Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Will Levis MUST START Over Mason Rudolph & T'Vondre Sweat is BEST Defensive Rookie

Episode Date: October 1, 2024

The Tennessee Titans got their first win of the season against the Miami Dolphins and it was led by backup quarterback Mason Rudolph. While some in the fan base want Rudolph to continue as the starter, that will not and should not happen. Will Levis MUST start. Next, T'Vondre Sweat has been incredible through four weeks and if you don't believe your eyes, the analytics confirm the performance. JC Latham hasn't been quite as dominant as Sweat, but he has still been the best offensive lineman on the Titans in the first month while some other rookies on the Titans are starting to make an impact as well.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!PrizePicksDownload the app or click HERE and use code lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelPlace your first FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - guaranteed ! Visit FANDUEL.COM 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 must start Will Levis. That and more 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 Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. Today's edition of Locked on Titans is brought to you by FanDuel. Place your first $5 bet and you'll get started with $200 in bonus bets guaranteed.

Visit FanDuel.com to get started. The Tennessee Titans must continue to start Will Levis, and the head coach, Brian Callahan, told you himself. I'll go over what Callahan had to say and why. Also, Tamondre Sweat might be the best defensive rookie in the entire NFL, and we'll check in on some other rookies like JC Latham as well. Before we do, do want to 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 that you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day. Speaking of every day, shout out to my everydayers out there. Tune in Monday through Friday. Couldn't do it without you guys. Make sure that if you aren't an everydayer, you become one because this is the number one Tennessee Titans podcast

in the universe for a reason. Also, make sure that you check out the Tic Tac Titans film channel. I'm going to have the Tic Tac four pack from the Titans win. I'm going to have a breakdown on Tavondre sweat as well. So a lot of great content over there. And you can check me out on locked on NFL where I break down all the latest NFL news as well. But a lot of great content over there. And you can check me out on Locked On NFL, where I break down all the latest NFL news as well. But with that being said, let's dive into this Will Levis conversation. And look, I know that a lot of fans out there got really high off that one win the Titans had on Monday night. Look, it felt good. Your team won. There's the dopamine rush. You're like, yes, finally a win. I can talk crap to people online, this and that. But the reality is we have to think back to what this season is all about. I didn't have the Titans making the

playoffs this year. I thought they'd be a competitive team, but I had the Titans going one and two in the first two weeks or three weeks. I had them going two and two in the first four and without the disaster in Chicago in week one, they probably would be that. But my point is here, I didn't have the Titans making the playoffs this year. So my number one priority for this season is not to maximize as many wins as possible. And I get that you see Mason Rudolph go out there and the Titans score 30 points and you're like, they need to go with Mason Rudolph. I understand the logic there. Mason Rudolph may ultimately be a better quarterback than Will Levis right now. I think I do believe that. But what is this season really about?

believe that. But what is this season really about? Ask yourself that. What is this season really about? Is this season about eking out seven wins with Mason Rudolph? Or is this season about figuring out what Will Levis is, what he can be, and then what the Titans need to do going forward? The Titans are not a Super Bowl contender with Mason Rudolph. Let me know down below. Do you think that the Titans are a Super Bowl contender with Mason Rudolph? Now, a lot of my logical fans out there are obviously going to laugh and be like, well, no, Tyler. Duh, he's a backup quarterback. And I would say, I know.

You guys are smart. But based on the reaction that I got to my recap episode from the victory, some of you guys think that Mason Rudolph is a bona fide starting quarterback in the NFL and that the Titans can win a Super Bowl with Mason Rudolph at quarterback. And quite frankly, I think you need to check what you're putting in your Wheaties. Like, if you are getting ready to comment Mason Rudolph can lead this team to a Super Bowl, you may need to consider some professional help, in my opinion. Mason Rudolph is a very good backup quarterback. I think

he's a very serviceable backup quarterback. I think he can do exactly what he did last night. He can come in in tough spots when the starter goes down, maybe a couple weeks, a couple quarters, and he can lead you to a victory. But Mason Rudolph is a dead end if you want to be a championship contender in the NFL. That's just the reality of the situation. I mean, I had someone in the comments compare Mason Rudolph to Tom Brady. What are we doing, folks? What is happening to society? Are we just completely folding mentally?

It is very strange behavior, and I know that the wind feels good. The wind feels good. But we have to, you know, keep our bearings about us here and be logical creatures. And thank the heavens that Brian Callahan, the head coach of the Tennessee Titans, is a logical creature. Here's what Brian Callahan had to say about the quote-unquote quarterback

controversy. Quote, I appreciate Mason's professionalism, appreciate how prepared he was and ready to go into the game, but Will is our starting quarterback. I said it last night, and I'll reiterate it again. When he's healthy, he is starting. Hopefully he is healthy for Indy, and we are ready to roll, and he's our starting quarterback because it's hard to play quarterback

in the NFL as everybody knows. There does take some development, and young players make young mistakes. You see it all across the league right now. We're going to find out everything about Will that we can. He's going to continue to grow and get better, play better. He needs to play better for us. At the end of

the day, I believe that he will. That's where I'm at. There is no controversy. There is no second guessing. That's what's happening. That's as clear as I can state it.

Guys, the Titans need to figure out, is Will Levis the quarterback or is he not the quarterback? You may think that you already know, but the Titans haven't decided that just yet. And the most important thing that can happen in this season is figuring out whether the Titans need another franchise quarterback, another quarterback of the future, right now in the draft, next year in the draft. That is the question that must be answered.

Because the answer to that question is not Mason Rudolph. Mason Rudolph is not the quarterback of the future. Mason Rudolph is a career backup. the future. Mason Rudolph is a career backup. He's a good backup, but he's just a backup. He completed one pass in the second half. Brian Callahan even acknowledged it, that it was a boring ending to the game because he didn't want any disasters. He didn't want anything crazy to happen. He just wanted to run the football and run the timeout and get a win. And some of you will respond and say, well, if that's what Brian Callahan said, then Brian Callahan's dumb. He

needs to be fired. But that's what some people will do. Brian Callahan just led the Titans to their first 30-point game in over a thousand days with a backup quarterback. And this offensive line that the same people will say is absolutely despicable. So a terrible offensive line, a backup quarterback, missing your best player on defense, and Brian Callahan finally broke the 30-point curse. And the Titans could be 3-1 right now without some of the mistakes that Will Levis had. Brian Callahan is just fine.

Brian Callahan is a good football coach. A young football coach who hasn't been a head coach before, who is learning on the job. But Brian Callahan is going to be just fine. So you guys just got to get off the short-term microwave thinking and realize what this season is about. It's not about wins. It's about Will Levis.

And it's about what this team is going to do at quarterback for the future. And the answer to that is not Mason Rudolph. And that is exactly why Will Levis will be the starter. Will Levis will remain the starter. And Will Levis should continue to be the starter when healthy. It's really that simple. But with that being said, when healthy. It's really that simple. But with that being said, Tavondre Sweat might be the best defensive rookie in the entire league right now.

We're going to talk about all of the rookies on the rest of today's show. Before we do, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by PrizePix. PrizePix is the easiest and most fun way

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Remember, locked on NFL is the promo code. You're going to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. It's prize picks. Run your game. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about why Will Levis needs to remain the starter for the Titans. Brian Callahan said it himself. So what happens is when I have an opinion that a lot of you guys disagree with,

you start to attack me. Oh, you've never played football. I played football for 10 years. I've been involved in football for 20 years of my life. Oh, you're a bum. You're this. You're that. Okay, great.

Well, you're not the head coach of the Tennessee Titans, and the head coach of the Tennessee Titans agrees with me. So you can insult me all you want, but really, why don't you insult the Titans head coach? Try that out, since I don't know football. But yet, the head coach of the team agrees with me. Whatever. Either way.

One thing I know that I was wrong about, though, is Tavondre Sweat. Now, I have some things planned for the bye week that should be a lot of fun, and you guys will have a lot of fun razzing me for it. I know that. But we got to talk about Tavondre Sweat right now as well because he has just been fantastic through the first month of the season and specifically in that game against the Miami Dolphins on Monday night. Before we get into it, though, I do want to thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day,

Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day. But we talked about Devondre Sweat on my recap show, but he deserves some more love. Six tackles, two tackles for loss, multiple pressures in the game. And whether you look in the box score, whether you watch the game, it seemed pretty clear that Devondre Sweat was having a dominant performance.

If you want the player grades to go with it, well, I got that for you as well. Because Tavondre Sweat was the highest graded interior defensive lineman in the entire NFL in week four. Not just rookies. Not just this, that, oh, this many. No. The highest graded interior defensive lineman in the entire NFL per pro football focus in week four, of course,

with a 91.0 grade. Quandre Diggs was the only Titan with a higher grade. He had a 91.2. We talked about Diggs last night in the Titan Up, though. Diggs was awesome as well. But it's not just week four, folks, that Tavondre Sweat has been impressive. If you look at some of the data. Right now, right now, Tavondre Sweat is top five.

Top five in the NFL. An overall grade on pro football focus. Among guys who have played 50% of the snaps. So if you're actually a starter in the NFL, some guys play, you know, 5, 10 snaps and do pretty decent and their grade's super high, but they played 5 to 10 snaps in four weeks. Devondre Sweat is out there a ton. So who are the guys ahead of

Devondre Sweat right now if you want okay he's top 5 that's cool who else is there well number 1 is Cam Hayward who's going to be a Hall of Famer for the Pittsburgh Steelers number 2 Dexter Lawrence who is a top 3 interior defensive lineman in the entire NFL number 3 Chris Jones anybody heard of Stone Cold Jones? I have. He's the best interior defensive lineman in the NFL. So that's your top three.

And then number four is Grover Stewart from the Indianapolis Colts, who is one of the most underrated players in the NFL. And then you have Tavondre Sweat at number five. I mean, that is, that's impressive company. There's no way around it. No way around it. And here's the thing. Of course, I'll take my L on it. Clearly, Devondre Sweat is a good player. Now, again, I have things planned to discuss this more,

but one of the big concerns that I had coming into Tavondre Sweat's career, coming out of the draft, it's a better way to put that, was his snap count. Could Tavondre Sweat, as a 360-pounder, be a guy who's on the field enough to be worth his draft pick? Now, I'm not the only person that had that concern. There were plenty of professional scouts who cover the draft the only person that had that concern. There were plenty of professional scouts who cover the draft for a living who had that concern. So, I don't feel like that was a

crazy thing to worry about, but it does look crazy now because Tavondre Sweat, shout out my guy F-Words, Zach Lyons, who has been banging the sweat drum for a long time. He pointed out that Devondre Sweat has averaged 42.4 snaps per game. 40 snaps per game. That is the second most. Well, his overall total was 170, which is the second most total snaps for any rookie interior defensive lineman in the NFL. Brandon Fisk of the Los Angeles Rams has 177, so seven more.

That's it. That's it. So not only is he dominant in the run game, not only holding his position, like you think about a big guy like Tavondre Sweat, you instantly think, oh, he's going to hold up against double teams. He's not going to be moved. But it's not just that.

He's running laterally down the line of scrimmage and swallowing running backs. So the strength to hold his spot is there. The mobility and the athleticism to get down the line of scrimmage and make spot is there. The mobility and the athleticism to get down the line of scrimmage and make plays is there. The stamina to be able to play 40 snaps a game is there. The ability to pass rush. Now again, you know, people call me crazy.

Whatever. I still want to see a little bit more power in the pass rush from Tavondre Sweat. But right now, immediately right now, incredible with his hands, finesse pass rush moves. He's able to swipe, club, rip, swim. So good with his hands. And it makes sense he was an edge rusher coming into Texas.

And then he put on a bunch of weight and became an interior guy so it makes sense that some of those things that you see more with edge rushers he's got that in his back it's like Anthony Davis Anthony Davis was a guard and then grew into a big man but his handle and some of his agility stuff looks like a guard, but in a big man's body. And Tavondre Sweat looks like an edge rusher with his hand usage, but in a 360-pound nose tackle's body. The way that he's put it all together, consistency will be key. You don't get to play Aaron Brewer every single week. You know what I mean? So being able

to have these performances every week, but everybody said, oh, he's going to do so well when he gets next to Jeffrey Simmons. This was not next to Jeffrey Simmons. This was just big sweat being big sweat. It reminds me of his quote when they asked like, oh, are you disappointed? You don't get to line up next to Jeffrey Simmons. And he said, no, I'm T sweat, man. The Titans got a stud. The Titans got a stud. The Titans got a stud. I was wrong. I'll make that even clearer next week.

But just so, so impressive. Not only is Tavondre Sweat been incredibly impressive, he's the best defensive rookie in the entire NFL right now. No other way around it. A top five player at his position in grade. Pretty crazy stuff for a second round pick. Guess Rancarthon isn't too bad, right? Some people were really ready to jump on Rancarthon

after the 0-3 start. But again, let's take a little step back with the Levis thing, with the draft thing, with Ran, with Callie. I'm as impatient as it comes, guys. But we got to have some patience here because there are some things happening on this team that are very exciting.

And look, some of these other rookies have been impressive as well. JC Latham, maybe not as impressive as to Vondre Sweat, but he's really, really answered the call for the Titans. And, you know, the Titans have a left tackle of the future. And that is something that if I told you in the offseason, we would all probably shed a tear to know that that's happening. So let's talk about the rest of the rookies right now. Before we do, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you

by FanDuel Sportsbook. Hey, Titans fans. Yes, I'm talking to you, Titans fans. Yes, I'm talking to you, Titans fans. You can start the second quarter of the NFL season with a big return on FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. When you get a hunch in the middle of the game, you can go check out the latest stats, you can view live play-by-play, and so much more on the same exact page where you place your bets on FanDuel.

And right now, you can get started with $200 in bonus bets guaranteed. That's $200 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet. Make sure that you check out America's number one sportsbook. It's Fandle and it's at Fandle.com Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about why Will Levis needs to remain the starter for the Titans and something that head coach Brian Callahan confirmed on Tuesday. We talked about Tavondre Sweat being maybe the best rookie defender

in the entire NFL right now. But now I want to hit on some of these other rookies as well, starting with JC Latham. Before I do, thanks again for making Locked on NFL your first listen each and every day. For your second listen, check out Locked on NFL. I think I might have said Locked on NFL. The shows are blending together.

I am the lead host of Locked on NFL. So you get all your Titans news here with me. Get all your NFL news with me as well at Locked On NFL. It's on YouTube, any podcast platform. Of course, it's free to download, free to listen, free to view, all of that. Make sure that you check out Locked On NFL, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. But I want to throw some numbers at you here.

So J.C. Latham, in four weeks, has only given up one sack and nine pressures. Okay? And let me remind you that that sack and five pressures came in his first NFL game ever. So that means in the last three weeks, he's given up zero sacks and only four pressures in three weeks. So his pro football focus grades aren't as spicy as Tavondre sweats. He's not top five in the league this and that. But 24th in pass blocking grade

38th in run blocking grade 35th in overall grade Remember there are 64 starting offensive tackles in the NFL so we're talking about being in the top half of the entire NFL in the past blocking grade you know he's top 25 so it's just exciting to know that you look on the offensive line and the most important position is left tackle

and the Titans really do have their left tackle of the future. Latham has been very good in run blocking. He's obviously going to excel there, but his past blocking is what his primary concern was coming out of college. Will he be able to handle the speed at the NFL level? Will he be able to, you know, hold it down at left tackle switching over from right tackle? I think those questions have been answered. JC Latham is a left tackle and he went up against a first round rookie in chop Robinson quite a bit last night and bullied him. He bullied him. So to me, the numbers again, again, aren't as impressive as maybe Tavondre Sweat's numbers are. But if you're a Titans fan,

you got to get the warm and fuzzies knowing that we got a left tackle. After going through the ghost of Taylor LeJuan, David Questenberry, Dennis Daly, Andre Dillard, Jalen Duncan, NPF for a little bit last year. Like, after going through that murderer's row,

and I mean that in a negative sense, to finally have J.C. Latham there and say, hey, you know, he's a rookie. It hasn't been elite. It hasn't been all pro-worthy in the first month, but it's been good. It has been good. And to have good left tackle play,

absolutely huge for the Tennessee Titans. Not only that, but look at some other rookies here. Jarvis Brownlee Jr. finally got his first start with the Titans. He had the fifth best grade on the entire defense. 82.3. He was targeted five times. Only gave up three catches for nine yards. This is against Jalen Waddell. Impressive stuff. I was really happy with the draft pick, Jarvis Brownlee Jr. I've been very high on him as a contributor for the Titans

this year. Felt very comfortable with the depth at cornerback because I think JBJ is a real player for the Titans. Like, he's a real player. He's a starting level player in the NFL. Maybe not this year, but next year I think he's going to be, you know, a certified starter for this team. And they need him too, of course, with, excuse me, Chito being on IR.

It's going to be a big opportunity for JBJ and he's going to take his lumps. He's going to have his struggles. He's a rookie cornerback, a fifth round pick. Don't get me wrong. He'll have some struggles, but he does look like he belongs as a fifth round rookie. A lot of fifth rounders don't make it, period.

So love seeing that. Cedric Gray had the injury, has been kind of out of sight, out of mind, but we heard from Brian Callahan that he may be back soon. And that would be big for the Titans. Jaquan Jackson, let me throw some stats at you about Jaquan Jackson.

Titans rookie sixth rounder. You remember a couple of years ago when the Titans drafted, what was it, Brady Brees and Cole McDonald in the sixth round? They didn't even make the team. Jaquan Jackson right now has the most punt return yards in the NFL. He has the 10th best average per punt return in the NFL. Top 10 punt return, first in yards. Kickoff, third most yards in the NFL. Top 10 punt return. First in yards. Kickoff. Third most yards

in the NFL. Kickoff return. Third best average kickoff return as well. It hasn't always looked pretty for Jaquan Jackson, but Jackson has been one of the best returners in the NFL through the first month. It may not look that way. When you're watching it, it may be like, oh, man, this and that, buh-buh-buhs, wiggling too much, get downhill. But we aren't watching every single game around the NFL every weekend

judging their kickoff and punt returners. You know what I mean? You've got to keep that in mind. A lot of you guys only watch the Tennessee Titans or only watch the Titans and then the primetime games. Are you really paying that much attention to their returners to be able to judge all 32 of them? Probably not. Probably not. So Jaquan Jackson has answered the bell of what the Titans needed from a returner. James Williams has mostly been, like Cedric Gray,

out of sight, out of mind. He's been inactive. But we knew that James Williams was converting from safety to linebacker. He is a physical specimen who's a development project for the Titans in the seventh round. So I'm not expecting James Williams to come in and make a huge impact.

And then, on the flip side of that, Jalen Harrell hasn't been great, but another seventh round rookie who is a contributor for the Titans and who plays snaps and plays a role on the defense. Like, it's impressive stuff from this rookie class. And again, this, to me, this is another reminder that some of you guys are absurd with your hate on Rancor Thon. Like, what are we talking about, you know? What are we talking about here? Rancar Thon is looking fine right now, okay? And reality is, this draft was the first draft

where he really got to make all the calls without Mike Vrabel over his shoulder or Mike Vrabel making suggestions. And we've all heard the rumor that Peter Skowronski was Mike Vrabel's pick and that Rancor Thon wanted Zay Flowers. So let Rancor cook a little bit. That's all I'm saying. So keep perspective. A lot of what I'm talking about, and I can take my own lessons on Tavondre Sweat

with Will Levis, with Tavondre Sweat, with this rookie class and Rancor Thon, a little bit of patience will go a long way. But with that being said, that is going to do it for me today, folks. Tighten up in the chat. Thumbs up on the video. Tomorrow, I'm going to look at some things that have gone well for the Titans

through the first three weeks. Friday, probably going to look at some areas of improvement. I am going to have a mock draft Monday for you. On Monday, we're going to look at an AFC divisional standings update and what the Titans need to do going forward to get back in this thing. Next week, I'm going to do another mailbag, and then Thursday, it'll be crossover Thursday as the Titans set up for their first divisional game of the year against the Indianapolis Colts.

I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.