Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Titans Remaining Roster Needs & Free Agents Fits on Offense!

Episode Date: May 9, 2022

The Tennessee Titans are moving into a different phase of the offseason. We have a good picture of what the roster will look like in 2022. So what needs still remain and how can they fill them? Tyler goes over each position on offense to see who is there and if any talent needs to be added. First, take a look at the pass catcher spots and Tyler explains what he wants to see at WR. Next, travel into the trenches and see if the Titans offensive line needs to add any muscle and who could be the man for the job. Finally, head into the backfield to look at QB and running back. A surprised Tyler talks through his reasoning for being satisfied with the backfield.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.Blue NileThis Mother’s Day give mom something she’ll treasure forever with fine jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKEDON SPORTS listeners get $50 off $500. Use code LOCKEDON at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, it is a Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. And on today's show, with the draft behind us, it's time to look at what the Tennessee Titans roster looks like right now, identify any remaining needs, and talk about veteran free agents who could fill those holes. We're going over the entire offensive side of the ball today,

position by position, examining remaining needs for the Titans and veteran free agents who could be added to the team. All of that and more on a Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. Let's get it. You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast podcast. Again, we're going to go through the offensive side of the ball for the Titans, see if there are any remaining needs, any remaining roster holes on that side of the ball,

and then talk about veteran free agents who are available, who could fill those slots. Before we get into today's conversation, though, got 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. I am going to be putting out daily, Monday through Friday,

Tennessee Titans content all year round. Again, free and available on all platforms. That includes the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Subscribe over there. Smash that notification bell so you know when the content goes live and throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching on YouTube right now. I do want to start today's show by giving out an apology to all you guys. The audio for Monday's show was less than quality.

That's all I have to say about that. I've been dealing with some technical issues on my side with going live, with the audio quality. I feel like I've gotten all of those resolved, so hopefully we blaze forward throughout the rest of the offseason, doing lives, doing prerecorded shows, all of that, with no quality issues with the audio.

Please, guys, let me know how everything is sounding, and again, my apologies. Thank you guys so much for the support you sent going through those technical difficulties to make the show better in the long run, but I just wanted to let you guys know I'm aware of the issues, and hopefully, as of today, those issues are corrected. So with that in mind, we're going to dive into today's show with some good quality audio. But before we get into the roster holes and the veterans who can fill them, I do want to mention here that the Titans will be playing

on Monday night football in week two of the NFL season on the road against the Buffalo Bills. That was announced already by ESPN. And, of course, the entire schedule for the Titans comes out on Thursday night. Subscribe to the YouTube channel right now. I'm going to be going live directly after the schedule is released for a schedule breakdown video. Also, coming out on Thursday morning and Wednesday night on YouTube,

I'm going to have my schedule prediction. We're going to go over all the Titans opponents that are home and away, not knowing what the order is. I'm going to give you my wish list. I want to see this game in primetime. I hope the Titans games go in this order to help them with travel and things like that. So my schedule predictions and wish list will come out on Wednesday for YouTube, Thursday for the podcast crowd.

My reaction to the actual schedule will be Thursday night on YouTube, Friday morning for the podcast. Today we're doing offensive roster needs. Tomorrow we'll do the defense. So that's the rest of the week's content schedule here on the Locked on Titans podcast. But a lot of housekeeping here to start. So let's dive into these roster holes. Number one, at the skill position players, the pass catching positions where I want to start, wide receiver.

So the Titans have Robert Woods, of course. They bring in Traylon Burks. They still have Nick Westbrook-Akina. They add Kyle Phillips in the draft. They still have Des Fitzpatrick, Racey McMath. They bring in Reggie Roberson as an undrafted free agent. You got a guy like Mason Kinsey, a guy like Cody Hollister, of course.

But for me, we're looking at four guys. Woods, Burks, Nick Westbrook-Akina, and Kyle Phillips. Those are the guys who I think we realistically can have a conversation about making an impact in year one. Those are the guys who I think we realistically can have a conversation about

making an impact in year one. Those are the guys who really make sense. And for me, the Titans just don't have enough at wide receiver right now. Where's the speed dynamic? Yes, Traylon Burks has better speed than his 40 times showed, but I still wouldn't consider him a downfield burner. We know that Robert Woods is not that. We know that Nick Westbrook-Akina is not that. Kyle Phillips isn't a downfield burner. While Des Fitzpatrick and Ray C. McMath have good speed, those guys can't be counted on to be actual wide receivers this year. Same thing with Reggie Robertson. Guys, I hope that he works out, but he's an undrafted free agent who's got an uphill climb. You can't say that the roster's good and you have your downfield burner because you have an undrafted free agent. Okay. So in my opinion, the Titans

still have a need there. And actually one thing of note, Mike Keith, the voice of the Titans inside the building said he does expect the Titans to make a signing at wide receiver in the free agent market in the coming weeks. That's something he said on air. So, who could fill that role? I think Jarvis Landry could make some sense, but again, with Traylon Burks, who I think will play a ton in the slot, Robert Woods, Nick Westbrook-Akina, Kyle Phillips,

who've all played a ton in the slot or will play in the slot, I don't know that a pure possession slot receiver is what the Titans really need. The guy who I really, really like is Will Fuller. Will Fuller has experience with Tim Kelly's offense in Houston. He is that deep threat burner. And yes, Will Fuller misses a lot of games. But with the Titans depth that they currently have, you get those eight games out of Will Fuller,

and hopefully they're at the back end of the season, and he can make a major impact as a downfield field stretcher. That's exactly what the Titans need. Another guy who maybe won't give you exactly that, Will Fuller's the only guy who really matches that perfectly, but another guy like Jarvis Landry who can be a possession wide receiver and just give a veteran touch to the group is a guy like Emmanuel Sanders. A lot of you guys will yell for a guy like Odell Beckham.

Me, I don't see that as a fit. I think he'll be getting too much money for what the Titans are going to be willing to give here. The Titans are going to be going for a veteran cheap option. Yes, Cole Beasley's out there, but apply the same. The Titans got Kyle Phillips. I know he's not as good as Cole Beasley right now, but I just don't think you pay a veteran

when you got a guy like Kyle Phillips. Julio Jones, hilarious. T.Y. Hilton, maybe could provide that speed again another guy who's going to be injured throughout the year but if the Titans add enough depth then the injuries won't be as hard to deal with so I want a guy who can give them some downfield speed I know T.Y. Hilton's on the last legs

literally, of his career but, you know, an option there so out of those names, I like Will Fuller I like Emmanuel Sanders the most. If those guys don't work out, Jarvis Landry does make a little bit of sense for the Titans, even if it's not a perfect schematic match, but I think it would make some sense. At tight end, the Titans have Austin Hooper, Jeff Swaim,

Chigga Conquo, Tommy Hudson, Briley Moore, some other guys on the depth chart as well, who I don't think will be factors in the roster decisions, But either way, I think the Titans are good at tight end. I don't see any additions needing to be made at that position, but we're going to move forward in the offense. We are going to talk about the offensive line. And I got to tell you, that's a spot where I think the Titans could use an addition as well. But before we get into the offensive line, do you want to tell you guys a little bit about betonline.net? Our partners at BetOnline continue to be the number one source

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to learn more about all the trends and all the action. BetOnline, where the game starts. Titans fans, we are going to continue this Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We just talked about wide receiver and tight end. Talked about the Titans getting that Monday night football game against the Buffalo Bills. Again, I'm going to have schedule predictions on Wednesday or

Thursday. I'm going to have schedule reactions directly after the schedule is released on Thursday night into Friday morning. Again, we're doing the offense today. We're going to do the defense tomorrow. So tomorrow, defensive depth chart and positional needs. Then schedule predictions

on Thursday. Sched schedule predictions on Thursday. Schedule reactions on Friday. Ton of stuff going on here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Make sure you subscribe and thank you again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. But let's continue here going through the offensive side of the ball. We're going to dive into the offensive line and I'm going to start at offensive tackling. Here's where things get murky. I didn't know what position to list certain guys

in because the Titans love versatility so effing much that they have guys who can't play either position very well is what you get into. The thing is, when you get a guy who is specifically a right tackle or an offensive tackle,

they can just work on that. They can just focus on that and be great at that. But the Titans, they don't like that. They don't like specialization. They want a guy who can play tackle and guard, even if it means that they're not as good of a tackle as a tackle specialist and they're not as good of a guard as a guard specialist. I don't understand the philosophy. While I think you do need to have some versatile players in your core,

in your group, like, yeah, your swing offensive tackle should be able to play some interior offensive line. Your backup interior offensive lineman should be able to play both center and guard. I get that. But for your starters, I just don't understand the absolute bloodthirst for guys who play multiple positions, even if it sacrifices them playing one

position well. I don't understand. Like, great, Nick Westbrook-Akina is a great blocker, but he can't catch the dang ball. It bounces off his hands for the third interception of the game in a playoff game. You got Nick Westbrook-Akina out there being your second leading wide receiver. All because they love him because he blocks.

Can we get a guy who's actually a good receiver? Maybe even if he doesn't block great. Is that too much to ask? Can I get a wide receiver who's a solid, real NFL wide receiver, even if he doesn't play special teams. Maybe? Maybe? I know the need for versatility, and I agree.

I love Danico Autry. He can play edge, he can play interior defensive line, blah, blah, blah. I get it. There are guys peppered throughout the roster who I think should be able to do that. But when that's the only kind of guy that you like, we only like players if they can play multiple spots, now you're playing a dangerous game

of getting a jack of all trades who's average at everything instead of a master of one. And I think throughout a roster, you need some masters. You need a few masters throughout the roster. Okay? Anyway. An impromptu Rollins rant for you guys, but whatever. I couldn't help it. It's just been on my

mind. So, looking at offensive line, you got Taylor LeJuan, obviously, at left tackle. Dylan Radins is a tackle? Again, we don't know. We don't know. The guy played mostly guard last year in practice. And then, when he played tackle

in games, he looked better than he did when he ever played guard. The guy's a tackle. He is a tackle. Stop trying to make him a guard. Anyways, Dylan Radin's tackle, Nicholas Petit Ferrer, who I'm at least excited about.

John Robinson talked about versatility and only mentioned both tackle spots. Thank you, J-Rob. Let the guy play tackle. Jamarco Jones, again, Mike Vrabel said he's going to get his first reps with the Titans at left guard. I don't know. I don't know, guys. I don't know.

The Titans right now could have two tackles on the entire roster with LeJuan and NPF, and NPF is expected to not be able to start in year one. So who is the right tackle? We don't know. and MPF is expected to not be able to start in year one. So who is the right tackle? We don't know. At interior offensive line, Nate Davis, Ben Jones,

Corey Levin, Aaron Brewer, Dylan Radins, Jamarco Jones? I don't know. But at the end of the day, as you guys can probably tell, I think the Titans have more guys on the roster right now that can play in the interior than they have guys who can play at tackle.

I think Dylan Radins is a tackle, but maybe they don't. I think Jamarco Jones is best suited at guard instead of tackle. So when you have Radins, Jamarco Jones, and Petit Ferrer are all who either aren't ready to play tackle or who we don't know if they even see him as a tackle. To me, tackle is the real need when you look at the offensive line. Because you have enough guys who can play on the interior. You don't have enough guys who you feel confident can play tackle.

So I would be looking at tackle. Dennis Kelly did a little workout with the Colts. Yeah, I don't expect Dennis Kelly to be the starting right tackle, but bring the guy in. What's the worst that can happen? His brother is a senior offensive assistant now. It makes too much sense. Don't let him go to the Colts.

Come on. Not only that, but a guy like Nate Solder, I think could make some sense for the Titans. He's an older guy, been broken down, big body tackle. Yeah, maybe he's not a great starter right now, but I think when you're going up against Nicholas Petit-Ferrer or Jamarco Jones or even Dylan Radins, why couldn't Nate Solder be a good stopgap for one year

while Petit-Ferrer gets ready? Same thing, Brian Beluga. Tons of injuries. Give him a low salary. Give him $1.3 million. Bring him in. If he stays healthy, you got a high-quality offensive tackle. If he doesn't, then you're in the same spot you were right now as we stand.

So I think Brian Beluga could make a lot of sense. If they do want to go on the interior or they do want another guy with some split versatility, Eric Flowers. Eric Flowers struggled as a high draft pick at offensive tackle. He eventually moved inside to interior offensive line. And he's had a pretty solid career the last few years. Playing interior offensive line. Bring him in.

Why not? I mean, if they think they need help on the interior offensive line, because Radins and Petit Ferrer are going to be used as tackles, and that means you really have Jamarco Jones and Aaron Brewer battling it out for left guard, then heck yeah, bring in Eric Flowers to battle at left guard. Why not? I think he's a better player than Jamarco Jones or Aaron Brewer.

So that's what I would be looking for. Those are four names on the offensive line market that I think make a lot of sense for the Titans going forward with the needs that they have. Again, the versatility of the offensive line actually becomes an issue at some point if you don't have guys who can play certain spots very well. You could do a bunch of things pretty good, but can you do one thing very well? That's what I really care about right now, and I don't see anybody that the Titans have.

So I would focus on offensive tackle depth and bringing a veteran there for that. But if they do view Dylan Radins as the right tackle, and they view Nicholas Petit-Ferrer as an offensive tackle, then yes, bringing the interior offensive lineman, a guy like Eric Flowers, makes a lot of sense. But that's the offensive line. We talked about the pass catchers. We talked about the offensive line.

We're going to move to the offensive backfield to close things off. But before we get into that, I do want to tell you guys about rockauto.com. Rockauto.com is an online company that's been serving do-it-yourselfers for over 20 years. They're a family company, and they're run as such as well. Go to rockauto.com. Their online catalog is remarkably easy to use. It's way easier to use and navigate than I thought could be possible for an auto parts website with all the different auto parts that are available to you.

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Again, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Tennessee Titans fanatic for nearly 25 years, certified film junkie and tape head at your service, breaking down all the news and notes out of Nashville while also having a focus on the X's and O's and schematics and the inside parts of football. I just don't want to talk all the talking head topics all the time. I like to get into the nitty gritty. You know what I mean?

Actually, talk some ball. So I appreciate all the support from all you guys. Thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Now for your second listen, check out the Locked on NFL podcast. So basically what happens is you have different hosts of different Locked on shows breaking down national NFL news Monday through Friday for free on all platforms, including the Locked on NFL YouTube channel.

Your boy is actually one of the hosts of the Thursday edition of the Locked On NFL podcast. So Monday through Friday, you get your Tennessee Titans content here with me. Then get your NFL news by making the Locked On NFL podcast your second listen. Again, free and available on all platforms. But we talked about the pass catching positions. Wide receiver, tight end. I think the Titans have a major need at wide receiver. They need a veteran field stretcher or just another veteran presence.

Talked about Jarvis Landry, Will Fuller, Emmanuel Sanders, maybe Odell Beckham, Cole Beasley, T.Y. Hilton, Julio Jones. Get out of here. Yeah, right. So some of the options that can make sense. Didn't see a need at tight end. Then moved to the offensive line. Talked about offensive tackle. Talked about guard.

Talked about center. The Titans have a lot of questions to answer, quite frankly, as to how they view their different offensive linemen and what they can do best. But if they decide to get an offensive tackle, which I think is a personal big need on the offensive line, I'd like to see Dennis Kelly brought back, Brian Beluga, Nate Solder. If they think they have more of a need on the interior offensive line, Eric Flowers, I think could make a lot of sense

in the veteran free agent market. But now we need to look at the last two spots on the offense, and that is the quarterback and running back position. And I got to tell you guys up front, not seeing a lot of needs, truly not. So let's dive in here. Quarterback. The Titans have Ryan Tannehill, of course. Logan Woodside. And then Malik Willis. And you may be asking yourself, Tyler,

why did you say Malik Willis third? That's because I believe that Malik Willis is the third string quarterback this year, guys. I believe that if Ryan Tannehill got hurt in a game, they would put Logan Woodside in. I think that's asinine. I think that if Ryan Tannehill got hurt in a game, they would put Logan Woodside in. I think that's asinine. I think it's insanity. But I think it's true.

But I think that it's true. Okay? Malik Willis needs development. Now, here's the other part of that. While I think that Logan Woodside would be put in before Ryan, or after, before Malik Willis struggled on that one right Jesus Lord even though I think Logan Woodside would be put in to play starting

quarterback before they would put in Malik Willis I still think Malik Willis plays sooner and plays more often because I think the Titans should have a package of plays to use Malik Willison on offense, whether it be red zone, whether it be short yardage, whether it be goal line. I think the Titans have to utilize Malik Willis' talents in some way this season. So, I think that Logan Woodside is the backup, but Malik Willis should get chances to play more than Woodside because, obviously, of the dynamic runner that he is. But, again,

I know you guys disagree, and I disagree too, but I have a feeling that if Ryan Tannehill were to get hurt, Logan Woodside would be the starter. Just seems like a total Mike Vrabel move, in my opinion. But, the point is, for the first

time since I started covering this team, I can say I don't think the Titans need to add a backup. Oh, man. Hold on. Whew. Feels euphoric. So, for those of you guys who haven't been listening to the show for every year since I took over the last three seasons,

I am openly anti-Woodside. One, I thought, I think, I know, he's never done anything in the NFL to warrant the type of love and confidence that some of the fan base has for him. Number two, when he got a chance to actually play football on the AAF, he wasn't any good. How are you going to tell me he'd be good

in the NFL? Get out of here with that. And then number three, I heard he was a jerk in college. Not a big fan. So, anyways. For all those reasons, not a big Woodside guy.

I thought the Titans went cheap with backup quarterback for the last few seasons on purpose. They know that Logan Woodside is probably the worst backup quarterback in the NFL, but they didn't care because he was cheap. I know, I know, my dog's whining. He hates Woodside too. I hear you, Kobe. I hear you. But the whole point is, I think the Titans went cheap

because they knew if Ryan Tannehill got hurt, they'd be screwed. But I disagree with that philosophy anyways because what if Tannehill gets hurt for two weeks? What if Tannehill got hurt for two quarters? You're damning the team by having Logan Woodside in there. So I guess this is not the way I expected this problem to be fixed. I didn't think it would be the young rookie quarterback. But hey, by hook or by crook, the problem was solved.

And I don't have to see Logan Woodside as the only backup quarterback for the Titans. Also, I have a theory that Kevin Hogan and Trevor Simeon were better than Logan Woodside, but because of COVID and wanting to make sure that you had the better quarterback in tow if your quarterback groom got COVID. I think that's why they went that route. I don't know. I don't have any good theories. Logan Woodside is a roster pirate. He has blackmail on John Robinson. It's the only thing I can think of.

All jokes, all jokes, but still, the new roster pirate, Logan Woodside. I still think the Titans keep three quarterbacks this year as well, guys, for the reasons I explained earlier. At running back, I like the group. Derrick Henry, of course, but then you have Hassan Haskins as the backup Derrick Henry.

You got Dontrell Hilliard, who's your third down scat back. And then you got Trent Cannon, who could be your special teams returner and backup Dontrell Hilliard. I'm pretty happy. Pretty happy with the backfield right now. Can't complain at all, actually.

I don't see a lot of needs there for the Titans. I like what they got, and they can roll into the season with that grouping. So we have a good picture of the Titans' backfield right now. But no needs there. So again, need it wide receiver. No need it tight end. Need it offensive line,

whether it be one more veteran offensive tackle or one more veteran interior offensive lineman. Whatever you guys think. Whatever the Titans think. There we go. And then the backfield, no needs there. Whatever you guys think, whatever the Titans think. There we go. And then the backfield, no needs there. Quarterback and running back are good to go. But this show is good to go.

Guys, again, I'm so sorry for the audio issues. Hopefully things are cleared up. Please let me know. You can reach out to me on Twitter. Put it down in the comments below how the audio sounded today. I do appreciate, again, all the support while I figured everything out. But that is going to do it for me today, folks. Remember, again, tomorrow we'll do

the defense. Thursday, we're doing schedule predictions. Friday, schedule reactions. So, a ton to go over here throughout the rest of the week and the rest of the offseason on the Locked on Titans podcast. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this

was Locked on Titans.