Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Trade Up For QB, Trade Tannehill and Address Needs in Seven Round Mock Draft

Episode Date: February 27, 2023

The Tennessee Titans have a ton of different options in the offseason this year, but one that has been discussed recently is trading up for a QB while trading Ryan Tannehill to another team. What would this look like though? Tyler does a mock draft scenario where the Titans trade up with the Detroit Lions for CJ Stroud and trade Tannehill to the Carolina Panthers. This left the Titans with five picks to make. How many needs can be hit and what would the draft class look like? Tyler goes through all seven rounds to see exactly that.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!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get startedFANDUEL 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

A seven round mock draft where the Titans trade up for their quarterback of the future while also trading Ryan Tannehill for mid round picks. What kind of draft class would the Titans get in that scenario? We're going to take a look 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, that's right, it is Mock Draft Monday. We're going through a seven-round mock draft where the Titans trade up to get a quarterback, trade Ryan Tannehill. We're going to go through all seven rounds, go over the draft class that we were able to put together 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 platforms, all year round and always for free.

Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast. More Titans moves are going to be coming in the future, and it's time to start our free agency preview. So on tomorrow's show, we will begin that odyssey. They're going position by position through the free agent class to see who would fit for the Titans at the top of the market, in the mid-tiers, and some bargains that will be there as well.

So we're going to get into all of that later this week. But for right now, it is Mock Draft Monday. We're going to dive into a seven-round mock draft. And first and foremost, like I said, the Titans trade up in this mock draft to get their quarterback of the future. Now, we have done a mock draft where we looked at what the seven-round haul would be if the Titans traded up to the number one overall pick. And obviously, that would cost the Titans five to six picks.

But we saw a more realistic option for the Titans from a mock draft from the 33rdteam.com. And we talked about that last week. But now I want to put that into practice. What if the Titans didn't have to trade up to number one to get their quarterback of the future and instead could trade up to number six? So here's kind of what happens. The Colts trade up to number one.

Now, there are a lot of people who are saying that the Colts really, really, really like Anthony Richardson. So maybe, maybe they don't do that. Maybe the Colts stay at four. But either way, they're going to be two quarterbacks off the board in the first four or five picks, in my opinion. We're going to see Bryce Young go with one of those two first picks. I think he's the consensus QB one, but everything

I'm starting to see is a lot of teams have Will Levis over CJ Stroud, and you can get in the comments and tell me how crazy that is, and I agree with you, but I mean, these are the same teams that had Baker Mayfield over some pretty good quarterbacks that Mitch Trubisky was drafted before Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes. So like these things happen, I guess, to say the least. So there's a good chance that C.J. Stroud is the third, maybe even fourth quarterback off the board, as crazy as that would sound.

But it's definitely a possibility. So if we see, let's say, Bryce Young go to the Colts number one overall. We see Will Levis go to the Texans number two or flip that around or what have you. And we get past the number five pick, which is Seattle. And we get to number six. Well, who would be the next few teams that would be looking at quarterback? They're Stroud and let's say Richardson are on the board. number six, well, who would be the next few teams that would be looking at quarterback?

They are Stroud and let's say Richardson are on the board. You're looking at the Las Vegas Raiders who are at pick number seven, and you're looking at the Carolina Panthers at pick number nine. Keep the Panthers in mind. So what I have the Titans doing here is they trade pick number 11, pick number 41, so their first and second rounders, and then a third in 2024, and they trade up to number six with the Detroit Lions. Now from the Lions perspective, the Lions have been mocked cornerback, cornerback, cornerback over and over again. Well, in this mock draft, Christian Gonzalez got taken at number five. So Detroit says, hey, we could pick another cornerback here, but that's a little rich. Why don't we get some extra draft capital? Now we're going to have 11 and 18. We're going to

have 41 and our second round pick. Detroit would have a load of picks here. And we're going to drop back to number 11 because Christian Gonzalez, the top cornerback was off the board. Now just to fill you in, at pick number 11, when this trade is consummated, Detroit ended up taking Joey Porter Jr. So they got a cornerback that they wanted at a

better value while picking up an extra couple of mid-round picks in the next two drafts from the Titans who come up in front of the Raiders and in front of the Panthers and take C.J. Stroud. It's funny, I've seen a lot of comparisons for C.J. Stroud to Ryan Tannehill, and that's pretty interesting to me, but you could see how that would align with what the Titans want. No, Stroud isn't the athlete that Bryce Young is or Jalen Hurts is or Lamar Jackson is, but he's got functional mobility to where he can beat you with his legs when the opportunity arises. And his accuracy, his anticipation, his feathery touch to layer throws over levels of the defense. I mean, it's just perfect.

And based on what Rand Carthon said earlier in the all season, that's the kind of quarterback he's looking for. So if you got CJ Stroud as the number three quarterback off the board and you don't have to pay the five to six picks that you need to get up to number one or in the top five to do it, I mean, that's a slam dunk to me. An absolute slam dunk. And you can see the Raiders at number seven taking Anthony Richardson. And then the

Panthers are left holding the bag. We didn't get any of the top four young quarterbacks. What do we do? Well, this is where the Titans execute a trade with the Carolina Panthers who have an impatient owner, who have a new coach in Frank Reich that needs to win out of the gate. Carolina has a pretty good roster as well. They're ready to win some games if they just had a decent quarterback in there. So what the Titans do is they trade Ryan Tannehill to the Carolina Panthers with the number 186 pick. So that's a sixth rounder.

So Ryan Tannehill and a sixth rounder for number 39, a top 10 second round pick, and number 93. So the Titans get two top 100 picks, a second rounder and a fourth rounder in return for Ryan Tannehill in a sixth.

That seems like a pretty fair trade in my opinion. So the Titans trade up to get CJ Stroud and give up their second round pick but in return they're able to execute that trade with Ryan Tannehill to Carolina, get a second round pick back there

and a top 100 pick at number 93. So that leaves the Titans with CJ Stroud, and then pick 39, pick 72, pick 93, pick 149, and pick 230. So the Titans still have five picks to work with while having their quarterback of the future, and saving $18 million on the salary cap by trading Ryan Tannehill. Let me know what you think about that sort of swap and that sort of situation.

Now it's time to figure out what kind of draft class can the Titans put together with their five remaining picks. We're going to dive into that in just a moment. Before we do, I want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. FanDuel is the number one sports book in America. Yes, football season is over, but it is the perfect time to get in on the NBA season after the All-Star break is when the NBA season really kicks off anyway. So it's a perfect time to jump in on the NBA season after the All-Star break is when the NBA season really kicks off anyway. So it's a perfect time to jump in. And right now, new customers get a no-sweat first bet up to $1,000.

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by trading pick number 11, pick number 41, and a future third rounder. We move up to number 6 and take C.J. Stroud. After that, the Titans trade Ryan Tannehill in a sixth round pick, number 186, to Carolina for pick number 39

and pick number 93. So as we stand, the Titans have five picks remaining in the draft. Everything except a sixth rounder. And then, on top of that, they have $18 million in cap space from Trey and Tannehill. And I mean, your quarterback of the future. You got him. And next year, the Titans have 50 to $100 million in cap space, still have a good amount of their draft picks, including their first and second rounder. And you have two all seasons to immediately turn

this team into an instant contender again. I mean, this is the start of doing that. So where do we go from here though? So we have CJ Stroud. Now we got to dive into pick number 39. And I got to tell you guys, this was a tough one for me. So some options I had at pick number 39. I had Steve Avila, the guard. I had John Michael Schmitz, the center.

Could go interior offensive line. Darnell Wright at offensive tackle also could have made some sense as well out of Tennessee. There were some edge rushers available. Will McDonald, Andre Carter. I mean, those are two good outside linebackers. Josh Downs and Kashawn Butte, they were available. The guy from LSU and then, of course, Josh Downs from North Carolina, they were available from LSU. The guy from LSU and then, of course,

Josh Downs from North Carolina, they were available at wide receiver. But for me, I'm sticking at offensive line. And look, you kind of got to know how free agency goes to make these decisions. Look, if you want to replace one of these picks with Avila or John Michael Schmitz because you think the Titans are going to go

even more tackle heavy in the draft, then that's perfectly fine. But for me, I went DeJuan Jones out of Ohio State. Basically what the Titans hope to get in Isaiah Wilson, they're going to get in DeJuan Jones. A monster, massive man at offensive tackle, six foot eight, long arms, strong hands. He's got incredible experience as well. offensive tackle, 6'8", long arms, strong hands. He's got incredible experience as well. Nearly 900 snaps at Ohio State the last two years.

He's a guy who's got good feet for a man his size, and he'll just drive you off the ball. Okay, what the Titans thought they were going to get in Isaiah Wilson, they can get in DeJuan Jones at pick number 39. And he was incredibly impressive at the Senior Bowl as well, dominating in individual matchups. So would love to do that. What you can do from that point is you can move Nicholas Petit-Ferrer over to left tackle, sign Dalton Risner at left guard,

bring Nate Davis back, and then you can have Aaron Brewer and Corey Levin battle it out for center. So NPF, Dalton Risner, or if you like somebody different like Isaiah, Isaac Samola or Daniel Brunskill, or, you know, there's a bunch of different options. But let's say you go Nicholas Petit Ferrer,

free agent left guard, Aaron Brewer and Corey Levin battle it out for center. Nate Davis is back at right guard. And then you have DeJuan Jones at right tackle. You could also flip that around and you could go, if Nate Davis isn't re-signed, you could go DeJuan Jones at right tackle. Move NPF into right guard. Brewer 11 at center,

and then go free agent guard and free agent left tackle. That's an option for you as well, for sure. But I love DeJuan Jones. He's exactly what the Titans are looking for in a right tackle. They've been looking for it for years, and they can finally get it here and be able to get CJ Stroud, save $18 million, and still get an offensive tackle that can be a starter in the future.

I mean, it's hard not to like what you're seeing here. So DeJuan Jones found a way to get him in here. And DeJuan Jones is the pick at number 39. That moves us forward to 72. And we got a quarterback. We got an offensive tackle. You know what time it is, folks. It's time for wide receiver. And I went with Rasheed Rice. Rasheed Rice, the wide receiver out of SMU, 6'3", 206 pounds. I love Rasheed Rice. And look, he's got his drawbacks that'll lead him to be in a mid-round pick for certain.

I mean, he's not an insane athlete. He doesn't have the greatest release package at the line of scrimmage to get off. There are some plays in there where maybe he's not running his route as hard as he needs to go. But at the end of the day, you got a 6'3 wide receiver,

6'2 and some change with incredible body control, incredible ability to vary his route speed in and out to set up cornerbacks. He's got great ball skills to go along with that body control. He just plucks the ball out of the air,

finds a way to win in contested catch situations. I saw a comparison of Adam Thielen to him. So if you have Traylon Burks as your number one first round wide receiver, who has shown he's going to be a great threat down the field, and then you bring in a guy like Rasheed Rice, who can run excellent intermediate routes, is going to get open, catch the ball, be a possession wide receiver,

with still some good strides and some good speed, at that size, at that height, you combine that with Kyle Phillips, the consummate slot receiver, I think you're starting to work on getting the wide receiver group back together. You add in a free agent wide receiver as well. I've been high on Alan Lazard.

Even if you go lower, like Mack Hollins as your number four wide receiver. I mean, that's a solid group. It's not the best in the world, but the Titans aren't going to flip this from one of the worst groups in the NFL to one of the best. But Burks, Rice, Phillips, a Matt Collins, maybe bring back NWI instead of Matt Collins. That's an option.

I think that's a pretty decent group. I like what Rasheed Rice can bring. So I love that pick right there. So you get DeJuan Jones at number 39. You get Rasheed Rice at number 72. And look, Andre Carter was still there. Nick Herbig, the edge rusher from Wisconsin, was still there. Eli Ricks, Jack Campbell were some guys on defense.

Tank Dell, Cedric Tillman, Andrew Voorhees were all options on offense. But I went with Rasheed Rice because I think he's got the highest upside and the highest floor of anybody that was available at that pick. Rasheed Rice is going to come in right away and be a professional wide receiver. And that's what the Titans need. Somebody to come in right away and be able to help. And he can do that opposite of Traylon Burke. So getting CJ Stroud, not killing your draft pick assets for the next few years, saving $18 million on Ryan Tannehill and getting a quarterback in Stroud who is not that much worse than Tannehill right now. Still getting an offensive tackle who can handle the right side

for the next five to ten years. Still getting Rasheed Rice. I mean, this draft, I had a good time putting it together. Fantastic time. But we're going to continue because we got to go through our three remaining picks in the late rounds. I thought I got some great value in there as well. So before we get into that, I do want to remind you guys that I am going to start the free agency preview this week. We're going to be looking at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive line, linebackers,

edge rushers, cornerbacks, safeties, every single position we're going to go through. We're going to look at the top options on the market money-wise. We're going to look at the mid-tier options money-wise. We're going to look at the bargains that are available as well. So make sure you don't miss that. Get subscribed and stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast for Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all platforms, all year round, and always for free.

We're going to talk about the end of the draft in just a moment. Titans fans, let's cap off this mock draft Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. So far, we've gone through the draft. We traded up to number six with our second round pick and the third round pick from 2024. Got CJ Stroud at number six. Then traded Ryan Tannehill to the Carolina Panthers.

Ryan Tannehill picked number 86 for number 39 and number 93. With 39, we got DeJuan Jones, the big time monster offensive tackle out of Ohio State. At 72, we got Rasheed Rice, the wide receiver, six foot two, contested catch, body control, all of that. Rasheed Rice out of SMU at 72. But now we got a hit at the end of the draft. And if you recall, Rand Carr-Thon, that was one of the big things that he was responsible for in San Francisco was the late

round draft pick. So we got pick number 93, pick 149, and pick 230 left. At pick number 93, there wasn't a lot of value there for interior offensive line, not a lot of value for tight end, not a lot of value for cornerback. So I went for another spot that the Titans truly do need some depth at. And especially, I think they are going to cut Bud Dupree by the time the draft happens. So for me, I went with Nick Herbig, the edge rusher from Wisconsin. Now look, Herbig is an interesting study in the draft. Some people think that he's got to move to off-ball linebacker. He's not big enough. He's not long enough to play edge rusher.

But what I see at Wisconsin is a guy who beat blocks nonstop, is a guy who always found a way to get to the quarterback, a guy who always found a way to beat the guy that he was going against with a variety of different ways. He's just a guy who finds his way to the quarterback. So look, maybe you could transition him to off-ball linebacker, but as I feel about a lot of guys who play offensive tackle and people say, oh, he needs to move the guard,

let him play the position that got him here. And then if it doesn't work, you try something else. Wish they would have done that with Dylan Radins for the last two years. Let the man play left tackle. Man, when he does, he plays better than he plays otherwise. And better than the people in front of him. Looking at you, Dennis Daly. How did Dylan Radins not play over that guy all year?

I don't know. Whatever. Water under the bridge. But with Herbig, I'm going to let this man play edge rusher. I'm going to let him be a rotational rusher to come in on certain third down packages, rotate in just for spelling guys and giving them breaks, and let's see what he does. Okay, now you add in the added value of

Herbig is an exceptionally good athlete. He's great in space. He didn't play a lot of man coverage, but he showed when he dropped in zone coverage that he has the ability to swivel his hips and do the job. Well, in the Titans' defensive scheme, outside linebackers and edge rushers have to drop into pass coverage quite a bit

because the Titans run their simulated pressures and their zone blitzes. So you need, and the Titans like to have multiplicity up front where they can run a 3-4 front. They can run a 4-3 front. They can do anything and move their front around

based on what the offense gives them. Well, Herbig is that kind of guy. Look, the Titans may have a massive need at off-ball linebacker if they don't re-side David Long. They might have a massive need there. So Herbig could help you at edge, could help you at off-ball linebacker.

Guys, there's a player in the NFL, Anthony Barr. I've always loved Anthony Barr since he came out of UCLA, got drafted to the Vikings, played for the Cowboys. Excuse me, needed a drink. Hydrate, everybody, hydrate. But Nick Herbig has a chance to be like that.

He can rush a little. He's maybe not the size of Anthony Barr and the strength of Anthony Barr, but he can rush if you need him to. He can drop back and be an off-ball linebacker. Herbig might be able to solve two problems for you at once. And you can see what he does better and then go from there. So, I really love the pick of Herbig, even if he isn't some, like, freak athlete with great size and strength and length and all that.

He is functional in space, and he's a guy who just found a way to get to the quarterback over and over again. And I'm just banking on that. I'm just banking on that. Production, experience, I'm banking on it. So, anyways, moving right along, pick number 149. So, anyways, moving right along, pick number 149. It's a guy I've been a big fan of for quite some time in the draft circuit. And it's Josh Weil, the tight end out of Cincinnati. Look, he's a little slender.

You can see from the picture if you're watching on YouTube. He could add some mass for sure, but he's 6'6". 250 pounds. He has great size. The guy has incredible body control. Notice that's a thing that I'm a big fan of. Body control. Contested catch situations. Can you go make catches and pluck the ball out of the air? That's what I

like. Great body control. Great hands. He's played in line as a hand in the dirt tight end. He's played in the slot. He's developed as a blocker every year in college. Every year he's gotten better as a blocker with his hand technique. Driving people.

I think he's got great potential to add some mass. And he can be a, he can give you what Austin Hooper gave you last year with a little bit of what Jeff Swaim gave you as well. He can give you a little bit of both. At 6'6", 250 pounds out of Cincinnati. I love Josh Weil, and we're getting him at 149?

I mean, this is a good tight end group. You're going to be able to get some good tight ends past pick 100. You are. And getting Josh Weil here, I just love that selection. And then finally, a pick you're going to see me consistently make in the seventh round, pick number 230, Jake Moody, the kicker out of Michigan. Best kicker in college football. The Titans just cut Randy Bullock.

It makes more sense than ever now. You draft Jake Moody in the seventh round so that you don't got to battle it out for him in undrafted free agency. You let him and Caleb Shudick go after each other, and I expect Jake Moody to win. So, let me throw up here the full picture of the mock draft. I traded number six, or traded two number six, gave up pick 11, pick 41,

and then a third rounder that's not showing for some reason. Third rounder in 2024. Got CJ Stroud at pick No. 6 right in front of Vegas and Carolina. Traded Ryan Tannehill in a sixth round pick for No. 39 in the second round and No. 93 to Carolina. Took DeJuan Jones from Ohio State, the monster offensive tackle, in the second round at pick number 39. The Titans finally get the Isaiah Wilson that they wanted.

You get Rasheed Rice, a big body. I mean, basically to me, he's got some Corey Davis to him. He's got the ability to be some Corey Davis. Okay? So you have Traylon Burks, you add in Rice. You got

Kyle Phillips. You bring back NWI. That's not terrible. Alright? We're working towards the future and having some good stuff right now. Some extra speed. Then we address Edge and linebacker at the same time with Nick Herbig.

You get a tight end out of a good tight end class with Josh Weil. And then you get your kicker of the future in Jake Moody. I mean, for the Titans to save $18 million, trade Ryan Tannehill, leave with an offensive tackle, leave with a tight end,

leave with an edge rusher, leave with a wide receiver, leave with CJ Stroud. I think that's a very realistic and a very successful mock draft situation. So, wanted to go over that. We saw a mock draft that had the Titans making that trade. Wanted to play it out,

kind of show what the entire situation would look like if that's a route that the Titans went on. Remember, tomorrow, free agency preview begins. We got to look at the offense first, but excited to go over all that with you guys. 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.