Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Will Levis Will Win QB2, Treylon Burks Is Underrated & Titans Dominant Defense

Starting point is 00:00:01 The Tennessee Titans backup quarterback battle is about to heat up. I'll tell you why I still think Will Levis wins the QB2 spot. We're going to talk about that and more training camp questions on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:53 I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. We're going to talk about some training camp questions on today's show. Who will win the quarterback two battle? I know who my pick is. Also, who's one of the most underrated players in Titans training camp right now? I'll tell you this, it's at the wide receiver position and how great can this Tennessee Titans defense be? I'm going to talk about all of those things as we dive into today's show. Before we get into it, thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember

Starting point is 00:01:26 Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all apps and always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, where it's your team every day. And I am in the middle of about 13 straight days of content for you guys,

Starting point is 00:01:48 all for free. I did emergency episodes on my off days on Friday and Saturday. Obviously, this is dropping on Sunday night, and I'm going to keep the good times rolling all week long. The Titans don't have practice on Saturday, but hey, for the next five, six days, I'm going to have Tennessee Titans content for you every single night. Make sure you subscribe.

Starting point is 00:02:10 Once again, throw a thumbs up on the video as well. The show is always free. All I ask for in return is the press of a button. Get those thumbs up on the video right now. But moving into my first topic of discussion here, and I think with the DeAndre Hopkins signing, the offensive tackle situation, some of the other things that have come out of camp,

Starting point is 00:02:32 I think that the battle between Will Levis and Malik Willis has now been pushed down the, let's call it the talking point ladder. Like people were, first things first, debating the quarterback position earlier in the summer when we were in OTA season. That's all anybody want to talk about. Is Tannehill going to play all year? Which one of these young quarterbacks, this and that?

Starting point is 00:02:56 And we've talked about the young quarterbacks a little bit in the first week of training camp. We've had Malik Willis really get more pop than anything, documenting how he's doing each day. Obviously, on Saturday, had the interception followed up by the 75-yard touchdown bomb to Chris Moore. So, we talked about Malik Willis a little bit, but as I said on my bonus episode yesterday, my everydayers will remember. Near the end of the show, we talked about Will Levis. We talked about the quarterbacks.

Starting point is 00:03:26 They had a bad day last week. They had a good day last week, all that. But overall, I just want to say this. Quietly in the shadows, which is probably the best thing for him at the end of the day, quietly in the shadows, Will Levis is getting better. Okay? On Saturday, he was six for eight on the day. And I talked about this on Saturday, but I want to read it one more time because I don't think it's getting enough attention here. But Jim Wyatt from TennesseeTitans.com, in his observations, said, Levis has looked more comfortable in camp than he did during the offseason. I've noticed more positive plays from him the last few days

Starting point is 00:04:07 and now have him 17 of 23 in seven on seven and team periods combined. Levis did throw an interception earlier in the week, so that's obviously out there. Malik Willis has thrown one as well. But I'm just saying I feel like with all of the flash around the, I know it's crazy to say, but with all the flash around the Titans and the start of training camp and the additions and some of the other things that have popped up

Starting point is 00:04:35 mostly all about DeAndre Hopkins. I mean, we talked about DeAndre Hopkins to lead the show like three straight days in a row. And honestly, I don't feel bad about it because he was the biggest storyline. He was the star of camp. But just those conversations are pushing this quarterback battle down. And I feel like Malik got positive momentum through the summer. Everybody was talking about Malik. Mike Vrabel has talked about Malik in press conferences.

Starting point is 00:05:01 And I think that's the flashy story here. Malik Willis really battling adversity, really coming through, coming back a much improved player. And for all intents and purposes, that is what's happened. He is a much improved player. But just want to remind you guys, with Malik Willis on the roster, the Tennessee Titans traded a third-round pick in 2024 to move up in the second round to draft Will Levis. The Tennessee Titans called teams at the back end of the first round to try to trade up to get Will Levis. I just think we're starting to hear these reports.

Starting point is 00:05:42 Malik Willis is still holding the ball too long, taking sacks in camp. Will Levis starting to have more positive plays recently, throwing the ball pretty well, working on layering it as we expected, but throwing some good passes. I just think this is something that might sneak up on people once we hit in the preseason,

Starting point is 00:06:03 and Will Levis is a better player. So I still think you ask the question, who is going to win the quarterback two battle? Despite all the positivity around Malik, I think there's quietly Will Levis is getting better and better and more comfortable. And I think my prediction is when we're done with the preseason, it will be Will Levis who is quarterback two for the Titans.

Starting point is 00:06:31 I still think the Titans keep Malik Willis on the roster. I still think that. Like we talked about a couple days ago, I still think Malik Willis stays on the Titans roster, but I think Will Levis wins the quarterback two battle for the Titans. Let me know down below who you think will win the quarterback two battle, but that's still an unanswered question that we have out of the first week of training camp. But who's some of the most underrated players in training camp for the Titans? I'm going to talk about a couple receivers who I think have gone under the radar who

Starting point is 00:07:01 could do some really good things for the Titans. Before we get into that, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Guys, we're in the middle of the MLB season, and there is nothing better than betting MLB on FanDuel Sportsbook because right now you can get 10 times your first bet amount in bonus bets up to $200.

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Starting point is 00:08:11 Fandle, official partner of Major League Baseball. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We're doing some questions or some unanswered questions coming out of the first week of training camp. Who will win the quarterback two battle? We just talked about that. I gave my prediction. But now I want to talk about some underrated players at training camp. And I'm going to focus at wide receiver.

Starting point is 00:08:54 And it's funny how both of the topics that we're starting with today are kind of, hey, this hasn't been talked about as much because DeAndre Hopkins is getting so much pub. But that's where we're at. And it's an exciting place to be, quite honestly. But with that being said, do want to dive into some underrated players at wide receiver. Before we get into it, thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans

Starting point is 00:09:15 podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all apps, always for free. Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast, where it's your team every day. So underrated players, players who haven't been talked about enough, both of them that I want to talk about are at wide receiver, and we're going to start with Traylon Burks.

Starting point is 00:09:41 So like I hinted at there, because everybody has been so excited about DeAndre Hopkins, rightfully so, rightfully so, but all of the conversation has been about Hopkins, what he can do, his impact in practice, and when I say that, I'm including me as a content creator. All I've wanted to talk about is DeAndre Hopkins. He's making all these plays, all these connections, Tana Hill building chemistry, all that.

Starting point is 00:10:11 So listen, it's fair to be excited about Hopkins and want to talk about Hopkins, but somehow Traylon Burks has gone under the radar now and we are not excited enough for what Traylon Burks is about to do. I mean, Burks looks fantastic. I don't know if you guys saw the play on Friday, but Traylon Burks one-on-one against Christian Fulton in one-on-ones. Burks whoops him deep.

Starting point is 00:10:40 Boom. Beats him off the line of scrimmage with speed. Ball's thrown. Burks jumps up, catches it,s into the end zone for a touchdown. One-on-one win over Christian Fulton. Just blew past him off the line of scrimmage with speed and had the size and the strength to pull down the pass and keep control of the ball. Not only that, but Tannehill completed a huge deep ball

Starting point is 00:11:04 to Traylon Burks during team periods. So, I want to say this about Traylon Burks. All along, he's been compared to A.J. Brown. He got compared to A.J. Brown and Deebo Samuel coming out of college a ton by a bunch of different scouts. Obviously, with the trade that was made to get Burks that included shipping A.J. Brown out and all of that. The general comparison people want

Starting point is 00:11:29 to make is A.J. Brown, but I gotta tell you, to me, I think Traylon Burks is more of a D.K. Metcalf than he is an A.J. Brown. I don't see Traylon Burks as,

Starting point is 00:11:45 you guys will get to see me with my glasses off here. Got to clean them off a little bit. But I don't see Traylon Burks as this insane yards after catch guy. Like, I don't see Traylon Burks as a Debo Samuel now who you could like throw a toss sweep to or something like that. Like, I just don't see, I just don't see Burks with that kind of yards after catch open field wiggle. All right. Burks is the type of guy who's going to run through you. He's going to make a quick, hard power cut to get around you. I just don't think he has the

Starting point is 00:12:17 yards after catch skills that AJ or Debo do, but I do think that he has the big physical frame to run over top of people and like DK Metcalf, just jump over top of people and make physical catches all the time. So I see Traylon Burks is more of a DK Metcalf type player than an AJ Brown type player, but God, that is going to work so perfectly with DeAndre Hopkins. Something that I've been talking about for a while. Think about just your basic Titans play action pass. Two tight ends, Derrick Henry in the backfield, two wide receivers, one on either side of the field. The Titans play action to Derrick Henry. They send Traylon Burks on a deep

Starting point is 00:12:58 post over the middle of the field that's meant to influence the deep safety. They send DeAndre Hopkins over the intermediate part of the field about 10 yards, 15 yards over the middle. And that deep safety, because teams are going to have eight in the box, which means they're going to have a single high safety in the back, that deep safety is going to have to choose. Do I run with Burks and help the cornerback? Do I come downhill and try to stop DeAndre Hopkins open over the middle?

Starting point is 00:13:23 What am I going to do? Well, this was something I talked about last year. Every week, the problem with the Titans offense, when they have no speed, they have no burst at wide receiver with Robert Woods and Nick Westbrook-Akene. The safety has no reason to respect the guy going deep, so they're always going to barrel down on the over the middle thing, and that just ruins the Titans offensive flow.

Starting point is 00:13:44 It just does. So now that you have two guys that can consistently threaten and you have a guy in Burks who we have seen him go up atop of cornerbacks and bring down long passes. I think he's going to be an expert at the deep ball. I think he's going to be physical and be able to go over top of people. And when you have somebody like Hopkins who can work in the intermediate range and then Burks can do that, it's just absolutely perfect together.

Starting point is 00:14:05 So I think all the noise around DeAndre Hopkins has kind of quieted the excitement for Traylon Burks. And I'm just telling you guys, when we get into the season, Traylon Burks is about to go nuts. And DeAndre Hopkins even tweeted like the shush emoji a couple of times when somebody tweeted out that Traylon Burks is going to be a beast this year, even though all the conversations about Hopkins.

Starting point is 00:14:31 And so Hopkins knows. He sees it. I think Burks is still going to take a huge leap, and he's been an underrated player in the first week of training camp because all the talk has been about DeAndre Hopkins. I do want to take a moment and talk about Chris Moore, though. The Titans brought in Chris Moore. He had 48 catches and 548 yards last year.

Starting point is 00:14:50 With those numbers, not the catches, but the yards, he would have been the highest-ranked Titans wide receiver last year. I think Chris Moore may actually be this team's wide receiver three. I think Chris Moore is the third-best wide receiver on this team's wide receiver three. I think Chris Moore is the third best wide receiver on this team. Mike Vrabel said, Chris Moore has been very professional. Glad we have him now. He can play a number of spots.

Starting point is 00:15:15 He doesn't get tired. Can help on special teams. I've enjoyed having him around. He also said that he would have loved to have Chris Moore a couple of years ago. Chris Moore has been featured in some awesome videos. I don't know if you guys saw the one on Friday night, but Ryan Tannehill rolling out to his left, throws backwards, a crossbody throw, hits Chris Moore who makes a one-handed snag. Chris Moore was the one who caught the 75-yard touchdown from Malik Willis. Chris Moore, underrated player in Titans training camp who hasn't been talked about enough.

Starting point is 00:15:57 Everybody loves Kyle Phillips, and I love the little footwork drills and the one-on-ones where he's just absolutely roasting people with routes, but this is an environment with no pads on and in one-on-one situations where Kyle Phillips is supposed to win. When the pads come on and the physicality gets up there, Chris Moore is a guy who I trust to be the Titans' No. 3 wide receiver. I think he's a guy who hasn't been talked about enough. So Chris Moore, Traylon Burks, with all the DeAndre Hopkins noise, they've gone under the radar, but I think they're going to be really, really big contributors for the Titans this year.

Starting point is 00:16:26 But I want to talk about the Tennessee Titans defense to cap off today's show. So we're going to get into that in just a moment. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Talking about just some under-the-radar storylines, some under-the-radar questions from the first week of training camp. Who is going to win quarterback two? I went with Will Levis there.

Starting point is 00:17:08 Talked about Traylon Burks and Chris Moore being underrated at wide receiver at this point. Now I want to talk about this Tennessee Titans defense. Because I think any respectable Titans fan had hope that this defense

Starting point is 00:17:24 would be pretty darn good this year. I mean, the Titans need it to happen. But I'm thinking, and I put top 10, maybe I should have went even higher. I'm thinking the Titans could have the best defense in the NFL. I really do think there is a chance that that could happen. All they need, all they need is health. That's it. Just health. Because there's two critical components here that I think take this Titans defense to the next level.

Starting point is 00:17:56 Number one is the pass rush, of course. And we've talked about it almost every day for the last few days because there's no way to get around it. This Titans defense has been great in practice the last few days. The pressure, getting to the quarterback, and obviously offensive linemen don't have pads on, so it's going to be tougher for them to use that physicality to stop the pass rush. But I mean, I would say the number one star on defense so far

Starting point is 00:18:23 has been Arden Key. I would say the number one star on defense so far has been Arden Key. And if you got Harold Landry back saying he's fully healthy, he's not thinking about his knee at all, he feels great, perfect, the rehab time let him be in a great spot. If you're saying that you're adding Harold Landry, and in my opinion with Arden Key, you're adding a better version of Bud Dupree, a guy who plays with energy and effort and motor, a cheaper, better, younger,

Starting point is 00:18:51 what's the word that I'm looking, twitched up, a cheaper, younger, twitchier version of Bud Dupree for cheaper. Good job, Rand Carthon. Bad job, John Robinson. But, I mean, I Carthon. Bad job, John Robinson. But, I mean, I'm just a podcaster and I told you

Starting point is 00:19:08 that the Bud Dupree signing was terrible from the moment it happened. Um, I believe my initial reaction multiple years ago was, I'm lukewarm

Starting point is 00:19:17 on this signing. Uh, me trying to, trying to be positive for you guys because, you know, I hate when I,

Starting point is 00:19:23 hate when I get in too far in a negative town. But didn't like that one from the jump. But regardless, Arden Key can be that new version of Bud Dupree and I think a better version at this stage after the injuries to Dupree. You get Harold Landry back if he's really 100%. A healthy Jeffrey Simmons. Rashad Weaver looks to have taken a step.

Starting point is 00:19:45 I mean, he's dropping back in coverage and getting interceptions. He's getting a sack. He's doing that in the same practice. Weaver is stronger in his lower body, more consistent this year. You add in those three edge rushers to Danico Autry and Jeffrey Simmons. I think there's a chance that the 2023 Titans pass rush is the best we've seen from this group right there with the 2021 pass rush

Starting point is 00:20:14 I think the Titans can can be better than 2021 in the pass rush not only that but I'm telling you guys Sean Murphy bunting at cornerback is going to be huge. He is exactly what the Titans need. Long, physical, press corner that can win in ball situations, contested catch situations, isolation situations.

Starting point is 00:20:41 And if the Titans have 195-pound Christian Fulton, like we talked about on yesterday's show, with that pass rush and the elevated cornerback play, look, I really like Roger McCreary. He's a scrappy player who cares about the team, wants to win, plays hard, plays through injury, all of that. But McCreary has really short arms, and he's a short guy in general. I say short. It's hilarious because he's a lot taller than me. But 5'11", and the NFL cornerback isn't super tall. He could be 5'10", honestly.

Starting point is 00:21:17 So McCreary is better suited in the slot or just in the inside areas because you get them on that boundary against Mike Williams or an Alec Pierce or Michael Pittman and it's just tough for them to win against that size. So now, if you have Fulton and Sean Murphy bunting consistently

Starting point is 00:21:38 out there and then you can have McCreary in the slot with Molden as your fourth cornerback who's your dime cornerback and then Bayard and Hooker in the back. Monty Rice ran 10 yards with a wide receiver yesterday and knocked away a pass. So if you got a fully

Starting point is 00:21:55 healthy, fully engaged, charged up athletic Monty Rice and Aziz Alshir at linebacker, with all of this talent around him, like I think the Titans defense could be dominant. Like number one defense in the NFL in scoring. That's what people say top 10 defense, top five. Do you mean yards?

Starting point is 00:22:17 Do you mean third downs? Do you mean red zone? Do you mean points per game? What do you mean when you say that? What I am saying is, I think the Titans will be a top 10 defense in yards allowed, but they will be a top 5, maybe

Starting point is 00:22:29 top 1 defense in points allowed. Like, the Titans are not going to let people score. And they are going to decapitate quarterbacks this year. I don't know how you can't, I don't know how you could have gone through the first week

Starting point is 00:22:46 of training camp practices and not just be through the moon on what this defense can be. So with that being said though, this week the pads come on. We're going to learn a lot and learn a lot more about this entire roster and a lot

Starting point is 00:23:02 of these positions. I'm going to be breaking it down every single day, every single day on the Locked on Titans podcast. So make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed, throw a thumbs up on the video right now if you're watching. That is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on tight.

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Will Levis Will Win QB2, Treylon Burks Is Underrated & Titans Dominant Defense

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