Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Top Five Building Blocks, Comeback Candidates & Underappreciated Titans Players

Episode Date: June 22, 2022

The Tennessee Titans seem to be close to a transitional phase where the core of the team will shift to the younger group. When that happens, what five current Titans are you building around?? Tyler gives his five picks for the future! Next, there are plenty of Titans who suffered setbacks in 2021 whether it be from injury or poor performance, who are the five players set for a major comeback season?? Tyler outlines his candidates! Finally, who are the five most underappreciated Titans who don't get enough love locally or nationally? Tyler puts a spotlight on guys he thinks don't get enough credit!!Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitansSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Blue NileMake your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKED ON SPORTS listeners get $50 off purchases of $500 or more using code LOCKEDON. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, on today's show, we are going to cap off top five week. The first top five that we are getting into today are the top five building blocks on the Tennessee Titans. Who would you build the future Tennessee Titans around? Then, we're going to do the top five comeback candidates on the Titans. This year, we'll finish off with the top five most underappreciated Tennessee Titans. So capping off top five week on today's

Locked on Titans. 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. Titans fans, it is the end of our top five week on today's show. I'm excited to get into three more top fives for you. The top five building blocks on the Tennessee Titans. The top five comeback candidates on the Tennessee Titans. And the top five most under appreciated Tennessee Titans.

Before we get into that though, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by blue Nile. Make your moment sparkle with jewelry from blue Nile.com locked on Titans listeners get $50 off purchases of 500 or more. This podcast exclusive includes engagement. Use promo code locked on at checkout at blue Nile.com. Also want to thank you guys for

making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. You're going to be able to find the Locked On Titans podcast everywhere and always free. That includes the Locked On Titans YouTube channel. Subscribe there, smash the notification bell, throw a thumbs up if you're watching the video on YouTube right now. But let's dive right in here to the top five. This is 10, Tyler. Two hands makes 10. The top five building blocks on the Tennessee Titans right now. So here's what I'm thinking when I think about this. Picking five players who are younger players,

four out of the five haven't even gotten their second contract yet. So younger players that we can build the next version of the Tennessee Titans with. So, for instance, a guy like Derrick Henry, a guy like Kevin Byard, I'm not including them in this, but Ryan Tannehill, Robert Woods, I'm not including them.

Those are older players. Those are veterans who are on their second contract, getting into the third contract. Those aren't guys I'm going to be including in this list. So if you're wondering where that kind of guy is, that's why you're not going to see any of those names on this list. But for me, of course, if I said in the last episode this week that the best player on the Tennessee Titans

is also a guy who hasn't got a second contract yet, then the answer is obvious. It's Jeffrey Simmons. I personally believe that outside of quarterback play, the most important thing in football is the defensive line. That is my belief as a football player. There are people, or football mind, there are philosophical differences,

and we've seen defenses, teams, be built around strong secondaries. Look at the Legion of Boom. Look at the New England Patriots teams over the last few years before Tom Brady left. Those are defensive back dominated rosters. Okay, you got a good quarterback and then a good secondary and that helps everything else. I respect that view and that build.

But me personally, I will always side with the defensive line. Pass rush is more important than coverage. That is my personal opinion. So of course, I'm going to start with Jeffrey Simmons and I'm going to follow that up with Harold Landry. Like I said, four out of the five guys haven't gotten their second contract. Two of them are rookies. So Harold Landry, I get, just got his money,

but he just got his money. We haven't even entered that season yet. So for me, Harold Landry is still young enough to not be disqualified here for my initial rules. And I would do Simmons and Landry and, hey, I'll fill in everything around that going forward the next five years. So those are my two top building blocks on that defensive line for what the Titans have right now.

Number three, I'm staying on defense. Christian Fulton. Look, my diatribe earlier on defensive line play compared to coverage doesn't eliminate the need for coverage. I mean, I still value great pass coverage, okay? You take what you can get. If I'm picking in the top five and you got a Jalen Ramsey, I'd still take him. I don't hate pass coverage, okay? You take what you can get. If I'm picking in the top five and you got a Jalen Ramsey, I'd still take him.

I don't hate pass coverage or defensive backs by any means. I played defensive back. Not that my football experience matters at all to this discussion, but just saying. I don't hate DBs, but Fulton needs to be here because he's on the verge of being a lockdown corner. We don't know what we're going to get from Farley, even if he has more elite physical traits.

But I know that Christian Fulton can come in and be a semi-lockdown number one corner. I wouldn't say he's quite to that level yet, but he's right on the verge and could be there by the end of the year. I want one good young player in the secondary that I know I have that can build the secondary around, and that would be Christian Fulton. Number four is Traylon Burks.

I know that things have gotten off to a rocky start, but we could look back three years from now, this dude could be just as good as A.J. Brown if not better, and we'd all be like, huh, why'd we make so much out of the asthma? I'm still taking Traylon Burks, and then my final name is Malik Willis.

We're talking about a future, the future building blocks. We've got to have something on offense. There's nobody on the offensive line. I don't value guard enough to put Nate Davis in this discussion. And Derrick Henry's on the older side, so I can't count him in the building blocks

discussion for five years from now. So for me, Malik, Traylon Burks, if they both become stars or good NFL players, then that defense with Simmons, Landry, and Fulton as the building blocks, and then you got Burks and Malik, and you can build up the offensive line, build up the other cast of wide receivers with those two as your foundation. I think that is the top five building blocks for the Tennessee Titans right now. And I don't really see any other logical answers, quite frankly. So let me know down below in the comments or on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans. If you have a differing opinion, I'll be more than happy to hear that out.

We're going to move forward though and talk about the top five comeback candidates for the Tennessee Titans, guys, who maybe had a down year last year, got injured last year, but we expect to have a really nice bounce back in 2022. Before we get into that, though, I do want to tell you guys about rockauto.com. Rockauto.com is a family business that's been serving online customers for over 20 years. It's summertime. You're going to need to do maintenance on your car. You're going to need to do maintenance on your car. You're going to need to replace some things. Cut out the middleman. We all know now that the best way to shop is online because you cut out the middleman. Well, the middleman in this scenario is a chain auto parts store who not only do you got to get dressed to go stand in line,

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Reliably low prices. All of the parts your car will ever need. rockauto.com Titans fans, we're going to continue this final top five episode of top five week here on the Locked on Titans podcast. A couple of things I want to tell you about before we get into those top five comeback candidates. Number one, next week is going to be the divisional roundup.

I do believe. Yes, on my schedule. So I'm going to give you guys a whole episode on what's going on with the Jags. A whole episode on what's going on with the Texans. A whole episode on what's going on with the Colts. I'm going to bring on the Locked On hosts. We got new Locked On Colts hosts. So excited to bring

those guys on for the first time, establish that AFC South rivalry between not only the teams but the hosts, baby. Keeping that rolling especially with the Colts. So excited to do that. I'm going over their offseason so far. Going to have those guys on for a segment.

Going to talk about how they match up against the Titans at the end of each episode. So make sure that you guys stay locked in to the Locked On Titans podcast for that. Also, we're doing a listener survey here at the Locked On Podcast Network. So go to lockedonpodcast.com slash survey right now. Tell us what you like, what you don't like

about Locked On Podcast. It's not going to take you very long, and if you do it, you're going to be entered for a chance to win one of $1000 Ticketmaster gift cards for a concert or movies or games, whatever you guys want to use it on. It doesn't matter. So take our audience

survey. Go to LockedOnPodcast.com slash survey and we do appreciate all of your guys' help. with getting into these comeback candidates. And at the end of the show, we're going to do the top five underappreciated Tennessee Titans. But number one, we're talking about a comeback candidate. Gotta be Derrick Henry.

Gotta be Derrick Henry. The man almost went for 1,000 yards in eight games last year. And one, or maybe even two of those games, maybe that KC game, maybe even two of those games, Derrick Henry was doing it with a broken foot. Okay? Look, I get it.

Getting close to 30. Historic tread on his tires with the amount of carries and yards that he's had over the last few years. What we know about running backs and the production cliff, Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliott, Devontae Freeman,

Le'Veon Bell. I mean, there is a graveyard full of running backs who got money and then died off. I just don't think Derrick Henry's that guy. I don't think he's going to be affected by the money, and it's going to affect his work ethic. I think his work ethic alone is already super legendary.

He seems totally healed from the foot. It's not an ACL. It's not an Achilles. There's a broken bone that's been repaired, not to minimize the long-term potential impacts, but just saying. So for me, number one's Derrick Henry. Love to see him come back, put 1500 yards, 15 touchdowns back on the board and remind everybody he's the best running back in the NFL. So a chance for a big time comeback for Derrick Henry, who continues throughout his career to be required to silence the doubters.

Another year to do so. The second guy is a guy that everybody thinks I hate, and it's all misconstrued, but it's Bud Dupree. Bud Dupree had three sacks for the Titans last year, just over 10 tackles. Didn't play a ton. Missed a lot of games. And the Titans defense was better when he was out there.

But he wasn't out there enough for what he's getting paid. And that has to change this year. And we're already taking positive steps, no pun intended, towards that with Bud Dupree saying that the knee feels all the way back. The knee didn't start feeling good until January in the playoffs. that the knee feels all the way back. The knee didn't start feeling good until January in the playoffs, and now he feels all the way back. So while I will continue to say, and I've been preaching basically since last year, since the contract was signed,

I basically said this is a two-year deal at max. Bud Dupree will not be with the Titans in 2023. I'm holding strong to that. You guys get in my comments sometime and tell me that it's insane and blah, blah, blah. Well, just come back to me when he's cut next year. This is like when I said the Titans should cut both their starting cornerbacks.

And everybody said I was insane. And then what'd they do? They cut Adory and they cut Malcolm. And then when I said that the Titans should not re-sign John O. Smith because he's going to get overpaid and they shouldn't re-sign Corey Davis because he's going to get overpaid. And what happened?

So, I'm wrong, everyone. I'm wrong all the time. Okay, all the time. But I'm also right a lot of the time, too. So, just for any of you guys get mad hearing that Bud Dupree is going to be cut, just come back to me next year when it happens. And at least say, my bad. Okay?

I'll accept that. I'll accept that. It is what it is. But Bud Dupree has to have a comeback here for the Titans. Like I said, he is an X-factor player because if the Titans hit the defensive highs that everybody is expecting now, it's only going to be possible if Bud Dupree is healthy and productive. Last year's version of Bud Dupree ain't going to cut it

if you want the Titans to take steps forward on defense and be elite defensively, top three, top five. For that to happen, Bud Dupree's got to be healthy and productive. So, need a big comeback, Bud Dupree's got to be healthy and productive. So, need a big comeback from Bud Dupree. Third, and this isn't, well, third is Robert Woods.

Coming back from the ACL tour in November, I think November 12th was the date. He's already in practice at OTAs, running drills, yellow non-contact jersey, but going through all the things, okay? Developing chemistry, getting his conditioning right. What an example to set for the young players.

I mean, I'm hoping, not just for the Titans' sake, but Robert Woods is a guy. He just seems like a tremendous person. And going through the ACL tear, getting back, getting traded, all that, certainly helped that he has a comeback season in store. And the Titans are going to need it. And you know who's going to need it most? My next comeback candidate, Ryan Tannehill.

And Tannehill's not coming back from an injury. But he said he had to go to therapy after that loss to the Bengals. He has been, me included, I'm included in this, he has been lambasted by the Tennessee Titans fan base. And the moment he makes a single mistake, the fan base

is coming for his soul. Period. That's what's going to happen this year. People are done with it. People are done defending him. When everybody else said that the Ryan Tannehill we got in the playoffs was the real Ryan Tannehill, not 19 and 20, Titans fans defended him until they were blue in the face. And for Titans fans to defend Ryan Tannehill ruthlessly for three years,

saying he was underrated, the stats are real, the production is real, and then for him to do that, you're going to lose the trust and the faith of most of the people who defended you. Because you choked in the biggest moment when everybody else on the team handled their business, player-wise. Obviously, Todd Downing was awful.

So, Tannehill, comeback season. And again, like 2019 when he actually won the National Comeback Award, it's not injury. It's not anything like an off-the-field issue. Can he rebound mentally from that Bengals loss and the way that went down and what's been said about him and how he's going to be treated going forward here. The honeymoon is over. Big comeback year for Ryan Tannehill. We'll see. The last guy I want to mention is Taylor LeJuan coming back from the ACL injury was one of the top offensive tackles in the NFL.

Didn't have a great year last year. He has publicly talked about, that's the key theme with a lot of these guys. They have publicly talked about how they're trying to come back and how it's different for them, how they're feeling better, how they're moving forward. So Taylor LeJuan, obviously Caleb Farley and Rashad Weaver are options, but both of them were rookies last year. So they need to come back and play well,

but it's not like they're bouncing back from good NFL years before. So this is just still a fresh start, not even a comeback for those guys. So we're going to move to the top five underappreciated Tennessee Titans. Who on the Titans does not get enough love from the fan base? I'm going to tell you my top five. Before we get into that, though, I do want to tell you guys about the best tasting protein bars in the galaxy from our friends over at Built Bar.

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and cap off this top five week of the Locked on Titans podcast at that. If you guys missed any of the top five episode I put out earlier this week, we did top five X factors, top five breakout candidates, top five disappointments, potentially. We did top five best players, top five storylines, top five roster long shots. It's been a great week here. I hope you guys have enjoyed.

We're going to do our final top five category, the top five most underrated and underappreciated Tennessee Titans. Before we get into that, I do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Also want to tell you guys about the Ultimate NBA Mock Draft. It's like the Ultimate NFL Mock Draft, of course, but with the NBA, the NBA Draft is coming up soon. You get over 50 insiders.

You get Odyssey sports experts. You get draft experts from the Locked On NBA Big Board Show. The five-episode Ultimate NBA Mock Draft actually already started. So make sure that you go download that. Check out all the previous episodes. It's a great time. Make the Ultimate NBA Mock Draft your second listen today. But moving forward here, the top five underappreciated Tennessee Titans.

Number one, it's Nick Westbrook-Akina, period. I mean, I've seen people make this point on Twitter, but the Titans fan base is consistently, even this year, fan base is consistently, even this year, trying to put undrafted free agents or low end of the roster wide receivers up on a pedestal. Nobody falls for training camp hype around an undrafted free agent wide receiver like Titans fans. Period. We pine for it. Myself included.

I made a freaking highlight video for Mason Kinsey last year. All right, I'm part of this problem too. So why don't we love Nick Westbrook-Akina? Undrafted free agent. Started as a special teamer. Played very well. Got more reps on offense. Blocks his tail off.

Tries hard. Respects his teammates. I mean, I know he's not a top three wide receiver level talent, but he was a Titans second leading receiver last year. He's productive. Now he's been put in a role because the Titans have mismanaged the wide receiver position. He's been put in a role that maybe he shouldn't be in. But that's not his fault.

Nick Westbrook-Akina is everything that Titans fans have been looking for in an undrafted free agent wide receiver for forever. But yet, myself included again, he doesn't get much love. And the conversation is all about replacing him and pushing him down the depth chart and getting him out of the lineup. So, to me, there's Nick Westbrook-Akina

and then there's a huge gap in terms of the love and appreciation that some of these guys get. So, to me, Nick Westbrook, Akina, by far, the most underappreciated Tennessee Titan. Number two, though, is Ben Jones. Because it's just offensive line, not flashy. Ben himself, country guy, not super flamboyant like Taylor is

or anything like that. So, you know, Ben Jones is just a good old boy. Comes in, does the work, gets paid, handles business. And he's still one of the top 10 centers in the NFL, even in his 30s. Ben Jones has been maybe the best. John Robinson

free agent signing, definitely up there. I mean, you could put in like Danico Autry. Roger Saffold obviously deserves his due. I could talk about others, of course. But Ben Jones has been a stalwart on this team and a true foundational piece for multiple years with one of the best run-blocking offensive lines in the NFL.

So he doesn't get enough love. He doesn't. Another guy is Danico Autry. Everybody, Landry, Simmons, I get it. But more people talk about Bud Dupree and discuss Bud Dupree than Danico Autry. Autry has been phenomenal. Way better than Bud Dupree in that one year with the Titans. And Autry provides incredible versatility

because he can play a 4-3 defensive end. He can play a 3-5 or a 3-4-5 tech. He can play an outside linebacker. So he can rush from the interior. I mean, Danico Autry is a key piece to the versatile front for the Tennessee Titans. He is completely underrated, and he has been his entire career. Another guy is Zach Cunningham. We've talked a lot about David Long.

Everybody's talking about David Long. But Zach Cunningham is the former pro bowler. Zach Cunningham is the former NFL leading tackler. I don't think it would be insane for Zach Cunningham to be way better than David Long this year. Now it's not as fun because David Long is a homegrown, late-round pick who had to buy his time and started making plays. You think about that play against Kansas City in 2019,

the strip, Rashawn picks it up and runs it for a touchdown. That changed that game. Changed that game, changed that season, maybe. So, David Long is a cooler story for the fans, but Zach Cunningham, still probably the more talented player. Six foot three, bigger body. So, Zach Cunningham not getting enough love.

It was only half a season, so I get it. But this preseason conversation, there hasn't been enough love for Zach Cunningham. And then, finally, Imani Hooker. Everybody talks about Fulton. Everybody's worried about Farley. Everybody's talking about McCreary and Molden in the slot. Everybody knows Kevin Byard's the first team all pro safety. But what about Amani Hooker?

Who, if you look at my pro football focus, was a top three safety in the NFL when he played last year. The Titans far and away have the best safety duo in the NFL. And it's ridiculous to say otherwise, in my opinion. Amani Hooker is one of the most underrated players, not only by Titans fans, but in the NFL, period. Imani Hooker is going to not be underrated anymore after he gets that contract after the year.

I hope it's Tennessee, but starting to worry it may not be with how good of a player Imani Hooker is. And best believe, people in the NFL know about Imani Hooker. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. I'll be back with you guys next week for the Divisional Roundup. Can't wait to do that. Everybody have a safe, enjoyable weekend.

Stay cool out there, boys. It's hot. 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.