Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Titans Mock Draft Monday & Your Questions Answered in the Monday Mailbag!!

Episode Date: March 1, 2021

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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, it is a Monday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast, and it is presented by Bilt Bar. Go to BiltBar.com, use promo code LOCKEDON, and you'll get 20% off your next order. Bilt Bars are a great way to get your morning off to a great start as a healthy breakfast alternative.

And we are going to get your week off to a great start here on the Locked On Titans podcast with a mock draft Monday and a mailbag Monday, as we always do. So we are going to start off talking about some of the more recent mock drafts that we have seen come out. Who do they have pegged for the Tennessee Titans? And as always, there are some picks that make a lot of sense, and there's always that one that sticks out like a sore thumb. So we will talk about some recent popular mock drafts that I have seen from over the weekend and the last week. And then we are going to dive into today's mailbag. You guys gave me a lot of good questions.

We're going to break things up. I'm going to have two different mailbag segments. You guys have been sending in some really good stuff. If you ever want to send in your own mailbag question, I will shout you out on the show. I will read and respond on the show. You can do so by tagging me on Twitter and I'll make sure to bookmark that. I send out a mailbag tweet every Sunday. You can also leave your question as a review on Apple iTunes as well.

But we are going to dive into these mock drafts and also open up the mailbag today on the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. All right, guys, we are going to dive into these mock drafts. But first, I do want to remind you, I will be putting out Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round. There is not another person covering this team who can say the same. So make sure that you subscribe to the Locked on Titans podcast or whatever platform you do stream so you never miss an episode.

Follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans as well and the new Facebook page at Locked on Titans pod. But as for the very first mock draft we are going to get into, it comes from, quite frankly, the godfather of NFL draft coverage, and that is Mel Kuyper Jr. from ESPN. So let's look at his selection for the Tennessee Titans, and it feels fitting that this would be the first mock draft that we went into because at this moment in time, this guy's name has been linked with the Titans more than just about any other player that I've seen.

And of course, that's Jalen Phillips, the edge rusher from the University of Miami. He transferred from UCLA as well. So that's something to talk about. And what I want to talk about this time, we talked about Jalen Phillips as a player. The length, the potential technique, the moves that he displayed, good against the run in the pass, 6'5", explosive athlete, quick first step, all these things. But I do want to take a moment today to talk about some of the downsides here with Jalen Phillips. So he looked good in 2020, but he's dealt with a ton of injuries. And he came from UCLA to Miami because of medical reasons. He had a lot of

concussion issues. He's mentioned before that concussions are serious to him and it has the potential to maybe finish his career a little bit early. So the downside with Phillips is those medical concerns. Will the Titans be able to take a chance? I think based on the talent that Phillips has, John Robinson would absolutely take the risk there and just try to keep Phillips as healthy as possible. He did miss that 2019 season too, so there's not a lot of tape out there as much as I guess there is on some of the other players available. So there are some downsides with Jalen Phillips, but honestly, I think Phillips will go even higher than the Titans by the time we get around to the draft. That much raw talent, that much explosive athletic ability

combined with what he's displayed on the tape with some of the pass moves, pass rush moves that he's already established. Guys like that just don't drop into the 20s, but again, Jalen Phillips being linked with the Titans, wonder what John Robinson has to say about that, but I certainly do love the fit if it's possible. And here's what Mel Kuyper had to say when I give you his explanation for the pick. Quote, as I mentioned in my mock 1.0, the Titans have been all over the edge rushers in this class. There's a nice nugget.

Their defense really lacked any pass rush last season, getting virtually nothing from Jadavion Clowney and finishing with just total 19 sacks. They'd be happy with Phillips still on the board. The UCLA transfer and former five-star prospect really came on late in the season and is rising quickly. Phillips had concussion issues at UCLA, as I mentioned, so his medical checks will be important, but I love his 2020 tape. And yes, this is back-to-back Miami pass rushers, but Russo and Phillips never got to play together

because Phillips missed the 2019 season due to transfer rules. So obviously he had Gregory Russo going to the Colts one pick ahead of the Titans. But let's continue forward. The next mock draft we have here is from a guy who I really do respect. All right. He's a vet in the game, and that's Charlie Casserly from NFL.com. But once again, guys, there's always that one. He has the Titans going with offensive tackle

Jalen Mayfield from Michigan the redshirt sophomore why would the Titans take an offensive tackle who's a redshirt sophomore in 2020 completely busted and follow that up with another one again and the explanation is with the sticky situation around 2020 first round pick Isaiah Wilson the Titans must make sure a potential void at right tackle is filled. Okay, the Titans do need to make sure that that void is filled eventually, but Dennis Kelly is going to be the starter for the Titans in 2021 at the right tackle position. There's no way that the Titans could justify two back-to-back first round picks on offensive tackles. So no, Charlie, no, not going to happen. I refuse to believe that that could happen. Next is Vinny Iyer from the Sporting News,

and he has the other guy other than Jalen Phillips who happens to be there all the time, and that's Aziz Ujulari from Georgia. We talked about Ujulari. He's a little smaller. He's more Harold Landry-sized, 6'3", 240 pounds. He was a rotational player at Georgia, so not a ton of every down play but he

is a really good pass rusher he's got a quick first step he wins with effort wins with finish he's got to develop his pass rush moves there's not a lot in the way of that and that makes me nervous as him as a project for the Titans but this is what Vinny Iyer had to say about the pick quote the Titans pass rush was a bugaboo and it cost them in the front of their weak pass defense. In the end, with Jadavion Clowney not providing enough late free agency answers, Ogilari has jumped into the first round consideration because he's a unique pass rusher who can fit a variety of schemes and alignments

and has potential both in stopping the run and in coverage. Mike Vrabel and Shane Bowen would love his style of play, end quote. So we know that Ogilari and Phillips are just those two guys that seem to keep coming up for the Titans. And as a style of play, end quote. So we know that Ogilary and Phillips are just those two guys that seem to keep coming up for the Titans. And as a matter of fact, the last mock draft that we're going to talk about comes from Matthew Valdivinos from Pro Football Network,

and he had Ogilary pegged for the Titans as well. And quite frankly, guys, although in last Monday's episode, I said that I would prefer Phillips, I think it's more realistic that the Titans would have a chance at Ogilary, who I personally comp to Yannick Ngakwe. So if the Titans could find a young Yannick Ngakwe and not have to spend $15, $16, $17 million on Ngakwe himself in free agency, well, I think that could be a pretty solid move.

So I'd rather have Phillips, but Ogilary is a really nice consolation prize. And this is what Matthew had to say, quote, It's hard to gauge how much the NFL will like Aziz Ogilary. His get-off bend and knack for making big plays will lead an NFL team to fall in love with him. The Titans already possess an explosive and bendy edge rusher in Harold Landry. Pairing him and Ogilary gives them the most volatile and dangerous pass rushing duos in the NFL. I don't know quite about that, Matt. But either way, there we go.

Ogilary is the pick for the Titans. Now, here's what I want to do going forward just to give you guys an idea. In next week's Mock Draft Monday and probably the next Mock Draft Monday after that, we're going to switch things up. I'm going to do some custom Mock Drafts, and I'm going to do a couple Mock Drafts where the Titans do not land an edge rusher. What would it look like if the Titans went after a different position in the first round? And then the week after that, I might try to do something a little different

where we see the Titans trade up and trade down and what possibilities they would have based on those. So a little change up on Mock Draft Monday the next few weeks. But just wanted to let you guys know what was coming down the pike. Let's hop into the Monday mailbag. But before we do that, do want to tell you about our friends over at betonline.ag. Yeah, the NFL is over, but the NBA, the NHL, MLB is right around the corner, college basketball is in full swing, so there's a lot to still bet on over at betonline.ag, and they even have you covered for award shows, TV shows,

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I'll give you a shout out as well by tagging me on Twitter and asking your question. Putting your comment or your question in the comments on my Sunday Mailbag tweet. Or you can always put them in the reviews on Apple iTunes but the first question that we have here comes from Chemical Brother on Twitter and he said do you think Vrabel would have searched for another DC if he didn't also need to hire a new OC or do you think he was staying with Bowen no matter what and my Chemical Brother I think that's a fantastic question and something that maybe hadn't dawned on me yet. How was Mike Vrabel affected by the fact that he had to hire two coordinators? That

could have caused him to maybe not put as much effort or put as much time, and I don't even mean nefariously. I don't even mean like it would be a fault on Mike Vrabel for this, but if you have two different projects to do and they have to be completed in the same time, you obviously are going to have your resources stretched more thin than if you just had to focus on one. There are double the interviews to conduct. There's the stress and thinking about it, the conversations that have to take place. So is it possible that just for ease of circumstance, Vrabel said, yeah, we're just going to bring back the two internal guys. You know, it's too much to go through, to go through all these interviews, to hire both of them. You know, maybe. I don't think so though. I just, that could be the case. But in my mind, although that I have had some criticisms of Vrabel, I don't think that he's the type of guy who's going to cut a bunch of corners. I really don't.

And as a matter of fact, the Titans did interview some outside sources for the defensive coordinator job. I mean, we heard names during that process, like Terrell Austin was a name that we heard. So I think knowing that, and then what I said about my opinion on Vrabel, I don't think that it was Bowen no matter what, but I also do think that you could be onto something there. It could have just been an easy thing to do. It really was the most convenient choice for him. Lease change, not somebody who's going to, you know, maybe challenge him all the time. You don't have to go through a bunch of interviews and do all the legwork if you just keep your guy. So it's interesting. I don't know if I have a great answer. I would hope Mike Vrabel

wouldn't go that route, but that is an interesting way to look at it. Next, Chester Taylor. Chester said, is there any replacement for Watson that worries you? Example, if Stafford had gone to the Colts. Okay, so looking around the league, I don't necessarily see someone that scares me. If the Panthers trade were to happen, well, actually that works. I don't really see anybody around the league currently that scares me. If the Panthers trade were to happen, well, actually that works. I don't really see anybody around the league currently that scares me. If the Panthers trade for him, let's say they get Teddy Bridgewater. I'm not a hundred percent. I mean, that's a decent quarterback, but Watson is a playmaker back there and Bridgewater just clearly doesn't have the ability to make, you know,

off schedule plays. The second, you know, the second read, second reaction reads. Teddy Bridgewater just simply doesn't have that. Teddy Bridgewater can lead a really good roster, and that's not what the Texans have. So I wouldn't be worried there. The Miami trade, Tua, that would be interesting. I've been really hard on Tua personally, and I'm not much of a believer in him. been really hard on Tua personally and I'm not much of a believer in him but I've been wrong before and any of you who like sports and have opinions have been wrong about everything so about you know some a ton of stuff probably it's just how it works so Tua could prove me wrong

and then that could potentially be something to worry about but for me my biggest worry is that the Texans trade this to to the Jets and get the number two pick and then take that Zach Wilson kid out of BYU. I'm more worried about the potential of one of these young quarterbacks in the draft like Justin Fields or Trey Lance. I'm more worried about the Texans getting their hands on one of those guys. Or for the Panthers, maybe it's not Teddy Bridgewater. Maybe they trade the number eight pick.

I'm more worried about just because of the unknown. Yeah, they're rookies. Who knows how good they'll be. But I know how good Derek Carr is. I know how good Teddy Bridgewater is. I know how good a Ryan Fitzpatrick is. And I feel like I know how good a Tua Tunga-Vailoa is. But I'm not quite sure how good Zach Wilson is.

I'm not quite sure how good Justin Fields or Trey Lance are. So those guys could blow up and they could just be great and it would be like the Texans got another stud all over again. No, they probably wouldn't be Watson, but still make it tough enough on the Titans to where, you know, it's not great. You know what I mean? So that's how I would feel about that if the Texans get their hands on one of those young

rookies. Ksej, the homie, what up, Kevin? He said, if the NFL randomly changed to a seven-on-seven format, who would be the Titans players you'd want to be on the field? This is a fire question. I love it. I love it. The other questions were great, solid football questions. I love that,

but I can't lie. Some of these off-the-wall questions, things outside of football, I enjoy that too because it kind of helps all of us get to know each other a little bit more, and I like knowing what you guys have questions about outside of the football world, and I like discussing things like WandaVision on Twitter with you guys. I know I'm a football account, but I'm a real person too, you know. So, love just getting to know all you guys. This is a football question, but it's just fun. So, for the Titans offense, obviously you're going to have Tannehill. You're going to have Henry.

You're going to have A.J. Brown. I mean, at this moment in time, let's just go off last year's team because we don't know exactly who it's going to be out there. But I would have Corey. I would have had Jonu. I would have had AJ. That's three. I would have had Tannehill.

And I would have had Henry. That is five. So that leaves two more. I would actually choose because of a seven-on-seven format. And you can have different people blocking on the line of scrimmage, blitzing from different places. Rather than having Adam Humphreys or like a Cam Batson, I would actually have Anthony Ferkser, his ability to beat man coverage. I like that in a seven on seven format.

Also, Ferkser is a bigger guy, him and John who can help on the line. Then I'd have Taylor LeJuan out there, fully healthy, of course, being like that pseudo lineman because I think Taylor is athletic enough in a seven on seven format where he would be able to be a competent wide receiver a competent receiving option if they're throwing it out of the backfield and things like that the last question that I'm going to answer in this section comes from Jorge Espinoza and he said are you looking forward to the new Space Jam movie or are you staying true to the true goat and not watching? Okay, so clearly we have a Michael Jordan stan here. So my LeBron James relationship has been very weird. I was a

Kobe guy my whole life. You guys know this. I've talked about it quite a bit. My dog's named Kobe. I wear a Black Mamba band every day. He's kind of my North Star for how you want to work in life and what you want to aspire to. So RIP the Mamba. But because of that, I kind of hated on LeBron a lot of my life, and I shouldn't have. LeBron was better than I gave him credit for. Now, I still feel like right now Michael Jordan is the GOAT of NBA basketball. I think LeBron is the second best player of all time. If LeBron can win a couple more titles in LA, let's say the Lakers three-peat,

win the next two titles. LeBron's probably the GOAT at that point. Seven and six is better than, or he would be six and six. And with that 2016 title coming back from down 3-1, winning in the bubble, going to 12 finals, I mean, man,

with all the records he's going to have, it's going to be hard. But as for Space Jam, I'm going to watch it. I wouldn't care about, you know, any of the who's the GOAT, whether I watch it or not. I'm going to check it out. Why not? I like movies. I love the first Space Jam. Now that LeBron's on the Lakers, I'm going to support him. I still like cartoons, man. I will be 60 and I will still love cartoons. To me, if you can't just kind of relax for a little bit, get yourself out of all the adult stresses in the world and just kind of laugh at a cartoon, I mean, what's life then? What's life?

We're only here for a short time. Have a good time, laugh, enjoy cartoons. So I'm going to watch it, but we are going to move into the second portion of our Monday mailbag. Before we do, I want to remind you guys about the Locked On Today podcast. Peter Bukowski from the Locked On Packers podcast hosts a brand new show. It's kind of the flagship show for our network now, but it gives you all of the biggest sports news from all over the sports landscape in under 20 minutes.

I actually was on the Locked On Today show after Isaiah Wilson made that tweet last week, so make sure that you guys check that out on whatever platform you do stream. Also, the title sponsor of the show, Bilt Bar, guys, they have a brand new flavor called the Peanut Butter Crunch Bar, and my God, my God, it is so good. Also, I've told you guys before to put Bilt Bars in the fridge or the freezer to add some good texture, a nice cool snack. I actually talked with a lot of people this weekend to put Bilt Bars in the fridge or the freezer to add some good texture, a nice cool snack.

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So you've got to check out Bilt Bars. They're growing rapidly. You guys sold out their inventory the first time, but we built bars they're growing rapidly you guys sold out their inventory the first time but we have a new promo code for you guys it is locked on 20 with locked on 20 at built bar.com you'll get 20 off your next order so use that promo code locked on 20 for 20 off at bill bar.com dot com Let's cap off this Monday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast with the second half

of our mailbag but before we do I want to tell you about another fantastic show from the Locked On podcast network and that is the Peacock and Williamson Show. NFL analyst Brian Peacock and former NFL scout Matt Williamson host Locked On's Peacock and Williamson every Monday through Friday. Brian and Matt give you the national perspective all around the NFL, covering all the latest news and insights on every game, team, and all of the different roster moves

that are taking place around the NFL right now as well. So get your picks, previews, and much, much more every weekday with the Peacock and Williamson podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. I know that you guys listen to my show on your way to work or during your workouts and things like that. Of course, you're going to finish my show. You might have a little bit more time in there. Check out the Locked On Today show. Check out Peacock and Williamson. I mean, it's just fantastic work that the Locked On Podcast Network is doing all across the board.

But let's dive into the second half of this mailbag, guys. Number one, going to start with a good one. I do ask for some wild questions from time to time and Titans Jake absolutely delivered. So Jake's question is, the blockchain is the core of most cryptocurrency encryption techniques. Knowing that it is possible to decrypt cryptocurrency, can quantum computing provide the possibility to decrypt blockchain technology? provide the possibility to decrypt blockchain technology? Yes. Next question. Just kidding. Okay. So I'll give you an actual thought on this. So guys, some of you, if you're not in the cryptocurrency market, maybe you're not into investments and things like that. This is all pie in the sky nonsense to you, but essentially cryptocurrencies, online currencies, like a

Bitcoin, the reason that people consider them secure is because all of the transactions are done through something called blockchain it's basically where you can track all of these different transactions that happen but you don't actually know who the parties were involved it is a little bit over my head but I have a general idea of how it works but here here's all I'll say. And he's saying quantum computing provide the possibility. So basically it would be like a computer be able to go through so many different machinations. And like he says, quantum computing, just going through calculations to eventually decrypt the blockchain and make it so that it's not anonymous

anymore. Basically ruining how secure cryptocurrency is quote unquote supposed to be. Well, from my perspective, if in this landscape that we're in, the reality is the technology is not going down, it's going up. The advancements are increasing and I'm sorry, but anything, nothing is safe anymore. Quite frankly, there are people smart enough in this world to create blockchain. There are people smart enough in this world to decode it. So to me, it is a falsehood that cryptocurrency is secure and safe because the reality is if hackers can hack into some of the most complex military systems in the world, they can find a way to create technology and create computer algorithms to decode whatever decryption or to do whatever is necessary to take things from other people, including money.

So if this cryptocurrency stuff really blows up, as long as there is money, there will be people finding ways to steal that money from other people. I don't care how secure the bank tells you the bank is, banks get robbed. I don't care how secure you think you are with your gun in your house, Someone could come in and kill you and take your stuff on a bad day if you miss. The reality is here, no matter what we create to give us a sense of security, the truth is we are not secure. So yes, someone will eventually create technology to disrupt the security that people think they have with blockchain. But moving forward, plowing forward, Tom Wright, Tom Wright on Twitter said, in a crazy future where the Titans sign Watt, Casey, and re-sign Clowney, who do you give the 99 jersey?

And to me, this is easy. It's Jarrell Casey. I mean, JJ Watt is an all-timer. JJ Watt is certainly a better player than Jarrell Casey ever was. That's the facts here. J.J. Watt is one of the greatest defensive players of all time. Now, Jarrell Casey, though, is one of the greatest defensive players in Tennessee Titans history. And because of that, I'm not going to give somebody coming from someone else's house the best seat at the table.

I'm giving my brother who's returning home, the hometown hero, the legend, I'm giving him that. But I gotta be honest with you, Tom, we're never gonna see that. Jarrell Casey is not coming back to Nashville, man. He's not. The bridge was burned. He did not like the way that we traded him. He didn't like it. So the bridge is burned. Next.

My guy Adioso Boboso Cata. This is a good question question Jalen Waddle who's a wide receiver from Alabama and your rusher of choice so I'll say Jalen Phillips are available when the Titans pick what's your pick

so this question actually is what inspired me to the next few weeks of Mock Draft Monday I'm going to to do some custom mock drafts myself and put the Titans in position where talented players outside of the edge rusher position fall down the board and the Titans have to make a pick. Do they take that edge rusher they need so desperately and reach for need? Or do they take a guy that's best player available? The philosophy that we always hear. And in my opinion, you have to have a mashup of both of those concepts to really fill needs on your team as best as possible. But in this scenario, I talked about a guy like Jalen Waddell and how impactful that would be to the Titans offense. I've been talking about a boundary wide receiver with speed, but also

basically I don't want to cleave Raymond. That's not the speed answer to me. That's not a speed answer. He's a one-trick pony. He can run deep double moves. He can't do your typical wide receiver route tree. It's just not who he is. And he's not that great of a returner either. So I just, that needs to be improved. The Titans need to have, and Cam Batson has speed,

but Cam Batson isn't going to be somebody going deep. Cam Batson isn't somebody who can be out on the field. He's not a precise route runner right now, and he can improve, but I like Cam Batson as the Titans' fourth or fifth wide receiver who they can maybe mold into a gadget guy and help during injuries, but in my opinion, the Titans need an outside boundary receiver with speed to take the top off of defenses and open up things even more over the middle for A.J. Brown, and if the Titans do bring back John U. Smith, another guy who can get open over the middle, AJ Brown. And if the Titans do bring back John U. Smith, another guy who can get open over the middle, who knows what the Titans do in the draft as well to

get another wide receiver in there. Again, I think the Titans need a starting wide receiver in free agency and a starting caliber wide receiver in the first three rounds of the NFL draft. That's what I think the Titans need this year. And if the Titans could check that box with Jalen Waddell, need this year. And if the Titans could check that box with Jalen Waddell, who might be a top 10 pick, most certainly a top 15 pick. I mean, that right there, that is like the ideal guy if he were to drop for the Titans, where I say, screw edge rusher, man. You got to get Jalen Waddell in this offense to pair with A.J. Brown. I mean, whew, I'm salivating. I'm getting the vapors guys. Jalen Waddle's disgusting. Just exactly what the Titans need. Uh, next question would be Derek Shuler. Uh, Derek said, if you had to choose between one, would you choose parks and rec or the office?

And I am going to be, I'm going to be lame I'm sorry guys Parks and Rec is great I really do like Parks and Rec I do I'm not like a huge TV guy where I'm always watching TV so I can't claim to have like watched every episode ever for both of these shows but in my passing I've enjoyed both of them when watching them. They're hilarious shows with a ton of talented, funny comedians. I really enjoy both, but I got to go with The Office. I've watched The Office more. Just the whole setup of the show, they were just one of the first times I'd ever seen that setup where it's like they're being filmed. Man, it's just such a clever idea, so funny, and Steve Carell just, just kills it, um, uh, John Krasinski, right, that's the name, uh, plays Jim, fantastic, uh, Dwight, uh, I don't know the actor's name, but just so many characters that just absolutely blow my mind, it's, it's really

hilarious, and some of the best gifs in internet history came from that show too. But Parks and Rec, I guess they could say they have a pretty good handle on the GIF department as well. But that's going to do it for our Monday Mailbag, our Mock Draft Monday. I will be back with you guys on Tuesday to cover all of the latest Tennessee Titans news. As I said, make sure that you subscribe to the show on whatever platform you do stream so you never miss a moment of this Monday through Friday content that I will be bringing you all year round.

That's going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans. you