Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Trends To Watch: Kristian Fulton CB1, 3rd Down Defense & Possible IR Returns

Episode Date: September 27, 2021

The Tennessee Titans have developed some interesting trends through the first three weeks of the season from both a player and team perspective. Is Kristian Fulton really a stud at corner? Is Bud Dupree a bust? Will the Titans 3rd down defense continue and can the offense do better in the red zone? Tyler talks all of these topics and more. Finally, the Titans have a handful of players eligible to come off the IR this week. Who are they and how important could their returns be?Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP3332GMOh4y5PX3q9NFybwSupport 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.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. 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, it is a Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. And on this Tuesday episode, I want to examine some trends that have started to pop up for the Titans through the first three weeks of the season. We're going to look at some individual trends, like can Christian Fulton continue to be an absolute stud

at cornerback for the Titans defense and is the Bud Dupree contract already a bust then we're going to look at some team trends as well can the Titans defense continue to have success on third downs and will the Titans offense start to have more success in the red zone then Then finally, at the end of our show, we will take a look at a handful of players that were placed on IR when the Titans initially made their 53-man roster. It's been three weeks. Some of them will be eligible to return.

Who are those players and how important is their return for the Titans going forward? A lot to discuss on this Tuesday 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 team every day. It is a Tuesday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. We are going to take a look at some player trends, some team trends, and some players who are eligible to come off IR.

But before we get into that, just want to take this moment and thank all of you guys for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. Also want to let you guys know I'm going to be putting out daily Monday through Friday Tennessee Titans content, not only during the regular season, but all year long. So make sure that you subscribe to the Locked on Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream. Subscribe to the Locked on Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream. Subscribe to the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Make sure you smash that notification bell so you know when all of my content goes live.

Follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans for all my film analysis. And check out the Facebook page at Locked on Titans pod. This Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is presented by RockAuto.com. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. Visit rockauto.com and tell them Locked on sent you. But let's dive into these player trends. And number one is Titans cornerback Christian Fulton. Can he continue to be a stud for the Titans?

So right now, Christian Fulton has been targeted 18 times. He's only given up five completions, and that's after going against the likes of guys like Michael Pittman and DK Metcalf. He's only allowed 88 yards, and 69 of those yards or 68 of those yards were on that blown coverage touchdown to Swain in Seattle in Week 2

that Christian Fulton basically assessed the penalty for, and I agree with that. I do think that it was a coverage blow by Christian Fulton, but that's 68 of 88 yards outside of that one play. Only 20 yards allowed. He has given up that one touchdown, but again, that's a coverage being blown, not an individual error by him on a one-on-one situation. He's got three pass breakups,

only 27.8% of the passes thrown his way have been completed. He's given up a 66 overall quarterback rating when balls are thrown his way. So just an absolute beast right now in the NFL. He's top 12 in the league in coverage grade per pro football focus with a 74.5. And if you limit it to guys who have played the amount of snaps that Christian Fulton has this year as a starting corner, he's the sixth best corner in terms of coverage grade in the league. So he's been an absolute stud. Going to be very interesting to see the matchup coming up this week between Christian Fulton and Corey Davis, but I do believe that if Christian Fulton stays healthy, he can continue to be a number one cornerback for the Titans.

Next, is Taylor LeJuan back? So on Sunday against the Colts, he only allowed one hit in one hurry. That's two pressures, but no sacks were allowed. The Titans did run for over 100 yards in the game with Derrick Henry. Now he did struggle a little bit in terms of his run blocking. He was better in pass blocking, but that's generally been the theme of Taylor LeJuan's career. He's good as a run blocker within the scheme. One-on-one as a pass blocker, that's what you are paying these top tier left tackles for. So that all lines up. I'm not willing to say that Taylor LeJuan is back yet. Now, he doesn't have a great group of edge rushers coming up with the New York Jets. He does have a tough task with Josh Allen, however, from the Jaguars.

And then the schedule gets really hard after that. So I don't know if I'm willing to say Taylor LeJuan is back yet, but a good start. He needs to have two good performances in a row before the Titans head into their toughest stretch of the year. The next one that I want to ask is, is Bud Dupree signing already a bust? He's only got two tackles, three pressures out of 87 snaps. He's got a 49.3 overall defensive grade per pro football focus. He struggled more in run defense than it seems, but he hasn't helped the Titans too much in pass rush either. He's still dealing with the knee injury and he's providing maintenance to

that. And I'm not willing to say yes all the way yet, similar to Taylor LeJuan. I'm not willing to say yes either. But here's the thing. The Titans really gave Bud Dupree, if you look at the guaranteed money, a two-year deal worth about $35 million. That's the skeleton. That's the bones of the deal. And if Bud Dupree is, he's already through about a quarter of the first season. Think about only two years of guaranteed money. He's already through about a quarter of the first season and hasn't really given the Titans a ton.

He hasn't been a minus, but he hasn't really given the Titans a ton. So you hope that this knee issue gets cleaned up pretty quickly. He can be out there more consistently. He was active on game day on Sunday versus the Colts, but didn't play because he was just considered an emergency option. I don't really like the sounds of that. So hopefully Bud Dupree can make more of an impact and make this first season of really the only two that he's guaranteed more worthwhile. I see it as the Titans will probably only have Bud Dupree

for two to three years. So if he misses a good chunk or is, you know, lacks production for a good chunk of his first season, well, that's an issue for the Titans. Now on the other side of that coin, a steal that they may have gotten is Ola Adani. And the question is, is Ola Adani going to continue to be a steal for the Titans? They're only paying him $1 million this year, $920,000 in salary, $80,000 in bonus. I think he's already been a steal for the Titans. He's played 64 special team snaps. And if you go off the pro football focus grades on special teams, he's the fifth best special teams player for the Titans this year

with a 72.2 grade. I don't know how much stock I put in the special teams grades in that scenario, but some sort of measure there of Ola Dainey's impact on defense. He's played 40 snaps. He's already had five pressures, three sacks, and two tackles. I mean, this guy is as efficient as a pass rusher as Ryan Tannehill has been as a quarterback over the last two seasons. So hopefully Ola Adani can continue this production and pass rush scenarios for the Titans throughout the year. They've been

getting him on the field when it's time to get after the quarterback, and he has really helped them deal with not having the production that they expected from Bud Dupree. So when you said that the Titans were going to have a highly productive free agent signing from the Pittsburgh Steelers, you had no idea it was going to end up being Ola Adani, but works out in the Titans' favor there. They may have gotten themselves a steal, but that's the player trends that I wanted to take a look at. We are going to look at some team trends next in terms of the Titans' third down defense,

the Titans' red zone offense, the Titans' rookie class. Also look at a big area on special teams as well. Before we get into that, do want to tell you guys about GetUpside. You got to download the app right now. Anybody who fills up and buys gasoline has to use the free GetUpside app. Right now, my listeners are making up to 25 cents every single gallon of gas every time

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sure that you check out BetOnline, the fastest and easiest way to bet on all your favorite sports. BetOnline, your online sportsbook experts. your online sportsbook experts. Titans fans, let's continue this Tuesday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast, looking at some trends for the Titans. And for any of you guys who have been listening to the show for a while, you know that I have a certified addiction to alliteration. And for those of you who maybe don't know, alliteration

is just putting a bunch of words in a row that have the same starting letter that have similar sounds. For me, I really did consider Tyler's Titans Trends Tuesday or Tyler's Titans Takes or something of that nature. But I held off. I held off. I did not relapse, but I just wanted to let you guys know about my internal struggle. But let's talk about some of these team trends that have popped up for the Titans through the first three weeks. Just talked about the player ones. Number one, the Titans third down defense. Right now they're the 13th best defense in the NFL and getting off third downs. They only allow their opponents to convert a first down 37.8% of the time.

Out of 37 third downs, it's 14 conversions. So that's a marked improvement from the Titans, who were the worst third down defense in the league last year at 51%. Oh, God, that was absolutely horrible and backbreaking from a psychology standpoint for the Titans defense but very much improved and Shane Bowen is doing a pretty good job of not only converting those third down opportunities and getting off the field but making sure that there are a lot of third and long situations the Titans have been pretty efficient on the first two downs on defense.

So I think that's a trend that can continue for the Titans and they certainly need it too. Now I do want to say all these trends, all these numbers, I am recording on Monday night before the Monday night football game.

So if they change by a couple of places, I know the YouTube crowd, you guys are savages. You will come after me for that. So just keep that in mind behind the curtain here. Moving forward, the Titans offense in the red zone. The Titans have been one of the best teams in the red zone for the last two seasons, around 70% to 75%.

And they're not having that type of success this year. So far, they've only gotten a touchdown seven times out of their 13 red zone opportunities. That's 53.8%, 21st in the NFL. The Titans need that red zone efficiency because they aren't a team that's going to have a ton of long plays outside the Derrick Henry runs. At least early on in the season, the Titans haven't got a lot of explosive passing plays. We're hoping that that continues or that trend changes. But for right now, if the Titans aren't going to be an explosive team in the passing game, they can't just rely on long Derrick Henry touchdown runs

all the time. They're going to have to be incredibly efficient in the red zone. And if they're going to turn over the ball more than they have the last few years, which is another trend that has popped up, but I talked about that on yesterday's show, then they're definitely going to have to get better in the red zone. That's an area where we're seeing some drop off, but Todd Downing was the red zone coordinator for the Titans last year, so it's kind of confusing.

The Arthur Smith move wouldn't hurt the Titans as much in that area. One area that Todd Downing does have control over is play action. Right now, the Titans are only play actioning on, is that a real word? Play actioning on 26. that a real word? Play actioning on 26.9% of their dropbacks last year, a full 10% over that 36% in 2020. Now that may be skewed because the Titans were down in the Cardinals game and down in the Seahawks game in the first half. So maybe that skews the numbers there, but 10% down from last year, that can't happen, especially when you consider that right now per pro football focus, Ryan Tannehill is the best quarterback in the NFL in play action opportunities with a 97.2 grade. So

Ryan Tannehill is great in that area. That's what we know. The Titans can't afford to have a 10% drop year over year. Also, Derrick Henry's workload, 397 touches in 2020. He's got 92 so far. He's on pace for over 500 touches. That cannot be the case. And there's a player that could return from IR that we're going to talk about in our final segment that really needs to help out in that area. But the Titans have to find a way, hopefully over the next two weeks, in games that they should win, the Titans can find a way to decrease the workload on Derrick Henry. Get not only the other running backs in there, but scheme up some more touches for the tight ends on screens.

Scheme up some easier opportunities for the wide receivers. The Titans cannot rely on Derrick Henry like this and expect him to be good in the playoffs, especially after almost 400 touch in 2020. It's just outrageous to think that he can hold up under that kind of workload. The quarterback pressure for the Titans defense, right now tied 12th in pressures with 22, tied 12th in sacks with 7,

tied 6th in hurries with 11 hurries the Titans are getting to the quarterback and that goes a long way into the 3rd down defense I think it's something the Titans can keep up I think Shane Bowen is doing a better job and there's just more talent there Harold Landry looks like an absolute stud if the Titans can stay healthy on the defensive line

with Jeffrey Simmons, Danico Autry and then get Bud Dupree a healthier version back in the fold to go with Ola Adani. I expect to see some more of Derek Roberson, hopefully, here in the near future. Titans could be in a good spot with that quarterback pressure. Also, got to talk about Julio and AJ. 28% of the Titans catches right now. 38% of the yards.

Only 25% of the receiving touchdowns. Has to be more than that. I know AJ's dealing with some injuries. It was a weird kind of game at the yards. Only 25% of the receiving touchdowns has to be more than that. I know AJ's dealing with some injuries. It was a weird kind of game at the end. And I want to make this statement right now. Some outside media people are starting to ask questions about what's going on with Julio in Tennessee, why he wasn't playing in that fourth quarter. Mike Vrabel talked about blocking in his post-game press conference, and some people took that as a shot at Julio that he wasn't blocking. Mike Rabel clarified that today and said it's not a performance reason

that Julio wasn't on the field. And let me set the record straight here. The Titans were going to be running the ball in the fourth quarter, trying to limit the clock, trying to run the clock down, keep their lead, and just play it safe. The Titans have A.J. Brown who got hurt in the game and is week to week with a knee injury. What you don't

want to do is have Julio Jones out there in the fourth quarter and get hurt when you know that you might not have A.J. the next few weeks because he's trying to dig safeties out in the run game. He can do it when it matters most, but why? The Titans

could win that game without him, and they should have won by a couple of scores anyway. The Titans could win that game without Julio in the fourth quarter. There's no risk for him getting injured when AJ's already injured, and Mike Vrabel said it wasn't a performance issue. There's nothing to make a big hub-lub

about here, okay? There's just not. There's just no reason to do that. So Julio's fine. Everything's fine. And Mike Vrabel was shrewd, in my opinion, and smart, in my opinion, to limit the injury risk for Julio knowing that AJ's probably going to be out

for a couple of weeks. So that's my last little spout on that. But Julio and AJ have to be much more involved in the game plan for the Titans to be the team that they want to be. The last two topics here are big picture things. The rookie class, zero offensive snaps for Dylan Radins, only eight on special teams, a couple of inactives, only eight special team snaps for Caleb Farley, 10 on defense, and he's been out a few weeks with injury. Elijah Molden's played 60 snaps on defense,

but he's been one of the worst three Titans defenders on the season. Only 13 snaps on special teams. Monty Rice, only five defensive snaps, 20 on special teams. Rashad Weaver got hurt, only 12 defensive snaps, 20 on special teams. Brady Breeze been on IR, zero snaps total. Racey McMath, 27 on offense. Most of those came in this game against the Colts, 49 on special teams. He's probably been the biggest contributor as a rookie so far, at least positively, outside of maybe if you want to count Elijah Morton because the snap counts. Des Fitzpatrick, zero, zero on the practice squad.

Didn't even make the roster. How long can the Titans go getting zero production out of their rookie class? I mean, they're going to be all right. They're going to be a winning team. They got zero out of their rookie class basically last year as well. But, man, it's just disheartening to get that little out of your rookie class. And then the Titans in kick return on kickoffs. They have to be better.

Second worst in the NFL right now, 16.1 yards per return. That's just awful. Their average starting field position is 25.2 yard line. That's sixth worst in the NFL. Titans have to find a way to get some better production on kickoff return.

And again, one of the players that may be returning off IR that we're going to talk about in the final segment may help that cause. Before we get into that conversation, I do want to remind you guys about rockauto.com. Rockauto.com is a family business that's been serving auto parts customers online for over 20 years.

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See all the parts available for your car or truck. And write locked on in the How Did You Hear About Us box so they know that we sent you. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. rockauto.com We are going to cap off this Tuesday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast looking at some players that have

the eligibility to return from IR from earlier in the season, who they are and how they can impact the team. Before we get into that, do want to remind you guys about the Locked On Bets podcast hosted by your boy Q and handicapping expert Lee Sterling. You get daily picks, upset specials, Lee Sterling's lock of the day. The Locked On Bets podcast has been having a great hit rate all throughout the first three weeks of the season. So make sure that you check out the Locked On Bets podcast presented by BetOnline.ag on whatever platform you do stream. As for those players that can return off IR, so when the Titans initially put their 53-man roster together,

there were certain players that they placed on IR after initially put their 53-man roster together, there were certain players that they placed on IR after they put them on the active roster. The reason for that is if you are put on injured reserve in the preseason, you're out for the year. If you're put on injured reserve after the 53-man roster is established, you can return after three weeks. Now, there's additional rules here. Like we saw with Adoree Jackson, the Titans brought Adoree off IR after, what was it, six to eight weeks? I can't remember either way. But after you bring a player off IR, you have a 21-day period where they can practice with

the team. After that 21-day period, you either have to activate them to the roster or you have to put them on IR and end their season. So now that it's been three weeks, the Titans have five players who are eligible to return. Now, we don't know if they will return or not based on the severity of their injury, but they are eligible. Here's who they are. Number one, interior offensive lineman Daniel Myrner. Now, I don't think that he would take a spot over Aaron Brewer on the active roster.

I don't think he would take a spot over a guy like Corey Levin on the practice squad. But if the Titans wanted to maybe move someone off the practice squad to get Myrner back on, I would be okay with that. But he's not going to end up on the active roster, which means if the Titans do activate him off injured reserve, then he will be cut, and then at the best, they'll try to get him back on the practice squad.

Next is a big one, though. Marcus Johnson. Marcus Johnson was one of those training camp darlings. Everybody was really excited about Marcus Johnson, but then he got hurt, didn't have a lot of preseason reps, was placed on IR. If the Titans could get him back, that would be big time. A.J. Brown's going to be week to week.

He probably won't play in the next few weeks, which is okay with me with two lesser opponents on the Titans' schedule, the Jets and the Jags. Let A.J. sit. Hopefully Josh Reynolds will stop being a bum and being a healthy scratch for the Titans. So if Marcus Johnson is healthy and can play with A.J. out and Reynolds really disappointing, then he would be a big boost for the Titans wide receiver core who needs that help now. Next, another big one, Darrington Evans.

Evans has just been hurt consistently throughout his career. He pulled up with a hamstring injury in the preseason. The Titans need him. I talked about Derrick Henry's workload earlier in the episode, and the number one guy who can actually help with that and has the talent to help with that is Darrington Evans. And it would add a new dimension to the Titans' offense where they could use him on some gadget plays. They could use him on some screens. Teams wouldn't know for certain whether it's a run or a pass based on whether it's McNichols or Henry in the backfield.

That problem was supposed to be solved by Darrington Evans, and they're going to need him out there to solve that. Hamstring injury, soft tissue. I'm not 100% confident that Darrington Evans will be ready to go, but if he is, gosh, that would be a big help to the Titans in two weeks where hopefully they have a lead and they're able to give Derrick Henry a breather over the next couple of weeks before the toughest stretch of the season. Not

only that, but Darrington Evans is the Titans starting kickoff returner. So getting him back would definitely help with the Titans second worst kickoff return unit in the NFL. So multifaceted need there for the Titans with Darrington Evans. Hopefully he'll be ready to go. Brady Breeze at safety. Spent some time on the COVID list. The Titans don't really have any safeties right now. They only have three on the roster currently. Kevin Byard and then Dane Cruikshank and Matthias

Farley. They have Amani Hooker on IR, so he will have to wait another week before he can come off. Would they bring back Brady Breeze onto the active roster just for some depth? I think it's definitely a possibility. So we'll see what happens there. And then the big question.

Sam Ficken. I don't know, guys. Bullock is 5-6 on field goals. 5-5 on extra points. He hit two big field goals. The game winner. NLT against Seattle. And then the field goal to put the Titans up nine against the Colts.

Kickers are a confidence thing. I don't think I'm getting rid of Randy Bullock now to get Sam Ficken. Titans might have to cut Ficken and try to get him back on the practice squad, but that's definitely a tough call. I'd probably stick with Bullock right now, but that's going to do it for this Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Remember, tomorrow

re-watch Wednesday. I've begun my re-watches of the game. Going to dive into the coach's film on Tuesday when this comes out. I'm going to start putting some clips up on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans. Wednesday show, Tuesday night for the YouTube crowd. I'm going to be just

dumping my film notes on you guys, letting you know what I saw from a schematic standpoint. You are not going to want to miss that episode. Another thank you for making the Locked on Titans your podcast, your first listen every day. 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.