Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans X Factor in 2022, Titans Draft Visit Trends & Pros & Cons of QB at Pick 26

Episode Date: April 14, 2022

The season may be months away, but who is the Tennessee Titans X Factor in 2022? Tyler thinks he already knows. Caleb Farley will need to play a major role on the defense and comments from head coach ...Mike Vrabel & GM Jon Robinson indicate they know that as well. Tyler goes through Farley's early career and what's causing excitement now. Next, the draft is less than two weeks away and the Titans have been busy with visits, but who have they visited with so far? Tyler goes over the current lists and looks for trends and information. Finally, the debate wages on whether the Titans should consider a quarterback in the first round. Whoever it is that you like, would you be ok with the Titans taking them in the right situation? Tyler goes over the pros and cons and explains that if the draft goes a certain way, QB makes too much sense.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitansSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Shady RaysEXCLUSIVELY FOR OUR LISTENERS, HEAD TO SHADYRAYS.COM AND USE CODE LOCKEDON TO GET FIFTY PERCENT OFF TWO OR MORE PAIRS OF POLARIZED SUNGLASSES. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, it is a Friday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. On today's show, I'm going to tell you why I think I already know who the Titans X Factor is going to be in 2022 and who that is. Then we're going to talk about the prospects that the Titans are visiting with two weeks before the NFL draft. And we'll cap off with a little Rowland's rant on the pros that the Titans are visiting with two weeks before the NFL draft. And we'll cap off with a little Roland's rant on the pros and the cons of drafting a quarterback
Starting point is 00:00:29 in the first round this year in the draft. So all of that and more on a Friday 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. Titans fans, it is a Friday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. Going to send you guys off into the weekend with a good one. We're going to talk about the Titans X Factor in 2022 and who I think that is.
Starting point is 00:01:19 Then we'll talk about the prospects that the Titans have been visiting with prior to the draft. And we'll cap off with a Rollins rant on the pros and cons of drafting a QB. So a big Friday show in store. Before we get into it, I want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. If this is your first ever listen to the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. You're going to find the Locked on Titans podcast there and always free.
Starting point is 00:01:46 That includes the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Subscribe over there to catch the show on video. Smash that notification bell so you know when all my content goes live and throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching on YouTube right now. You can find me on social media at TicTacTitans on Twitter, at Locked on Titans pod on Facebook, and be on the lookout for the Locked On Titans Instagram page. I'm going to have a ton of wall-to-wall coverage all draft weekend
Starting point is 00:02:11 and Monday through Friday throughout the entire year. So make sure that you stay locked in to the Tennessee Titans by following the Locked On Titans podcast. With all that being said, time to dive into the top story of the day and that is who the Titans X Factor will be in 2022. And I think regardless of what happens in the draft, we know the answer to that question. And it's Caleb Farley.
Starting point is 00:02:38 2021 first-round pick, cornerback for the Titans, Farley coming off the ACL injury in 2021. He got off on the wrong foot coming into camp, dealing with an injury, being on the physically unable to perform list to start. Got into camp, struggled a little bit once he got into camp. He got thrown off the practice field at one time by Mike Vrabel, so there were some ups and downs there.
Starting point is 00:03:01 He put some good practices together in the season, got on the field, played three games, and then tore his ACL. And there were ups and downs while he was on the field as well, actually playing for the Titans. But good to see him out there. The injury was unfortunate. But with the Titans letting Jackrabbit Jenkins go, they have an incredibly young cornerback group right now
Starting point is 00:03:23 with Christian Fulton and Elijah Moulton and Chris Jackson. They've added Buster Screen to have some, you know, veteran in the room, but that's still an incredibly young group. And Caleb Farley is going to be expected to start this year. And there's some really positive news surrounding Caleb Farley right now. And that's what I want to get into to start off today's show is some of the quotes that we got from Titans General Manager John Robinson and Head Coach Mike Rabel about Caleb Farley's not only development, but his rehab. Shout out to Jim Wyatt, who obviously is the team writer
Starting point is 00:03:56 for the Tennessee Titans for an incredible article that he put out covering everything. But I want to go over some of the quotes here. And first, we're going to hear from Titans General Manager John Robinson talking about Caleb Farley. He says, quote, he has worked really hard. He has been in there a lot working, rehabbing. He is changing his body.
Starting point is 00:04:14 He has a taller corner, and he has added some mass to his upper body. He has done a nice job. So that's a quote right there from the general manager commenting on the body transformation. He's right. Caleb Farley is a tall cornerback, and he was lean coming out of college, and some people were worried that being that lean
Starting point is 00:04:31 would contribute to durability concerns and all that, but sounds like his ability and his plan to add mass in the offseason to his upper body is working very well, and John Robinson points that out specifically, and it's good to hear that he's in there rehabbing every day. They're not worried about whether he's taking it seriously. Mike Vrabel even talked about the work ethic that's been displayed by Caleb Farley.
Starting point is 00:04:53 Mike Vrabel said this, quote, he looks like he has been rehabbing hard and doing what he's been asked to do. I like his consistency. He looks good, and he certainly looks stronger when I see him in the training room. So there you go. He looks stronger, Adding that upper body mass, all very important. So like I said, Caleb Farley needs to be a starter for the Titans in 2021 because the reality is if he isn't,
Starting point is 00:05:15 that means you got two guys who should never be outside of the slot and Elijah Molden and Chris Jackson as the next two guys stepping up and even Buster Screen when he played a pivotal role for the Titans last year, it was being used as a passing down slot cornerback. None of those guys out of Screen, Molden, or Chris Jackson are going to be their best selves outside of the slot position. So it's very important that Caleb Farley work out as an outside cornerback for the Titans. And even his defensive back coach, Anthony Midgett, chimed in as well. And he had this to say, quote, I've been very pleased with what he has shown as far as his
Starting point is 00:05:50 attention to detail with the game plan and him studying away from the building. And this was, you know, quotes obviously from last season. But he said, I think he has gotten a lot better at that and has been encouraging to see. He's in the meetings every day. He's involved. He asks questions and he's doing reports on everything we ask him to do. So, I mean, right there, you have everything you need to know about the way that he is when he's in the building and working on football activities.
Starting point is 00:06:14 We get good remarks about him in the training room and in the weight room. Lifting weights. Adding strength. So pretty much everything you could look for. And Robinson kind of summed things up with this. He said, quote, It's just unfortunate what happened with for. And Robinson kind of summed things up with this. He said, quote, It's just unfortunate what happened with Caleb.
Starting point is 00:06:30 He came back to practice, was excited, had a couple of good weeks of practice, and then he was injured. But Caleb knows what he has to do, and he's been working extremely hard with our training staff, rehabbing and trying to get back out there. I am excited to see him get out there and help the football team. And, you know, John Robinson and Mike Grable talked about how important Caleb Farley is going to be earlier in the offseason as well.
Starting point is 00:06:47 It seems like they know just how critical it'll be that he not only plays, but plays well and is a starting level cornerback. So the X factor for 2022, clearly Caleb Farley. And I think the organization knows it as well. The Titans need him to be a solid cornerback for everything to work the way it did last year on defense. But that's going to do it for our first segment talking about Caleb Farley and the X factor for the Titans. Now we're going to talk about some potential players who could be X factors for the Titans in the future, some prospects in the draft
Starting point is 00:07:20 and talk about who the Titans have been meeting with and what trends have popped up from that. Before we get into all that, though, I do want to tell you guys about BetOnline.net. BetOnline is your number one source for all of your sports betting needs and information. You can find all the latest sports developments there, like league reviews and news, including things on this year's basketball playoffs
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Starting point is 00:08:02 BetOnline, where the game starts. Titans fans, let's continue this Friday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We just talked about the Titans X Factor in 2022, who I believe is clearly cornerback Caleb Farley. Now, we are going to talk about the prospects the Titans have been meeting with prior to the NFL draft. We have the list compiled here. Want to give a shout out to my guy over at Titans Wire Mike Moradis
Starting point is 00:08:36 the boss over there who is a great editor and deals with all of my wordy freaking articles. He put together a good list here and there's another list floating out there. It's F Word Pods. I think Zach Lyons did a pretty good list as well, but it's just kind of a compilation of what
Starting point is 00:08:52 prospects the Titans have met with. So I'll go through the list right now. Trelon Burks at wide receiver. Sky Moore at wide receiver. Trey McBride the tight end and Jalen Weitermeier the tight end and Daniel Bellinger the tight end. Then Malalen Weitermeier, the tight end, and Daniel Bellinger, the tight end. Then Malik Willis, a quarterback, Tyler
Starting point is 00:09:07 Smith, and Kenyon Green at interior offensive line. I know some of you guys consider Tyler Smith an offensive tackle. I don't. I think he's interior offensive lineman long term. Trevor Penning, Nicholas Petit-Ferrera, and A.J. R. Curry
Starting point is 00:09:23 that are offensive tackles, Michigan State or Northern Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan State, respectively. And then we have Jermaine Johnson and D'Angelo Malone, both edges. And then Marcus Jones and Alante Taylor at defensive backs. So that's the list right now. The Titans will be able to have more than that as that's obviously not 30. But what trends do we see there? I think it's obvious the number one thing is just the positions
Starting point is 00:09:45 that are mentioned. You have quarterback, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, edge, and defensive back. Those are all the positions the Titans actually need. That's why it's so ridiculous when people mock a linebacker in the first round to the Titans. Not only are they not taking a linebacker in the first round, it's not even a need.
Starting point is 00:10:05 It's not even a need. It's not even a need. Yeah, they could use like a pass coverage-centric role-playing linebacker late in the draft if one falls to them. They could maybe pick up another veteran, but linebacker's just not a need for the Titans, not even in your top six, seven needs as a team. So there you go, all you idiots out there mocking linebackers to the Titans. But some things that really stick out.
Starting point is 00:10:27 Jermaine Johnson. He's expected to be like a lottery pick, I wanted to say. But he's going to go in like the top 12, top 14. There's no way. He gets past the Baltimore Ravens, barring some like weird draft day incident like we've seen with some prospects in recent years. So that's confusing.
Starting point is 00:10:44 I wonder why they wasted one of their visits on a guy who's going to come nowhere near them. I would love Jermaine Johnson in the first round if he fell to 26. I'd do that all day, but just very surprising there. But not surprising to see D'Angelo Malone. The Titans do need to add an edge
Starting point is 00:11:00 in this draft, in my opinion, because my expectation is that Bud Dupree will not be with the team in 2023 and unless they really believe in Rashad Weaver coming back from a broken leg, then you need to get another young edge in there and start to develop them. So I love D'Angelo Malone. I think he would be awesome in the mid-rounds if the Titans could maybe trade back, pick up a few extra picks in the midday, in the day two range. I think that would be a great pick for them, but there you go.
Starting point is 00:11:23 So edge is a low-end option, I think. They're just saying, hey, just in case. Just in case. And then, of course, defensive back. Another one pretty interesting. We're talking day three type defensive backs here. Maybe late day two with Alante Taylor from Tennessee and Marcus Jones from Houston.
Starting point is 00:11:42 The thing is, Taylor probably going to have to switch to safety, and he's a big special teams guy. So it makes sense that these are day three guys the Titans could be looking at, more as special teams players than anything. And same thing with Marcus Jones, undersized slot cornerback at about 5'8", 5'9", but a good return man. So special teams value with the defensive backs is what I'm seeing there as a trend. Of course, you have mid-round tackles with Petit Ferrer and R. Curry.
Starting point is 00:12:09 Trevor Penning, of course, is going to be coming in soon for the Titans next week. I do believe it's already scheduled. He's obviously my number one option if he were to drop to 26 that I would want the Titans to take. He would just be a perfect fit. Trelon Burks and Sky Moore, both guys who could be in consideration at pick 26 if Traylon Burks falls. And then if Sky Moore, the Titans want to reach on in there
Starting point is 00:12:33 because they don't like the value of other things maybe. Also, notice the tight ends. Trey McBride at the top. Daniel Bellinger in the mid rounds. And then late Jalen Weitermeier. They're setting themselves up to say, Hey, if the board doesn't fall the way we want with tight end, do we have a guy on each day who we feel comfortable with? And yep,
Starting point is 00:12:51 they sure do. Good to go. And then of course, Kenyon green, Tyler Smith as interior offensive lineman, checking that box for the Titans as well in that final need. So those are the trends that I'm kind of identifying here. My thoughts on each position that I see, of course, back to it, quarterback, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, edge, defensive back. Those are the big major needs that I think the Titans have. If you actually wrote them out on a piece of paper after that, I would probably go running back, interior defensive line, then linebacker. That's how I would probably parse that out personally.
Starting point is 00:13:26 But yeah, it makes all the sense in the world that that's where the Titans are at. And there are going to be more names added to that. And we'll keep kind of paying attention to what happens there. But it's obvious what positions the Titans are interested in. It's obvious how they're setting up their homework and doing everything they can to be as prepared as possible. But that's going to do it for that conversation.
Starting point is 00:13:43 We're going to move into a little bit of a Rollins rant on the possibility of the Titans adding a quarterback in the draft. Before we do that, just want to remind you guys that the Locked On Network is going to have some incredible draft coverage. We're going live from the Locked On NFL Draft YouTube channel every single day of the draft for the entirety of the NFL Draft. I'm going to be stopping by giving analysis on not only the Titans picks, but other picks as well.
Starting point is 00:14:09 Not only that, but the 2022 Ultimate Mock Draft is going to be released from April 18th through April 22nd and finishing on the 25th. You're going to want to subscribe to that podcast feed, the Ultimate Mock Draft 2022. Just a ton of great draft content coming from Locked On. Also want to tell you guys about the best tasting protein bars in the galaxy from our friends over at Built Bar. You get
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Starting point is 00:15:19 We talked about who the Titans have been meeting with on their top 30 visits prior to the draft. Now, I'm just going to get into a little Roland's rant for you guys about the quarterback position and potentially picking one at number 26. So, let's just go through the pros and cons. But before we do, got to thank you guys for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. As for your second listen, check out
Starting point is 00:15:38 the Locked On NFL Draft podcast. The draft is less than two weeks away. Ryan Tracy and former NFL cornerback Eric Crocker are breaking down the draft for you from two different angles, the front office perspective, and of course they're looking at prospects, mock drafts, player profiles, big boards, player rankings, all
Starting point is 00:15:53 that stuff. It's a perfect way to get ready and go ahead and get subscribed to the Locked On NFL Draft podcast right now on YouTube and then you'll be ready to go for the live draft coverage when the day comes. So make sure that you make the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make the Locked on NFL Draft podcast your second listen.
Starting point is 00:16:12 But getting into this, it's highly debated. And here's what I'm going to say. Whatever quarterback you like, you don't like Corral, you don't like Ritter, you like Howe, you like Will, whatever. Whatever. Just when I'm talking about potentially taking a quarterback, just insert the quarterback that you like and think about it that way. Oh, you really like this guy in the first round? Insert him. I think Malik Willis and Kenny Pickett probably aren't realistic. I don't want Kenny Pickett. Anyway, I don't like Sam Howe. I like Desmond Ritter, number one. I like Matt Corral for the Titans as a secondary
Starting point is 00:16:44 option at quarterback. If you don't like those, again, one. I like Matt Corral for the Titans as a secondary option at quarterback. If you don't like those, again, just when I say quarterback, think of the quarterback you like and go from there. So, what are the pros? So, number one, you're getting a player who I believe, the guys that I like, Desmond Ritter and Matt Corral, have better upside than Ryan Tannehill. There we go.
Starting point is 00:17:08 I think they could be better players. There's potential they could be elite. There's a mystery there. Yeah, maybe not. But maybe so. Maybe so. One thing that I want to point out here is, well, we'll wait to the cons
Starting point is 00:17:25 so I can get into that, but the upside of potentially getting a quarterback better than Ryan Tannehill who could be elite, who could be a star, that's one of the pros of this situation the biggest one and the most practical one is quarterbacks going to be cheap
Starting point is 00:17:40 the Titans have the biggest cap hit for a quarterback of any team in the league. For a quarterback that's what? The 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th best quarterback in the NFL? They are paying out the nose for Ryan Tannehill. It would be the exact opposite. And that goes back to the other one. Even if that quarterback isn't quite as good as Ryan Tannehill, because there's a $30 million difference in price, you can build a better team around a cheaper quarterback. A lot of these teams, when they're going out and winning, think Russell Wilson early with Seattle,
Starting point is 00:18:20 think Patrick Mahomes. These teams are going out and winning. Even the Eagles won that Nick Foles played, but Carson Wentz was on his rookie deal. The 49ers just decided to do this. So, when you have a cheaper quarterback, especially $30 million, the quarterback can be maybe a smidgen worse but the team can be that much better
Starting point is 00:18:46 because you can keep Amani Hooker you can keep Nate Davis you can keep Zach Cunningham I don't think it's going to happen but maybe you can keep Bud Dupree maybe you can go out and get that extra free agent that you need you have more ability
Starting point is 00:19:04 to put together a better supporting cast. Because here's my thing. If we all know, all of us collectively know, hey, if Ryan Tannehill is going to win a Super Bowl, he needs an incredible cast around him. He needs great blocking because the O-line wasn't good enough. So he needs top-tier blocking. That's what everybody says.
Starting point is 00:19:23 And the weapons weren't good enough. He needs a top-tier blocking. That's what everybody says. And the weapons weren't good enough. He needs a top-tier supporting cast with weapons. He needs an incredible running game, a top-five running game. And not only that, but he needs a great defense, too. We got to have a great defense to go with him. Oh, but not only that,
Starting point is 00:19:40 not only that, folks, you need an incredible play caller, and Todd Downing isn't good enough. So for Ryan Tannehill to win a Super Bowl, I have you need an incredible play caller, and Todd Downing isn't good enough. So for Ryan Tannehill to win a Super Bowl, I have to have an elite offensive line, elite weapons, elite run game, elite defense, and elite play calling. I mean, what are the odds of doing all of that while you're paying the most for a quarterback of any team in the league?
Starting point is 00:20:03 If you've got to have that much elite around the quarterback, you can't have an elite contract. And he does. So yeah, I get that the quarterback, and we'll get to that, could be a little worse than Ryan Tannehill, but think the pro here is how cheap that quarterback will be for five years to build the roster and how much better of a team you could build.
Starting point is 00:20:24 And even if that quarterback is marginally worse than Tannehill early on, by year four, they could be just as good as Tannehill with upside to be better than Tannehill. And your team could be that much better because of that money. Not only that, you get five years of control if you take a quarterback in the first round. That fifth year option for a quarterback is vital. And because of the Titan situation, Ryan Tannehill will be the starter in 2022.
Starting point is 00:20:51 He can sit for a year, whoever he is, and get more acclimated to the NFL game and practice in redshirt. And then the final pro is you get off Ryan Tannehill's monster contract next year with a little dead money, but you can actually cut bait. And that's important. All of that stuff is so important. Okay? We know that Tannehill is
Starting point is 00:21:13 not a stud who can carry the Titans. Is he going to be a Matt Stafford? We know that he's not elite. Can he be a Matt Stafford with a really good cast around him? Can the Titans provide that cast with him making as much money as he does? I don't think so. I don't think he's as good as Matt Stafford with a really good cast around him? Can the Titans provide that cast with him making as much money as he does? I don't think so. I don't think he's as good as Matt Stafford.
Starting point is 00:21:30 Okay? I don't think Matt Stafford is elite, but Matt Stafford is in that area, obviously, has established the window where you don't have to be elite if you have all elite around you. So there you go. Okay?
Starting point is 00:21:44 What are the cons? Let's be fair. what are the cons let's be fair what are the cons the cons are you're taking a rookie in the first round and they're not going to have any impact in 2022 if things go perfect they're not going to be a factor in 2022 but Rashawn Evans wasn't that great in his rookie season
Starting point is 00:22:01 and Jeffrey Simmons didn't play until week 7 in his rookie season. You're going to say, at least they played. They played. Okay, okay. Well, what about 2020? Titans won the division. Went to the playoffs.
Starting point is 00:22:16 First round pick didn't do anything. First round pick wasn't even an NFL player. What about 2021? Titans went 12-5. Won the division got the bye number one seed made the playoffs again
Starting point is 00:22:30 home playoff game what did the first round pick do barely play tears ACL we talked about him to start the show so don't come in here and tell me that the Titans can't be as good as they need to be without a first round rookie. Who was the Rams first round rookie last year? Yeah, the
Starting point is 00:22:54 Bucks had a couple of good rookies, but the Titans don't have a top 10 pick like Joey Bo or Nick Bosa, like the 49ers did. So to me, it's obvious. A lot of these teams can win without an impact first-round rookie. The Titans have been really good without a first-round rookie the last few years. So don't tell me that not having an impact first-round rookie matters because guess who doesn't usually have an impact first-round rookie anyways? The Titans.
Starting point is 00:23:25 The Collins, again, the Titans do need offensive line. have an impact first round rookie anyways. The Titans. The cons. Again, the Titans do need offensive line. But let's be honest. Are the Titans really going to start a rookie? Dylan Radin's probably going to start at right tackle. And they're going to have Aaron Brewer or Jamarco Jones at left guard. The Titans barely play their
Starting point is 00:23:39 rookies. Nate Davis didn't even get to play until week four due to injury. Someone else got injured and allowed him to play. Not only that, but Dylan Radins could barely get on the field. He wasn't even active for most games last year. Elijah Molden played, but outside of week one, he didn't get sufficient snaps until nearly week six, week seven. You want to talk about Chris Jackson? Chris Jackson played like the first couple of games in 2020
Starting point is 00:24:11 and he barely got over 10 snaps the rest of the season. The Titans don't want to play rookies. They're a veteran competitive team. It's just really hard for a rookie to break through. Besides Adoree Jackson and Jack Conklin, which was five years ago, the Titans barely play their rookies in their rookie year.
Starting point is 00:24:31 Okay? At least to start. And offensive line is one of those positions that requires a ton of continuity. The Titans aren't going to want to sit a rookie for half the year and then switch the starting lineup halfway through the year on the offensive line because now the rookie's ready
Starting point is 00:24:46 it doesn't even make sense. They're not going to do that. Mike Vrabel's not going to change the offensive line in the middle of the year because the rookie's ready now. That's not going to happen. Okay? Titans need wide receiver. But heck, the top five wide receivers will probably be gone
Starting point is 00:25:02 by 26 anyway. And there's depth in this class. I would love a David Bell at pick 90. You could get a Calvin Austin or a Khalil Shakir. You know? And again, Titans gonna play a rookie a bunch of snaps?
Starting point is 00:25:20 Not if they don't get one of those top five guys. They're not. And then, what if the quarterback's a bust? Okay. So what? The Titans find another bridge quarter? We just came off Marcus being a bust.
Starting point is 00:25:35 And the Titans just went out and found a bridge quarterback in Tannehill that with a decent cast around him, could be decent. Look at what the Chiefs did. Going from Alex Smith to Patrick Mahomes. Look at what the Chiefs did. Going from Alex Smith to Patrick Mahomes. Look at what the Bills did. Going from Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tyrod Taylor to Josh Allen.
Starting point is 00:25:54 Look at the Bengals. Saying we're done with Andy Dalton. We're gonna go get Joe Burra. Look at the Ravens. Because I know you guys are gonna be like, oh, those were high in the draft. Those were high in the draft. Look at the Ravens. They traded know you guys are going to be like, oh, those were high in the draft. Those were high in the draft.
Starting point is 00:26:06 Look at the Ravens. They traded up into the first round and picked 32 to get Lamar. And they instantly became a contending team that is usually favored to win their division every single year. They're very similar to where the Titans are at. Just Lamar has more X-factor ability as he grows into a player.
Starting point is 00:26:24 So I'm just saying, yeah, there's risk involved. But what's the worst that can happen? And if you want to say the worst that can happen is the Titans could go back to the Ruston-Webster days. John Robinson and Mike Vrabel ain't going back to the Ruston-Webster days. We saw the floor for John Robinson and Mike Vrabel when we saw the 9-7 seasons. I believe that. 9-8 would be the floor for this organization.
Starting point is 00:26:47 Especially if the guy does bust, they're still going to have a ton of talent on the roster because of the money they saved. So it's not like the roster integrity is going to fade off because the quarterback's a bust. Then, okay, this guy didn't work. We swing again. Because until the Titans get him a Holmes,
Starting point is 00:27:02 until they get an Allen, it's going to be tough to accomplish the goal that we all want to accomplish, and that's winning a Super Bowl. I think the Titans can be just as good with an average quarterback that doesn't turn out to be a superstar as they are with Ryan Tannehill, and even if they're a little bit worse, what has it changed? The Titans have lost their first game in the playoffs the last two years. What are we doing here? We're excited for a playoff loss? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:27:30 If the five wide receivers are off the board, if Trevor Penning isn't there, if Zion Johnson is off the board, then get the quarterback if there's one you like. There are conditions here. They gotta like the quarterback. I'm not saying just take quarterback just because. They gotta like a quarterback that's available and actually believe in him.
Starting point is 00:27:45 And yeah, if Penning's on the board, the top five wide receivers, then yeah, do that. I'm just saying it's not insane to pick quarterback at 26 if the board falls a certain way and the Titans like a guy who's there. And I'll continue to preach that as we get closer to the
Starting point is 00:28:02 draft. But that's gonna do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.

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