Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - TITANS SQUAD SHOW: Carnell Tate for OROY? Other BOLD predictions you can't ignore
Episode Date: May 5, 2026We’re breaking down No. 4 overall pick Carnell Tate and what he brings to the Titans' offense. From his elite route-running to his fit alongside Cam Ward and Calvin Ridley, what does a "successful" ...Year 1 actually look like for the former Buckeye? Plus, we give our bold rookie predictions for the Titans' draft class. Everydayer ClubIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Square If you’re starting a business, or running one that deserves better tools, Square helps you sell, manage, and grow without slowing down. Right now, you can get up to $200 off Square hardware at https://square.com/go/LockedOnNFL. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel.Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get one-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COMto get started — Play Your Game. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. Rugiet Get 15% off your treatment → https://rugiet.com/lockedonnhl Rugiet. Performance medicine for men. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONfor $20 off your first purchase. 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) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Now, there's one player I'm looking at as a potential benchmark for Carnell Tate to have a successful rookie season.
We'll talk about it here in the Titan Squad show.
No s'mores and hot dogs for this camp, but there's plenty of rookies.
Football is back, folks, even if it's not quite the football that we're hoping for.
We'll dive into it.
Titan up.
It's the Titans squad.
Everything Tennessee Titans every week.
Covering all the big hits and game-changing plays from the heart of new.
Music City, the way only the locked on podcast network can.
Squad up.
The Titan Squad Show starts now.
And welcome to the Titan Squad Show.
I'm your host, Julian Minnesone, joined by Brad Hopkins and Tyler Rowland.
And we've got a jam-pack show for you today.
We're going to give each one big, bold, rookie prediction for the Titans' 2026 draft class.
We'll talk about that.
We're also going to talk about the ceiling for the Titans' offense this year.
a lot of new additions, including the guy we're going to talk about in segment one.
Number four overall pick in Ohio statewide receiver, Carnell Tate, expected to become
Cam Ward's number one.
At least that's the hope for years to come.
So I ask you guys this, and Bop, I'll start with you on this one.
What would be a successful season for Carnell Tate?
I started breaking down draft picks that were either in and around where he was picked
or at least some of the most productive ones in the last 10 years.
Puka Nakua as a fifth round pick was obviously at the top of the list,
have a tremendous rookie season,
but he was picked number 177.
So a bit of an anomaly, but still a great player nonetheless.
Now, guys that were in the vein of where Carnal Tate was taken,
Jamar Chase was number five in 2021,
and Malik Neighbors was number six in 2024,
tremendous outputs, right?
Jamar had 1,455 yards, 13 touchdowns.
Malik neighbors had 1,200 yards, 7 touchdowns.
Puga had six touchdowns, but 1,400 yards.
So I don't want to put so much pressure on him to say that he needs to have 1,400 yards,
like some of the top rookies that have actually come into the league.
But I definitely expect him to have over 1,000,
because even A.J. Brown himself, in 2019,
as a second round pick, I think he was number 51,
he had over to 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns,
very efficient, very productive.
So I'm going to say that there's probably more expectation on Carnot
take coming into this season than there was for AJ Brown when he came in.
Now, the caveat is this.
AJ did that with two different quarterbacks.
He did that with Ryan Tannahill for about 1,200 yards.
He also did it with Marcus Marriota,
who had about, I think, no,
Ryan had 2,700 yards, Marcus had 1,200 yards.
So still, you know, productivity there from the quarterback position of which A.J. Brown caught 1,000 yards.
So I'm going to say a minimum of 1,000, no less than, no more than 1,100 yards.
And I expect, probably see, if I took the median, six touchdowns, five or six touchdowns.
So for me, that's a successful season because he was picked number four in the draft.
He was arguably the best receiver available in the draft.
You know, and now you might can parcel that out between slot receiver and X or whatever.
But needless to say, you know, the kid from Ohio State, which is contributing to another lineage of receivers coming into the draft.
What is this, Tyler, like six straight years of a number one receiver coming out of Ohio State?
You talked about this last time.
But he's got to definitely live up to the billing of the legacy that's been created at Ohio State.
So 1100 yards and six touchdowns.
That's what I'm saying.
That would be, I got to tell you, somebody who didn't want the Titans to take Carnell Tate and number four, Brad, if he does that,
I'm buying a Carnel Tate jersey and doing another apology video.
1,100 yards would be incredible for Cam Ward.
I got to be honest with you.
I try to look at it as a range, you know, because anywhere in the range, I think 700 to 1,000 yards.
If he goes, because one thing that I, I guess consider is the overall health of the offense.
I don't think the Titans offense is going to be good enough for him to go over 1,000 yards.
Like, this is what happens, guys.
I know we've been doing this for a season, but during the all season,
everybody gets mad at me because I'm like,
teams aren't that great.
I don't think they're going to make the playoffs.
Like, I don't think this guy's as good as you think, blah, blah, blah,
and everybody gets mad because right now hope springs eternal, right?
Everybody's as hype and as optimistic about the Titans as they will be, period, right now.
And that's what it's supposed to be, right?
That's what the all season is supposed to be,
is hope that your team gets better.
But I don't think that the Titans' offense is going to be good enough
for Cornell Tate to do that.
So I'm looking at 700 to 1,000 yards.
I'd like to see between 50 and 70 catches
and somewhere between 3 and 8 touchdowns.
That's not A.J. Brown, you know,
but I don't think that the offense is going to be as good
as the Titans offense was in 2019,
just the overall health of the offense to produce that.
But I've got to be honest,
not to be negative Nancy, classic, you know, Tyler talking,
but I think there's a better chance that Carnell Tate is closer to Corey Davis's
rookie year of 400 yards and 40 catches, then it's going to be to Jamar Chase
or even Puka or A.J. Brown, or I just don't know that he's going to do what,
I don't think he's a number one wide receiver. Let me just say it. I haven't the whole time.
I don't think he's a true number one wide receiver in the NFL. They drafted Corey Davis in the top five again.
So I just hope that he's productive and not a disappointment.
That's all I'm hoping for.
So 1,100 yards would be outrageous and incredible.
And I would do cartwheels, quite honestly, if that was the case.
But if I'm being honest, I think we're closer to a 500-yard season with two touchdowns.
You know, like everybody called Marvin Harrison Jr.
Like he hasn't lived up to the hype.
You know what I mean?
Marvin Harrison, Jr. isn't that good of a player.
Well, I'll tell you what, he was the number of.
four overall pick. He went for 62
catches, 885 yards,
and eight touchdowns for the Arizona
Colonals. You know what I mean? So, like,
if Carnell Tate can't even do that,
I think we're close to a disappointment,
but I got to be honest, I just don't,
I don't think that he will. I don't think he's that kind of player.
Tyler, I see what you're doing. You're lowering
expectations to
not set yourself up for disappointment.
I see what you're doing. I've said this since before
the draft, Julian. I've kept it a buck
the whole time. I think Carnell
Tate was in my
hate tier of options that they could take at number four.
You don't take Corey Davis again at number four if you have the chance.
And Carnal Tain ain't a number one wide receiver.
So like, you could say I'm keeping expectations low,
but this is just what my expectation of Cornell Tate has been the whole time.
There's two caveats.
One, Brian Dayball's calling this offense.
I expect way more productivity from a way better office of coordinator this year
than we've seen in the past couple of years.
Okay, he can really do some things.
And the fact that Cam Ward threw for 3,200 yards last year,
Now, he sprinkled that amongst Chim D.K., Alecayumannar, of course, Chigacanquo was their leading receiver.
And that was about 1,500 to 1,800 yards between those three.
If Calvin Ridley is healthy, I expect him to get numbers, too.
And that also might affect what we're looking at as far as the top number for Carnell Tate.
But he's a slot.
So I think that at the end of the day, between those two and with Brian Dayball calling the offense,
you're going to see a lot more explosive in this, especially, and I expect,
improved numbers for Cam Ward, and he threw 3,200 yards and he only won three games.
So if I'm expecting him to throw for more than that, a thousand yards isn't, in my opinion,
out of the equation.
I'm going to go, I wanted to look at somebody who would maybe fit like a realistic expectation
for Carnell Tate.
And I think when you look at somebody like Tet McMillan last year, right, who won offensive
rookie of the year over a thousand yards, 70 catches, first round,
pick established himself as a number one. Do I think Carnell Tate needs to win offensive
rookie of the year for it to be a successful season? No, but do I think getting somewhere
close to the Tet McMillan numbers would be a successful season? Yeah, so I am thinking
60 catches, maybe 800 to 850 yards, five or six touchdowns. I would be ecstatic at that.
I'd be ecstatic for offense. That's a great season. That would be a great season.
That would be a great season.
And I, you know, I'm thinking of this, you know, the fact that he was picked number four overall,
the Titans were so, it felt like they were so convicted in this pick that there needs to be a production level like that,
even if it is a little bit unfair.
And Mike Burgundy said at the top of the draft, if you are picking at number four,
you are getting an impact player.
And to me that those numbers would constitute an impact player.
Now, what I ask of you guys is this.
When would Tate need to establish himself?
I know Tyler, you mentioned you don't think he's a number one.
But if you're picking him at number four, the expectation and the hope is that he is, right?
At what point in the season would you think he needs to, there needs to be a clear consensus,
this guy is the number one?
Is it from the jump?
Is it midway through the season?
Or are you maybe saying, hey, by season's end, as long as he's established himself,
up as the clear top guy. I am content with this number four overall pay. Day one. It's got to be
day one. It's got to be clear and obvious that he's the number one wide receiver from day. You just
took him in the top five. You mentioned some of these other guys, Malik neighbors, Jamar Chase,
like they need that level of player if you're taking him that high. Now, we can be honest,
this draft class was not a good draft class. Like most of the guys that got picked in the top 10
would be more teams type picks in a better draft class, like 20,
24 with Malik neighbors.
You know what I mean?
Like this draft class's top tier blue chip talents
just weren't as good as a typical draft.
So if you want to couch that into the expectations,
that's perfectly fine.
But, you know, I'm excited that Calvin Ridley is back.
But it's 31-year-old Calvin Ridley coming off a broken fibula.
I'm excited about Wondale Robinson,
and he fits perfectly in Brian Dable's scheme.
There's a reason they brought him over.
But Wondale Robinson is a slot wide receiver
who's more of a chain-moving guy, not an elite number one wide receiver.
So if Carnell Tate isn't immediately the number one wide receiver, well, who is?
You know what I mean?
Who is?
It's not like he's, you know, battling with somebody who clearly can be that guy.
So to me, with where they took him, what the expectation is for his talent,
who else is on the offense with him, there's no reason for him to not come out.
And Brian Dable has been a guy.
And T.J. Hushman Zata, the former Bengals wide receiver, said this recently,
because he's in with Carnell Tate a little bit.
But he said that Brian Dable is the type of guy to,
he wants to prove that the pick was worth it.
So he's going to force feed Carnell Tate over and over
to prove that the pick was worth it,
just like he did with Malik neighbors,
like he did when they picked up Stefan Diggs
and traded for him in Buffalo.
Like he's going to do everything he can to make it look like, you know,
he was worth that pick.
We need him.
So I see no reason at all that Carnell Tate
shouldn't be the obvious number one wide receiver
from day one.
And when you pick a guy in the top five, that should be the expectation, in my opinion.
You know, I just thought about this.
I think that how Brian Dayball employs the run game is going to affect the yards that we see.
Certainly.
From the receivers.
And the reason why I'm saying that is because if they're able to be efficient and control the line of scrimmage to a degree where Tony Pollitt is a threat,
and the guy's rush for a thousand yards in four straight seasons, right?
Then what that lends to is more explosive plays downfield.
when you can't run the football, you're forced to dink and dunk.
Because if you can't run the football, you're probably having problems, issues protecting
the quarterback as well where he doesn't have time to throw the deep route and let these balls get down field.
So you got to hit the tight end.
You got to hit.
That's probably why Chig led the offense in receiving.
You got to get the ball out of his hands fast, right?
But if you're now playing the balanced attack game and you're forcing the defense to now get to the line of scrimmage,
maybe even bringing an extra guy down out of the sky to slow him down, what does that do?
It opens up the secondary.
It opens up guys and routes like Carnal Tate will be running for more explosive plays downfield from Cam Ward.
So how are they able to balance out the attack?
To me, it's going to tell us a lot of things.
And Brian Daibald loves to run the football.
He was, you know, spoiled with Saquan Barkley for a bit.
Was James Cook up there in Buffalo?
I think they had him quite yet.
Yeah.
But I think that they still had somebody that was at least in the backfield giving Josh Allen some balance.
But either way, we know that he was.
likes to use the running back. And I think that if he can use those guys efficiently enough and
throw Tage Spears into the past run equation as well, I think that it'll allow them to put some
defenses on their heels and allow for these big numbers to actually be reality. And Bhop, you kind of
let a perfect segue into the next segment. And we're going to talk about the Titans offense,
what the ceiling is for Brian Dable and Company and Cam Ward and what needs to happen for the Titans
to reach that potential. That's coming up next year on the Titan Squad.
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talked about it in the last segment, but I know in the last show, Tyler, you talked about
the Titans defense and the potential there, like, hey, they have a potential to be a top 10 defense,
especially with Robert Sala at the helm. With Brian Dable leading the offense in 2026, what do you guys
think is the ceiling for this Titans offense and why?
What you got, Tyler?
I guess I'll say, again, I like to do ranges.
I'll say somewhere between like 14 and 20.
I'm so worried about the offensive line.
Like I lay in bed at night, stare at the ceiling,
and think about Austin Shloatman and Cordell Voulson as my starting center and right guard.
Like it's just, it's inconceivable to me that the Titans' offensive line has gotten worse going into year two of Cam Ward.
And then Brian Dable will say, you know, it'll sort itself out.
To me, that's like, you know, I got $500 worth of bills, $400 worth of money to pay them.
And when someone asks, how are you going to pay your bills?
I say, oh, I don't sort itself out.
Yeah, you won't be able to pay your bills.
That's how it's going to sort out.
You know what I mean?
Like, yeah, the offensive line's going to sort itself out and be bad.
You know what I mean?
Like, you have a below average left tackle.
You have an elite left guard.
You have a below average backup center.
You have a below average backup right guard.
And J.C. Latham, average it best.
right now, question mark, if you're being honest.
Like, we don't know if J.C. Latham is any good right now.
He had a good second half of the season, a terrible first half.
He was up and down his rookie year, said he was overweight, was at left tackle.
We have no idea whether J.C. Latham is actually good or not right now.
Like, there's no consistency to say.
So I'm looking at an offensive line that could be one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL
once again.
And if that's the case, as Brad points out all the time, it all starts up front, man.
So if the offensive line is bad, that's going to hurt the run game,
which hurts their ability to be explosive in the passing game,
get the long developing play action,
explosives, have easy convertible third downs,
red zone operative, like it all snowballs after that.
So to me, I would say if we're looking at a range,
I could see the Titans, if the offensive line hits right,
you know what I mean?
Let's say one of those rookie steps.
Let's say Pat Coogan is worth it, gritty, tough,
experience, smart guy starts.
They bring back Kevin Zitler at right guard at some point.
He's just a veteran who doesn't want to do OTAs and be in the building and all that.
He shows up for training camp.
They sign him in July.
You know what I mean?
If Zitler's in there, Coogan takes the spot or Schlotman at that point.
If Zitler's in it, right guard, I feel a lot better at whoever is at center.
You know, like I can, oh, okay, yeah, we'll bring, we'll bring that.
You know, like, I want to go on Family Feud.
I think I'm the best Family Feud player in the universe.
I'm the best Family Feud player in the world.
I'm going to prove it one day.
My mom would be terrible at Family Feud.
But I know that my wife is good.
my dad is good, my sister's good, we can bring my mom along.
You know, we can afford, she's our fifth player.
All right, come on, Mom.
You're not very good, but I love you, let's go.
That's how I feel about the Titans' offensive line.
Like if they bring Zytler back and they have Zitler and Latham back together again,
Skoronsky and Moore, you've got continuity there.
I can live with whoever as it's center at that point.
So I would say if that happens, the Titans could be 13, 14th best offense in the NFL.
I think that's absolutely possible.
if the O line goes the wrong way, I could absolutely see them being a bottom five offense once
again, because it's just too hard to overcome, especially when the Jags have a good pass rush,
and the Texans have the best D-line in the NFL, like the Titans are going to be facing it multiple times.
So I'd say 13 to 28. I could see them anywhere in between there depending on the O line.
And before you go, Bhop, just for context, Titans were 31 in total offense out of 32 NFL teams last year.
Go ahead.
Yeah, I'm actually glad that you laid a.
that out there because, well, first of all, before I do that, Tyler, which of your family members are
playing for the fast money? It would be me and my wife. She's, she's smarter than I am. So I'm
better at the game, but she's smarter than me. So,
1589 yards, nine touchdowns is what the Titans had rushing last year. 3200 yards and 15
touchdowns, what they had passing last year. We know the chick was their leading receiver.
Chimdeka and Ellick Ayumannor both had four touchdowns a piece that led the team as far as
touchdowns in the receiving game. Tony Paul.
yet again, rushed for 1,000 yards, 1,082 to be specific, but that's for the fourth straight season.
So I'm saying if Calvin Reliefs healthy, I mean, that gives him a boost there, right?
I'm assuming that maybe he even eats up the two numbers that Chairman Alec had as far as receiving
totals. Cam did throw up for 3,200 yards. I don't expect him to throw for 4,000. He's not Joe Burrow
at this point. He's not Matthew Stafford at this point, but he's not even Sam Darnold at this point.
But 3,200 yards for an offense that really didn't feature Brian Dayball scheme, you know, I'm assuming that those numbers will increase.
So I don't expect them to be in the lower 20s as far as offensive output.
I do kind of expect them to be maybe around 20, you know what I mean, showing a significant improvement because I don't expect injuries to be an issue.
And I expect the philosophy and the thoughts of Brian Dayball using the talent that he has to at least range.
itself true. But Tyler, I hate admit it when you're right. I mean,
everyone does, Brad. Everyone does.
Facts with a stubborn thing, bro. This line is,
there will be a liability yet again. It's going to
make our scratch our heads as to why didn't they address offensive lines sooner
unless Fernando Carmona is a dog and gets them and just start stepping on ankles
and beating the crap out of people. And unless Pat Cuckin can come in there and be the
leader that he was for Fernando Mendoza.
You know, this cat, there's a reason why he was in the national championship game playing
Ohio State and loss and then back to then come back the next year at the trenching to
Indiana and helping them get to a national championship and winning the dang thing.
The kid's a winner.
You know what I mean?
Southside Chicago, you know, born and bread, the cat, I mean, he knows football, loves football,
his family's a football family.
So I'm not speaking this as this some sixth round is going to all of a sudden be the savior,
but he might quietly be someone that stabilizes the office of line,
especially when you're talking about the inefficiencies of the two veterans that they got
this year.
I'm with you there, Tyler.
Good God.
Seriously, Volsen, Slatman, stop.
They're not going to be the guys that saved his team.
And they're super important in making sure that Cam Ward is effective, is efficient.
They're super important in making sure that Tony Pollard does rush for over 1,000 yards again.
So if they can't get it done up front, man, I see a lot of red-faced Brian Bayball pissed off on that.
sideline because they're running three and out because
quarterbacks getting sacked and stuff like that.
So they just got to do better. And the thing
is, Tyler, even if they do get Kevin
Zitler, and
you know, at this point, if there's
some ringer out there that it's going to make a difference,
does somebody out there like a Tyler Linderbom or somebody
that's just going to be a huge difference maker? Guess what?
Somebody already paid for him.
And if he's on somebody else's roster, he'll be going to let
that guy go. So who
is it out there that's going to come save us? Nobody.
Hopefully it's a trade.
You know, I'm thinking, Taj Spears,
maybe we can talk about this at some point.
I think, you know, if Nick Singleton comes in,
Nick Singleton's good out of the backfield, he's a bigger back.
Look at Brian Dable's running backs.
He typically doesn't have that small little jitterbug running back.
That's not really what he likes.
So I'm looking at could they trade Tage Spears,
who's on the last year of his deal for a guard maybe?
I mean, I doubt that that will happen, but it's possible.
I just want to say, you know what?
I love what I love about Pat Coogan, he's got cancles.
And I know that in most of our lives,
Telling somebody they got cancels is an insult.
But I love my offensive.
I mean, his calves are just a tree trunk down to his feet.
There is no ankle.
There is, like, it sounds weird.
Why am I looking at a man's legs in an interview?
But that interview Pat Coogan did with Titans Media, Taylor Zarzar.
His legs are tree trunks, man.
Nothing has made me more excited about Pat Coogan than seeing that he had cancels in his interview.
That's a great sign.
Bhop, you mentioned the offensive line.
of course it starts and stops with them, but how much it leads into Cam Ward's efficiency.
And one thing I'm looking at for this year for at least Cam is that completion percentage.
That statistic we talked about at the end of last year, not including the last game where he got hurt against Jacksonville,
not including that game. Five of the last seven games where he started, he had over 62% completion
percentage and the offense played much better. Obviously, that goes with the offensive line and the run game and all of that stuff.
I want Cam's completion percentage this year.
He was at just under 60%.
I'm thinking, and I'm basing this off of last year's numbers,
if he can get to 65, that would be awesome.
Because that would put him at about 17th or 18th in the league
based off the 2025 statistics.
Prior to, last year, he ended up, I think, 33rd
and in the top 50 quarterbacks.
My question for you guys is this.
where does Cam Ward need to take the leap from year one to year two,
assuming the offensive line plays well enough and is stabilized enough
to make this offense competent?
Well, you know, I think that what Cam needs to do,
and it sounds crazy,
and it's probably something he doesn't necessarily want to do
or sees himself doing is he needs to run the football more.
And the reason why I say that is because it makes him less predictable.
If he's running draws, if he's running, you know,
not just the screens and things or even the element of a screen that keep defense is guessing what he's going to do,
then I think that that does make him more efficient.
And that also takes advantage of maybe a porous offensive line that is basically, you know,
trying to keep the pocket clean, the integrity of the pocket.
And these guys are screaming up field next thing you know,
he's slicking between some angles because it was designed run for him to just get, you know,
a few yards down field, get them better field position.
So for Cam, even though his arm, sure,
is something that we want to feature.
We want to see some explosive plays, him looking down field,
him going through the progression and finding the open receiver
and those guys making plays after that.
It might not be a luxury as far as the time he has in the pocket.
But what can happen, though, is if you don't know if this cat's going to take off or not,
you know, that's, and I say take off, he doesn't have to be, you know,
Lamar Jackson by any stretch.
Steve wasn't Lamar Jackson.
You know what I mean?
And I'm trying to compare him to Steve because Steve would take off if need be
and he wasn't an easy tackle.
Now that subsequently could put him in more danger if he's not smart enough to know how to slide, get out of bounds, you know, and just not take a tough shot like Jackson Dark.
Good God.
You know, I don't know how he can get still breathing.
But at the end of the day, I think that he can do things within that offense.
I'm really excited to see what Brian Dayball does with Cam.
You know what I mean?
Because he's going to get the best coaching that he's ever had.
Now, he only been in the league for a couple years.
But at the end of the day, I expect that philosophy.
I expect his influence.
I expect his mentoring.
And putting Cam in winnable situations, I expect that to kind of reveal itself this year.
So I'm putting a lot of stock in what Brian DeBalt is able to do.
And if anything, he'll understand what their liabilities are too.
He's going to understand quickly, hey, man, you ain't got four seconds in this pocket.
So we might as to stop trying to call plays that, you know, allow for you to have a 10-step drop.
It ain't going to happen.
You know what I mean?
Getting the ball out of your hands, like what Peyton Manning used to do back in the day.
That cat was a three-step drop.
And it was out.
It was gone because he wasn't going to stand there and take a hit.
You know what I mean? So I think getting the ball out of your hands quickly, taking advantage of what the defense gives you by running the football and having a more presence in the run game.
Those are some of the things that can protect Cam Ward and make him a better quarterback for 2026.
There are two things here. Number one, like we could talk about the new players and how the Titans have added talent.
But how much of a, you know, we want to say wins. Like, you know, the Titans should get a couple more wins because they brought in better players.
But how many how many wins is the new coaching staff work? You know, it's hard to look at that.
and say, hey, new coaches, they're going to get this many more wins.
It's not as easy to do that when you look at the players,
but that's what Titans fans should be hoping for.
That's what, you know, the roster wasn't good.
It's better now, but I still don't think it's one of the best rosters in the NFL,
but the coaching improvement should be able to get this team sick.
Like the coaching improvement is as important as the roster improvements
that they made it also say about Brian Dable and Cam Ward.
Brian Dable knows Cam Ward.
I would say about as good as any coach in the NFL right now.
Scouting him last year when he was coming out of college
when the Giants wanted to move heaven and earth.
I mean, Brian Dable literally went up to Mike Borgonzi
and tried to convince him to not take Cam Ward
and trade the pick to the Giants at a coffee shop or whatever.
Mike Morgonzi told that story this all season.
So I think how much Brian Dable knows Cam Ward's game
from his study of him and his conversations with him,
That'll only be advanced by having actual hands-on experience with Cam Ward this all season.
So I think the Brian Dable effect on Cam Ward is something that really could change the entire calculation of the season
if the Titans hit their higher version of expectations.
Because Brian Dable knows Cam Ward so well, and I think mixing in more RPO,
which gets the ball out of Cam Ward's hands quicker, creates advantages against the defense.
I think that Brian Dable for Cam Ward, you're hitting on it, Brad.
that could be like the big factor that maybe we're not given enough credence to.
There's another one too, Julian, before we go.
Sure.
We're going to the next thing.
Robert Sala, if this defense puts pressure on an offense,
if this defense gets off the field on third down,
if this defense is keeping point differentials lower,
then guess what?
Cam doesn't have to answer score for score every single time he steps on the football field.
You know what I mean?
So I think how the defense plays and it being improved in its own right
will affect the offense because that's the way football works.
That's the way football works.
It's all this whole yin and yang type deal because if the defense can't stop anybody
and the offense,
that offense is stepping on the field and putting up points every single time.
And guess what Cam Ward has to do?
He has to respond.
And more predictable, guess what?
If you get down by two touchdowns, are you trying to run the football?
You get out my three touchdowns.
You're trying to run the football?
No, you're in a very predictable situation of trying to pass the football.
And defenses know that.
That's when they all use that adage pinning your ears back.
Because you know you had to put points on the board.
So what happens if now, you know, there's a three and out, a couple of three and outs.
Maybe the Titans score first, you know, and then the defense is able to pin their ears back.
So how they play on defense is also going to affect how they play on offense.
I know we're having offensive heavy discussion this morning about, you know,
ceilings and Carnell Tate and Cam Ward and all this and that and the third.
But guess what?
Keldrick Falk, Jeffrey Simmons, John Franklin Myers, all these cats are going to have something to say
about how the offense plays by what they're able to do on defense.
And you know what would be nice, guys,
if the Titans' offense can play with the lead for once.
Oh, my God.
You're after the Titans scored first.
Maybe got, hey, how about this?
What if the Titans had a two touchdown leading some of these games?
Mind-blowing, but that's where we're at right now.
That's where we're at for sure.
That's what six wins in the last two years will do to you.
But hoping for better days ahead,
especially with the new coaching staff and hopefully a revamped offense led,
by Cam Ward. Okay, on the other side of the break, we're each going to give one bold prediction
about this rookie class. It could be from players to statistics to accolades, all of that stuff.
We'll talk about it and give our projections next on the Titan Squad Show.
Don't forget to check out the Every Day or Club for ad-free episodes and access to a group
chat with Tyler Rowland and other listeners of the show.
Tap the link in the show notes or go to Lockdown Podcast slash Everydayer, Lockdownpodcast.com
slash every day or for that group chat.
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Need to hire. This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. All right, fellas. What is one big,
bold prediction for the Titans rookie class this year? It could be about the group as a whole,
could be an individual player, could be stats, accolades, what have you. Tyler, I'll start with
you on this one. Anthony Hill will be the best rookie the Titans have. Second round linebacker out of Texas.
when we look back at the season, it would be Anthony Hill was the most impressive
rookie of the Titans rookie class. I think he's going to start right away. I think he's
an impact player. We know that Robert Sala gets the absolute best out of linebackers.
And I can't help get out of my head the Gus Bradley phone call with Anthony Hill,
where he's telling him, you shouldn't have left, man. I told you you shouldn't have left.
You know, like we're going to come get you. And then Anthony Hill doubling down on that in his
interview with TZ, like, yeah, I had a feeling that it was the Titans. Like this was
my best 30 visit. He said that him and Gus Bradley just sat in his office for two hours together.
Just talking about football, life, this and that, like, they see something in him. He has the
athletic potential and the build potential to do something. I think Anthony Hill will be the best
rookie from the Titans rookie class this year. That's my bold prediction. I see your Anthony Hill,
Tyler and I raise you one Keldrick Falk. The Titans moving,
the Titans moving back into the first round might be sneakily one of the best moves that was made
during this draft process for any team.
The reason I say that, seven sacks in 2024 and only two last year,
you know, I think they saw the guy coming,
but with Jeffrey Simmons and John Franklin Myers garnering so much attention,
I'm saying that five sacks, which is, you know,
the Titans could place him, you know,
but it would place him basically a second on the team, you know,
if he would have five sacks,
because I think the next guy behind Jeffrey had four.
I can't remember who it was, probably a linebacker.
And he's, listen, he's only been old enough to drink for like, what, eight months?
You know what?
So the guy's a young player that's going to learn a lot of football.
He's got a lot of growing up to do.
But I think that the attention that he won't receive when he's on the football field and giving his opportunities,
we'll give him those five sacks and sneakily be one of the best guys that we're talking about for this defense to be able to apply pressure.
So I'm saying Celtric Falk might be just one of those little gems that we talk a little about.
And Brad, to double down on that.
in college, he was a two-gap defensive lineman.
So it wasn't his job to penetrate upfield quickly and cause disruption.
They ran that three-man front at Auburn.
They ran like a 3-3-5 all the time.
I don't know exactly what they want to call it,
but they had a ton of three-man fronts where it was his job
to keep people off the linebackers so that the linebackers could go make plays.
That is not what Robert Salah does.
He wants his defensive line to penetrate through one gap.
Get through your gap as quick as you possibly can.
And I think that could unlock a different version of Keldrick Falk
that makes him a more impactful player at the NFL level
than he was necessarily in college
because the production in college wasn't great.
So I think the schematic ask is going to be different for Keldrick Falk,
which will make him more productive.
I was just going to ask, Tyler,
and obviously Brad, you picking Keldrick Falk,
the lack of production always gets brought up
from his last season at Auburn, you know,
but that doesn't necessarily seem to scare you guys
when it comes to him fitting in this particular defense.
Now, first off, like Tyler said, he's a hand in the dirt kind of guy.
He'll be standing up a lot more than he's used to in this offense because he'll be spread
out a little bit deeper.
They don't need him on the interior.
But he is that guy that plays with leverage.
He's got long arms.
He reminds me of Jason Taylor, Tyler, a little bit.
You know what I mean?
6-6, 230, 240, got that link to him.
And as soon as they start pouring into him what edge rushers traditionally do, he's going to be shocked
because he plays with strength and leverage, right?
imagine that freaking leverage coming up off the edge.
You know what I mean?
And a quarterback would know where to go
because he can't step up into the pocket
with Myers and Simmons just dominating the interior
offensive line, right?
So there's going to be a lot of quarterbacks
that are sitting there waiting for him to get hands on.
So I like him being a sneaky pick for the Titans back in.
He's faster around the edge too than people want to talk about.
I broke down a couple of his pass rush snaps for a recent video
and his speed around the edge and his ability to dip his inside shoulder to get low and away from contact.
For a guy who's 6-6-275, I was like, Jesus, you know what I mean?
Like he didn't get an opportunity to do it a ton at Auburn because of the way that they played.
But boy, I was like, man, you shouldn't be able to move like that at that size.
It's not fair.
Yeah, there were a lot of mock drafts that had Falk even as high as in the teens.
And so to get him at 31, Titan's trading up to get him.
Obviously, Mike Borganzi talked about him being the best player on his board at that time.
So he had to go get him.
Okay.
My bold prediction, and we kind of talked about it in the offensive ceiling segment,
is Pat Coogan will be the starting center by the end of the season.
And it's for the reasons you labeled out Bhop.
He was a leader on that offensive line that won the title with Indiana.
He was the center for Fernando Mendoza.
He played multiple big time schools.
He played in Order Dane prior to coming to Indiana.
So he has seen a lot of football.
And that seemed to be the theme on day three of the draft for Mike Borganzi.
It seemed high ceiling guys on day one, you know, and then day three was guys who have played
a lot of football and have a lot of pelts on the wall experience under their belt.
And so I think by the end of the season, and I know you guys are feeling a little bit
hesitant about where the offensive line is at, but I think we will feel better at the end of
the season because I think Pat Coogan will be the starting center.
I think he'll beat out Austin Sloteman for the job.
And I think you will be happy for years to come that you have Cam Ward and Pat Coogan as his center,
snapping him the ball, starting and stopping the offense with those two guys right there.
So that is my prediction.
Now, as far as right guard, you know, that's still a question mark to me.
Like, is it going to be Jackson Slater, Fernando Carmona, Cordell Volson?
Those guys maybe outside of Slater, the guys they brought in seemed like band-aids.
You know, the Volson pick or the Volson free agent signing seems like a band-aid for me.
but, you know, I think that competition maybe will get a better light on that after training camp and such.
But I think Pat Coogan will be the starting center by the end of the season.
I will say this real quick.
I think it might have been the cancels that made Pat Coogan a little less athletic,
but you don't have to be that athletic on the interior, right?
You got to be thick.
You got to be stout.
But there's another caveat.
We haven't talked about Pat Cugin.
who can block for two top five draft picks this year.
So the cat, you know, we talked about the importance of the offensive line, right?
And we talked about its emphasis on even this offensive output from some great players, like Permanendezzo and Jeremiah Love.
Well, guess what?
Pacoogun block for both of those cats.
So there's something we said about that guy.
He's, you know, big games, you know, playing at the upper echelon of college football.
The kids got it.
He'll be less anxious because he's been there.
He's been in those moments and thrived.
He was an offensive MVP of the Rose Bowl as a lineman.
Exactly.
I'm working on a project on that right now, literally breaking.
I'm trying to turn that game into a little bit of a film movie,
as I'm going to call it.
But he was nuts in that game, moving bodies to see Indiana.
Indiana dominate the trenches against Alabama.
That has never happened in my lifetime.
and Pat Coogan was the heart and soul
that I have one more bold prediction.
Sure.
I think Jaron Kanick,
the seventh round pit,
225, or 225,
I think he makes the team.
He said something interesting in his interview.
I really enjoyed it.
He's an interesting cat
with his wiener dog burger
and the way that he views things.
But he said that a player
that he watches on film a lot
is Kyle Eusecheck,
the full back.
from the San Francisco 49ers, who has been the best fullback in the NFL for a long time now,
one of the only fullbacks, a dying position.
If he can play like a Kyle Hughes check, where he can be a move tight end,
he can be a foolback in the backfield.
He was a running quarterback in high school,
so he's a guy who's comfortable with the ball in his hands.
He can get out.
The Titans may have stumbled upon, not many guys say, yeah,
the film I like to watch is a fullback.
in the NFL. Not a lot of guys saying that.
I think they may have a vision for him
that's more fullback-centric
than tight-end-centric.
And if he's a demon on special teams
like he should be with a track background
and a linebacker background, and he can be
a full-back slash move tight-end
and take over for that Kylin Granson
role that Brian Dable wants to have,
I think Jaron Kanick could make
a bigger impact than people are... I don't know
if that's a mild medium or wild-level
spicy take there to say that a draft pick's going to make the
roster, but seventh rounders are no guarantee. I think Jared Canick does make this roster.
That's, that's another rookie bold prediction that I have. I think he's going to matter.
Well, and Bones Fossil talked about it this past week where he said the versatility with his
linebacker background should serve well on a special teams unit. And how many times have we talked
about guys when they need to break into the league, special teams is usually it. So I like that,
Tyler. I like that 100%. Beop, do you have any more takes before we go to our Titans talk
segment and answer some questions.
I'm just, I'm looking at when we were just talking about Pat Coogan and Fernando
Carmona is something, he might have fallen because he's so aggressive and nasty.
I mean, but that might be just what we need.
I mean, we might have sneakily gotten our replacements or at least some competition for
the interior and didn't even realize that at 56.
Crazy.
Yeah.
Are we doing the same thing again that we did?
Maybe I'm not saying you guys because we weren't doing the show at this time last year.
but last year, who was the more exciting pick in the fourth round?
Chim Dikey O'Manner.
It was Iommanner.
Everybody was fired up for Iommanner.
Jim D.K. was like, oh, they picked who is Chim D.K.?
We didn't, who's that guy?
Oh, this guy can't run routes.
He's a 4-3, but yeah.
And Iommanner was the bell of the ball.
Maybe we're doing that with Coogan and Carmona, too.
Maybe Fernando Carmona, who Duke Mannyweather,
who is considered one of the best offensive line trainers in the world,
maybe the best, you know, like you could make the argument.
He tweeted out that Fernando Carmona has been the most improved player in his program
and that he thinks his best position in the NFL might be at center.
What if Fernando Carmona, who is being overlooked because Pat Coogan is a more exciting name
who we know, who won, what if Fernando Carmona is actually the stud that they got
who's going to start right away?
Like, I think that's something that we have to at least consider is, you know,
we did this with I.O. Manor and D.K. And who was better?
D.K. Even though we had less pop,
Carmona has significantly less pop than Pat Coogan.
I'm not doing a Fernando Carmona film breakdown.
I'm looking at Pat Coogan. Maybe that's wrong.
And maybe it's Carmona, who is actually going to be the more impactful
rookie offensive linemen, even with less pop, you could say.
The only question the thing is that we're not going to know until the past come on.
That's the unfortunate thing about offensive line because, you know,
the shorts and stuff, that doesn't fit, you know, fits, run fits, pass blocking.
that's not real until
Brad, let me ask you this.
This is something that I am,
I wanted Robert Sala to get asked this.
Julian, ask Robert Sala
this question for me next time you're at a press conference.
When do you think, Brad,
that they need to have the five figured out
for them to build the necessary cohesion
and build the necessary chemistry
to have a good year?
Like, can they wait until the preseason?
Can they wait until roster cut down?
Does it need to happen during the beginning of training camp?
When do you think is kind of the,
the line in the sand of if they don't pick an offensive line starting five by this point,
there's no way they're going to build what they need to build for the season.
You've got to have that first offensive line picked out by the first preseason game.
Because those guys working together in those preseason games is what gets them
the repetition that they need heading into the regular season.
You know what I mean?
You can't go into their hymn and hawn and wishing and worching.
But I tell you what, they have like what, seven, ten days before the first preseason game starts.
when those pads come on, bro, that's reality.
Whenever I go out to training camp tower,
the first place I go to is offensive line one-on-ones
because that tells me exactly who can block and who can't.
Because everybody looks good in shorts.
When you put them shoulder pads and helmets on
and you're out there hitting and thudding and doing all that stuff,
that's the real you.
And it'll be easily determined when Jeffrey Simmons is eating somebody's lunch.
You know what I mean?
What if Carmona holds up to Jeffrey Simmons
and doesn't just get his head caved in?
then we're going to raise some eyebrows.
Like, ooh, you know what I mean?
Think about that.
The interior of the offensive line is going to get tested early,
and we're going to be able to know exactly who can play and who can't.
And those guys are going to correct that lineup,
and they need to do it before that first preseason game rolls up.
Mike Borgonzi said it that there is good offensive line value on day two
and day three of the draft.
Well, they picked a pair of guys on day three,
and we'll see how it works out for the Titans,
because they're going to need somebody to step up in that center and guard role this coming season.
All right, we're going to go to our Titans talk.
segment answer questions and comments from our viewers who are here live with us. That's next on
the Titan squad. All right, might as well just continue the offensive line conversation.
MBJW9S asks of Brad Hopkins. Why is an offensive lineman so valuable in the NFL? What is the
difference between a really good offensive line coach and an average coach? That's a great question.
Really good offensive line coaches teach you good technique. They also prepare you for all the situations
that come up because offensive line is not just a guy lining up in front of you and you just block
them. You know what I mean? There are different schemes. There are different fronts. There are different
looks. There are different guys coming from different positions and you have to be prepared for everything
that a defense throws at you because they're going to run stunts and twists and they're going to
blitz and they're going to do all these things. Then you've got to also know where the guy is
in front of you that you're blocking and where he's at by position. And a good technician that teaches you
that. I had the best
offensive line coach ever.
Mike Munchack.
That guy taught me so much more about technique
and I'm not bragging.
I was an athlete. Being an athlete
don't get it done up front. It doesn't.
Being prepared for everything
that you see from where the guy's lining up
to how the defensive front's lined up
to where the potential threats are coming.
Maybe there's also a linebacker that steps up in a gap and you've got to be
able to know and communicate with your offensive line guy next to you,
of how you're going to block what they're trying to do
because they're trying to penetrate the top five.
And some six, when you're talking about tight ends that sometimes are blocking.
And why is it important?
Because there's no offense without an offensive line.
You can have a quarterback that can knock a fly off the top of a goalpost somewhere.
It doesn't matter if he doesn't have time to throw.
And if you don't have an offensive line that creates holes for a running attack,
then guess what?
You've got guys that are standing in the backfield right,
where the running back is about to get the hand off,
and he's not going anywhere.
And that starts with the physicality of football up front.
If you cannot win a lot of scrimmage with those big bodies, you're done.
And an offense has to be able to put a point for you to win games.
You know, we see defense wins championships.
I understand that.
Look at the last two seasons with Philadelphia and with Seattle.
Both of those teams had tremendous defenses that gave an offense an opportunity to win some ball games,
despite a Jalen Hertz maybe have issues,
or despite Sam Darnold not playing at the level that gave him an MVP.
It was Kenneth Walker, right?
But the point being, if those guys suck up front, your offense sucks,
and you're not going to be able to put a point.
So it is the most important part of an offense.
I'm not saying that because I was an offense alignment.
I'm just saying facts are stubborn thing, just to repeat myself.
And if your guys up front are porous, if your guys up front are getting just yard dog,
then guess what?
Everybody's going to be frustrated.
What makes a teacher good?
You know, coaches are just teachers at the end of the day.
They teach football.
So go ahead.
Know your audience.
Know what you're talking to.
You have this whole screaming in your face yelling at something that doesn't work for a guy.
Sometimes it does work.
Sometimes people just need hard coaching.
We've seen that in instances.
Like in the,
I think that it was in the women's basketball game.
Some little girl was getting yelled at by her coach.
And she accepted it because that's what she likes.
She likes car coaching.
But some guys shut down.
I remember Jim Watersford,
getting in people's faces of some players that were Outland trophy winners.
And they just did not respond to that at all.
So knowing who you're talking to.
And then also proofs into pudding, bro.
For me, if you're a dude that put your hand in the dirt and played at an all pro level
and you're wearing a gold jacket today, because what am I going to say,
what are you going to say to me that I'm not going to listen to?
You know what am I going to second guess?
It's not like you've never played football.
You know, so there is, their differences there, too.
Because to teach me something, a lot of times you got to be able to,
I got to be able to know, I got to be, I got to be able to know what you can do what you're
teaching me to do too. I'm not saying that you got to be an all pro, you know, but you've at least
got to at least have the experience to understand what it is you're asking me to do, especially
if you're hard coaching me. You're cussing me up and down because, yeah, I'm not getting to a certain
spot. Did you do it? Could you do it? How about you just ask me, you know, like, hey, look,
is this something that you can do? Because I don't know. You know what I mean? So for me, it was always,
you know, I respected much so much and I never wanted to let him down that he got the best out of me. He got the
best out of me because Munch never had to yell at me.
Monks just had to simply do that.
If I didn't get it done, if Munch did this,
just a look.
It broke me.
And I'm going to go out that next play, that next series,
and I'm going to try and kill somebody
because I affected someone that cared about me so much.
You know what I mean?
And that really poured into me.
And if I didn't get it done from what he was teaching me,
then it was my job to go out there and do it the right way.
And he always showed us the right way.
But I just want to say, again,
that coaches, like I was saying,
teachers, and I think that a good offensive line coach is somebody or any good
coach is like teachers, make sure that your students know the answers.
I think people don't realize how complex offensive line play is because of the way
that fronts change, four-man front, five-man front, they mug a linebacker in the A gap,
they shift the defensive line from this to this right before the snap.
Having the answers of, oh, if they align in this way, if we see this front,
this is how we block like, yeah, we're going to run,
GT counter. Okay, great. Well, what if they line up this way and we didn't plan for that?
What do we do? You know, having the answers, and I think that's when players lose faith in their
coaches quickest is when the coach didn't provide them an answer for a problem. Because it's like,
if my coach, if my teacher doesn't even know the answer to the problem, how can I have faith
that they're teaching me properly? And I think that can really hurt people. And I think that
Carmen Bracillo, the Titans offensive line coach, who is widely considered one of the best
offensive line coaches in the NFL, I think he can provide the answers based on the fronts that
teams see. So I think some of these things are so much more complex than just your casual,
average football fan can realize that I think football players just want the answers to the test
and know that the person teaching them actually knows what they're talking about.
And being in the comments, he hit the nail in the head. He was echoing what you said, Tyler.
And it was two adages that we always remember it as offensive line.
And one, mental as the physical is four as to one.
You've got to know what you're doing.
You've got to know your playbook.
And you put more into learning upstairs.
So that way you're not thinking when you're at the offensive line.
You're already reacting to what you see because you're prepared that way.
And luck favors the prepared.
You know what I mean?
You can't, games go like this.
They go up and down.
You like my break dancing.
But luck favors the prepared.
You know, the cyclical nature of a game.
and how you have to go through those situations,
if you're prepared,
you're more than likely to take advantage of the luck
that sometimes helps you win games.
You know what I mean?
You understand it.
You see it.
You process it.
You're prepared for it.
If you're not prepared,
it shows.
Let's just say that.
Luck is where opportunity and preparation meet.
That's what I've always heard.
As someone who used to say,
I have bad luck.
I have bad luck.
No, I just was unprepared for a lot of situations.
And once I was prepared, I got a little bit more lucky.
It's funny how that works.
And Carmen Bracillo is going to have a tall task this year,
bringing along a lot of young offensive linemen
and trying to stabilize that group of five up front there.
Troy, 1998 asks, do you guys think any of the undrafted free agent guys will make the team?
I'm interested to see if the offensive line guys,
that's Reese Miller and Amel Wagner, Rashid Miller and Emil Wagner,
and Amel Wagner, as long with cornerback Jalen McMurray as well, the former ball.
Bishop Fitzgerald, baby.
USC safety.
I think defensive back and McMurray, that's a good option as well.
I think because the Titans didn't draft a defensive back,
a cornerback or a safety,
I think it's more likely that they keep an undrafted free agent
from that position group, the defensive backfield,
because they didn't draft one.
So they'll probably get one of these undrafted rookies who they like
and say, hey, this is our.
rookie that we could have drafted who we're going to develop in the background.
And Bishop Fitzgerald, to mean six foot, 200 pounds, he's got size.
He's not the fastest guy, but he's an instinctive physical player.
I think that's exactly the kind of guy that Robert Sala wants in the defensive
backfield.
Give me Bishop Fitzgerald, the safety out of USC to make the roster.
You know, and he asked about Wagner and Miller in the offensive line.
With a lack of depth that this team has, it wouldn't be a shock.
Yeah.
It brought in Ryan Hayes.
They brought in Austin Declis.
but you know, are you sold 100% Tyler?
Trey Hill, are you like, who, you know what I mean?
So, you know, I think that we're already talking about Carmona and Coogan
possibly cracking the starting lineup, which then put Slotman and Bolson somewhere.
But at the end of the day, if Emil Wagner and Rashid Miller actually put on some good tape,
you know what I mean?
They might end up saying, hey, look, these are some depth pieces that we need.
And unfortunately, offensive line are not really heavy in special teams.
You know what I mean?
So you see guys that might not, you know, make it.
in the starting lineup or even be depth pieces,
but you can definitely see them on the cover teams.
You're going to see them on part return,
kick out of return, things like that.
The big bodies,
yours is delegated to extra point,
goal,
that kind of stuff,
you know what I mean?
So,
you know,
you don't need a big,
a lot of people to be able to do that.
So there's a shot because the lack of depth.
Another guy I was looking at Tyler,
in that defensive back room was Latrell McCutcheon.
You know,
he was kind of a mid to late final day projection
on that seventh round.
and especially like you mentioned,
they didn't draft that position.
And so you might as well try to get somebody there
if that is a option for you,
if you're looking at one or two guys,
you know, out of the trying to make the team here in 2026.
And that, I mean, McCutcheon has what they want,
length, speed, and ball production.
So like, you know, just from that standpoint,
he checks a lot of boxes of what the Titans are looking for
at defensive back.
Good point. All right. Chase Bananas 2240 says
is Brian Davel a one-year rental if the offense looks good?
And he gets a head coaching job.
And is it the opposite?
If he doesn't, you know, if obviously the offense doesn't pan out, do we let him go?
He laughed when I told him that.
He laughed when I told him that.
I said, bro, what you're going to do is you're going to come in here.
You're going to get this team so excited about how you actually are developing Cam Ward.
And guess what?
Somebody else that sucks to let next year or whatever.
It's going to be ringing their hand.
Oh, my gosh.
Brian Daibow's out there just like we see these coordinators getting an opportunity.
Ben Johnson,
Kelly,
Kellyn Moore,
you know what I mean?
These guys,
if you start doing something with a team and really showing that you can have a connection
and your offensive philosophy,
your scheme works,
they're going to want you to be the head of their squad.
This is totally a one stop for Brian Daibald.
Now, will it happen in just one year?
I don't know.
And he did tell me,
he did say that to push back a little bit,
he said, you know, we bought a house here.
We're staying.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, I get that.
I get that.
But man, when somebody rolls out the red carpet for you,
and they say, and they're sitting there telling you all the great things that you are
and how much they need you to help their team, Brian.
Come on, B.
You know, I think it'll just be hard for him to say no, especially, you know,
it's not like, you know, he's in a slept position.
He's an offensive line coordinator, right?
He's probably Robert Salas, second, you know, his right-hand man, in essence,
because he's controlling the offense for a head coach that doesn't control that side of the football.
Brian Dayball's job in his position is super important, you know, because he is controlling that side of the football.
But I just think that if he does a great job, there's no way in the world that's something not going to make a run at him.
You know, and at that point, it comes down to Nashville.
Nashville, how did you make him feel?
You know what I mean?
Did you say, did you roll out?
Is he so ingrained in the Nashville culture that he says, you know what?
This is the last place I want to be, you know?
I like it here.
I think that makes sense.
Two things.
Number one, doesn't a banana
sound so good right now, man?
I would crush a banana right now.
God, I love bananas.
Chase bananas made me think of it right away.
I'm hungry.
You can tell it's about that time.
But what might help the Titans is this.
Ten teams
fired their head coach this all season.
Ten.
It's almost a third of the league.
The odds of the.
there being 10 more openings next year. I'm saying maybe only four teams
fire their coaches next year. And with less openings,
it gives the Titans a better chance of retaining Brian Dable.
The more open, if there's seven, eight teams that fire their coaches,
Brian Dable is gone.
It's not, if the Titans have a good year, if they have a bad year, he ain't going anywhere.
You know what I mean? So let's not hope. Let's hope that's not the case.
But there should be less firings this year, which creates less openings, which
could potentially lead to Brian Dable staying with the Titans a little bit longer,
which I hope two years is really what I'm hoping for with Brian Dable,
and then we pass it off to Luke Stocker.
That's what I'm hoping for in a perfect world.
I was just going to say they were really high on Stalker.
He was credited last year with improving the run game.
And look, part of the hiring process with Robert Sala was he had a plan
for once Brian Dable would ultimately get poached.
So even the head coach going in knew what it was going to be.
when hiring Brian Dable that he was ultimately going to be a head coach at some point again
in his NFL career.
So coaching career.
So yeah.
All right.
Well, that'll do it for us today here on the Titan Squad show where we wanted to thank
you guys for listening wherever you may be.
Make sure to like, comment, subscribe, and hear us wherever you get your podcast and on YouTube
live twice a week.
Make sure to check out the Locked on Titans podcast with Tyler Rowland every single day,
being every day or to that.
But for now, I'm Julian Minencel.
That's Brad Hopkins and Tyler Roland.
We'll see you guys next.
Thank you.
