Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans STARTER PREDICTIONS for BIGGEST BATTLES as Organized Team Activities Arrive!

Starting point is 00:00:00 Tennessee Titans have a ton of starting spots up for grabs, and I'm going to tell you who I think is going to win those roster battles 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. Today's edition of the Locked-on Titans podcast is brought to you by Game Time, download the Game Time app, use the code locked on for $20 off your first purchase.

Starting point is 00:00:42 On today's show, we are going to talk about all of the roster battles and all of the starting spots that are up for grabs for the Tennessee Titans as they head into OTA's mandatory minicamp and training camp right around the corner. Not only are we going to talk about all the spots that are up for grabs, but I'm going to tell you who I think is going to win each of the. those spots. But with that being said, we got to start with what are the open spots for the Tennessee Titans. Now, obviously there are open spots at center and right guard on the offensive line. And I think that is the number one spots that we are going to discuss and that everybody is worried about.

Starting point is 00:01:18 And I feel pretty confident in who I think is going to win those two spots, at least early on out of the gate on defense. There is a trio of spots that I think are open for grabs. The edge rush or spot, the middle linebacker spot. The slot. The slot. cornerback spot. And of course, there are depth positions that are going to be fought for on the offensive side of the ball as well. Like, back up quarterback, number two running back,

Starting point is 00:01:42 utility wide receiver, all that. Now, we got to start again with the offensive line. That's the number one need that everyone's going to look at, that everyone's going to focus on. And when we're talking about who could potentially win this job, at center, you have Austin Schloteman, they got Pat

Starting point is 00:01:58 Kugin in the sixth round, Jacks, or Fernando Carmona, the rookie guard in the fourth round. He could potentially play some center for the Titans at right guard. I think Jackson Slater is a guy who they're going to look at Cordell Volson, who is the veteran that they brought in during free agency. Again, you have Fernando Carmona who is primarily going to be a guard, in my opinion. Maybe he could move to center full time if that's where he's best. And there's some conversation that that could happen. But I would say that is the battle.

Starting point is 00:02:27 You're either going to have Schloteman or one of the rookies. you're going to have Volson, Slater, or Carmona there. That's really the five names that you have to put in the conversation in those two spots. And for me, I think the most likely path forward, probably the simplest path forward. I think that Jackson Slater and Austin Schlotman are going to be your starters on day one.

Starting point is 00:02:53 I know that that's not exciting. I know that that's not the coolest news ever. and we would prefer one of those rookies to step up and have some development, whether it be Carmona at center or guard, whether it be Pat Coogan at center who people have a lot of faith in. And I think that Coogan will take the starting spot by the end of the year. I see that happening. But I think early on, week one out of the gate when the Titans,

Starting point is 00:03:17 and again, I talked about this yesterday. Question that I would love to ask Robert Salah or Brian Daibel, whoever you got to talk to first, is when do you think the offensive line needs to be set for them to have their, requisite amount of chemistry and the requisite amount of buildup time that they're going to need to be ready for the regular season. When do you think you need to have this decision made? I would love the answer to that question. But regardless, I think that first initial group for the Titans is going to be Austin Schlotman and Jackson Slater in the middle of J.C. Latham,

Starting point is 00:03:50 Peter Skoronski, and Dan Moore. And I think the reality is when you look at their different situations, it just makes the most sense. First, Slotman. there's a reason that he was signed once the Titans missed out on some of the top centers. And I think it's because Brian Daibald trusts him. Is he a starting level center who you're happy with long term? No, absolutely not. And they know that. Brian Daible, you know, Mike Borganzi,

Starting point is 00:04:17 they know that Schlotman isn't the long-term answer at center. But if you miss out on all of the high-profile guys that were there in free agency, And you don't really love the center group or think that there's a day one starter at center in the draft, which, in my opinion, with how far Connor Lou and, you know, Pat Coogan fell, Sam Heck as well, with how far some of these centers, like a Brian Parker and Matt Goldman and stuff, you know, all these guys that we talked about, Jake Slaughter, even. With how far some of these guys fell, the Titans got into a spot after they took Anthony Hill where it's like, Okay, we missed out on all the top tier centers in free agency. We don't think that there's a center in this draft who's a certified day one starter. Let's go get someone who I know that my offensive coordinator

Starting point is 00:05:10 and Brian Dable trusts. And I think for the center position in this offense and with Cam Ward, it is critical that they have a veteran up front. I've said that throughout the process. I continue to say that now. They need a veteran. In this system, the center makes protection calls.

Starting point is 00:05:28 In this system, the center is more vocal and more a part of the line of scrimmage process than other offensive systems require or need or just are set up that way. This requires vocality out of your center. It requires understanding out of your center. It's not all on the quarterback. And that's good news for Cam Ward. Again, the entire system, it may be more difficult early on to learn all the code words

Starting point is 00:05:59 and learn all the terminology and everything. But once you have it mastered, it becomes incredibly simple because of the simple nature of, hey, we're running this route concept on this side with this single code word and this offensive lineman can yell this one code word and change up the blocking scheme in an instant. Like, it's difficult to memorize and learn what all of the different terminology means but once you do learn it, now it's incredibly simple to control. All right.

Starting point is 00:06:31 So I think that sort of system that puts so much of an emphasis on communication skills for the center, collaborative effort between the quarterback and the center to get the protection schemes and the blocking assignments in the right place. I think with all of that being so critically important in this system that Schloteman, the veteran, who's been in the system before they're going to want

Starting point is 00:06:55 now maybe Coogan over the season can learn those things and learn from Sloteman and then him being a better player maybe allows him to take that role but I feel pretty confident that it's going to be Slopman out of the game.

Starting point is 00:07:13 I think that's where I've landed after thinking about it for the last few weeks, thinking about it this weekend, that's where I'm at. And then Slater, to me, is a bit of a, I'm trying to read the tea leaves. They've had Jackson Slater involved a lot in the team media, Twitter videos, and he's gotten a lot of hype, Star Wars Day, and all this stuff. A lot of pictures of him with Peter Skoronsky.

Starting point is 00:07:42 Saw a video the Titans posted over the weekend of OTA highlights. You know, it's just one of those quick clips of guys running. and on the field and everything that gets you so fired up, even though it's just small, little nothingness. But it's something. And we love football, don't we? Don't we? Tighten up.

Starting point is 00:07:58 But Austin Slotman and Jackson Slater were working on a zone blocking drill. And they were doing the drill at the same time. It's a guard and a center drill where you work on cross-face blocks, reach blocks, combination blocks, how the center and the guard will operate in these zone runs. Well, I have found, from my own personal experience of playing football,

Starting point is 00:08:25 which only goes to high school, so, you know, but even then I have found paying attention to the order. Oh, so Schloteman and Slater are working together. Oh, so Coogan and Carmona are working together. And it kind of can tell you who the starters are. Oh, Slater and Latham are working on a block together. Oh, Kugin and Skorke, or, you know, Shlopeman and Skoronsky are next to each other

Starting point is 00:08:56 working on combination blocks. You can start to the order that these guys go in sometimes can reveal pairings and lineups and things like that and since the Titans are locked down as a media team, one of the least fan-friendly media teams in the entire NFL in terms of their access that they allow to the beat reporters and what they allow to be reported.

Starting point is 00:09:21 Like other teams, you can say, hey, the starting five on the offensive line is this. Now, you can't say what play they ran, what formation they were in, but you can talk about the lineup. Titans don't even allow that. No videos of 7 on 7. Like other teams allow,

Starting point is 00:09:36 Titans lock it down. So we're likely not going to know about all these things, but that's why we've got to get the magnifying out, the magnifying glass out, to figure these things out on our own with some clues. You know what I mean? And that's what I do best.

Starting point is 00:09:49 connect the dots. But again, I think that Austin Sloatman, Jackson Slater, are going to be your starters on the offensive line. But defense is where there are more positions open. Do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you. By game time, we can stream anything. We can order food in minutes. Do everything from our phones. And somehow buying tickets to live events still feels way harder than it should be. Long lines, confusing checkouts, prices jumping at the last second. It shouldn't be that complicated. but that's why there's game time. It gives fans the advantage and makes getting tickets fast and simple.

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Starting point is 00:10:56 Terms apply again, create an account, redeem the code L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N for $20 off. Download the Game Time app today. Let's continue today's edition of the Locked-on Titans podcast. Again, we're going over all of these starting and roster battles on the Tennessee Titans roster. We talked about the offensive line. I think Austin Shlopman, Jackson Slater, will win those. spots. But now we go to the defensive side of the ball. Before we continue, though, do want to thank you for making Locked-on Titans. Your first listen each and every day.

Starting point is 00:11:44 Remember 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. Speaking of Every Day, shout out to my everydayers out there. Tune in Monday through Friday. Couldn't do it without you guys. If you aren't in every day or you need to be one again, make sure that you stay locked in with the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world. Locked on Titans. But on defense, is where there are a lot more battles, in my opinion, taking place. Offense, obviously the offensive line is most important,

Starting point is 00:12:16 but there are more on defense, and I think they could end up being just as important for the Titans, and we start with one that I think personally is maybe being undersold. And I think there's a very specific situation where this battle will take place. Sorry, hydration first, folks. but it's at edge. So remember back, remember when Gus Bradley was first hired

Starting point is 00:12:52 and they did the opening press conference with Gus Bradley and Brian Dable and they asked about the ends. Remember, we talked about it for forever. It was a big deal. Oh, we have, you know, your traditional full-time edge rusher who's out there all the time and then we typically have a big-bodied edge rusher

Starting point is 00:13:12 who moves inside on passing down. That's typically how we view it. Okay. And we talked about who could fit that in the draft, what made sense, free agency. Well, then I heard, forget whether it was Sala or it was Burgundy, talk about how, hey, we think Jermaine Johnson is a,

Starting point is 00:13:33 you know, can be a speed rusher off the edge, full-time, edge rusher like that. started to think. So if they see Jermaine Johnson as the full-time edge, and then they see Keldrick Falk, who they just drafted, and they talked about him after he got drafted as

Starting point is 00:13:53 he's the, you know, he can play outside on run-downs, and he's inside on passing downs. Well, does that mean that Jermaine Johnson is that every down edge? And then Keldrick Falk is that inside-outside guy, right? Which would mean on early downs,

Starting point is 00:14:16 that would be the starters. Because Keldrick Fulk is that big-bodied, traditional defensive end type guy. And Robert Sala had that last year with Mikel Williams. So Femmy can do what Jermaine Johnson can do,

Starting point is 00:14:34 but Femmy isn't built in the way to do what Keldrick Fulk does. So Falk is the more unique play out of those three top edges. So is Femmy actually battling with Fulke or actually battering with JJ? Either way, I think right now Femi is the one

Starting point is 00:15:03 who is the odd man out of that, although it seemed like it would be Fulk because he is the rookie and he is year one because of his unique skill set and unique body build, I think the Titans are going to want to have him on the field on early down. to play that strong side anchoring defense event. Which means Femmy is going to be a backup early on.

Starting point is 00:15:24 So is he going to be able to take that spot from Jermaine Johnson? The Titans would prefer. If you ask Mike Borgonzi right now whether he would prefer for Femmy or Jermaine Johnson to be the better player, he would prefer Femmy to be the better play. Second round pick last year on a rookie contract. Jermaine Johnson, last year of his deal. In a perfect world,

Starting point is 00:15:47 Femi and Falk are your edges of the future. And then they can have a designated pass rusher backup for when Falk kicks to the inside on passing downs, they can have that speed rusher guy come in to fill out that fourth spot of the unit.

Starting point is 00:16:06 And you would have Femi, speed rusher, Jeff, Fulk, and that would be a dominant defensive front. That's what you have to hope for if you're the Titans. But again, I think that it's folk. Like, I have faith in Femi to continue to improve. We're going to talk more about Femi soon. There's a cool story out there about Javon Kirst and all that.

Starting point is 00:16:25 But we're talking about who's going to start at those edge spots. I think Fulke starts over Femi with Jermaine Johnson at the other spot. That's my expectation right now. Even though I think Fulk may play less than Femi, I think on those early downs and those base formations. I would expect folk over Femmy. So we'll see how that plays out. Middle linebacker is a big one.

Starting point is 00:16:51 Now, that's not a shocker. I just, Cody Barton, Anthony Hill, I know that Anthony Hill is a rookie. I get all that. It's a big spot for communication with the green dot, but I just don't buy that they can live with Cody Barton. He's just not the type of linebacker that Robert Sala likes.

Starting point is 00:17:16 Downhill, physical, aggressive. That Cody Barton is the opposite. Cody Barton's a former safety who you'd rather have going backwards. When Cody Barton had good moments last year, it wasn't a run defense, it was in past coverage. Those were the good moments that he would have.

Starting point is 00:17:34 So, I just don't see how philosophically speaking, Robert Sala could take it. Gus Bradley could take it. It's not what they want. And I think that Anthony Hill is a dedicated player. I think he's somebody who studies. He's in the playbook.

Starting point is 00:17:54 Like, he's prepared. And to take that spot away from Cody Barton, I think the most critical thing would be his mental aptitude. I talked about this earlier this week or late last week, that what will be critical for Anthony Hill is how quickly he can learn the calls, how quickly he can get other people lined up, how quickly he can command the defense. For a rookie to do that,

Starting point is 00:18:19 you've got to go above and beyond to show that you can do that. You know, that can't just be, hey, it looks like he can do it because once you get out there, if he gets panicked, can't make the calls to the defense, can't get guys lined up,

Starting point is 00:18:33 can't effectively communicate the adjustments, can't read the offensive front and make his own adjustments, when you're drowning so much in what you need to do personally, there's no way that you can lead guys and be the primary communicator, there's no way.

Starting point is 00:18:50 It's just not going to happen. So Anthony Hill versus Cody Barton is an interesting one, but again, I just think that Anthony Hill's ferociousness downhill and his pop and his athleticism, I just think it's going to be enough for him to take that spot. Now, the last spot that we have to talk about here is Marcus Harris.

Starting point is 00:19:12 in the slot against who. I had talked about Kevin Winston being an early down slot with Marcus Harris as the late down slot, so he's in for passing downs, but you have a more physical, aggressive guy and Kevin Winston being that big nickel early on. But Winston struggled at times last year

Starting point is 00:19:31 when he was asked to do that in coverage when people threw on early downs. So maybe Harris is the full time, but again, a guy like Kenny Moore who played under Gus Bradley and fits the scheme and is a veteran and can come in and teach Marcus Harris and allow the Titans to work Kevin Winston

Starting point is 00:19:49 and slowly as a big nickel and work Marcus Harrison as a starting slot slowly. I think that would make a ton of sense. Because right now, if let's say Winston isn't in the big nickel conversation, then it's literally just Marcus Harris at slot and there's nobody battling with him at all. What Micah Robinson and undrafted free agent,

Starting point is 00:20:08 that's not serious competition with how they've been hyping up Marcus Harris. So that starting edge rusher across from Jermaine Johnson, I think it'll be Falk on day one. Anthony Hill versus Cody Barton, I think it'll be Anthony Hill on day one for week one of the season. And then Marcus Harris against somebody, I think the Titans bring in a veteran eventually,

Starting point is 00:20:29 or go with the Kevin Winston early down. I just don't think it's going to be Marcus Harris and nobody else for the rest of time. I don't buy that. There's going to be more competition there. But those are the starting spots that I think are up for grabs. five spots. Now we've got to talk about some very, very important depth spots on offense that are up for grabs as well. Today's episode is brought to you by Indeed. Workplace chaos,

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Starting point is 00:22:00 Fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Lockdown Titans podcast. Again, looking at all of the roster battles, starting spots up for grabs taking place all over the Tennessee Titans roster. I talked about who I think is going to win. the five starting spots that I see open on offense and defense. And now I want to talk about some depth spots that I think are going to be absolutely critical on offense that need to be figured out as well.

Starting point is 00:22:39 Before we get into it, though, I do want to thank you for making Locked on Titans your first listen each and every day. Speaking of every day, you guys need to become a true Locked on Titans every dayer and join the Locked on Titans Every Dayer Club. Hit the link down below in the description.

Starting point is 00:22:55 You're going to get commercial-free versions of the podcast in your favorite podcast app. You're going to get added to the Locked on Titans Group chat with me and a bunch of other everydayers where we're always talking about the latest Titans news, NFL news, all my instant reactions, everything there. Again, if you're going to be a real

Starting point is 00:23:13 Locked on Titans every day or you've got to join the Locked on Titans Every Dayer Club, link down below in the description. But again, some of the depth spots on offense that I think are absolutely critical. Number one, backup quarterback. I can sit here and tell you.

Starting point is 00:23:31 Again, the one thing about my show and about my content, I will always tell you. When I'm wrong, acknowledge how I could be wrong, talk about the possibility that I will be wrong. I am never going to be somebody again. This goes back to the draft conversations where people are like, it's Jeremiah, I love, or bust. Well, what do you want me to do for two months?

Starting point is 00:23:50 Get on here and just say, it's going to be Jeremiah Love. Oh, we don't need to talk about Cornell Tate. We don't need to talk about Sonny Stiles. We don't need to talk about Arval Reese or David Bailey or, or a trade back or nope, they're taking Jeremiah love. Nobody else. Nothing else can happen. That's not the kind of content that I'm doing, you know. And here's a reality.

Starting point is 00:24:09 What if I'm wrong? What if Will Levis does not get traded? What if Will Levis does not get cut? What if the Titans keep three quarterbacks and just keep Will Levis on the team? Well, if they do that and they're willing to keep three quarterbacks, why would it be impossible for Will Levis to be the backup? and I'll tell you right now

Starting point is 00:24:33 if the Titans had to play without Cam Ward for two weeks I'd rather have Mitch Trebisky no doubt about it steady the ship play smart run the scheme, run the system

Starting point is 00:24:58 and let's see if we can steal one of these two games if the Titans were without Cam Ward for two months I'd rather have Will Levis. Because Levis, while I think Trubisky is a safer option again to run a steady ship, if Cam Ward's out for months or, you know, it happens in the middle of the season, he's out for the rest of the season or, you know, something like that,

Starting point is 00:25:27 which I hope not, please Lord, we don't need that. But if it did happen, I'd rather have Levis out there. at least there's higher potential. Will Levis has lower lows than a Trubiski is going to have right now. But Will Levis is going to have way higher highs. And quite honestly, if Cam Ward is out for that long, for whatever reason, whenever it comes, the season's probably screwed anyway.

Starting point is 00:26:03 I think Levis gives you a better chance to lose because he's going to make all those boneheaded plays. that we saw him make the last time he was the starter for the title. So he gives you better high-end potential to have a better season if he gets better and he improves under this coaching staff and he looks good and then he signs a decent deal with somebody after the season to have maybe a chance to start and you get a comp pick. Quarterbacks get big money.

Starting point is 00:26:27 And he could sign a one-year $20 million deal to, you know, like a Malik Willis deal. Let's say Levis plays the last two months of the season. season. The Titans win three of six games. He looks all right. And Will Levis goes, you know, and gets him a Leek-Willis-type

Starting point is 00:26:47 deal at Pittsburgh because Aaron Rogers is gone. You know, just an example, something like that. Then the Titans would get a good comp. So, I don't think it's going to happen. I said I think he's going to be traded, going to be cut, but if Willevis isn't that, him

Starting point is 00:27:03 versus Mitch Trubisky for backup quarterback, I think is dependent on the situation the Titans are in because you could make an argument for both of them based on what, why they're playing. You know what I mean? Backup running back is going to be interesting. Because Tajey Spears is on the last year of his contract. I don't think the Titan C Spears in the plan. I think that Brian Dable prefers bigger-bodied running backs,

Starting point is 00:27:25 not small running backs like Tadjay Spears. And Nick Singleton is very good catching the ball out of the backfield. He has shown the ability to be very good in past protection. so I could see a realm where Singleton takes it away from Tage Spears. And I think that will happen by the end of the season, but I think at the beginning of the season, it's going to be Tage Spears still. And then the backup wide receiver spots,

Starting point is 00:27:49 you have Cornell Tate, you have Wondale Robinson, you have Calvin Ridley. Is Chim D.K going to be able to take that away from Calvin Ridley? that's what I want to know. Because I could see DK, who's big enough to be an outside receiver and has great speed, I could see DK being the starting Z wide receiver for the Titans by Halloween.

Starting point is 00:28:18 If he's just better than Calvin Ridley. Now he would need to take a big step forward to be that guy, but he may. So I'm looking at that. And then if that's the case, or even if it's not the case, Elic Iow Manor against the loser of D.K. and Ridley.

Starting point is 00:28:40 Who gets to be the fourth wide receiver? Very important battle right there to take place. Is it going to be Chim versus Elek? Is it going to be Ridley versus Eleg? Maybe Ehrlich is the one who takes the step forward. And it's Chim versus Ridley. And we have Elek playing the X, Tate playing the Z, which he 100% can do,

Starting point is 00:29:00 and should, sometimes, on matchups, and then Wondale on the slot. Maybe that isn't. We just have twin towers on the outside. Imagine having Gunner Helm, Elyke I-O-Manor, Carnel Tate out there for Cam Ward to throw the ball up to. With, you know, I mean, I-O doesn't go, but Hunter and Tate both have elite contested ability,

Starting point is 00:29:22 which is exactly the kind of player that you want to put with Cam Ward because he's a gunslinger and he's not pinpoint accurate all the time. Like I've been saying for months, for over a year now. So I think it would make some sense. But how is that going to shake out? That's what I want to see. Ultimately, I do think it's Ridley and then D.K. is the utility guy after him.

Starting point is 00:29:45 It's how I think it starts out day one. But we'll see where it goes from there. But those are very important depth spots on offense that are like your backup quarterback, your number two running back, your number four wide receiver. Like those are very important spots over the course of a season. So that's who I think will kind of take those spots where they're at right now,

Starting point is 00:30:07 but something to keep an eye on as we get into OTAs, mandatory minicamp, training camp, all of that. The Titans Open OTA is on Thursday. So we're just going to talk Titans until Thursday when they have their practice. We'll get some press conferences, some updates and things like that. We'll go over all of that on Thursday afternoon. But that's going to do it for me today, folks, as always. I am your host, Tyler Rowan, and this was Locked on Titans.

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans STARTER PREDICTIONS for BIGGEST BATTLES as Organized Team Activities Arrive!

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