Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans T'Vondre Sweat Rookie of the Year, Malik Willis QB2 & Treylon Burks Making the Leap

Episode Date: August 1, 2024

The Tennessee Titans have completed a week of training camp and it is time to decide if certain narratives are FACT or FICTION. First, T'Vondre Sweat has had a great start to training camp and it is very possible he could be the defensive rookie of the year. Next, Malik Willis is massively improved, but it is still unlikely he can take the backup quarterback job. Finally, Treylon Burks has garnered praise early in camp, but don't count on him taking a massive leap in Year 3.Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitansTicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=ascFollow 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!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY! That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON and add a big win to your summer bucket list!FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

Tennessee Titans rookie Tavondre Sweat can win Defensive Rookie of the Year, and I'll explain how on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. 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 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 FanDuel. Make every moment more as the playoffs end, the sports stop sporting like we want them

to, but this summer, FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily. That's right. There's something for everyone every day all summer long. Visit Fandle.com to get started. On today's show, we are going to play a little Tennessee Titans training camp fact or fiction. A throwback to a great show I used to watch growing up. And we're going to go over six Tennessee Titans topics. And I'm going to tell you whether I think they are fact or fiction. First, Tavondre Sweat winning defensive rookie of the year. Malik Willis being the backup quarterback. And Traylon Burks making the leap.

I'm going to go over all those and more before I dive into it. Do want to thank you again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure

that you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. If you're watching on YouTube, throw a thumbs up on the video. Put a Titan up in the chat. With all that being said, oh, I do want to remind you guys, actually, before we really jump off, the Titans don't practice on Thursday or Friday. They're back out on the practice field on Saturday,

and I'll be here on Sunday night to break it all down with you guys. So, again, make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world for a reason. But with that being said, again, we're going to play a little game of fact or fiction on today's show, and I want you guys to play along with me as well. First up, Tavondre Sweat. Fact or fiction?

Tavondre Sweat can win Defensive Rookie of the Year. And for me, it's a fact. It is a fact. Tavondre Sweat certainly can win Defensive Rookie of the Year. So obviously, we'll get the elephant in the room out of the way first. It is no secret that I was not a fan of the Tavondre Sweat pick. Obviously, everyone knows that by now. It's been well documented.

But here's the realities. My concerns about Devondre Sweat were mostly off the field, off-field commitment, being in condition, being able to play enough snaps to have an impact on the game every single week. Those were my concerns. Well, if Devondre Sweat is in training camp, looking good, getting in better shape, looks committed, they're working with him hard, well, if the off the field stuff isn't a concern, then obviously Devondre Sweat always had immense talent. That was always something that I was willing to admit. The talent is there.

You know, he's 6'4, 370, 380 pounds moving the way that he does. I mean, that's the type of player that can be special at the NFL level. It was the off the field stuff that really made people and not just me scouts all around the NFL concerned about to Vondre sweat. Well, if those concerns are eased and he's making plays, then why can't he win defensive rookie of the year? Look, early on in the first week of training camp, just the first, it's been one week of training camp, they just put the pads on for two days,

but everything indicates that Devondre Swett has been great. He's got multiple pressures on each day. He's had a few sacks in some team periods. Him and Jeffrey Simmons up front have been an issue for the Titans offensive line. So Sweat has the talent. He has the ability. And if he can keep himself in shape to fill the role

that he is expected to play, then he absolutely could be defensive rookie of the year. I absolutely think that's a possibility. And when you look at previous defensive rookies of the year, it usually does come from the front seven. I mean, think about in recent years, Will Anderson, Micah Parsons, Chase Young, Nick Bosa, Joey Bosa, Aaron Donald, Sheldon Richardson. That's like the last 10 years.

Those guys are peppered in there. That's like the last, you know, 10 years. Those guys are peppered in there. I think that Tavondre Sweat, because of his size, because of the lightning rod that he is as a player, because so many people in the scouting community had him ranked, not even in the top 100 because of the off-field concerns, I think if Sweat comes out there and puts up four or five sacks, big tackles for loss, and Tavondre Sweat, because of his size

and because of the way he's going to be able to bully people up front, he's going to make high-light plays. So, do I think Tavondre Sweat can be Defensive Rookie of the Year? Fact or fiction? That is a fact. Do I think there's a good chance that I was completely wrong about Tavondre Sweat? I also think that might be a fact. But as you guys who listen to the show,

follow my content know, I truly am the first person who's going to be willing to admit when I got something wrong. Now, obviously, we're talking about one week of training camp. That doesn't mean right or wrong either way, but a good start for Tavondre Sweat. And obviously, it can mean great things for him going forward. The other thing that I wanted to mention here

was the guy playing directly behind him, and that's Kenneth Murray. So Kenneth Murray has gotten a ton of praise early on. A great quote from Denard Wilson from Wednesday's practice was, we're not worried about the green dot. We're giving him the green light. Go do whatever you got to do. Go make the plays.

He's gotten praise from Brian Callahan for his ability to be a leader out there, get people in the right spots. I mean, he's turned into a leader for the defense early on and with his physicality. Is Kenneth Murray linebacker one? Fact or fiction? To me, I think that's a fact. I think that with his physical gifts, if he could, remember, Kenneth Murray is a former first rounder. He was like a generational linebacker coming out of Oklahoma. I mean, generational is too strong of a word for certain,

but I mean, he's a first round pick off ball linebacker and he looked phenomenal. Six foot four with that kind of speed and that kind of physicality. And my big thing is when you have Jeffrey Simmons and Tavondre Sweat in front of you, that is going to clean things up so that a linebacker can just fly around and make plays. And if you put Kenneth Murray with his skills and his pedigree in the right position, he absolutely can be the top linebacker for this team. And I think the other side of this is, look, I like Jack Gibbons. I've always been a Jack Gibbons defender. But I'm also not someone who's going to come up here and tell you that Jack Gibbons is a stud linebacker

who's absolutely confirmed linebacker one and it can be nothing else. I love to make jokes about Jack Gibbons being linebacker one. But the reality is, Jack Gibbons is just an average to maybe slightly below average starter in the NFL, and the Titans' top linebacker on the team could certainly use an upgrade in talent. And if you get Kenneth Murray right, again, to me, it's kind of similar to the Tavondre Sweat conversation.

Tons of natural talent, great body size, great tenacity, but can he get all the other stuff right, the mental stuff right, the awareness stuff right? If Denard Wilson puts Kenneth Murray in the right spot, he absolutely can. So I'm going to say fact to both of those. Tavondre Sweat can win Defensive Rookie of the Year, and Kenneth Murray can be the Titans

linebacker one going forward. So, with that being said, we gotta talk about the Malik Willis Quarterback 2 hype machine and Traylon Burks making a leap. Fact or fiction on both of those coming now. Before I get into it, though, do

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Now I want to talk about Malik Willis and this Tennessee Titans offensive line. We're going to start with Malik Willis and the backup quarterback hype that he is getting before we get into it. I do want to thank you guys again for making Locked on Titans your first listen each and every day. Again, I'll be back with you guys on Sunday night here on YouTube, Monday morning for my commuters, breaking down everything that happened over the weekend for the Titans. Also want to remind you before we talk about Malik Willis, I did a deep dive, a film breakdown on Malik Willis

and his performance at Titans Open Practice last Saturday. You guys should check that out. The link to the Tic Tac Titans film channel is down below in the description. I would appreciate your support for that channel as well. But with all that being said, Malik Willis has played well. There's no way around it. And I don't want what I'm about to say to be misconstrued as Malik Willis is not playing well. Malik Willis is playing well.

Okay, he's getting praise up and down. Pretty much anybody who's watched practice at all has commented that Malik Willis definitely looks improved. So what I'm about to say is not to say that Malik Willis is not playing well. So what I'm about to say is not to say that Malik Willis is not playing well. But can Malik Willis be the backup quarterback for the Titans? I think that's fiction. I think that that is fiction. It's fiction.

It's false. We made it up. You guys get the references. Great. If you don't, I don't really care. Anyways, here's the reality. And I mentioned it yesterday. And it just got me thinking about it even more.

Malik Willis may be improved. Now, let me say this. Improvement, think about if you started out as a one and you moved to a four, you've improved, right? You improved. Improvement is true. But is that good enough to get to where you want to be? So, I do think that Malik Willis looks improved. Very excited about his development, and that's good for the Titans.

But ultimately, they brought Mason Rudolph in here to be the backup quarterback and Brian Callahan can say it's an open competition and we can do this and that, but if the Titans had to go win a game, if Will Levis was out for two weeks and the Titans had to go win a game,

are you really going to put Malik Willis in there over a guy like Mason Rudolph who's 8-4-1 in his career and his starts? Like, I guess I just think, and this has kind of been my issue with Malik Willis, when people say, oh, you know, if they give him time to develop, I think that Malik Willis can improve. But he'd have to improve so much to get to where he would have to be to knock off Mason Rudolph.

Like the level of improvement that Malik Willis would have to display to truly win the backup quarterback battle, it would be insane, quite honestly, to go from what we've seen from Malik Willis to where he would have to be to beat out Mason Rudolph. So look, everyone's excited about Malik Willis. Everyone is happy about his improvement. I do think that he deserves opportunities with the twos

like we talked about yesterday. You got to let him prove it. Now, I could sit here and say I think it's fiction that he can beat out Mason Rudolph. But again, that doesn't mean that I'm right. That's my opinion. But I could be wrong. I'm wrong all the time.

It happens all the time. You know, if you cover sports for a living and you give your opinions for two and a half hours a week, every week, all year long, you're going to be wrong about things. It's just the nature of the beast. I know that some of you guys hate hearing that. You think that anybody who talks about sports should always be right. Every opinion they give, if they don't give every opinion 100% accurate, they suck. How do they have this job? Well, you get up on camera and give your opinions.

See, nobody pays attention and keeps track of your opinions. If we did, then we would see you were wrong about this and wrong about this and wrong about this because that's the nature of the beast. So I could be wrong about this and Malik Willis could be wrong about this.

And Malik Willis could be good enough to get the backup quarterback job, but I just don't think that that's going to happen. But he does deserve the opportunity. Number one, he does deserve the opportunity to try. That's what's most important. He deserves extended chances with the second string. Give him the chance to see if he can match up. I could be wrong, but I got to tell you guys, I know that the hype is at a full, full mast right now. But I think it's fiction. I think that we're all kind of, I think Malik, I think I was wrong about the roster and Malik will make the roster now.

But I think the best possible outcome for the Titans is Malik continues to show stuff, and then they trade him. If you could get a sixth or a seventh round pick out of Malik Willis for 2025, that would be phenomenal, in my opinion. Because again, I think the reality here is Mason Rudolph is going to be the backup quarterback for this team. He just fits better in the offense, has more experience, more reliable if you had to play him in a spot situation, more similar to Will Levis' skill set.

So, I hope Malik does well. I'm excited to watch Malik Willis, but at the end of the day, you ask me, will he win the backup quarterback position? I think that's fiction. I think Mason Rudolph still holds that on. I honestly think if we put Brian Callahan on truth serum

and got his real answer, I don't think that he believes that Malik Willis could beat out Mason Rudolph either. That's just the reality of what I think. Do want to mention this. Moving to the next topic. Factor fiction. This Titans offensive line is going to be bad.

I've seen people say that. We talked about offensive line panic early in the week. Let me just say this quickly. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this. I think that's fiction. Okay? I think that is fiction. Number one, think

of Jeffrey Simmons, the version of Tavondre Sweat that's been out there for the first week of training camp. Harold Landry. That's a pretty good set of three rushers. Now, if the Titans had an elite edge rusher at the

other spot, whoa, that would be disgusting. The problem is they have rotational rushers as that other starting edge spot. Whether it be Arden Key, whether it be Rashad Weaver, whether it be rookie Jalen Harrell, whether it be Shane Ray, you know, none of those guys are high-level starters in the NFL. Like, think if the Titans had like a Micah Parsons or a Nick Bosa or something like that in that other spot. And now Harold Landry is your second edge rusher.

You have Jeffrey Simmons as your three tech and then Sweat is your nose. That is a disgusting front four. Now, I don't think the Titans are going to be able to accomplish that. That's why edge is so high on my priority list for the Titans going into next season. I don't think the Titans are going to pick as high as five overall in the next draft. Personally, I don't think they're going to be that bad this year. But a lot of mock drafts have them in that area,

taking James Pierce out of Tennessee. I would love that. I would love that. It would be so hype. It would be so hype. It would be so hype. But anyways, you're going up against a pretty solid defensive front there with those three people, at least from a rush standpoint. Also, also, this defense brings a ton of pressure.

Like, I think that we could look into the season a few weeks and be like, oh, this Tennessee Titans pressure defensive front is causing a lot of problems for other offenses. Maybe it was that the Titans defense is better than we expect. But also, the pads weren't on for most of this first week. You have Latham as a rookie. Skowronski is a second-year player. Cushenberry is a free agent. New starters at right guard and right tackle, and the right tackle in John Ajuku,

I don't think is an NFL player. So, like, I don't think, I think it's fiction that this offensive line is bad. Now, will this offensive line be top 10 like Mike Clay's projection from ESPN? Probably not. Probably not. Probably not. But remember, we just want this offensive line to not be bottom three.

We need this offensive line to just be hovering around average. Maybe if they're a little below average, like the 20th best offensive line in the NFL. That is still a major win for the Titans. And this offensive line, where other offensive lines around the league have been together for a while, or they're settled, or they know who their starters are, it may take the Titans a little bit of time to gel. This offensive line will be better in week six than it is in week one.

But let's talk about Traylon Burst and Josh Wiley. Now, before we do, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Look, guys, I love sports. No, I really love sports. I love them so much that I never want them

to stop, but the reality is this time of year, playoffs end, things wind down, and we get fewer games. The sports stop sporting like we want them to. But FanDuel lets me keep the sports going whenever I want. All I have to do is open up the app and dream up bets anytime I'm in the mood. Titans week one, plus four and a half against the Bears. I love that. Preseason football is here. The Hall of Fame game happened.

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playing a little fact or fiction with some of the big Titans training camp storylines. We talked about Tavondre Sweat, talked about Kenneth Murray, talked about Malik Willis, talked about the O-line. Now I want to get into two skilled position players on offense in Traylon Burks and Josh Wiley. Before we get into it though, I do want to

thank you again for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen. For your second listen, check out Locked On NFL Scouting. Okay? The draft dudes Joe Marino and Kyle Krabs take you inside the front office and make you a smarter NFL fan every single day.

Stay up to date on training camp, position battles as the season gets close. Locked On NFL Scouting is available on YouTube and wherever you get your podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. With that being said, we got to dive into the Traylon Burks conversation because the hype, the hype is increasing again. You can feel it every day. Burks caught a 30-yard bomb from Will Levis. The Titans put it out on social media everywhere, multiple angles.

He's flipping the ball to Trey Avery, just walking with a lot of swagger and confidence. Had two good routes in one-on-ones where he got open. Now, I mentioned this on Twitter. This, to me, this is a great example of if you just don't want reality in your Titans coverage. So, I responded to a tweet asking about the quality of the cornerbacks with the Traylon Burks thing.

And the cornerback that he beat on both his one-on-one reps was Robert Javier, which I responded and said, Robert Javier is probably the lowest cornerback on the depth chart. is probably the lowest cornerback on the depth chart. So, yes, these reps in one-on-ones probably against a bad cornerback. Robert Javier is not an NFL cornerback. I mean, he might do some practice squads, blah, blah, blah, this and that,

but he's probably the lowest ranked on the depth chart cornerback on the entire team. So, I mean, if you're compared, I mean, compared to me, obviously Robert Javier is an incredible athlete and a great player. But compared to the rest of the NFL, compared to the rest of the cornerbacks on the Titans roster, he's probably the worst cornerback on the team. Now, that doesn't mean that they're bad reps by Traylon Burks. That doesn't mean that it's not a good route by Traylon Burks. That doesn't mean that Traylon Burks hasn't improved, but we have to be honest here that Robert Javier is, yes, probably the worst cornerback on the team. I had somebody respond to me, you're always so negative. Why do you hate the team so much? Talk about the players like that. Like, do you want to be honest or not?

Someone on the team is the worst cornerback on the team. Half of the cornerbacks in training camp right now aren't going to make the team. Most of those guys might never play in the NFL again. Do you want honest analysis or do you want me to tell you that Robert Javier is good? Like, what do you really want from your Tennessee Titans content? Do you want truth, even if it is a little mean?

Or do you want fake lies that are nice? Do you want mean truth or nice lies? That's how I view my life. And I always want the mean truth. I can handle it. We need to talk facts here. And I don't care if your feelings are hurt. Robert Javier is the worst corner on the team.

He's not making the team. Like, why can't we just be honest? Anyways. Look, I've said it to you guys before. I've said it again, and I'll say it again, and I'll say it again until we get into the season. I am not buying the Traylon Burks hype this year. I'm not. The team told you

that they didn't trust him when they went out and got Tyler Boyd and they went out and paid Calvin Ridley $90 million. If you had any faith at all in Traylon Burks, you don't do those things. Because Burks is going into his third year of his rookie contract as a first round pick. So, factor fiction,

Traylon Burks is going to make the leap as fiction for me. I just refuse to buy into it. I just refuse. Again, I hope I'm wrong. Like, I hope I'm wrong about so much stuff. I hope I'm wrong about Sweat, Kenneth Murray, Traylon Burks, Malik Willis, Jamal Adams.

Like, I want to be wrong about all of this. Because if I'm wrong about all of it, that means that the Titans are going to be really good this year. Not just solid. They're going to be really good. And that would be great. That would be great for me. But I can't lie to you guys. I can't get up here and lie. I'm not falling for the Traylon Burks hype. Him taking a leap is fiction. Okay? Now the last thing that I want to talk about is Josh Wiley. Because Josh Wiley continues to get hype,

continues to get praise. I talked about it yesterday's show. He got in a little tiff with Kenneth Murray. There was some yelling, a little pushing. I just, I love hearing that Josh Wiley is more confident, more collected, more swagger on him this year. Just a totally different person. Put on weight,

and we started talking about this about a month ago. So it'll be no surprise to you guys. Fact or fiction, Josh Wiley could take a leap this year and be the number one tight end for the Titans. I'm going to say that's a fact. I think that's a fact. He just fits the offense better than Chigakonkwo.

He's got pass-catching skills, but also the size to be a blocker. I think Josh Wiley will get the most reps at tight end, barring injuries, of course. Injuries happen, who knows. But I think Josh Wiley will get the most reps at tight end for the Titans this year, which I guess technically makes him tight end one. So that's a fact for me.

Curious to see what you guys have to say, fact or fiction, on these six topics. But through the first week of training camp, these are the biggest things that we've heard, biggest things to be excited about, and obviously hope I'm wrong on some of them, but hope I'm right about some of them as well. So that's going to do it for me today.

That's going to do it for this week. Again, I'll be back with you guys on Sunday night on YouTube. Monday morning for my podcast, folks. Breaking down everything that happened at Saturday's practice for the Tennessee Titans. But as always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland. And this was Locked on Titans.