Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Tyler Boyd v Zay Jones Signing, Changing Receiver Roles & Treylon Burks Trouble

Episode Date: May 6, 2024

The Tennessee Titans are having a visit with wide receiver Zay Jones and it comes after a weekend visit with Tyler Boyd. If the Titans are choosing between the two, Tyler thinks Boyd is the clear winner due to fit and ability. Next, depending on who is added, the roles in the receiver room will be affected. If versatility is the key, Jones may be the better fit. Finally, no matter who wins this free agent battle, the loser is Treylon Burks, who seems to be very low on the confidence meter for this coaching staff. Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans TicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans Follow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod Subscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Monopoly GO!Game off! We gotta talk more about MONOPOLY GO! This fast paced game let’syou team up with friends for tournaments to unlock awesome prizes like,Unique stickers for trading,- Cool playing pieces,- And hilarious emojis for taunting your friends. So download MONOPOLY GO! now free on Google Play or the App store.Game on! 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. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning GUARANTEED That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started. 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)

The Tennessee Titans should sign Tyler Boyd over Zay Jones, and I'll explain why on today's edition of Locked on Titans. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked On 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 Monopoly Go. I admit I have a competitive side and it is a big fan of Monopoly Go, the mobile hit twist

on classic Monopoly. Join your friends and download Monopoly Go now free on hit twist on Classic Monopoly. Join your friends and download Monopoly Go now, free on the App Store or Google Play. The Tennessee Titans need to prioritize Tyler Boyd over Zay Jones if they're going to sign a wide receiver in free agency. But I'm going to break down both of these players, what they can add to the team. Also, how would they change the roles within the current wide receiver room?

And then finally, if you guys aren't listening yet, it is obvious that this coaching staff does not believe in Traylon Burks. I'll dive into all of that before I do. Thank you 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. Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day.

Here on the Locked on Titans podcast, the Tennessee Titans are going to have mini camps coming up very, very soon, and the schedule will be dropped next week. You're not going to want to miss any of my reaction to all of that, so make sure, again, you get subscribed, stay subscribed to the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world.

But with that being said, the Tennessee Titans on Monday had a visit with Zay Jones, former wide receiver of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Okay? And that goes along with the visit that they had with Tyler Boyd at the end of last week, and it continues to tell us, screaming out loud, the Tennessee Titans want to add another veteran wide receiver.

Now, I'll get into why they want to do that at the end of the show when we talk about Traylon Burks, of course, but for the time being, the question becomes, who would you prefer the Titans to pick between Tyler Boyd, between Zay Jones? Well, as I said at the beginning of the show, my pick would be Tyler Boyd, no question about it. And just let's run through the tail of the tape here. Let me know down below which wide receiver you would prefer for the Titans. But Tyler Boyd, 6'2", 200 pounds. So a bigger slot receiver, and make no mistake about it, he is a full-time slot receiver with nearly 80% of snaps in the slot last year, and that mirrors most of

his career as well. He is an inside player in the slot. And the reality with Tyler Boyd is he's a better fit. He is just a cleaner, easier fit for what this team needs. They need a slot wide receiver. And I keep going back to the comments from the coaching staff. We need someone to emerge in the slot. Well, they obviously haven't seen someone emerge in the slot so far. They weren't able to pick a good enough receiver in the draft to end that concern. Jaquan Jackson could be something, but that's a sixth-round pick.

You can't count on that. That's not like if they would have got Ricky Pearsall or Ladd McConkie or someone like that, Jalen Polk or Jalen McMillan somewhere in there. No. So there is no one new in the slot position that really is a certified winner of the slot, which means Tyler Boyd comes in right away and takes over that role.

It keeps Calvin Ridley and DeAndre Hopkins on the outside. It's just a clean fit. And Tyler Boyd is just a better player than Zay Jones is. I mean, Tyler Boyd is better at football than Zay Jones. There's really no way around it for me. I mean, last year, Tyler Boyd, 67 catches,

667 yards, two touchdowns. You look at last year, for Zay Jones, only played nine games, so not as durable as Tyler Boyd, had 34 catches, 321 yards, and two touchdowns. Like, the Titans could get that at Nick Westbrook-Akene, okay? So, in a comparison between the two, I'm rolling with Tyler Boyd. Absolutely no question about it. Again, better

fit, better player. He's a more, I don't want to say explosive. Explosive isn't the right word but within the offense Tyler Boyd's ability to move the chains, his short area quickness to get open really fast out of the slot. To me that is more valuable to the Titans but here's the reality to a Tyler Boyd he's more expensive.

He's going to cost you more than Zay Jones. Zay Jones is going to be a veteran minimum type player. We're talking $3 million on a one-year deal, something where Tyler Boyd probably cost you two years $15 million, two years $14 million. Probably only one year of that would be guaranteed. But to get the deal done with Tyler Boyd,

you probably got to pay him a little bit more. So that's the give and take here. Do the Titans want to pay the more expensive option, but who's the better player? Or are they okay with maybe going with a little bit lesser of a player at a lesser price tag? Because you look at Zay Jones, six foot two, 200 pounds as well. So good size for Zay Jones. He's going to be a good fit as well as an outside receiver. It's not like he's a bad fit. Just Tyler Boyd's ability in the slot is a cleaner fit. But you could still use Zay Jones around the formation,

primarily keep him outside, and that gives you some more versatility, which we'll discuss that here in just a moment, how it would affect all the roles within the wide receiver room. But, again, he's a good fit on his own, Zay Jones. You got the Nick Holtz connection. He was just with Nick Holtz last year. So Holtz is going to understand what is best for Zay Jones. There's going to be familiarity there. There's going to be coachability there where Holtz is able to give direction to Zay Jones. He's going to be able to take it right away because it's a voice he's used to hearing. You could make that same argument with Tyler Boyd and Brian Callahan, though, as well.

I'm obviously not ignoring that. So, a good fit, maybe not a great fit like Tyler Boyd, the Nick Holtz connection with the Brian Callahan connection, and then a much cheaper option in Zay Jones, who I said is definitely going to get less on his contract than Tyler Boyd was. Now, you look at Zay Jones long-term. He's had 287 catches in his career, over 3,000 career yards, 18 career touchdowns. And I talk

about last year, he'd had a down statistical year, but he only played nine games because there were some injuries, but that's a Tyler Boyd durability, you know, check box right there. That makes me like Tyler Boyd better, of course. But the year before that, you go back one year to 2022, Zay Jones had 82 catches, 823 yards, and five touchdowns. A great Zay Jones year

probably is better than a great Tyler Boyd year right now. Like, so that makes it tough. There are definitely ins and outs and pros and cons with both those players. You probably have a higher ceiling with Zay Jones, but you have probably a safer pick with Tyler Boyd, but Boyd is going to cost you more money. So if you could get the higher upside and maybe bigger production for even cheaper,

that's alluring too. Again though, for me, in the tale of this tape, in this competition between the two, I still would side with Tyler Boyd. I think he fits more with what the Tennessee Titans need on offense right now at that slot position. So I would be going with Tyler Boyd even if it means that you pay a little bit more. But there are interesting questions here.

What if it's Zay Jones and Justin Simmons or Tyler Boyd and Marcus May? So how roles are going to change? Why not signing a deal immediately after the visit isn't a terrible thing? Which combination of free agents would you prefer if you had limited space? And then how this affects Traylon Burks. Because no matter which way you try to take this, it's bad news for Traylon Burks. So we've got a lot to discuss on today's show.

Before we do, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Monopoly Go. Alright, game off. We got to pause here to talk more about Monopoly Go and I know what you're saying. Flag on the play. You already talked about that. But there's just so

much good stuff in this game. In Monopoly Go, you can team up with your friends for timed tournaments where you work together to build up each other's boards. The more you win together, the more awesome prizes that you unlock. And there's so much to get. They have unique stickers that you can trade with your friends and complete albums for big prizes.

Cool new playing pieces to travel the boards with. And they have these hilarious emojis that you can use to taunt your friends when you smash their buildings or heist their vaults. Plus, Monopoly Go feels new and exciting every day with constantly changing tournaments and challenges. A ton include their own unique mini-games like Digging for Treasure. There's always new timed events to help you win big,

like massive multipliers for everything you win or rent frenzies. There's always something fun to discover in Monopoly Go. So get off the bench and go download it now for free on Google Play or the App Store. Game on. We'll be right back. meeting with Tyler Boyd at the end of last week. They had a meeting with Zay Jones on Monday. So the Titans are definitely looking to attack the wide receiver position. I just explained why I would prefer Tyler Boyd. But there are a lot of discussions to be had with this news and a lot of things to dive into, which we will now before we do, though.

Are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day? Are you tired of all the debate shows? Make the switch to Locked On Sports Today. It's a free 24-7 streaming channel programmed every single day to bring you the biggest stories without all the nonsense. Locked On Sports Today brings you

can't-miss analysis, opinions, and news. It's streaming 24-7 here on YouTube or free on the Amazon Fire TV channels app, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. But I want to make this point to start things out because even if Zay Jones leaves the meeting without signing a deal with the Titans, Tyler Boyd left Nashville without signing a deal with the Titans, and everyone's freaking out.

Oh, this means they're not signing him. Oh, they lost him. They blah, blah, blah. They can't agree. This and that. Gosh. Like I said on Twitter, at TicTacTitans, follow me there. I didn't expect Tyler Boyd to stay at the Titans facility and sleep on a cot

or make a little blanket pallet on the ground like we're having slumber parties when we were kids staying up all night playing Madden and drinking pop. I don't expect Tyler Boyd to stay locked in the Titans facility until he gets a deal. That is not my expectation here. So what you have to realize is the meeting is to establish a good connection. You're interested. I'm interested. Are we on the same page about role? All of these when the team is meeting with the player, they aren't talking about the money.

That's what the agent is for. So these meetings that the Titans are having with these players are about fit on the team, fit in the locker room, role within the offense, expectations for production, how we want to use you, what we see you doing within this team, all of those conversations. And then when that's done, then the agent and the Titans salary cap people, Chad Brinker, Vin Marino, that's when those money conversations start to take place. So just because a guy comes on a visit and doesn't sign right away or gets out of the building, as some people want to call it,

that doesn't necessarily mean that a signing isn't going to happen. The Titans could still sign Tyler Boyd. The Titans could still sign Zay Jones even if he leaves without a deal. There is no time limit on this right away. But here's what I will say. We've seen some other free agent wide receivers get signed recently.

Odell Beckham in Miami. I think Jalen Guyton just got signed by the Raiders. DJ Chark went to the Chargers. So, like, they're coming off the board, and that does create a sense of, hey, we need to maybe hurry this along. You know, we need to get this done. Options are soaking up, things like that.

But also, there aren't a bunch of teams out there who are desperate for Tyler Boyd and Zay Jones. So, there are only a certain amount of teams that want to sign a free agent wide receiver in that way. So their options are soaking up as well. And I think that there's a chance that this Zay Jones meeting is a little, hey, Tyler, we'll sign Zay Jones if you don't bring your price down. Like, do you really want to go somewhere else where you don't know what you're going to get?

Or do you want to come back with Coach Cali and know that Brian is going to use you and you're going to be a starter on this team in the slot? What do you really want to do? So I think it could be looked at from that direction as well. But ultimately, I come back to Tyler Boyd is the better fit to be with the team because you look at what his role would be. He would be the full-time slot. You could keep DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley on the outside. You would have Hopkins as your physical

X-wide receiver, your proverbial T. Higgins. You have Calvin Ridley as your Z-movement wide receiver, your proverbial Jamar Chase. Now, I think that both those guys could be used in the slot. But if they bring in Tyler Boyd, there's just going to be less opportunity for them to be in that slot because Tyler Boyd is a full-time slot receiver. Unlike Zay Jones. See, Zay Jones offers more versatility to the wide receiver group. Zay Jones has only played in the slot like, I think it's like 35% of his career,

65% of his career he's been out wide. He's mostly an out wide wide receiver. But he's played a little in the slot, so he could play a little in the slot, play mostly outside. You could have Zay Jones and DeAndre Hopkins on the outside and let Calvin Ridley play a little more in the slot. You could have Calvin Ridley and DeAndre Hopkins on the outside and let Calvin Ridley play a little more in the slot. You could have Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones on the outside like

they were in Jacksonville. And then you could have DeAndre Hopkins play a little bit more in the slot. And if it's a pure passing down, now you could have Ridley in the slot to create matchups. If it's a rundown, you could have DeAndre Hopkins in the slot to be more physical as your pseudo second tight end and 11 personnel with three wide receivers. So Zay Jones gives the Titans more versatility, and it allows them to put DeAndre Hopkins, and it allows them to put Calvin Ridley more into the slot, which could be advantageous as well. If Tyler Boyd is out on the field, he needs to be in the slot.

So that kind of limits the versatility there, which could, again, with all the things that we talked about at the beginning, could lean the front office to Zay Jones. But ultimately, the big thing is money. All right? And that's why I was teasing at the end of the last segment. If you could choose between Justin Simmons and Zay Jones or Marcus May

and Tyler Boyd, because May is going to be cheaper than Simmons, who would you pick? You know, that is an interesting one. And honestly,

like, I'm trying to think through it right now so I can give you my answer, but I simply don't know. That's such a tough question to answer. Because you get a much better safety, but you definitely get a lesser wide receiver who doesn't fit as well, in my opinion.

But on the flip side of it, you get, you know, Tyler Boyd, who is a great fit in the slot, but Marcus May is a little bit lesser of a safety, but Marcus May is a little bit lesser of a safety, but Marcus May's play style fits better with what I think Denard Wilson is going to do. So I think for me, I will

I think that I would rather go with two B's here than the A and the C. Simmons being the A, Zay Jones being being the C I'll go with May and Tyler Boyd as my combination of free agents. But that's a great question. And I don't feel super confident in it. I could be swayed the other way. I mean,

Justin Simmons is a very, very good player. So definitely interesting to discuss. Definitely interesting to wonder. All I know is though, no matter who you want the Titans to sign, no matter what combination excites you most, this is bad news for Traylon Burks. And no matter what the Titans tell us,

actions, actions speak louder than words. actions speak louder than words. First, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Look, guys, it is winner take all time in the NBA and the NHL, and FanDuel is giving you a shot to bring home a big win of your own. Because right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $150 that you can bet on spreads, money lines, player props, and more. I mean, watching the Minnesota

Timberwolves and Anthony Edwards take down the Denver Nuggets in game one, what a shocker. You can go bet on game two. If you're listening to this, game three, get your over on the Anthony Edwards points. I actually think Denver brings home game two and has a little bit of a down

game because they'll throw him at him. But either way, I'm so excited for the rest of the NBA playoffs. Knicks, Pacers, that Celtics series is going to suck because the Celtics are going to roll. But man, there are so many good series. And of course, you've got the NHL as well.

MLB is in full swing. I mean, there's so much on FanDuel. So visit FanDuel.com slash Locked On and make every playoff shot count. FanDuel. So visit FanDuel.com slash LockedOn and make every playoff shot count. FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Breaking down the debate between Tyler Boyd and Zay Jones,

both free agent wide receivers the Titans have had in for a visit. It could definitely impact the roles out on the field. It can impact who the Titans can go out and get in free agency at other positions as well. So a lot riding on this situation. Who are the Titans going to sign? Who are they going to pick? Is it going to be either? Is it going to be both? Who really knows?

But all I do know is this is bad news for Traylon Burks. And those of you who continue to bury your head in the sand and try to not see what's happening, I don't know how you can ignore the loud reality that's in front of you. Before I explain, though, thank you for making Locked on Titans your first listen each and every day.

A lot of you guys watching on YouTube right now watch, but you're not subscribed. Help your boy out. I want to get to 12,500. I want to get to 13,000 subscribers. Help me out here. Hit sub. It doesn't take anything but a press of a button.

All right? Not asking a lot from you for all the free content. But with that being said, again, the big loser out of all of this news is Traylon Burks. All right. So, Tyler Boyd happens. And a lot of you guys were like, oh, Tyler Boyd's a slot wide receiver.

That doesn't hurt Traylon Burks. He was never going to be full-time in the slot. You know, he's just a part-time slot guy. He's going to be outside the rest of the time. Them getting a slot receiver doesn't matter. Oh, well now, they're having a visit with a guy who spent 65% of his career on the outside. Look,

they looked at a slot receiver, they looked at an outside receiver. All that we know for certain is the Titans want to add another veteran wide receiver. Desperately. They need safety. They could use another edge. They could use a backup center. They could use a veteran tight end.

They could use another linebacker if they wanted. I wouldn't be mad. They could use more D-line help. I wouldn't be mad. I don't like any of the backup defensive linemen. TK McClendon, Keiondre Coburn, Quinton Bohan. I don't like any of those guys.

They could all be off the team. Replace all of them. I don't care. But instead, the Titans are focused in having visits with veteran wide receivers. The writing is on the wall. I don't care if Brian Callahan

went on a radio show and said, oh, no, we are happy with Traylon Burks. He's doing great. He's doing fine. He's working hard. Like I said, literally yesterday, of course he's going to say those things. Or last week.

Of course he is going to hype up Traylon Burks in public. That's what a good coach should do. You praise in public and you criticize in private. That's how good leaders do it. It doesn't matter whether they're slot or they're outside. The Titans want another veteran receiver because they cannot count on Traylon Burks. The words are the words.

And as I've said, actions speak louder than words. If they were happy with Traylon Burks, if they were satisfied with Traylon Burks, if they thought that Burks was going to be a real contributor and a contributor worthy of a first-round pick, we're thinking, you know, 800 yards, 50, 60 catches. Like, if Traylon Burks was really going to be a factor on this team, why would they go out and spend their limited cap space remaining

on Tyler Boyd or Zay Jones? You know? Because no way, if they get Zay Jones, then that's another outside receiver who's going to take outside snaps away from Traylon Burks. It's going to put DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley in the slot more often which takes away potential slot snaps from Traylon Burks. Same thing if Tyler Boyd is signed, he's going to be a full-time slot which means that Ridley

and Hopkins are going to be on the outside more, less snaps for Berks, and then you have a full-time slot along with Jaquan Jackson, along with Kyle Phillips, and that's less snaps in the slot for Berks. So there is no way that you can slice this pie where

Traylon Berks isn't getting less. No matter whether they sign Tyler Boyd or whether they sign Zay Jones, Traylon Berks isn't getting less. No matter whether they sign Tyler Boyd or whether they sign Zay Jones, Traylon Burks is going to get less snaps because of that. So you can go back to Kelly's radio interview all you want and tell me, oh, he talked positive about Burks. There's a blah, blah, blah. You can say whatever you want to say,

but the reality is this team does not trust Traylon Burks, and they are doing everything they can to try to find somebody who can make them rely less on Traylon Burks. I get that people want to hold out hope. That's why everybody talks about Burks in the slot. But look, it's our last threat

of hope, right? Oh, Burks has been a complete disappointment. Well, if they put him in the slot like he played in college, he'll finally break out. It's the last bit of hope that people can cling to. And the Titans may not say it publicly, but their actions are telling us that they don't even want to go down that route.

They're not even going to bet anything on Traylon Burks. They're acting as if he's not there, which is exactly what I've been asking them to do since mid-last season. I said, you cannot go into this offseason and make decisions based on Traylon Burks. You can't say, oh, we don't need this because of Burks. Oh, we shouldn't do this because of Burks. Oh, we need to do this because of—

No. He's a ghost. And people got hype about it and people are trying to get themselves back on the Traylon Burks train and I get it, man. I get it. We're fans, traded for AJ, first round pick. You have to hope, but hope is dwindling and the Titans can say whatever they want in the public. But doing this, having a meeting with Boyd, having a meeting with Zay Jones, it is obvious that they do not believe in Trey Lindbergh's,

no matter how you want to slice it. There is no way around the facts of the actions that we are seeing. So with that being said, could see a signing anytime soon. I'll be here to break that down. If no signing happens, we're going to be answering your mailbag questions this week. I'm going to do a draft superlative or off-season superlatives, my favorite move, my least favorite move,

the most underrated move, all of that stuff coming this week. And then next week, the schedule will be out. I'll be doing a ton of schedule content next week. So very excited for all of that. But that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland. And this was Locked on Titans.