earned him a roster spot in the exercise, but it does make the math complicated.  On the offensive line, the Titans don't have a lot of good answers to their questions which means raw numbers will be key and we could see the Titans keep nearly ten players there. Finally, in the backfield, the Titans could go light on numbers and that would mean Will Levis is cut or traded. That has been Tyler's expectation, but a lackluster offseason makes it more likely.   LOCKED ON TITANS EVERYDAY CLUB: https://lockedontitans.supercast.com/   Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans   TicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop...   Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans   Follow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod   Subscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LockedOnTitans   Everydayer ClubIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. From the opening whistle to the final kick, Let There Be Goals on FanDuel. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started now. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. 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) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After a strong off season, I think Xavier Restrepo is poised to make the Tennessee Titans roster this season. I'll tell you who else I think is going to make it on today's edition of Locked on Titans. 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 fans fans fans. on today's show.

We're going to do part one of my summer 53 man roster projections. I'm going to go through every position on the offensive side of the ball and tell you who I think is going to make this team as things stand right now. On tomorrow's show, we're going to do the defensive side of the ball, so make sure that you don't miss that. But I want to talk about why I don't think that Willis is going to make the team as things are right now. We're going to talk about why I think the Titans need to keep more than usual

offensive linemen to have that depth. But we start with the most interesting position battle of them all of the entire roster. Indeed, and that is the wide receiver spot. And again, I think Xavier Restrepo has done what he needs to do to give himself a real chance to make that roster this year. I think he's got a real shot based on how strong of an off season he's had. I mean, look, it's the all season, OTA, summer practices, mandatory mini camps. even did the rookie minicamp with all the tryout players.

At that time, I thought that Xavier Restrepa had no shot to make this roster. But look at what's happened since. He has literally led the Titans wide receivers, all of them, no matter whether you're a veteran rookie, free agent, anything, he has led every Titans wide receiver on the team in catches throughout the offseason. He's caught touchdown passes from all three of the Titans top quarterbacks, whether that be Cam Ward on a corner route in a shot zone, 25-yard line, got to get it to the end zone drill where he hit Xavier Restrepo,

whether it be Mitch Trubisky, where he had the crazy one-handed Odell Beckham-like catch, or he had the shoestring catch from Will Levis, where he broke a tackle, got up the sideline, and got a touchdown. Like every single quarterback, so that tells you, he's played with the third team, he's played with the second string, he's played with the starters as well. If you're getting opportunities with the starters, even though it's May, it's June, it's April practices, If you're getting opportunities with the starting level team,

that probably means that you're pretty high up on the depth chart. Now, where I think things are right now for Xavier Restrepo, I do believe that he is the sixth wide receiver. He's second string slot wide receiver. The problem is, on the full wide receiver rankings, I think he may be behind a guy like Bryce Oliver. Bryce Oliver may not be as good of a receiver as Xavier Restrepo, but he adds outside versatility,

which the Titans don't have a lot of guys who can play purely on the outside. You have Cornell Tate, you have Elico Manor. Calvin Ridley, as he gets older, it's going to be harder for him to play on the outside. He may need more opportunities in the slot. D.K. can play on the outside, but again, he's a guy who could probably play in the slot as well.

So who's going to be that guy who's going to play on the outside outside of Tate and I.O. Manor and a little bit of Ridley and D.K. A pure big-bodied strong. and Bryce Oliver is not the biggest guy ever, but 200 pounds, six foot. Like, that's a guy that's big enough. And with the special team's value that he brings, I think even though, like, you look at first string wide receiver, it's Carnell Tate, Wondale Robinson in the slot, and Calvin Ridley.

Well, Calvin Ridley hasn't been all that involved in the practices throughout these off-season sessions. It's been Elyke-I-O-Manor out there. And then you've had Chim D.K., K.J. Osborne, and Xavier Restrepo. in the slot. So that means that Xavier Restrepo is one of the top seven wide receivers on the team, one of the top eight at minimum,

one of the top eight wide receivers on the team. Again, the special teams value and the outside ability of a guy like Bryce Oliver may ultimately make him be above Xavier Restrepo, but when you have the kind of success he's had, leading all wide receivers and catches, catching it from all different quarterbacks, making impression not only just catching the football,

making big time play, plays in practice, impressive catches. And in this offense of Brian Dables that prioritizes choice routes, option routes, which again, I've explained on the show before, but if you're not up to date, that means that the wide receiver and the quarterback can literally adjust to what the defense is doing mid-play. If the defender is inside, the route can go outside. If the defender is outside, the route can break inside. It's literally a choice route because you have a choice of,

of where you're going to run the route. Are you going to sit it down short because they're backed up off you? Are they, again, lean an inside so you break outside. And the quarterback knows, hey, he can do any of those things. And they can be more complicated and more advanced and more nuanced than that. Tennessee, the college, the Volves. They have a lot of choice routes in their offense, if I recall correctly. But they're like vertical choice routes.

Like you can run vertically down the field or if they're outside, you can make it into a post route. you can break it off and come inside. Like Brian Dable's system has a lot of that. So chemistry with the slot-wide receiver, that slot-wide receiver being a smart player with a good understanding of leverage and defense, all of that is absolutely critical.

So I think that gives Xavier Restrepo a better opportunity to make the team. So I am going to have the Tennessee Titans keeping seven wide receivers. We know the top five guys. Everybody knows the top five. Cornel Tate, Calvin Redley, Wondell Robinson, Chim D.K. and Alec Ayo Minner. Those five guys are making this team.

But my number six wide receiver is going to be Bryce Oliver. I already explained why. The size, the outside ability, the special teams ability. Bryce Oliver is a true special team's dynamo when he's healthy. So that's going to be seven. And I know that keeping seven wide receivers is a lot. The Titans may not do that.

They may only keep six. That may be the case. And if they only keep six, it's going to be tough for Xavier Restrepo. I think if they only keep six, he's not going to make it. But if they keep seven, I think he's on the team.

And here's the thing. I know that KJ. Osborne is a good player. KJ. Osborne is someone who I think is underrated. I think he's a solid, depth-wide receiver. He's had good more. in the off-season program as well. He's been impressive. And the last time I did a roster prediction,

I had KJ Osborne as the seventh wide receiver. But think about the long-term potential. Is KJ Osborne going to be a significant factor on special teams? No, neither is Xavier Estrepo. So that's a wash. But who has better chemistry with your quarterback right now? Xavier Restrepo. Who has more long-term potential for this team?

Xavier Restrepo. So to me, if it's close, it's not close. You know what I mean? If it's close, it's not close. It needs to be Restrepo. And it's not like I'm just saying, hey, give him the spot. He's earning it right now too. So I am hoping, I am hoping that I was wrong early on this all season

about how they're treating Restrepo. I hope he proves them wrong. even if they were thinking that way he proves them wrong with his performance. Xavier Estrepo being a part of this team, being a contributor. I'm telling you, like Cam Ward, Xavier Estrepo was a gamer. And we saw last year on the opportunities that he got, he got targets, he caught the ball.

That simple. He's just a guy who may not be the biggest, may not be the strongest, may not be the fastest, may not have the best pedigree, may not be an all-pro, pro-bowl level player, but he's just going to be a solid, tributer is going to make the team better. Make the offense better.

So I hope that he makes it. But again, outside of the sixth wide receiver, the seventh wide receiver conversation, that top five is set in stone. Like, just no question at all. So seven wide receivers, though, if you're going to keep seven wide receivers, well, that's going to prevent you from keeping guys

at other positions on the, offensive side of the ball where you may typically see. And since I already told you that I want to stack it O-line, O-line ain't going to be the place where we sacrifice those numbers. As a matter of fact, I'm going above the traditional number you'd see of wide receiver and I'm going to go above the traditional number that you'd see on the offensive line as well. Let's discuss the trenches. Do you want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by Indeed.

workplace chaos can strike at any moment. You need to be ready and to be ready for that workplace chaos, you got to check out indeed sponsored jobs. They're going to help you reach candidates who actually fit what you're looking for based on the skills, experience, and location that you need. Finding the right person can make all the difference, whether it's building a business or building a winning team. Spend less time searching, more time actually interviewing candidates

who check all your boxes with less stress, less time, more results. When you need the right person to cut through the chaos, that's a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. Listeners of this show, we'll get a $75 sponsor job credit to help give your job the premium status it deserves at Indeed.com slash podcast. Just go to Indeed.com slash podcast right now and support my show by saying that you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast terms and conditions apply need to hire.

That's a job for Indeed sponsor jobs. Fans. Let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Again, doing my summer 53-man roster prediction. We're doing the offense today. We'll do defense tomorrow. We just talked about wide receiver. My belief in Xavier Restrepo having numbers.

But now we move to the offensive line where I think it's also very, very important for the Tennessee Titans to keep more than you would traditionally see. The traditional number that you would see on the offensive line is eight. You'd have your five starters, a backup tag. a backup guard and a backup center. Or, you know, there could be versatility. If you want to keep two guards and a guy with tackle versatility as one of them, center, you know, whatever.

But that's the general consensus. If you want to just put a general rule out there, that's how it would go eight. I just can't risk that with the Titans. I can't risk letting someone go who ultimately might be important. And I have made a big change in my offensive line thoughts over the last couple of weeks. Some things that I've heard behind the scenes, what we know, just from what we know,

what we've heard from some of the players. My view on the offensive line has changed a little bit. And I'll explain. First, do want to thank you for making Locked on Titans. Your first listen each and every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round. Always for free. Make sure you get subscribe, stay, subscribe. to your team every day.

Shout out my everydayers out there. Tune in Monday through Friday. Couldn't do it without you guys. If you aren't an everydayer, you need to be one, stay locked in with the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world, locked on Titans.

But Dan Moore, J.C. Latham, obviously, Peter Skoronsky, Austin Schlotman, locks to make the team. But who's that fifth starter?

Again, I thought, Jackson Slater, maybe Fernando Carmona can win it. I refused for most of the offseason. I refused to believe that it would be Cordell Volson.

I refused because he's not very good at football. Better than me, but for the NFL, not very good. But sadly, I feel differently now. Kevin Zitler ain't coming to save us. I don't think that Jackson Slater is good enough. I know we want him to be,

and I'm always connected to Jackson Slater because I set his voice in that Titans video, and he seems like an awesome dude, and the Titans seem to like putting him on camera. Like, you know, he seems like a quintessential offensive lineman, but all of that stuff can't make him a good player. And he just doesn't seem very strong.

It's not a great athlete. You don't necessarily have to be elite at those things to be good. You can win with technique and understanding and in an offense that suits you. But I don't know. I guess my faith in Jackson Slater has dropped. And I think they're going to go with Cordel Vals.

And I think the reason that they wanted to trade up and get Keelon Rutledge in the draft. And then eventually they took Fernando Carmona as the first offensive lineman that they selected in the draft this year. I think the reason for those two things, is they don't think Jackson Slater is very good either. Remember he was a fifth rounder, sixth rounder. Like there's no guarantee that he's going to be good. We want him to, and we want to believe James Williams

and all these late around, and Marcus Harris and all the end, Marcus Harris might, you know, one of them might pop. But thinking that Jackson Slater is going to turn into a starter and James Williams is going to turn it around and be a contributing linebacker and Marcus Harris is going to be an excellent player as a starting slot. I'm not saying that that can't happen, but the odds of all of that happening is just never high.

Like if you have an eight, nine-man draft class and three or four of them turning the good starting players, like you dominated that draft. That's an elite draft for general manager. Drafting is hard. You know, it is. So we just have to be realistic. And I think if we're realistic,

you look at Jackson Slater and you say, all right, maybe they don't believe in him. maybe he's not the guy. So I think Cordell Volson makes the roster because he's going to be the fifth starter. Now, I don't think that the Titans give up on Jackson Slater. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is,

we don't know if Slater's going to be any good. We don't know if Carmona, Coogan, those guys are going to be any good. So the only choice that the Titans have is to keep all of them. It's to keep all of them. So I'm going to have the three tackles, Dan Moore, J.C. Latham, Austin Deckless,

And Declos is not a good player either. Very scary. But then you have Peter Skoransky, Austin Slopman, Cordell Voson, Jackson Slater, Fernando Carmona, and Pat Coogan. And I got to tell you, the Titans brought in Andre James. And he's somebody that we talked about before, I guess the realization had set in that Austin Slotman

is going to start at center. when we talked about, hey, he could bring in another veteran to compete. You know, are they going to draft a guy high up? Are they going to go sign a more expensive free agent at some point? I'm like, we were questioning what we didn't want to accept that Shlopman was the move that they were making it sent. And we talked about James. But seeing James brought in now at this point, again, he had a couple of decent ears with Carmen Brissillo, 22, 23, right in there where Carmen Bracillo was with the Raiders.

so wasn't James. He was a starting center at times. Again, played the best ball of his career during those years with Carmen Brissillo. So maybe. But I think they brought in a guy like Andre James because maybe they haven't been that impressed with Pat Coogan. Now, how could you not be,

how could you be not impressed when they're not using pads? You know, the offensive line isn't getting as much out of the OTAs, the mandatory minicamp and stuff, not getting as much out of those. as the skill position players, the defensive backs, the past people. But maybe that's part of it. Maybe they brought in Andre James because they're like,

man, we need somebody to push Pat Coogan a little bit harder. We're not that impressed with where we're at right now. Let's get somebody better in here than Trey Hill. You know, I don't think that they brought in Andre James to compete with Austin Schlotten as the starting center. You see what I'm saying? So I think Andre James is just a better opponent for Pat Kuom. and ultimately might be a guy who they trust more than Pat Coogan.

So again, Coogan was a sixth round pick. Let's not pretend like everybody who's drafted is a lot to hit their potential and be the player that we want them to beat. Maybe we are wrong. And I think Coogan could be a guy who maybe gets cut before ever making the team and a guy like Andre James could be the backup center. Or maybe they're impressed enough with Fernando Carmona, Jackson Slater, where they're like, man, we don't need to keep all.

We don't need to keep Slater, Carmona, and Coogan. We don't need to keep all of them. Carmona and Slater can do center stuff. So I'm going to keep all of them for now, but if they only want to go with eight on the offensive line, I think it's Coogan, who ultimately catches the axe. But going to be tight, going to be tight. At tackle, will Brendan Crenshaw Dixon

or, you know, Emil Wagner, Isaiah Miller, the undrafted free agent pairing. Will any of these guys be able to take the spot away from Austin Declis? I don't buy it. I don't believe it. I think practice squad development, they're fighting for that spot. Because, again, I think this offensive line, coaching staff, the coaching staff in general, they're going to want to go with veterans.

And that's why Shlopman's going to start, and Volson's going to start. And Declis is going to be the swing tackle. because if we're not going to have good players, we need to have veteran players who we don't have to worry about dealing with rookie mistakes like a young player like Jackson Slater in year two or Carmona and Coogan. So I think the Titans are just,

if we can't have good, we want experienced. I hate that. I don't disagree with it. I hate that that's where we're at, but that is where I think that we're at. So nine offensive liners. Now, I want to hit tight end real quick. I'm going with four tight ends.

Gunnardtel, Daniel Bellinger, Kylan Granson, and Jaron Kanek. I think Kanek is going to be a Dynamo special teams player. I think Granson is going to be an important special teams player. I don't think that David Martin Robinson is going to be better than either of those guys on special teams. David Martin Robinson is an athletic tight end, a move tight end,

who does have a bulky frame, I admit. So he's got like a John Smith-type game to him in my opinion. Obviously not as good as Jono. But I just don't think the DMR is going to have the same hold over this coaching staff. Granson is a guy who they know and trust and can play special teams better. I think Kanek is going to be like a tight end slash fullback and a special teams player. He's very fast as well. I think Jaron Kanek could be a little underrated in my opinion in terms of what he's going. I don't think he's going to have some crazy role, but I think he's going to make more of an impact on the offense then maybe people realize, obviously

Gunner Helm and Daniel Bellinger at the top, those are your top two tight ends who are going to get the most snaps. I don't see a ton of snaps for anybody outside of those two other than Canning getting a little bit of fullback working and a little bit of three tight end. But I kind of have a feeling the Titans are going to zag

when the rest of the NFL is zgging now. Instead of having these multi-tight-end formations, I think the Titans might go more three-wide receiver and try to, again, zig when everybody else is zagging. So that would be interesting to watch. So seven wide receivers, nine offensive linemen,

four tight ends. Quick math, that's 20 people. Which, you know, if you have three special teamers, that leaves 50 spots. We're getting close to half. But if we're doing nine offensive linemen and seven wide receivers, there's got to be a hit somewhere,

and that happens in the backfield. Titans fans, let's cap off. Today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Again, part one of my summer 53-man roster prediction. We're looking at the offensive side of the ball. We talked about the wide receiver group, keeping seven there, including Xavier Restrepo. Talked about the offensive line depth,

keeping nine there in the conversations that will likely happen as they look to trim the roster. Talked about the tight end group as well. So we're up to 20 people. The backfield I'm keeping five. Again, this is where I'm going to trim some numbers so that I can have a surplus at wide receiver. and offensive line,

where I have a lot of talent, a wide receiver, and where I have a lot of concern at offensive line. Before I tell you the five that I'm keeping, though, do want to thank you for making a locked on Titans

your first listen each and every day. Speaking of every day, you guys got to join the Locked on Titans every day or club. Hit the link down below in the description to join. You're going to get commercial free versions of the podcast. You're going to get added to a Locked on Titans group chat

as well with me and a bunch of other locked on Titans everydayers. Hit the link down below and join the Locked on Titans every day or club now. But with that being said, again, the backfield only keeping five. And that means two quarterbacks. I'm not keeping Will Levis.

We just don't need Will Levis on this team. And with the fact that Will Levis has not played well this offseason as the third string quarterback, you know, it's funny, Will Levis would have a good day or have some good plays. Maybe Cam Ward would have struggles as a day. Will Levis has been better than Cam Moore. Yeah, well, Will Levis is going up against a bunch of guys who aren't going to get snaps in the NFL ever.

So take that into consideration when you think that he's going up against the key drain, Callagans and, you know, the Jalen McMurries of the world and the Jerich Reeds and, you know, like, come on, man. Come on, let's be real here. But anyway, whether it's a trade, whether it's an outright cut. If Will Levis isn't playing well,

what's the point of keeping him? And quite honestly, I would rather keep a ninth offensive lineman. I would rather keep Xavier Restrepo. I would rather keep Pat Coogan than keep Will Levis. Levis is going to be a free agent after the season. So if you can't get somebody to trade for him or to take him before the season starts,

what are the odds that you're going to get somebody to take them before the trade deadline as a rental for however many months and what are the odds that a football team out there thinks, oh, our quarterback got hurt,

we can make it to the playoffs if we just go get Will Leves. Like, come on, what are the odds that that happens? I've been steadfast that I don't think that he's going to make this team you know, I considered for a while that they would keep three quarterbacks.

The last roster prediction I did, I think I ultimately went with Levis over wide receiver seven. But no, what's the point here? What are we doing? But, you know, you keep him on the team, he's not better than Mitch Trubisky. You know, he's going to be a free agent at the end of the year. You're not likely going to be able to trade him during the season.

you're just going to lose him for nothing. I mean, maybe they're like, oh, maybe, you know, somebody will give him a shot and he'll earn us a compensatory pick. But at some point, it's just like, hey, we need to, we got to stop playing these games of can we get something out of Will Levis? And we've got to make our team good right now. So I'd rather have a wide receiver or an offensive lineman that might actually help the team than carry Will Levis.

Like, why? Out of fear, you don't want to cut him and him go somewhere else and be good. That's same fear if you trade him. So just cut him. Just cut him if you have to. If nobody wants to take them off your hands, just cut him.

It's that simple to me. Now, at running back, I just don't think the Titans need anything else. They have Tony Pollard as the leadback. They have Taji Spears as the change of pace back. As Robert Salas said, a couple of weeks ago, they're the two Belcow running backs for this. team. Nick Singleton is clearly

RB3. He is getting reps ahead of Michael Carter, Julius Chestnut, Calo Mullings. Again, Calo Mullings is another example of, yeah, we would love for every draft pick to work out. Oh, Superman Mullings, seventh round pick. He's going to be great on special teams and be the powerback that we've all wanted and but, or he's just not very good and he's not going to make it in the NFL. That's also on the table and always has been on the table.

and quite honestly, was always the most likely outcome. So another great example of, sometimes these late-round picks just aren't very good. Nothing you can do. And no general manager is going 8 for 8, 9 for 9 every single year. Ridiculous to think like that. But with that being said, like Michael Carter doesn't really help you on special teams.

Not going to give you a skill set that you don't already have in Spear, Singleton, and Pollard. So he brings nothing to the table. Julius Chestnut not good at special teams he's tried the last couple of years he must be a good guy in the locker room because they tried and tried and tried

I tried I tried I tried to make Julius Chestnut work it's not going to work get him out of here roster pirate he's been holding on for too long so Mullings Carter Chestnut they have no value

they're not going to be great on special teams they're not going to be good at carrying the ball Nick Singleton is better than all of them immediately and you have Pollard and Spears. What's the point of keeping a fourth running back? There is none. I see none. Why would they do that? So, two quarterbacks,

three running backs, seven wide receivers, four tight ends, and nine offensive linemen. That's 25 players, which leaves us 25 spots on the defensive side of the ball, which again, we're going to dive into tomorrow.

So cannot wait to cap things off. I always love more than anything to hear your guys' predictions for the rosters. Who do you think is going to make it? Who do you think is not going to make it? Where am I right? Where am I wrong? Let me know down below. Hit me up on social media.

That's going to do it for me today, though, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland. And this was Locked on Titans.