Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - TITANS SQUAD SHOW: Cam Ward DIALED IN for Training Camp, Will Levis Surgery & Defensive Expectations

Episode Date: July 22, 2025

The Tennessee Titans kick off training camp and all eyes are on Cam Ward. We discuss what he needs to do to be ready for week one after Will Levis had shoulder surgery and is out for the season. Plus, what young wide receivers will emerge out of a group of Chimere Dike, Elic Ayomanor & Xavier Restrepo, etc. On defense, Femi Oladejo has signed his deal and needs to be a big part of a defense that must improve on the pass rush front.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Yahoo FantasyPresented by YahooFantasy #YahooPartner. Play Now at yahoofantasy.com/lockedonnfl Rugiet150,000 men have made the switch →https://Rugiet.com/LOCKEDONNFLUse code LOCKEDONNFL to get 15% off your order!BetterhelpThis episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Your well-being is worth it. Visit BetterHelp.com/lockedonnfl today to get 10% off your first month. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFLfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get $150 in BONUS BETS when your first $5 BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

Welcome to the Tennessee Titans squad show today we're discussing training camp as the Titans kick off they are ready to get back on the field. Titan up it's the Titans squad sponsored by Game Time everything Tennessee Titans every week covering all the big hits and game-changing plays from the heart of Music City, the way only the Locked On Podcast Network can. Squad up, the Titan Squad Show starts now. Welcome to the first ever Titan Squad Show.

I'm your host, Julian Mininzone. Alongside me are my esteemed panel of fellow hosts. First guy right there, you know him as the host of the Locked On Titans podcast, Mr. Tyler Rowland. Tyler, first show, how we feeling? Ready to go, man. Football is here. It's been a good summer.

Can't say I didn't enjoy, but I'm ready for the football to be back. So excited to talk about it today with you guys. Our other host needs no introduction. You know him as a two-time Pro Bowler and former Titans offensive tackle. Mr. Brad Hopkins, B Hop. How we feeling Julian Tyler? It's great to be on with you guys and like they've already said football is back, baby.

You know, training camp says to start off what just here in 24 hours or so and the rookies get reported in and off and running. We go, we'll be looking up in the regular season. Games will start being having kicked off. Exactly. Super exciting time here in Nashville. I wanted to reiterate that just because we are starting this Titan squad show, we're going to be doing it a couple of times a week.

That doesn't mean Tyler's locked on Titans podcast is going away. You could still be in everyday air for that show. Make sure you like, comment, subscribe to both shows. You can get the audio wherever you get your podcasts here on the Locked On Titans podcast and the Locked On network. It's super exciting. Just wanted to make sure that people understand

that there's gonna be two different types of shows where you can get all your Titans content every single day. So yeah, super exciting. Before we get into it, want to remind everybody that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can get $150 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So exciting stuff there. So without further ado, let's get into it. It's the perfect day to start a new show because

the Titans are reporting to camp today. They get back on the field tomorrow. A lot of stuff happening with the team this week. Of course, you know, the big news yesterday with Will Levis electing to get shoulder season ending shoulder surgery as if it wasn't already officially official. It just clears the way for Cam Ward to be the starter. But I want to know from you guys, what would you like to see from Cam as he gets into his first training camp with the Titans to let you know he is ready for week one? Well, I'll go off and start off to me. It's not necessarily about, you know, it's nice when he had the big day in mandatory mini camp because 20 for 21, 14 straight, we're all freaking out.

He's great. But really, for me, 14 straight. We're all freaking out. He's great. But really for me, it's about the presence on the team. We're talking about a rookie quarterback who has to start week one. And I'm sorry, that's difficult in the NFL, no matter how good of a rookie quarterback you are. And I think that as long as he commands the team

the right way, he feels like the leader of the team. The guys respect him. He earns the respect of his teammates. Of course, we need him to read defenses and know the playbook and execute the throws and not be behind. That stuff is self-explanatory. He's got to play good football.

But for a rookie who's set to be a starter in week one, for me, it's about the leadership and the impact on the locker room. They have to believe in him, and I think that's really important. So establishing that early on, and I think he's already done a good job of doing some of that early on,

the back and forth with Jeffrey Simmons, holding his own, having his teammates around throughout the summer break. I think he's taken the right, he's checked the boxes so far, we can't get ahead of ourselves and get it's Hall of Fame jacket ready. But at the end of the day, for me,

it's just about the presence and the leader and a guy who has a lot on his shoulders, not only on the football field, but this is a guy who kind of needs to change the culture of the Titans once again into a new era of football. And that's a lot for a rookie. I think Cam can handle it,

but those are the things I wanna see early on before we get to how he's progressing and things like that on the field. It's bigger than that to me early. Yeah, Tyler, you pretty much mentioned almost all the things that I was going to say that he needed to do to establish himself as a leader is the most important thing. The intangibles of being a quarterback,

that's what Brian Callahan does. He's been in this position before, drafting Joe Burrow in 2020 as the first pick of the draft. So he understands how to handle, how to manage the player that's got a lot of responsibility, a lot of expectation on him for this 2025 season. So for him to understand defenses, for him to move protections, for him to, you know, understand the adjustments that need to be made going from the college game to the pro game, these things will develop. I think he's in a great position in a great franchise to be able to do that. But it's getting yourself acclimated with the guys on the squad, the Calvin Ridley's,

obviously the Van Jeffersons, the new guys that are in in line, the players that are going to be blocking for him, you know, just developing a rapport even with the other side of the football. So just getting yourself immersed in in what is to be a new established culture here in Tennessee and just kind of understanding exactly what your requirements are being the leader of this team, especially offensively guys, Brad, I have a question for you. Sorry about that, Julie. And just from your experience, obviously being in these locker rooms and being a

veteran for so long, how quickly can a rookie kind of earn that respect? Can it happen already in mandatory mini camp and in the all season program if the veterans are around or does that respect really get earned during this training camp or does it even maybe take longer into the season? How quickly can a rookie earn the respect of the locker room? Yeah, that's a great question. And in the further that, you know,

I was drafted as a rookie in 2000 or 1993 to be the starting left tackle. Now, of course, my responsibilities weren't near what Ken Ward's responsibilities are going to be. But just given the feel that you belong in that position and for him, it's gonna be super important for him to establish that rapport and that respect that leaders in that position hold as a quarterback.

So it's saying the right things, it's doing the right things. It's being vocal. In most situations in, in most situations, uh, Steve wasn't the most vocal guy when he finally got the reins to be the starting head coach or starting quarterback. But the way he carried himself and his accomplishments were the things that we resonated to, you know, to, so, you know, I think that, um, it's obviously possible cause they wouldn't take that guy in the,

with the first pick of the draft, it didn't feel that he had some of the minutiae that it takes to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. Because most starting quarterbacks are the leaders of not only your offense, but both sides of the football, your team, because they're the face of your franchise. So it won't be the easiest thing, but just how he steps, how he carries himself, how he speaks, the relationships that he develops in the locker room, how he accomplishes things on the field and gets better from day to day. That's how you can establish yourself as a leader,

and I'm sure that he'll do some of those things. You know, it's very rare that we see somebody, a rookie quarterback, come in, and he already has kind of that it factor, like, right away. I mean, I don't know too many people who on their first day of the job, or too many people in any capacity would want to trash talk Jeffrey Simmons on their first day of the job together. I mean, I think that won some major brownie points with the vets. I covered Cam for two years in college while he was at Washington State. I used to work for the ABC affiliate over there in Spokane, Washington. And even at that point, he won over that locker room

right away and he was one of the first guys in that locker room making money, the NIL and everything. And that's a lot, that comes with a lot of expectations, that comes with a lot of pressure and going into a new situation, it might be hard where a lot of people are looking at, who's this new guy coming in who thinks he's the man. And I think that he has given us really no reason, at least for me, no reason to believe

that he can't be successful day one where he's put up numbers everywhere he's gone. He's learned new systems really quickly, one over the locker room at three different schools and different coaches. And I think that could go a long way in winning over a locker room with a bunch of vets who have kind of been around. The thing that stuck out to me wasn't necessarily the 20 of 21, 18 straight after throwing that pick

in the first day of mini camp. It was the last day of mini camp, they had a family day where all the families got to watch and there were food trucks and people were enjoying themselves as kind of like a sendoff before the break before training camp. And Cam threw two picks that day and I remember waiting 45 minutes for him to get off the field. He was the last one to leave.

He was holding himself accountable, almost self-punishment running for throwing those two interceptions. And I think that just that alone, establishing kind of a culture like that, where you're holding yourself accountable and you're the most important position on the team, certainly pays dividends, I think, from the beginning, when you're trying to establish kind of a new winning culture with a new regime and a new GM and a fairly new head coach. I think all that kind of stuff goes a long way. Am I kind of off base on that Behop? Well, let me say this, Julian, that's a great point that you bring up, but these are the expectations of a guy that's in his position.

So the players want that. The players want him to feel this confidence to be able to yell at a veteran like Jeffrey Simmons or at least go back and forth. Because remember, it wasn't that long ago that Jeffrey Simmons was talking about how they couldn't block him remember those days Tyler Yeah, you know so they want to have a guy that's in that position that says hey look I belong here You know this is a position that I'm going to take take control of and You guys will respect me because if he doesn't have that kind of personality if he doesn't have that kind of moxie that kind of confidence guys will respect me because if he doesn't have that kind of personality, if he doesn't have that kind of moxie, that kind of confidence, it'll show and that

will be viewed as a liability by the guys that are playing with him, whether you're throwing, whether he's throwing you the football or you're blocking for him. So he's got to have that feel. Can't have somebody who melts down in the big moments or can't kind of handle that and listen, you know, we don't get to see absolutely everything going on, but I've seen a recent Titans quarterback who, when things start kind of going downhill, doesn I've seen a recent Titans quarterback who when things start kind of going downhill doesn't really pull them out of that funk, kind of contributes more to things rolling downhill. So having a guy who you can kind of count on to do that. And one thing

that popped up in my mind as we're talking about this stuff with Cam Ward and Julian, you got the Kobe Bryant picture behind you, my favorite athlete of all time as well, who was known as a maniacal worker, a guy who would not stop. And I know that Brian Callahan has talked about, hey, Cam, it's a long season. Like, you know, make sure that you pace yourself here. You're coming out of college, it's hard. But at the end of the day,

when we're talking about a new era of Titans football, which is really what this needs to be, and a new culture going forward with Cam Ward, I think it's not a bad thing to have a guy who is obsessive, a guy who is so driven, I'm gonna be there every day, I'm working every day, I don't take breaks. Cause I would rather have that than have the guy, the leader of your new era be the other way.

You know, I would rather have to have a guy who I have to say, hey man, let's just take a break for a second from the work, you know, just, just relax. Then a guy who I'm having to pull into Facility so to me it's like you can't always have it perfect in life And if i'm gonna get a new leader of a new era of titans football, hopefully i'd rather have a guy who was a maniacal Obsessive worker which is a lot of the times at high levels of profession of professional football professional, and high levels of any industry. You kind of do gotta be a little bit of an obsessive,

crazy, maniacal person sometimes to reach the heights of the heights. So I personally see it as a wonderful thing. Maybe it's I'm Kobe Bryant coated as the kids would say, but I think it's fantastic that Kam Ward has been so driven and so obsessed with getting it right. Cause that matters to his teammates like Behop is saying. Well, you gotta have that real quick, Julian, before I give it back to you.

You've gotta have that initiative to do it yourself without being told. Nobody had to tell Colby Bryant to get in and get yourself 500 free throws. Nobody had to tell Michael Jordan, LeBron James. I'm using basketball analogies because Julian's got a cool picture on his wall. But the point is to be great, no one had to tell you to be great. It's somehow it's within you. You know what I mean? So for him, like you mentioned, Julian wanted to get a few soundbites from him, you know, after practice and how much time he was spending on rectifying what he felt was a situation. That's what you want to see. If you make a mistake, that's fine, because we're all human. But you've got to show that you're you've got a plan or at least a process in place to go ahead and make sure

that whatever you did wrong doesn't happen again. Everybody else wants to know that you're working as hard as they are and that you're willing to give as much. More so, Tyler, more so. You're the quarterback. You've got to be the first guy in the building. You better be the last guy leaving. If they see you as the first guy in the parking lot, they're like, oh, what's going on here, man? Your responsibilities are way more than ours. You need to be putting in more hours or your car should be the first one that's seen in

the parking lot. So that way people say, people know that you're already putting the work in to be our leader. I was just going to say, Cam said his favorite athlete is indeed Kobe Bryant. So that all checks out. Shocker. Real quickly, before we hit to a break, the Titans have Brandon Allen and Tim Boyle behind Cam Ward right now. Are you comfortable with that as QB too? And if so, or if not, I should say, who do you think maybe they should go after or target or, or kind of look at because there is a school of

thought out there. And I think it's the craziest thing that Oh, if cam ward, something happens to him, God forbid, pack your bags on the season. We don't care who wins those games anyway, or care about winning those games in the first place. But I'm thinking if you're trying to establish the winning culture, like you guys are talking about, you think the Chiefs are packing it in if Patrick Mahomes gets hurt?

No, they're going to try to win those games. Not to mention, you think Brian Callahan, a brand new head coach, you kind of have to see what you have in him. I would like to field the best football team possible to see what I have in him as a head coach. Not to mention the receivers like Chim Ray D.K. and Alec Ayo Manor. Guys you want to develop, you need to have the best quarterback possible. So what do you guys think about the QB2 spot right now? Okay, let's be clear though. If

Patrick Mahomes goes down and Gardner Minshew comes in, they're in trouble. That's just the fact. And you're talking about two dudes that in Brandon Allen, this is his sixth stop in the National Football League. For Tim Boyle, this is his eighth stop. And there's a reason why they've been on so many different teams. So even though this is a very good scheming team with Brian Callahan, we know what his success can look like when he's got the most talented players available to him on the field.

Hey, man, it's a hard road to hoe when you don't have the most talented players at the at the key position like quarterback So I'm not gonna say you just you know pack up camp and you know count on next year, but they at least have the fact that they have a rookie expected to start going for them because Everybody knows that there's gonna be some adjustments that need to be made All this stuff that comes along with a young player trying to get himself acclimated. Nobody expects the Titans in this current situation to win the division. That might be lofty goal and some holes for a lot of Titans fans. But the reality is you got a young guy that's trying to

get himself used to the system that he's going to be running for obviously most of his beginning of his career anyway. And if he goes down, to be running for, you know, obviously most of his beginning of his career anyway. And if he goes down, yeah, you better start running the football. Listen, I gotta be, I gotta be the one Julian. And, um, one thing that, uh, I'm sure everyone will learn about me during the squad shows is I'm not afraid to tell you that I am that guy. I am the one. No, you don't go out and get another veteran quarterback.

You don't go out and get somebody like Carson Wentz or something like that because here's a reality I think we talk about fielding the best team possible Well it no matter who is out there at backup quarterback right now unless the Titans make a trade which I don't think they're at Their life cycle was a team to be trading for backup quarterbacks I think that's maybe next year or a year down the road to really secure that But I think this year you're not gonna get a great look at the wide receivers that you want and all these other guys, no matter who you go getting backup quarterback right now.

So I know the players in the locker room and Brian Callahan who's coaching for his career and his job and all that. I'm sure they would tell you no, we wanna have the best backup possible. But I go back to the Cincinnati Bengals where Brian Callahan was from when Joe burrow got hurt his rookie year. They didn't, you know, go out and get the best backup they could. They had a guy like Brandon Allen, who's a good teacher, who's two and eight in his 10 starts in his career.

That will, Levis has more career passing yards than Brandon Allen. And he's in his thirties. This guy is a coach in the locker room. That's what he's doing. He is coaching. So for me, I would rather the Titans like the Bengals, they ended up with a top five pick and could have had Jamar Chase or Pen A. Sewell. If Cam Ward gets hurt, all that matters for me this year is Cam Ward's development and if Cam Ward looks good, but he happens to miss some games,

I don't want the Titans and the reality is what we're weighing is about five or six draft positions and two wins. Two wins with some with Carson Wentz or some random backup may make me feel happy on a Sunday but I think the five draft slots would actually be more important to the Titans when they need a high-level edge one and there's a really good edge class coming or a couple of quarterbacks that they can make a trade for and get big time capital to keep building the team. I just think when you really go to the end of the path in both of those in the conversation, the path that could really help the Titans more long-term

is for them to have a lesser backup who's really there to mentor Cam Ward. And if he goes down, might as well lose those games. No, I hear you, Tyler. I know a lot of people have been split since Will Levis obviously announced that he would be getting shoulder surgery. I get the other side, I do, but that's how I feel, and I'm sticking with it. Well, speaking of draft picks,

we're going to talk about a couple of those, especially in the receiver room with Chimray, DK, Elec, IoManner, and that crowded wide receiver room that the Titans have. Keep it locked here on Locked on Titans after the quick break. All right, guys, you've probably heard of Viagra or Cialis. Maybe you've even tried them, but if you're looking for something beyond the usual pill,

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on NFL use the promo code locked on NFL for 15% off. Alright guys we're back and talking about the wide receiver room one of the more intriguing position battles in all of camp. You have Calvin Ridley who seems pretty re-energized with a brand new quarterback at least to me. You brought in Tyler Lockett Van Jefferson some veteran guys. You drafted Chim Ray DK, Elec Ayo Man Uh, you brought in Tyler Lockett, van Jefferson, some veteran guys. You drafted Chim Ray, DK, Ellic Isleman are two young rookies that, uh, a lot of people are excited about. But then after that, it kind of seems a little bit of a question mark. Um, Tyler, I know you've covered this on your show before. Um, where do you think the Titans go for those kind of back end receiver spots?

You have Xavier Strepel, Traylon Burks, amongst others. Yeah, I think you need to go young. I think at this point you need guys who fit the timeline and you have three veterans at the top and Calvin Ridley and Van Jefferson and Tyler Lockett, who I think that's enough veteran talent. The other three spots, maybe four spots, depending on how the math works out on the roster.

I think you need to fill that with the young guys. Now, Birx is a guy who I think he's had his opportunities. And at this point, I don't see a big breakout or a big jump coming for Traylon Birx. I think he's close to who he is, who he is, and you know we're gonna get for him. And I think he's had his chances. So I think even a guy like Birx, I would move on. I wouldn't give a spot to Birx over a guy like an IO man or Chim Dike or even a guy like Xavier Restrepo

who I think can instantly have better chemistry and he may just be a role player for the Titans and not some high-level starter all the time, but the Titans have been looking for that slot only passing down guys since you know Adam Humphries and Nick Williams dropping the pass in Buffalo and then you go to Kyle Phillips for a few years like the Titans have been desperately looking for that style of guy to be at the end of the wide Receiver group so I think you have to go young I would probably go with six wide receivers because I value the trenches more I'd rather have a fourth tight end I'd rather have a ninth offensive lineman and you know honestly Brad I'd love to a fourth tight end. I'd rather have a ninth offensive lineman. And, you know, honestly, Brian, I'd love to get your take on whether you think

you need nine offensive linemen or how much you might need in a group when you make that final roster. But I would rather go with other spots, I think, with numbers and keep wide receiver at six and just bring Iomanner, DK, Restrepo, with the three veterans we talked about. Maybe they want to slide Bryce Oliver in there,

an undrafted guy who's probably earned it and seems to be a favorite of the coaching staff. I can live with that if they go with only three running backs, but it's got to be all the young guys, like James Prochet, Colton Dow, even Jaquan Jackson in his second year. I think it's time to move forward. Those guys had their chances

and didn't take the opportunity. Well, the reality is, fellas, that the proof is in the pudding, and that's what will make the squad. And also how Cali decides to stretch the field this year. Is he going to be a guy that's going to use a vertical threat, or is he going to balance out the offense, incorporating more of Tony Pollard and Tajay Spears, even in the past game, using more play action type stuff like that to be less predictable for defensive coordinators.

But at the end of the day, you all know this, whoever is actually stepping up and making the plays in training camp will get the most attention, get the most respect. Now, if you're talking about sheer numbers and it comes down to that, they're not gonna keep 10, 13 receivers, they're just not gonna do that. But youth totally depends on how this use is acclimating itself to the system. If they're out there making mistakes and dropping balls and guess

what you'll see a veteran slide into those spots. Trailing bergs isn't even healthy right now healthy enough to say, hey look, you know, I'm going to definitely legitimately fight for position. But if he shows vast improvement from the past couple of seasons after being the first round pick in 2022, guess what? He makes the roster, but that's up to him. Now the advantage he has is what?

He's been here. He's at least had a couple of seasons under Cali's system to understand a little bit of what his dialogue is, how he likes to do things. He's got a great rapport with players. Even when we had first year quarterbacks and receivers like Calvin Ridley come in and say, hey man, this dude is the most talented guy on a roster. When he's healthy, these things can both be true. Now they didn't exercise his fifth year option for a reason because he hasn't

shown or lived up to the expectation of being the first pick in the draft. But you're talking about a leak in Shamir and these kind of guys that actually have an opportunity as fourth round picks. I understand developing the middle of that draft class is super important, but it's gonna show itself. At the end of the day, they're not gonna say because we've been a fourth round pick and you're gonna keep you. There's no automatics at all.

It's whoever shows up, whoever's the most consistent, whoever else shows themselves to be the most productive player in this offense are going to be the ones that make the roster. Now, real quick, you mentioned offensive line. I'm not trying to jump ship into something else other than that, but if I can throw this out there, the numbers, that's all I wanted to mention.

Guys hate starting in, like in training camp, the starters will be on the field, then they'll go ahead and sit down and take a break, right? Now we know that offensive line is not a position that rotates, okay? So those guys are gonna be on the field and they stay on the field, but in training camp, you wanna be able to take a break, right? Now we know that offensive line is not a position that rotates. Okay, so those guys are gonna be on the field and they stay on the field. But in training camp, you wanna be able to take a break, man. Let the twos do what they need to do. So if you're down nine linemen, that means

somebody's gotta play the you know, the first snaps, the first reps and the second reps, man. That guy's gonna be mad. You know what I mean? And they've got veterans this year between Dan Moore, Kevin's Iler, obviously, Lloyd Cushion Barry, who might be on the pub. They've got to this year between Dan Moore, Kevin Zeidler, obviously Lloyd Cushionberry who might be on the pub. They've got to manage his minutes, whatever else. But, uh, the younger guys, sure. You expect them to see it be on the field, but they got some veterans, man, that need that veteran type training camp so that where they can last an

entire 18 weeks. Yeah. They added a bunch of vets right there in free agency. I remember when they hit, uh, Ali Udo and Sam Mustafar and Brandon Jamie's all in one street came all in one string came out in one release. Like we're signing these three vets. They got, you know, 80 some combined games of starting experience in the NFL. They did not want to have on the young guys in that battle for the offensive line this year.

You can't afford it with Cam Ward at quarterback. Can't let what happened last year happen again or any young quarterback is going to have struggles no matter how good their wide receivers are as well or how much the young wide receivers pop. You still got to have time to throw it to him. What do you guys make of, of Restrepo? Because Brad, you talked about proof is in the pudding, right? And obviously he was Cam's teammate in Miami and that's what I think he's become a fan favorite because of that.

Um, and Cam really pushed for him to get the chance to try out for the team. But he had a team high 11 catches in the off season practices out of the receivers. So when you talk about not just being Cam's buddy and how long of a way that goes, but the numbers at least in the camp are there, does that kind of bode well for somebody like that kind of a leg up on the competition from the rest of the wide receiver room? If you're, if you're

a restrepo case, that's why he's here. 1000%. That's why he's here because he has a report that's already been developed with him, even though they're both in college and they're running a college style college style system or whatever. The reason why you saw him get the most attention is why, because he's most familiar to the quarterback. And what do you tend to do when you haven't developed the habits that you're going to have moving forward? You tend to fall back on what you're good at or who you're good with.

And that's one of the reasons why he advocated for Xavier to get into this camp and show his work. Sure, he was undrafted, we understand that. And they did spend some equity on getting a couple of other receivers in the mix. But the one thing that he does have as an advantage over those guys is that they don't know him like Xavier does. You see, and that's going to be a big difference. Now, I don't expect him to go in there and all of a sudden get the kind of attention that he needs to have or the kind of rapport that he needs to have with Calvin Ridley.

Even with Tyler Lockett, the guys are going to be starting in those roles, right? But you can totally see in a backup type situation, someone that also understood. Look, we're talking about Cam Ward understanding Xavier, Xavier understands Cam Ward better than any receiver on this roster right now. That's just a fact, because they have time together. They've got sweat equity on the field together, and they're learning how to be pros together. So that's probably one of the reasons why you see this

connection. It's already been established before they even heard their names called by Roger Goodell. That really is his Robin like that really is his Robin. It's they go everywhere together. These videos they're posting on YouTube. You know it KM Ward's and he's always there. They're arguing back. It's like little brother big brother type activity, but I want to point out too, and Julian obviously being there, you know, Xavier Restrepo was catching passes from other quarterbacks as well.

And I think that's something that we should know is, yeah, he has this chemistry with Cam Ward, but Tim Boyle was connecting with him. Brandon Allen's connecting with him. He led the second day of mandatory mini camp with 10 catches. I think Jim Wyatt put in one of his articles. So this is a guy who's making an impact with other quarterbacks as well, not just Cam Warden. I think that bodes well for him going forward and it makes you wonder, you know, can a guy like that make the roster in a back-end role where he's pass only. And I think the question is how good of a punt returner

can Xavier Restrepo be? Can he do that? You know, he was so important in college, didn't have to do it a ton. Can he do that? Because I think, you know, I think he's gonna make the team personally. That's my prediction at this time.

We'll see how training camp plays out. But I think it would be kind of hard to keep him if he didn't do anything on special teams. And I think at his size and speed, it wouldn't really make sense for him to be on coverage units and stuff like that. It might be difficult for him to be successful there. So he's really going to have to find a way to either jump up the depth chart quickly or he's going to have to find a way to contribute on special teams, be the backup punt returner, at least in some way to really solidify his roster spot. But it's hard to see him not making the team at this point in my opinion. Real quick guys, before we move on, there was another college free agent that came in

and made a name for himself and his name was Nick Westbrook-Kakene. He led the Titans in receiving last year. So if you want to talk about guys that didn't necessarily get the draft recognition but then came in and made an immediate or at least an impact on an offense, this is our leading receiver last year. So you can definitely see how they can somehow, even though they at the bottom of the rungs seemingly can make the strides and make the adjustments necessary for them to make a roster. Great point, fellas. Alright, well after the break, we're going to talk about the other side of the ball, the defense, and maybe one of the more concerning bits of news yesterday that cornerback

Legerrius Snead is expected to start camp on the Pup List. I know a lot of fans have opinions about that. We're going to talk about that here on the other side of the break. I know a lot of fans have opinions about that. We're gonna talk about that here on the other side of the break. Alrighty, well, workplace stress is at an all time high. 61% of the global workforce is reporting higher than normal stress levels. This summer is the perfect time to take small steps

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Our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com slash locked on. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash locked on. All right, guys. Now, we're going to talk about the defense now. And yesterday it was reported that cornerback Ligerious Need is expected to start camp on the PUP list, the physically unable to perform list. So he can't practice. He could be around the facility. He could do meetings and all that stuff, but not actually get into practice yet. Concerning, obviously, because he's been dealing with that lingering quad injury for a while now,

on top of some of the off the field issues. How paramount is this for the Titans? Because to me, they don't have a number one corner right now on the roster other than him at full health. I like Jarvis Brownlee. I really do. I think he had to kind of learn by jumping into the deep end of the pool last year. But I wouldn't want him, at least right now, as the guy defending the Jamar chases of the pool last year. Um, but I wouldn't want him at least right now as the guy defending the Jamar chases of the world or the number one receivers on the other team.

So where do you, where do you put this as far as level of concern for the Titans with Snead starting camp on the pop list? I mean, I think the concern level is high and it's not even necessarily because of the top, I think Roger McC it's not even necessarily because of the top. I think Roger McCreary has turned in one of the top 10 slot cornerbacks in the NFL. He's an underrated player that not a lot of people understand how good he is relative to the rest of the people at his position in the league. I think Jarvis Brownlee Jr. had some great moments last year, but he also had some rookie learning moments, which I think at cornerback, it's just such a difficult position to play that you're going to have that.

But I think Jarvis Brownlee Jr., even if he takes a step forward, is still just a good corner. I agree with you. It's not like Jarvis Brownlee Jr. taking a logical step forward is going to turn him into a lockdown number one corner. And again, those positions are good. Darl Baker played very well. Dynard Wilson really has a great handle on secondary play. He has his entire career that's what he does best so he's gonna get good stuff out of backup secondary players like a Darryl Baker. He was a castaway from the Colts secondary who was not good last year so it's funny how that works out. So I think they could make it work. The problem is behind that you have you know seven, eight undrafted free agent corners. You have a, you know, a 30 year old veteran and our worry a who, you know, has been around the league. I don't think he's a

starting level player, so they don't have great depth at the back end. They're really searching for who their depth is going to be at that position. If Snead is not there and not at the level that they paid him to be, it turns their cornerback group from pretty solid with him, pretty good with him, where everyone slotted properly, to, wow, this is one of the worst cornerback rooms in the league because McCreary may have to go back outside at some point.

I think Jarvis Brownlee Jr. is more slotted for the slot. You know what I mean? He even said that he saw himself as a nickel coming out of college because of his feistiness and his ability to play against the run and being inside and the physicality that that requires. So McCreary is truly a slot. We've seen that throughout his career. He does not play well on the outside. And Jarvis Brownlee Jr. might be more of a slot

who's playing outside right now as well. So if those guys become the top two, it just makes it difficult to match up with people long term throughout the season. Yeah, I think it's hugely important, the situation of him being on the pub. Now, it wasn't but in the end of last month where we heard our colleague Buck Rising reporting that he was, you know, healthy and ready to get back on the field. This is his own words, right? So then maybe this is just a management type situation. They don't want to do too much and push the issue or push the envelope until it's necessary for him to be there. But depth is a huge issue.

Darrell Baker started out the his career, just injury riddled when he was in Arizona. Then he goes to a couple of other teams before he finds himself here. At least Jarvis Brownlee Jr. At that right cornerback spot has established himself a little bit as, you know, someone that you can rely on. But other than that, you know, Monty, maybe you'll see the most committed to Monty since you just got married this off season, you know, there's a different focus, a different commitment, you know, who knows, maybe you can make

some improvements there, set it down a little bit, but I think that maybe the attention will be on a Gabe Julie Lolley, somebody that's been in this defense before, someone that has a little bit more experience, even though he was undrafted, can take advantage of the depth issue that is going to exist. They didn't expect Legerius Need with when they brought him in to be someone that they couldn't count on being on the football field. And I think that this is probably a new situation for him to deal with as well, coming over from Kansas City. Cuz I mean, he was a great player there and they would have wanted that type of talent, that type of ability to bolster the back end of this defense.

But it just hasn't happened consistently. So I think it's a problem, one that they're gonna have to address either by scheme or just figuring out who's going to have to address either by scheme or, you know, just figuring out who's going to actually rise in this occasion of filling in for a guy that, you know, figured to be huge in their plans this year in 2025. And Marcus Harris was the sixth round pick and you know, people seem to be excited about him out of Cal, but he's also a smaller guy at about 511, 190. Is he really a boundary corner?

And you know, is he going to take on the six foot three, six, four giants that are playing who's going to garden? Nico Collins, you know, who's his matchup? If you have Marcus Harris and Roger McCreary and Jarvis Brownlee Jr. That's a, that's a difficult thing to ask those guys who are all a little under six foot. So gave Judy Lolley being that six foot, one guy on the outside, he was getting the first team reps at cornerback

with Darrell Baker having a shoulder issue at times during the off season program, according to reports. So maybe it is Gabe, Judy Lolley, who could finally take that step forward and make an impact. Cause they need a boundary guy if Snead's gonna be out, not just another slot guy, unfortunately.

Yeah. If you look at the stats and I looked it up just kind of for the sake of the segment, 5.5 yards per attempt teams were averaging with Snead on the field. Without Snead, it's 7.3 yards per attempt. So there's obviously a clear difference with him. And, Brad, when you talked about the interview he gave, was it last month where he said, I'm as healthy as I've been. Well, if I sprained my ankle and then the next day I'm walking on my ankle

after not walking, I'm technically as healthy as I've been within that time period. So the choice of words were very careful there for Mr. Snead. Yeah, I guess he can't be wrong on that one. the going to have to be another side of the ball or another aspect of the defense, I should say that that really gets going. What do you think about the pass rush this year and the fact that also Femi Oladejo is now he is now signed and we can now breathe a sigh of relief that there's no worry about him not reporting to camp. Yeah, I mean, first off, you got to win the trenches. That's where football is won and lost. And that those have been liabilities for this Titans franchises, which is, in my opinion, the reason why you see them struggling.

I might sound narcissistic coming from a former offensive lineman, but facts are a stubborn thing. When you give up the most sacks in the league at 29, that's a problem. When you don't get enough sacks and you're at the bottom of the rung, that's a problem. And until they find ways to apply consistent pressure to CJ Stroud, Danny Dimes, Daniel Jones, or Anthony Richardson, whichever,

and of course that boy down there in Jacksonville, Trevor Lawrence, it's gonna be hard to win the division. So you've gotta be able to apply pressure, whether it's by having such lockdown covers type situations where the quarterback has to hold onto the football, or he's manically running for his life. I did see some comments from people from fans basically saying, hey, what have they done to address the edges?

Guys that have to be in the backfield. We know that Jeffrey Simmons is gonna collapse the middle of a pocket and he demands a double team almost every single snap you know but how about giving him some uh you know some help some relief when they double him that means that somebody else is by themselves on the outside so let's go ahead and see if we can't apply pressure this way or bringing blitzes whatever it takes so that's the way i see it Tyler what do you think? No i'm with you Behop and I'll be honest with you. I think the most pessimistic I am about this team this year is when we talk about the pass rush. I just don't see how it would be possible for them to improve enough

upon last year for it to make a difference. Like I think that Jeffrey Simmons can play better, you know, two straight seasons, less than six sacks. That has to be better. He can make a bigger impact. Still haven't seen that double digit sack season that I personally been waiting on from Jeffrey Simmons to cement himself as that top three interior defensive lineman. I thought he was, you know, it was Aaron Donald, it was Chris Jones and Jeffrey Simmons was on his way after that two 2021 season. He has two three sack games,

Sunday night against the Rams Monday or into the playoff game against the Bengals he was fully dominant and I was just waiting for that next step and I just haven't seen it honestly and kind of it's gone the other way quite frankly he's fallen off of that all-pro level play and I think he's still capable of it and I love seeing him be in better shape so that's gonna help but, he's only one guy and you look at the edges. And next to him, I think Sebastian Jose Day is just such a solid role playing veteran. But he's not a difference maker and Tavondre Sweat had a good pressure rate last year. But even going back to Tavondre Sweat's tape, one of the things I pointed out when he was drafted is

he's a guy who whiffs on sacks a lot. He can get there and then, you know, it's like a good take but he doesn't make the layup. Like he does whiff sometimes on that so he needs to convert that good pressure rate he had as a rookie nose tackle into more sacks. They can manage there but on the outside. Arden Key resurrected his career being a third rusher. He was the tertiary rusher in San Francisco. He went to be the third rusher in Jacksonville and he had success. He has now been moved up by the Titans the last two years as the number one rusher. And I just don't know if that is his best role in the NFL. And I don't know if he's capable of fulfilling a number one rusher role in the NFL for a good pass

rush and then outside of that maybe Femi goes Javon Curse and he's a free 2.0 and he double digit sacks as a rookie but remember Femi was an off-ball linebacker and that's why I was saying it's so important that they get Femi Oladejo signed before training camp because more than other second run picks, Mike Green is ready to rush right now for Baltimore after being a top 15 talent. The off-field stuff made him drop to the second round, but he went 59. He doesn't maybe need the first three days at training camp. Femi Oladejo was an off-ball linebacker for most of his college career. He does need every single rep of training camp possible. Because if Femi doesn't explode like Javon Kirst did his rookie year,

how is this Titans pass rush with Draymont Jones, who I think is better as an interior rusher in nickel packages? Lorenzo Carter had zero sacks last year for the Falcons and three before that. He's an early down edge setter, not a pass rusher in your, you know, in your pass rush rotation. So like, where is the edge pressure coming from? It's femmier bust for the Titans pass rush. And I just think that's too much pressure for a guy who is a developmental pick who played a different position in college. Like we're just asking for a miracle here.

And I think the Titans pass rush is going to be bad once again, and it's going to lead to, you know you know disappointment I guess for people if I had to pick one thing where I'm like this is going to ruin the team it's the pass rush just isn't there so full circle when we talked earlier about the backup quarterback thing and I said hey I'd rather lose those games give me those five draft spots because it's a great edge rush class with Ruben Bane and TJ Parker from Clemson and other guys out there who are going to rise. They need the pass rush so bad. It's so bad right now if you if you're honest with yourself.

What's a realistic I guess year for Femi then given the still adjusting to the position switch and and obviously upping a level into the NFL from college. What would you say is a realistic season for him? He's gonna get the reps. Let's just say that. Because there isn't a proven dude on it. He's gonna get the opportunities to get out there on the field

and at three, four defense and make some hay. You know, you just mentioned, I mean, first off, their leading soccer, Harold Landry from last year got stolen by Mike Grable. Arden Key was second on the roster with six and a half sacks. I think that's what his number was. Great pressure rate though. Everyone loves pointing that out.

His pressure rate was great. Okay, six and a half sacks, great pressure rate. But like you, that's almost along the lines of what Tavon, what Julian was saying about Tavon Dre. He gets back there, but can he bring a guy down? But then again, being disruptive also helps too. Maybe speeding up the quarterback's clock, making him throw into errors, throw into coverage,

you know, creating those turnovers that also is effective as well but you gotta be able to you know to make good on those opportunities but I think Femi definitely will have the chance to show as a second round pick that hey, look, I'm I'm I'm especially supposed to be on this football field. Second round pick is no slouch now, okay? Awesome. We put a lot of attention on first rounders and a lot of that's what he said. Hey, look, I'm I'm I'm especially supposed to be on this football field. Second round pick is no slouch

now. Okay. Awesome. We put a lot of attention on first rounders and a lot of expectation that comes along with that and rightfully so but a second rounder man, he's he's right in that conversation uh about guys that need to make an

impact and I'm going back to my draft in 1999 1993. Michael Barrow was the second pick that we took out of the U and that dude came in and was a playmaker You know as a rookie he made an immediate impact So I would expect that they had the same kind of expectation for Femi to come in and and make some good in a situation Tyler admittedly like what you're saying could be pretty bleak looking at this point You know what? I want to I do want to give something tangible that I'm looking for from Femi. I want to see him accomplish

this. I want him to overtake Lorenzo Carter as the early down edge setter Carter is six foot five two sixty. The Titans had a terrible time setting an edge last year. I remember Mike Vrabel. He had a great term that I'd never heard

before that edge wall swarm. That was his run defense philosophy. We set the edge, we wall up, and then we swarm the ball carrier. And when I heard that, I was like, man, that's great coach talk right there. Like that's just a great way to explain that. You know, my dad was a coach for peewee football and middle school and stuff, you know,

but like it still rings when you hear something, you're like, man, That's how you teach kids football It's little things like that that stick with them and it stuck with me and the Titans didn't do step one So the run defense fell apart at times last year and they gave up, you know Franchise high and rushing yards to the coach which was an embarrassment It was bad linebacker play though if we want to go look at the film But at the end of the day if Fi can be that early down edge setter look He needs his pass rush moves to develop

He's got to work on his hand work and his counters and like the outside linebacker coach was saying in the mandatory minicamp interviews You know, we got to have one or two power We got to have one or two speed and then after that once we get those down We can have one or two counters off them and that's all that you need Well, that'll come in time and that'll take time to develop. He needs massive reps there. But you know what he can do on day one? Be six foot three, 260 pounds and a guy who flies off the dang ball.

And he can smack you in the mouth, set a physical edge, defend the run, chase down ball carriers with his linebacker mentality that he had. I can't wait to see him just be a physical freak and wreck the line of scrimmage. And I think that'll be more effective early in run defense. So let Femi be that. If Draymont Jones comes in as the pass rusher on the edge across from Arden Key, and then you got Sweatt and SJD rotating next to Simmons, and that's your four pass rush guys early on in the season.

Man, that's perfectly fine with me. Let Femi come along in the pass rush but early downs, first, second down, he should be out there right away wrecking that edge and setting it hard with the physical gifts that he does have that can translate right now. I want to see that and I think that's a if he can be the early down starter by the end of the season I think that's a big success for a guy who needs development. Timbuktu Real quick Julian there's no problem with dialing up pressure either you know I'm saying if you see some Amani Hooker if we see some guys

down in the box you know that are playing these covered situations if we're looking to you know drop dudes off in the fire zone type situation and try and create some sort of confusion for a quarterback there's nothing wrong with that and as a matter of fact that's probably what will be the thing that they fall back on if you just can't get there it'd be great like what we saw in last year's Super Bowl where you could rush four dudes and just wreak havoc but that's not the luxury that most teams have and certainly not on this one so unless you see somebody step up and emerge to be the dude that needs to be blocked single handedly by himself, you're going to have to be smart.

You're going to have to, Donar Wilson's got to dial up some stuff that can really be problematic for the offenses they're going to face this year. That's why I think they need to add some people that like that I would consider. Listen, I know that 2020 didn't go well and some fans are sour, but youadavia and Clowney had nine and a half sacks with the Baltimore Ravens, with the Nord Wilson on staff just two years ago. He's a free agent right now. I think that could help put him in a limited role. He's not going to get paid what he got paid in 2020. You know, like I know that some Titans fans didn't like the nine game experience,

but that's a veteran who could help this group in the pass rush area and also be another big physical guy who fits the mold that they're looking for now. Tyler, I know you weren't a big fan of the defensive front last year, but we'll always have the Tevandre Sweat fumble recovery. We will have at least that. So all right. After the break, we're going to talk about maybe some position groups that we have missed and what each of us, a position group that each of us who has an eye on when the locked on Titan squad show returns stay with

All right summer sports are in full swing and whether you're all about baseball under the lights golf on the green or high-stakes soccer Action fan duel is the best way to make every game even more exciting. Now you're already following the action, why not make it a little more thrilling with FanDuel. You can get in on the game while your friends are getting sunburned at the beach. FanDuel, it's easy to use, fast to pay out and makes even regular season games feel like must watch events. New to FanDuel, new customers can bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Open the FanDuel app today or visit FanDuel.com to get started. All right guys, so we've talked about the QBs, we've talked about receivers, we've talked about the defensive front and the secondary. Are there any other position groups that you

guys have an eye on when it comes to battles that you're looking forward to as camp gets the defensive front and the are there any other position when it comes to battles th to as camp gets underway. go any much further than y on man where they needed to show that they can pro and particularly a brand new quarterback. They don't need Cam Ward running for his life. They don't need to impede his development by having him watching the rush constantly versus the routes downfield. Of course he

needs to be able to adjust the protection and do the things that most quarterbacks are able to do consistently. But for the most part, bringing in Dan Moore to play left tackle, moving JC over to what may be a more natural position at right tackle. Let Peter Skowronski develop as he's continued to do since the first pick of the 23 draft. Lloyd Cushmanberry I thought was a great acquisition last year until the injuries took him off the field. Now I'm also hearing he might be on the pup to start camp as well

But if he can get healthy Kevin's that there might be the steal of this year's free agency that cats a baller from Detroit and he's seen a lot of success, right? So I think that there's a lot of expectation that this current iterator iteration of the Titans offensive line is vastly improved Because they're gonna need to be. You're not only going to need to protect the quarterback like I just mentioned, but they're also going to need to be very capable of opening holes for Tony Pollard and Ty J Spears because no one wants to be in passing down situations out of necessity.

You want to be able to have and take those shots downfield and protect the quarterback in the pass game because you're taking bands of opportunities, not because you're dealing with third and forever. You see, so they've got to be able to run block as well. So it don't go any further than the offensive line for me guys. No, a hundred percent right. I'm with you there. I was going to go there if you didn't, but I thought, you know, maybe, maybe Beehaw might be better suited for that one. I'll, I'll, I'll let him take that one first No, I'm gonna go off the board just a little bit here from you know, we could talk I really like tight end linebackers interesting but special teams guys Special teams isn't fun to talk about we you know, it's not fun to talk about who's gonna be the starting gunner

Who's the starting L3 this year, you know, like it's, it's not fun to talk about as a former punt up back though, you know, I got to show love to special teams. Like I got to, they need to not only just not be God awful in special teams, but they need to be good. That like, how long has it been since a Titans team, even with the Mike Vrabel Titans who were the, you know, the second best version of the team maybe throughout the like their special teams was never a major asset it was always let's hope it doesn't kill us let's hope the field goal maker makes it like it's always can we survive i'm tired of surviving guys i want to thrive all right i want to thrive okay so you bring in Bones

Fossil who some consider you know the best special teams coach in the NFL you bring in Bones Fossil who some consider, you know, the best special teams coach in the NFL You bring in his guys Johnny Hecker who's a total it's funny They go from a power punter with no accuracy to an accuracy punter who? Who's losing power and an older kicker without the power but great accuracy to a kicker with a massive leg and The accuracy is a little questionable. They totally flipped their philosophy because that's what Bones Fossil wanted to do. They drafted guys who they think are going to help on special teams like Kaleo Mullings from Michigan in the seventh round. They bring in James Prochet and some of these other guys who are maybe dedicated returners

in my opinion. Like if they are truly dedicated to fixing special teams this year, it could make a major difference. Because I would say special teams solely lost them multiple games last year. Detroit for certain, where they gave up, you know, 362 special teams yards. That was an embarrassment. But the blocked punts, everybody remembers Levis, but those Levis mistakes were paired with blocked punts against the Jets and the Bears. So like special teams was as big of a disaster as the quarterback position last year. It's not as fun to talk about, but it must be corrected and it must not only not be bad, it needs to be good. Behop, I figured you'd pick offensive line and Tyler, you're a football sicko. So somehow I figure you might pick something So I'm gonna go with the tight ends here, you know, I think a lot of people at least are

excited about Gunnar Helm and maybe Prematurely putting him in the tight end one spot At least we're gonna have to find what I did. Is that you Tyler? Yes. I'm the one well, you know, he had a great final season there at Texas, but I don't know if that's enough, right? I still think it's Chig's job to lose basically. You know, I think he had inconsistencies have been an issue with Chig. You know, he had that stretch of three games last year where I think it was or something like that, uh, over that three game stretch. However, I do think the athleticism of chig is there. This is his first year with the Titans that he's going to have, uh, uh, the same offensive coordinator Nick Coles and Brian Callahan. Um, so I do think that'll help. And if you've watched cam ward and practice, he lives on the short intermediate throws

like right over the middle. That's his safe spot. That's kind of his bread and butter. And I think that bodes well for a chig breakout season. I know he had, what is it? Just under 500 yards last year. I think we might go over that this year. And I know he and Cam have been working out in Miami together. So I think that though Gunner I think could be a tight end one day and I think he is a cornerstone piece obviously you draft him this year. I think that's the future plan. I do think this year, at least for right now that it's Chig's job to lose and I think he's going to have a pretty good season.

I agree with both those things. I agree that it's his job to lose and I agree he's gonna have a good season. I agree with both those things. I agree that it's his job to lose and I agree he's gonna have a good season. I think there's a world where Chigga Conquo has better statistics than Gunnar Helm, but Gunnar Helm plays more snaps. I go back to Brian Callahan's offensive philosophy and the tight end usage in Cincinnati,

where they've had guys like Hayden Hurst and Mike Gusecki. I think Brian Callahan wants to be in three wide receiver. I think that's where he's, that's his night robe. You know, he could put on his jeans and his t-shirt and his two tight end sets, you know, to make his dad happy, to run those power gap scheme runs. But I think when Brian Callahan goes to bed at night, he throws on his 11 robe and he goes out there

with three wide receivers. And I think having a tight end with more size. Chigga Conkwell, I'm sorry, he's just never lived up to, I wouldn't even say lived up to, he's just never become the blocker that he needs to be, to be a consistent tight end one. He's just not big enough. You know, he, he's an athletic tight end,

who I think Delaney Walker, back in San Francisco, in the San Francisco days. I think that sort of role was where Chigga Conkwell would fit best. And I think Gunnar Helm being six foot five, 250, having a better chance to be in line next to the offensive tackle. You need to be able to execute double teams

at the line of scrimmage and get movement in Brian Callahan and Bill Callahan's run game. Like look at the tape last year and you see the tight end has to be able to crash down and do that. They want to run those backside pools where they bring the guard through and then they bring the tight end from the backside to kick

out that defensive end you got to have a little bit of girth and Chicka Conqua was not very good at that stuff last year so if they want to execute those gap scheme runs and those backside pullers and some of those double teams at the line of scrimmage it's hard to do that with a 6 foot 2 230 pound guy like Chicka Conqua so he could be explosive and he can have better statistics. I just think Gunnar Helm stylistically fits better in a, in a three wide receiver set, cause he can do more as a blocker. I dig where you're going with that Tyler, but not everybody has the luxury of

having a Pat, uh, Travis Kelsey, a guy that, that can block cause he has that size, but it's also a threat toward right I dig that but Chigga Conchal is more of John New Smith than anything else very versatile sometimes you can put him in a slot put hands on people's not a small do 230 by 235 238 pounds ain't no slouch but I think they like his versatility now unless you're talking about committing to the run to where you need that sixth blocker on the line that's maybe where Gunnar Helm can actually make some some strides but we also had a couple of tandems back in the day. When we had Frank Wychech who

wasn't the best most effective blocker in the world, Aaron Kinney was definitely a better inline blocker than he was but we know how pivotal Frank Wychech's role was of being a versatile utility guy that looked more like a fullback sometimes, could be a slot receiver sometimes, could be at the end of the line standing next to me so I can yell at him sometimes. He was a very versatile guy.

But I understand in certain situations, in certain instances, you want to give that appearance that hey, look, we're going to run the ball right down your throat because we've got more blockers than you do people to stop us from blocking. But they can also show themselves to be a threat, detaching themselves from an offensive line and making a player to in the underneath stuff

that then eventually opens up the routes for Calvin Ridley and for Tyler Lockett in company. So I want to say that I think some of this goes to my personal football philosophy. So later in the season, you know, we can have some of these discussions, but a lot of people like wide receivers that are separators because they they're going to separate.

They're going to get, well, for me, I'm like, what happens when the defense calls the perfect play and you can't separate, you know, you're running that deep crossing route and the guy playing man on you drops off and the robber comes down and now he takes you in man and you made separation across the field. But now you're not open because the defense won the play schematically. Can I get you the ball? Can you still win a one on one match up? If I throw it to you, can you go up and

get it? And Gunner home is going to do that more than chicken conch. Well, and I think that helps cam ward when things get tight. Hey, I can throw the ball up to you and you'll go get it. So some of my just personal football philosophy on what I want out of my players and what I like may have to do with that. But I will say to counter myself, Mike Borganzi, Titans general manager, spoke this all season and said, Hey, like what you said, Behop, there aren't a lot of George Kittles out there.

There aren't a lot of Mark Andrews that can block and be a receiver. Most tight end rooms in the NFL are kind of a rotation Now like how we view running back by committee committee. It's like tight end by committee So you don't it's really hard to find that pure tight end one that does everything well So if that's difficult to do then that's probably not the Titans plan anyway And if it's not their plan, then they probably could play Chigga Conqua more So I guess we'll have to see it play out, but I see both sides. I'm just gonna go with Gunnar Helm because I like that that bigger

classic why tight end with this. You owe him money or something. Tyler not yet. Not yet. If he does well, though, I might because people are gonna be excited. I think that's the perfect place to stop, at least for today. Obviously, the Titans kick off training camp tomorrow. We are here at the Titan Squad show twice a week, I think tentatively at least Tuesday and Friday. But we'll see for the audience out there that's listening. The schedule may change depending

on what the practice schedules and everything are, things how they go out there. But I wanted to thank everybody for listening. Remember, you can listen to the Locked On Titans podcast with Tyler Roland every single day. They are in the Locked On network. Wherever you get your podcast, you can also get the Titan Squad show as well right here on the Locked On network. So thanks guys. see you next time.