Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - TITANS SQUAD SHOW: DON'T PANIC on Cam Ward, THE TRUTH about his OTA struggles

Episode Date: June 13, 2026

Second-year Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward faced an up-and-down final stretch of OTA sessions. In this episode, we deliver a reality check on why fans shouldn't overreact to June practice reps while learning a brand-new playbook. We provide a comprehensive evaluation of the final OTA practices, track the quarterback competition, and discuss whether the media is criminally overlooking Chim Dike's value in a stacked wide receiver room.  Everydayer Club If 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! FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. From the opening whistle to the final kick, Let There Be Goals on FanDuel. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started now. 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. 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. 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.

Well, if I learned anything about the first three weeks of OTA practices, it's don't panic over football in June. That's right. And you know what? We've got a plethora of wide receivers in that room, but we'll talk about one that might be not getting enough attention. And I think the skill positions in the secondary might be overlooked as well. We'll talk about that. Tighten up. It's the Titans squad. 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.

And welcome to the Titans Squad Show. I'm your host, Julian Minnesone, joined by Kayla Anderson and Brad Hopkins. We wanted to thank you for joining us here as OTAs for the Titans have wrapped up and they're on to mandatory mini-camp with the guys next week where some of the guys who weren't at practice will now join the roster, and it'll be full Titans out there on the field for Robert Salas first season, first off season in Nashville. And guys, I want to start here with Cam Ward because obviously all eyes are on Cam Ward as he enters year two. And the big narrative around Cam this past week was he had a couple of practices with which he struggled.

But it's not so much the struggling is should we be concerned about it. So I'm going to give the floor to you guys. Should we be hitting the panic button? Or is it too early for any panic that Cam Ward isn't going to pan out right now, guys? Ladies first. Give me a damn break. I mean, break me off a piece of that kick cap bar. Give me a damn break.

This is ridiculous. The fact that we're having a conversation and not us, but the fact that this is something that is being talked about when we are in June, finishing up OTA's mind, you with a brand new staff, with a brand new offense, with brand new pieces, makes me literally want to bang my head against the wall. And I say that because when we talk about the quarterback position, so many times do we just assume from day one that these guys are going to come out and be the savior of a franchise. And if there's one thing I've even learned a lesson

on in the past three, four years is that sometimes those quarterbacks don't get enough of a chance to grow into that starting role and to make mistakes and to not be perfect. And eventually, some of the guys that I was out on early in their careers, because they were going to franchises that were rebuilding or not very good, they rebuilt their careers. And it was like, oh, look, maybe they've been in it for a minute now. and they've seen things a little bit different, and they've grown and matured as a quarterback. And so I'm just saying, like, let's just pump the brakes. And I know that I'm a Cam Ward fan, right?

I happen since day one. However, I will say this. Cam Lord is one of those guys that if anyone's going to be able to rise up to the occasion and get the offense eventually, it's going to be Cam Ward. He has been through, let's see, one, two, three, four, five offensive coordinators in his college career, Callahan last year, and now he's got Brian Daiball. And Brian Daiball's offense is not just simplicity. So to learn the playbook as a quarterback is one of the hardest things to do. And I just think we all need to take a deep

breath because we know this about cam he's got the talent he's got the skills and he's got the work ethic the it factor yeah the hell out people thursday friday weren't the best cam ward outings it is what it is so what like cala said but this is how it starts fellas this is how we yank on the chain of a young player too early yeah then they go somewhere else and develop into players that we wish we had, you know, let's not get ahead of ourselves when we see Mitchell Trubisky, you know, making plays and practice, working with the twos, mind you, getting comfortable as part of the process. This is when you look uncomfortable. This is when players don't look their best. We try different things to see if they work. You know, we make mistakes because

at this phase, we're still learning, you know, but that's also part of it. That's why they're out there, right? If this part weren't necessary, we just show up to camp and basically start the season. These are the uncomfortable parts where you're learning a brand new system. And like Kayla said, you know, one of many that Camus had the unfortunate luxury of trying to grasp in a short period of time.

So let's see what happens Monday. Obviously, when everybody's at practice, I love seeing Big Jeff at practice this week. Oh, and just watching him walk around and dab up Mike Burgundy like, hey, what's up, man? Big dogs in the house, whoo, woo, you know what I mean? So when the big dogs are showing up and

you know, the guys that are going to be making plays, regularly and on Sunday are in the building, you know, honing their craft, learning the newness, you know, getting familiar with each other again with the new players that are actually in, then we can start maybe start, you know, kind of curtailing what this thing looks like. You know, but at the end of the day, this is when you want to look like this. Now, if we're in October and you're throwing balls off the, you know, back of players' helmets and stuff like that, you know, I'm not saying the cam did, I'm just saying an analogy of guys that just are not developing like you want them to, then there should be some.

some reason for concern, but not in gym, guys. Not in June. Yeah. You know, side note on the Jeff Simmons point, Bhop, he was there on Friday in a, he was wearing a jersey, but it looked like he was wearing shoulder pads because that dude is huge. He was running, doing some kind of just individual work on one of the side fields. Nobody that big should be moving that fast, man.

Like, I'm excited to see what he did. I mean, just thinking about the possibilities, we know that Jeff has established some not only is the key to this defense, but, you know, one of the more respected, if not best, interior alignment in the game. And his work ethic, the way that he's taking care of his body and preparing himself for this season, it just, I think it just means big things for us. It means that we can build around his ability with key players like John Franklin Myers, like Jermaine Johnson and Solomon, Willka, or Solomon Thomas, you know, like guys in the back end,

Alante and Cordell. So I think that, you know, just seeing him out there, first off, it does bring a little bit of excitement like, oh, big desert. But this is also getting closer to where this man is going to break the bank. So, you know he's going to go out there and not just show up for this team, but if the Titans get some wild hair at their button start entertaining the idea, what can we get for them? You know, who, the heck of the way. You know what you said, like, just like, he's just like, he.

He's at his peak, right? And he's done things to adjust to injuries he's had in the past and do things right for his body. But it's so funny because it's the same thing that we heard about Jeff two years ago when people were literally dogging on him. It was like, Jeff, like, fans didn't want him here. Like, let's not forget about, like, all the stuff that was put on Jeff's shoulders, too, about how he's not a franchise. guy and all this stuff. And I love it so much that he's just like balling out. Yeah. No, and that and that's the hope. And look, like you guys mentioned, Cam Ward's in a new system, right? Cam, Cam is, yes, he's a second year pro, but he is learning this new terminology

with the coaching staff and relationships for the first time. He has new targets to throw to. You mentioned Jeff's body changes too. Cam's going through body changes as well. I mean, he is learning to play 10 pounds lighter. And so, yes, it is too early to be hitting the panic button on Cam Ward. I think we can all agree on that. And you know what? Robert Sala agreed on that this past week. This is what he had to say in the defense of his young QB.

I think he's been great. You know, like this is the time of year where he's got to try some things. He's got to see what he can and can't do. And then you mix that in with a whole new scheme. Like, I think it's. I mean, I'll put myself out there. I think it's very safe to say that we've got a really, really, really good quarterback and one really good hands. And during this time of year, guys, isn't the defense usually winning a lot of times anyway at this point in the offseason?

Don't you want Cam to have these hard practices to where he can learn and grow? I mean, one of our commenters, Trig Trey 333, no concerns. They're giving him the hardest practice as possible. Red zone. third and long, two minute drills, growth by, for lack of a better term failure, but hard practices, right? Yeah, 100%. I mean, it's easier for defenses to be in position when you know what they're going to run.

It's easier for when you see it over and over and over again. I mean, that's what defenses do. They plan, strategize for what they're used to seeing. And this is an offense, obviously, that's developing. You know, they're just trying to find those right niches and those pieces that make them comfortable and those are the go-to things that they can kind of establish themselves as as an offense. But I just don't look at, you know, I don't look at a 24-year-old guy as like, you need to be the best guy on our roster. I mean, come on now. I mean, I understand a quarterback

is a pivotal position and we would love to have a guy that's considered an all-pro or a pro or a pro bowler in his first year or going into his second year. That's just, that's a rare thing. One of the best quarterbacks that are in the game nowadays had struggles early on. And I'm not even Amy admitting that he just kind of looks like he's not the part this year. It's just right now while we're starting to get comfortable with who Cam is in Brian Dayball's offense, there's going to be some growing pains, and it's not going to always look like a polished, you know,

a polished piece, but he will. Yeah, and like Robert Saul said, like they're also in this time experimenting with things. They're being able to say, like, here, take some chances, see how this works. That is what this time of the year is about. Like, I still just can't, like, get over the fact we're talking about it this early. Because, again, this is a lot of newness for everybody, but especially for the hardest job on the field, at least one of them, right? And so I think it, again, I think he just needs a little bit of time to get used to things, get used to the new personnel.

I'm not worried about it. And I also think last year, what did we see at the end of the year? We saw progress, right? We saw progress from Cam Ward at the end of the year. To me, it's always a positive when you see progress from your team later on. And that's what we saw from the Titans. Yeah, no, OTAs, especially what there's not a lot to talk about and you're grasping for storylines and straws. You know, it's obviously going to be blown up out of proportion, maybe more than it has been.

Would he like to have had better practices? Yes, I'm sure he will. would of, but I don't think it's time to hit the panic, look, Cam's given us really, at least knowing his career trajectory, has given us no reason to think he isn't going to get it, because you mentioned it, Kayla. He's had a different offensive coordinator or head coach almost every single year since he was an incarnate word to Washington State, to Miami, and now the Titans, he's done pretty well in all of those stops. So why would we think any different that he couldn't do it at the NFL level going to, hopefully what is going to be a much better

situation with Brian Davel calling the plays at the hell? You know, I will say that I was looking at Dane underscore Maines, his comment about them giving way more leeway to Cam Ward over Mariotta or Will Levis. Will Levis inheriting his show. It was just, it was bad all around. You know what I mean? There's, there's newness coming in, not from all different positions, a guy that was the first time head coach, you know, trying to call plays and run an entire team.

to an offensive line that was that was just inefficient. It really wasn't cohesive. And we're still having some of those lingering effects. I'm not saying that the guys up front are completely solidified either, which probably is part of the reason why we're starting to see. You can't get flushed out of the pocket and have to make plays, you know, looking down field while being mobile. You know, that's part of it.

You know, I don't know that Marcus Mariotta had the backfield. Did he have, was he there with Chris Johnson? Or was he there with Derek? He was with Murray? DeMarco Murray. Didn't give you the kind of the things that he did in Dallas, you know, so maybe that was a struggle as well. It just seems like, you know,

the quarterbacks that don't do well, just don't have the right compliments of players around them to kind of help them be who we want them to be. You know what I mean? And that does have an effect, meaning guys up front that are respected, you know what I mean? That guys that are targets that have to be, that are feared in secondaries,

guys in the backfield, you know, continually mow down defenses that giving you that balance and unpredictability, that kind of stuff. So I'm not making excuses. I'm just saying the atmosphere is completely different. You know what I mean? So was he question about he's, was it saying he got there, he's getting more leeway than the other two did? Yeah. I mean, that's what I'm not necessarily understanding that completely because A. Willis was a second round quarterback. Like he was not, I'm sorry, like in a way he was a quarterback in a way by default.

Let's just be honest with ourselves in terms of giving him a chance to be the starter. But he was a second round pick. This is their number one overall pick. And he also just went through two different head coaches and two different offensive coordinators. Of course you're going to give him leeway. What are we talking about here? And in terms of Marcus Mariotta, what do you mean they didn't give him leeway? I mean, Marcus, yeah, they didn't give him the health.

he needed in terms of the offensive line. They needed to give him that way earlier, but Mariotta was the starter here for plenty of years. So. Yeah. No, that's exactly what they were trying to say. Dane underscore Mainz. Cam Ward is getting much more leeway than Mariotta Levis or any other Titans.

QP has gotten. They were all in equally or even worse situations. Cam is in a much better situation now than any of them. So that was the original comment. So there is one more that I didn't want to get to here because I didn't want to wait to the end for our Titans Talk segment because I think it's it's prevalent to the conversation. MBJW9SS says Brad, do you think that part of this is because we have so many media days now that puts a lot of

eyes on the stuff like so many media members covering the team as well, different ways to put out information. He said, I'm sure you witness off days from both Warren Moon and Steve McNair. 100%. But the thing is, I guess by their job's description, them covering practice,

they do it just like they do a game. But aren't they completely two different situations? Yes. You can't gauge practice like you do a game. But when you're looking at practice, you know, through the lens of having to report to people, how to try to tell people exactly what you see, you start looking at it through the exact same lens

that you watch on Sundays. And it's not fair. You know, so I think comparing the two between practice and games and trying to cover it in the exact same way, that's where mistakes get made. Because players aren't gearing themselves up mentally to play a game during the week. They're doing things that they wouldn't do during the game

just to see if they were. Just to see what that connection looks like. And it's okay to make mistakes. I mean, you cannot be potty trained with a gun at your head. It's just doesn't work. At the end of the day, I think, guys, I mean, practice is when you have that more relaxed atmosphere of men, ah, you know what?

I was trying to throw that back shoulder fade, didn't quite get there. D.B. made a heck of a play. But would I do that on Sunday, especially having done it on Thursday, and it didn't work? Probably not. But that's when you start filtering

through the things that just are more difficult and don't work. That way you can kind of take the things that do work and make sure that you're competing on somebody the way that you should. Yes. Football in June. Nothing like it. Grasping for straws of storylines at all of it.

We're not even equipped to be physical, like the brand of football. that we like, right? These guys have, they have on shorts. You know what I'm saying? So even up front, and I'm talking about this later on, you can't even see exactly what the trenches are going to look like because we're not equipped like we're supposed to be to have this kind of practices.

Even guys in the secondary getting off the press. You know what I'm saying? Just being, doing what football players do, that's, now I will say that, you know, when you're watching practice during the regular season and the, pads are on, you're going through the regular thing. That's how guys can show you during the week that they're ready to play for Sunday. It's because they're doing the things that are required, you know, hitting, tackling, those things that do happen in practice. And the more that you're doing, the better you are on the weekend, right? But during OTAs and mini camps, because

as linemen, I can't even get my right fit. You know, I can't even run block like I want. I can't set up, you know, my pass block in the way I want because these guys, they don't have the the things on that I would normally key in on to get a hold of to be able to block. And same thing you said about receivers and dbs when they're getting physical, you know, running down the field, you know, within people's shadows and doing the things that we know that physical teams like to do. You know what I look at us too, guys, at least for all my years covering OTAs and mini-camps and stuff.

Like OTAs especially, I look at it as like you walk into your work for the first time. You know, and for them, obviously some of them are coming back. But every year, it's like orientation. You know, you got to go through all like the stupid things where you got to, you know, do the computer stuff. And you're not even in your real groove yet. I think most of the time what you're looking at in OTAs is like, what does their body look like? Have they done any reshaping of their body in the off season? What are the health things like? Is every who's healthy? Who's not? And then really like vibe check. Like what's the vibe of this group? That's kind of how I look at OTAs. I'm not like necessarily doing a breakdown of X's and O's yet. Yeah, no, 100%. And Cam Ward is somebody that is going to get talked about a lot. That's for sure. Sure, and rightfully so.

Yes, and rightfully so. On the other side of the break, we're going to talk about somebody who maybe isn't getting talked about enough, and that's wide receiver Chim DK. That's next here on the Titan Squad Show. Don't go anywhere. Workplace chaos can show up fast. The problem is finding the right candidate that,

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When you need the right person to cut through the chaos, this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsor job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at Indeed.com.com slash podcast. Just go to Indeed.com.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire. This is a job for Indeed. sponsored jobs. All right, guys, so we talked to Chim Dike this past week for the first time at OTAs, and it got me thinking, you know, of course all eyes are going to be on the shiny, brand new toy of Carnell Tate, or Wondell Robinson, the newly acquired, newly paid man

from the giants coming over to join Brian Dable, right? But I think we're forgetting that Chim D.K. was an all pro last year. Jim Dike was probably their most dangerous offensive weapon outside of the back end of what Tony Poller gave this team. Is he kind of being overlooked because we already know what he could do in the return game? And I think there should be at least to me a little bit more discussion about what he could possibly do in Brian Dable's offense from a receiving standpoint. I just feel like maybe the receiver room is so crowded that we're kind of overlooking him a little bit, Kayla.

Yeah, I think it's hard sometimes, right? Because I know that it doesn't always just go off of where you were drafted because we've seen so many times third, fourth rounders, heck, even fifth rounders become stars in the league. And those are some of my favorite stories, hands down. So with Chimerae D.K, you know, because of the offseason moves, not only bringing over Robinson but obviously drafting Tate, It is hard because in a way, I don't think he's getting lost in the shuffle because I do believe at least fans and people that follow the Titans know how valuable he is because of what he did last season. And he just continued to build on that momentum last year, which shows me like he's always willing to keep growing, which is awesome because you've got your special team guy back there. but now you also have a guy who could be potentially more in this offense. I just think right now, because it is a new offense, it is a new offensive coordinator,

he's going to just have to keep on proving himself. Unfortunately, that's kind of how it is sometimes when you get in that middle part. And I have no doubt that he'll do that. I think if he continues to prove himself, he's going to get more reps. And they're going to utilize him. It's only a matter of time if he can continue to prove that. But one thing you know for sure at least, guys, is you've got that guy back there in terms of special teamer.

You have not had that for so long with the Titans in terms of excitement and a playmaker back there. So at least you know for sure, like, that is going to be utilized. He's just got to be one of those guys that continues to show he can do it offensively too. Yeah. I mean, when you look at his effectiveness, I mean, almost 2,500 yards in all. all purpose yards. Just about 2,000 in the return game, just under 400 or just just over 400 in the past game with a number of targets. He actually was tied for the most touchdowns on this franchise before and a couple of all the guys did the same thing.

So he's definitely shown his value, right? But I think obviously when you have guys that come in the building like a Wondell Robinson who had a thousand yards himself, like a Cornell Tate that was the first player that the Titans took in the draft, you know, that does raise some eyebrows as far as the, you know, the ability for him to actually get on the field, a healthy Calvin Ridley. But what that does do is gives this team death, okay? It gives us more weapons than they had the year before, where they had a chick of Conquil leading the receiving court. I don't think that that's going to be the case this year with as many talented receivers as Cam has the option to throw to, right? So I just think that, you know, but when he does get those opportunities, I think he'll take full advantage of it.

And with those guys like a Colonel Tate, like a Calvin-Riddle-Riddley that'll be on the field, even like a Wondell Robinson, it seems like maybe Tim will get lost in the shuffle and then have an opportunity to take advantage of people that just won't be thinking that much about him, right? So definitely has a skill set to do it. I mean, I think that even when he was targeted, he showed himself to be able to have that big play capability that explosiveness vertically. It's just when will he get those opportunities. And they will come, especially if this team is throwing the football in the form and fashion that I'm. I would imagine that they would, having spent the first pick of the draft on a receiver. Having a guy come in that's very familiar with the system that he ran, him filling in from league neighbors was very good with 1,000 yards of Wandae Robinson.

And if we say Calvin really is going to be healthy this year, when he's healthy, this cat catches a thousand yards and receiving yards. So there's a lot of potential there, and I think the Chim can slide right in there and be a good fit to add depth to this receiver for it. And Chim, D.K. talked about the, receiver room and just learning the new coaching staff as a whole. This is what he had to say about that adjustment in moving forward. Yeah, I've had four coaching staffes. Yeah, I mean, I've had four coaching staffers in four years. So, you know, I'm used to having to adjust, but they've been

great. Coach Salas had a really good standard for us. And Coach Dable really has, you know, high standards as well and super competitive guy that pushes us to be our best every day. And this goes back to the conversation that we had maybe a little bit about can. am guys is that, you know, one thing that in this topsy-turvy world of college football where, you know, the transfer portal and the coaching carousel are so ever present, one benefit that comes from that from these players is that a lot of times they are dealing with a different coaching staff every year. And they are learning new systems every single season and a new playbook every offseason. And so Jim did it with Wisconsin and Florida.

And now he's doing it twice now with the Titans. So he's proven he can do it at a high level. I think with the way Brian Dable weaponizes pure speed and Chim being a speed guy, I would love to see what he can do going north and south because it seemed like so many times last year that how Chim was deployed was, oh, here's a jet sweep to Chim. Everybody saw it coming or they're going too horizontal, Chim in the flat like or a screen or something like that. And it just, it just seemed too predictable. And I'd like to see what he can do in this new offense.

And with how deep this wide receiver room is, guys, Brad, you talked about it. I wanted to ask you, he had 423 receiving yards last year. Do you think he's over or under 400 this coming season? See, I think it'll be hard for him to get this kind of numbers with the receivers that are in front of him. You know what I'm going? Last year, even through, he was so predictable. Why? Because the Titans didn't have a whole bunch of options in the past game.

You know, so you knew they were going with the damn football. But when you've got guys that are going to be flanking him that are also going to be targets and acknowledgement of the defense, it might be hard for them to get those numbers just by attrition. You know what I mean? Unless somebody gets hurt, like look what happened when Carnell was out of practice on Tuesday. Who was in there balling out? Jim. Making plays all over the place, right?

But that's because somebody in front of him wasn't in practice. You know what I mean? So, but it's not to say that when he gets his number call, when the, when the ex is tapping his helmet, like, man, I just ran 250-yard go routes. You're imp fired. Let me come over to the sideline for a minute. And Jim gets in there and gets an opportunity to make some plays. I think that he will take full advantage of that.

But if that's the case, it'll be hard for him to get the literacy real quick. He had, I'm trying to look at the, his targets last year. Hold on. I got to pull up. So he was targeted 74 times last year. That's a lot. You know what I mean? I mean, think about it.

Gunner Helm was only targeted 55 times last year. Jake was 79. Ellick got the most targets with 89 targets. But Chim was in the top three in targets. I don't see that being the key. case this year just with the guy with the new guys in the building. It's crazy to think it creates sorry Kayla one real quick before you go. It's crazy to think that Wondell Robinson had 140 targets at each of the last two years now.

And now he's in the mix with the Titans too. So yeah. I mean to Brad's point look they were on a skeleton crew last year in terms of I mean the wide receiver room especially. Okay. So here's what I feel. First of all you can't teach beat. That's obviously Chim's secret weapon.

But he is now no longer. like the mystery boy, right? Like teams know him, defenses know him now if they play the Titans. Like they, you know, they're familiar with him now. Now, I'm not completely convinced yet.

And I really would love to see a healthy Calvin Ridley and a Calvin Ridley who, who is able to do what he did, you know, some of those years back with the Jags and Balkans. But I still am not completely sold that that's going to happen either. So if that doesn't necessarily happen, then I think Chim could be obviously more involved and could get close to that number again. But like Brad said, I think it's going to be hard with the loaded room they have.

But that's not to say, guys, that he's not going to be a playmaker for them in situations and that he can't be utilized. I mean, if I'm Brian Dayball, I'm looking at that room and I'm being like, this is going to be fun. I can really, really draw up some good stuff with what we have in terms of different versatile type of wide receivers. Yeah. No. And can't forget, Bhop, your guy, Gunner Helm. The Tide End Room as well. We're expecting Gunner Helm to have a big year to jump as well.

That was the guy that you had targeted last week in our show as, hey, he could be in the top three of the Titans in receiving yards as well. I think it's a good problem to have if you want to call it a problem with Brian Dable. you can't have enough depth, especially for a Titans team that won six games in the last two years. We started to see a real connection with Cam and his tight-ins last year. I mean, obviously, Chick was leading to receiving whatever, but he was more like a slot type, you know what I mean, that kind of body build to him. But how many of the explosive plays did we see down the stretch within the last six weeks

that big gunner was making? You know what I mean? So there's a rapport of being established there, and he is that go-to guy, much like a Travis Kelsey and George Kittle, you know, the Mark Andrews types, these players that we mentioned as being huge parts of offenses for really good quarterbacks. You have to have that kind of relationship. And Cam has one of those guys. Yeah, it's something to watch it for sure.

Chim, Gunner, all the receiving kind of core for this Titans team, certainly something to be excited about in 2026. Okay, on the other side of the break, we're going to give some overall evaluations on OTAs, maybe our big takeaway or what we want to look at for as we're going into minicamp. B-Hop, do you have a hop-take this week? So my hop-takes don't normally

aren't as like, you know, polarizing like, you know, Cam Ward's going to get sacked five hundred times, you know, something like that. It's really kind of just observation. So I do have an observation that I do want to get out there. Whether you call it a hop-take or a hot take, that's up to you.

Okay, yeah, we'll call it a hop-take. We'll stay with the branding on that one. That's next as well here on the Titan Squad Show. Don't go anywhere. Get your daily Titans fixed completely add free by joining the Everydayer Club today. Start your seven-day free trial right now and get closer to your team

without the interruptions. Click the link in the show notes or go to the URL that you see on your screen if you're with us on YouTube. Lockdownpodcast.com slash every dayer. That's to get your Titans Fix. Once again, that's locked on podcast dot com slash every day. All right, Bhop, it's time for your hop

take this week. What do you got? So I will say this, fellas, you know, the secondary is making it hard for the quarterbacks, which is part of the reason why you're starting to hear this, oh, Cam, he's struggling. All this is the stuff. Yeah, when I look at Keogran,

Keogran to Caligan, who had two PBUs for simply reading the receiver's eyes, you know what I mean, when the ball was approaching. I'm talking about the last second, he stuck his hand in there perfectly and caused some breakups that I thought were incredible. There have been a number of picks in practice, and all the quarterbacks that contributed to that, you know?

So I'd say that unit that is making the most strides at this point would be the second. secondary. Alante Taylor's been making place. Kevin Winston forced to fumble the other day. Latrobe Cutchin picked off Chubisky, but it's kind of hard to evaluate the trenches, so I can't go into that without pads being

on. But the Titans ranked 29th in interceptions, tied with the Cowboys and the 49ers last year, was six. Six picks. I think the Bears had like 23, Kama. Wasn't something like that? I mean, Kevin Byard was a big part of that.

Right. So, And I think Kevin Byron might have had six himself by, you know, as an individual. I'm going to say this. This is what I feel. I really do feel that the Titans will double their I&Ts. This season. I like that. There's two reasons.

One, because of the talent in the secondary, I think it's improved. Yeah. You know, there are still some question marks, but I think these guys are working nicely together to make plays. But two, the increased pass rush is going to force quarter months to do something with the football that they're not ready to do with it, where that's, oh, my God, here goes to be Jeff. Oh, pick, six, damn.

You know, it's going the other direction. Or just, you know, doing something that would cause them under duress to give the ball to the secondary. So I think an improved pass rush and improved skills in the secondary will double the number from six. And that would put us right in the middle of rank like, like, I think between like 11 and 16. Because I think that 11 and 16 had like 12 or 13 picks, you know, for those teams. So I'm seeing the Titans having like at least 12 picks, which would double the number from 2025. Yeah, it's a great point there to, Brad, in terms of, you know, if you get more of a pass rush, your back end can also be rewarded.

And, you know, there's plenty of example of that around the league. Like last year, I know the Niners barely had a pass rush. They were one of the lowest, like you just mentioned teams in terms of interceptions last year, you mentioned the Titans. So yes, they both complement each other. Believe it or not, that's how the defense works from, you know, front to back there. But I think it will be encouraging and I think you're on to something there. We've waited for like a minute here to have that secondary make its market and be consistently making its mark. And I think we could start to see the beginning, the makings of that now, especially because you know what Robert Solid does in terms

of bringing the heat with that defense. And I think a lot of players, why am I blanking? Sauce Garner to use an example of how he was able to utilize Soss, and Soss had some of his best years starting out in the NFL under Robert Sala. But that's always overlooked because we talked about Sala as the head coach and not getting it done as a head coach there. So my point being is I think the secondary could really see a rise this year. And that's exciting because I feel like we've barely talked about the secondary guys in the last couple of years.

I just feel like they've been non-existent in an NFL. I want to talk about the secondary. I want to talk about picks. I love me a good cornerback, by the way. Yeah. And it felt like this year going into the off season, at least considering the Titans didn't draft a corner. And they were so depleted last year. Of course, you know, with Alante Taylor Cordell Flott, they even signed Kansas City's Joshua Williams too.

But we were on the show talking about how we thought that that might be a quiet concern, right? The lack there of depth, how maybe if an undrafted free agent could find his way on the roster, it might be in that cornerback room. But even those guys have done well. You mentioned like the Littrell McCutcheon, B. Hoppe, Bishop Fitzgerald is another guy. I think he had a pick on Friday. And so you're getting contributions up and down the board. And Cordell Flott, for that matter, was injured this past couple weeks. And he should be back, Robert Salas said by minicamp.

So he's not even out there. And I do think it is a really good sign. I do think when you have the past rush abilities that the Titans could possibly have with Jeffrey Simmons and John Franklin Myers up front, that they won't have to be in coverage as long. You know, and I do think that they have a lot of confidence in Marcus Harris. You know, they didn't draft another young corner. They are confident in him being that kind of that nickel corner position without much competition.

And I think he showed a lot of value at the back end of last season for a sixth round pick just relative to where he was drafted at. So yeah, there are some reasons to be excited about that secondary. When it comes to overall OTA evaluations, what's one a big takeaway, one big takeaway from each of you as we had into mandatory minicamp next week? Well, last, was it last week we were like picking the player that like needed to have the biggest, you know, summer or whatever it was. I think it was last week. Crucial summer. Yep. Yeah.

And I had picked Will Levis. And I'll tell you one thing. He ain't off to a good start. And he's not helping himself out right now. It's just something, you know, something about Will that like the consistency. with him. There's just so many highs and lows. And I just don't know if I ever feel like he can put it together enough consistently to even be like an accountable backup or somebody you can count on as a backup in the league. It just, something just doesn't connect.

Yeah. How did the Knicks erase a 29 point deficit? never lost confidence in themselves. They love each other. I watched Robbara. I've wrote in my notes that was at practice last week. I watched him walk up and down every row of guys that were stretching, and he put hands on every single one. And that translates into them practicing well together, right, and also shows a unity, a bond that I haven't seen in a while with this roster. So that's what draws, you know, my attention is how these guys are playing or practicing together. You know what I'm saying? There's a care in what they're doing. There's a belief in what they're doing. And so while it's not like, oh, this guy is standing

out because he's made tremendous catches or this guy's, you know, doing so many different things because he's been in the right place, the right time for the defense, you know, those things will come when the pads come on. You know, I'll see that. But when I'm watching these guys, try and go fast, in practice and try and get familiar with one another and working against each other offensively and defensively i see them being competitive but i also see them caring about one another which makes the difference especially when tough when times get tough you know what i mean when times get tough and you've got nobody to rely on because you're backs against the wall but you got to you're right and your left you know that's what they're looking for and this team is starting to establish

that kind of unity that i think it takes to win yeah you know the thing the oTA evaluation for me is I mean, Carnell Tate, man. I mean, like, that dude is nuts. I mean, I was right there on the sideline this on Friday where he just made a one-handed grab. Well, I saw that. Yeah, the Titans tweeted it out. Awesome.

Yeah. I mean, the guy didn't even squeeze the ball at the scene. It just landed right there, like a tray, you know? I'm sorry, there's one more guy that was making catches better than that. Who? Yesrepo. Oh, yeah, Restrepo was, yeah. He's pretty good.

Yeah. Dude, this is without gloves. No sticky gloves. Bare handed, dude. This guy's catching balls between his legs. When he was just goofing off in individual and warming up for practice, I was watching him and I said, that's why he's here. This is the guy.

Is he the new Mason, Kinsey? You say again? I said, I think he's the new Mason Kinsey. He might just be the new man. Well, Mason made a couple of beat catches too. You know, so the thing being, he's not the biggest guy. He's not the fastest guy. He's just the guy that's getting a lot of attention from the quarterbacks

because he's in the white place. Even when the play works down, you can find the holes in those zones. He sits down nicely, makes good catches because his catch radius is so good. And he just works hard. So that was one guy I really been taking attention to. Cornell, I mean, come on, man. He's got a spotlight on him since he crossed the stage and hug right. Roger McDell.

So that is what it is. But guys like Xavier that, you know, or we're talking about, oh, we might not even go on a roster. This dude, he was showing me exactly what he's on the roster. Well, Brad, you kind of read my mind here because where I was going with the OTA evaluation is Carnell Tate's looked apart, but I'm interested to see what they do with that sixth wide receiver spot as we get deeper and deeper into the offseason.

Because we're thinking that the Titans are probably, they're going to probably have six receivers, right? Carnell, Wondale Robinson, Calvin Ridley, Chim, and Ehrlich. And then that sixth spot is kind of up for grabs, whether it be Xavier Restrepo, whether it be a Mason Kinsey, whether it be Bryce Oliver, who proved to be valuable on special teams. KJ. Osborne is another good one who's kind of in the, I guess by comparison to last year, maybe the James Prochet kind of positioning there. And then that Tyron Montgomery, the undrafted pre-agent kid from John Carroll has been

making a lot of plays in practice too. So it's going to be interesting to see what the Titans do with that depth wide receiver spot because obviously conventional wisdom will tell you, hey, you need to contribute on special teams. But who is most well equipped to do that? My gut says Bryce Oliver, but some other guys have been making a lot of plays in practice too. So that's one of the big OTA evaluations for me.

Brad, when you were talking about Hank Beattie? I don't know. Hey, he's been making plays too. he's a little jitterbug out there. But that's what you've got to love. Like when you have the ability, like we're talking about, to just list off like a plethora of, you know, maybe potential sixth wide receivers on this roster,

it breeds competition within that room. And if you look to the guy next at you on your drill and you're like, oh, God, I got to try to beat him out. Like, that's only naturally going to get you to get your butt to that level. I love that because that just makes, I think, all these wide receivers continue to try to get better throughout, you know, minicamp, training camp, because they're battling for that roster spot. Those guys in that receiver room are going to make cut days super hard for the episode. You know what I'm saying?

I guarantee you when we see some of those names that get released, you're going to be like, damn, because they've been making plays and doing some good stuff, you know? Yeah, no, 100%. And it's why when you're at these offseason practices, you're not just being kind of auditioning. for the Titans. You're auditioning for the other 31 NFL teams. So that is a big lesson to learn there. We have some questions on the other side of the break in our Titans talk segment, including one directed at Brad Hopkins. That's going to be next here on the Titan Squad Show. Don't go anywhere. All right. We are back with our live question segments. Make sure if you're live with us in the chat

on YouTube to get them in the chat right now so we can do our best to answer as many as possible. Patty Boy 27 says, hey, Brad, did you prefer the routine of early Sunday games, or would you rather play in primetime games. What a great question. That's a great question. I hate primetime games. I hate it because of what you just asked. We got away from our routine.

On Sunday mornings, particularly on the road, we would not ride with the bus. Me and Bruce Matthews, a handful of other guys, we would get our own car. It was a cab back there. We didn't have Uber's and stuff. back then. When we take a cab over to the stadium before the team buses left the hotel,

that was our routine. So we could go over, get a cup of coffee, get our wrists and ankles taped, you know, go out in the field, walk around a little bit. That's what we did every single weekend. Even when we're at home, you drive yourself over to the game, but you're still over there in a timely fashion. Time time game's great. Everybody gets to see you. You're the spotlight, the feature of that week. But it disrupts the flow of what you've been doing consistently. And we're all as players, creatures of habit. You know what I mean? You hear about some views that don't change the socks out

and don't change the jock. You know, that kind of stuff, you know, because they've won the last four weeks and they just don't want to change up the routine, right? As a matter of fact, I remember one time we were on the plane and we had lost the game. And Jeff went back to the back where we were sitting. And he goes, he just,

you sit there last week? And somebody said, no. He said, why did you sit the same seat that you sat in the week before? Because we won that game. Maybe it's because you sat, yes, you know, he was being tongue and cheek. But the point was, we were all creatures of habit. And I love my routine. I love doing what I did. You know, that's why we, you know, go to bed at a certain time. That's why meetings are a certain, you know, time. The schedule is what it is. But then that's also part of the adjustment that needs to be made. And we put that as part of the, part of the nuance of whether teens can win. Oh, it's been a short week, you know, they haven't had much time to practice. Oh, they've had to travel. You know, looking at teams like the LA teams that got to go to New England and I got to go

to Miami. It's like, man, that's part of the adjustment, right? Because it's different. It's out of character. And so I didn't like prime time games. Love them that the fact that we needed to get that kind of exposure, the kind of attention that allows our players to be household names. Cowboys are on every week. You know, Baltimore's on every week. Kansas City, they got like, what, six prime time games, you know, I think all in the month of December. But the point being, we know those players and who they are because why? Because they're household names that get featured on television. When you're in a smaller market, it's not the case.

But at the end of the day, we didn't care. And we didn't care. And I would rather play on those Sunday consistent games where, you know, we kept some of those better teams that are playing on Sunday night and Thursday night, catch them slipping. You know what I mean? I'd like to see us get more international games. But, you know, you got to start winning before you start getting on people's radar

for them to want to put you on that schedule. But to answer the question, I hated prime time. games. I love the consistency of my routine. And I would much rather have that than, you know, having to wait all damn day for all the games to be played. And even if you think about Monday, you didn't even play on Sunday. You know what I mean? So you got to sit there and watch all the game. And you're getting excited. And you're like, you want to play, I want to play the game now. That kind of deal. That's not the case.

Bhop, what was your pregame meal? Oh, my gosh. Okay. So I, well, they brought all, you know, we had steaks and spaghettis and all the starches and stuff like that, right? But I honestly didn't like eating for a game. I didn't know, like, have stuff on my stomach, you know what I mean? I didn't like to play into a game with a full belly. You know what I mean? Just opponent's tears, probably.

Yeah. Eat off, eat off of that. We're crying over there and giving them tears. But it was a foot this way. And we had the same thing. You could either have steak, spaghetti, and eggs. You know, that's what, you know, because usually if you, played at noon, you can have more of a brunch-style breakfast. You know, breakfast. You know,

some guys wanted that. But me, I just wanted to have coffee loaded with sugar because I can't do it in. And I, now, if you were talking about my post game, uh, man, man, I'm getting after that. Man, that's funny. Well, thank you for the question, Patty Boy, 27. Excellent question. Kayla, Awakening the Eternal asks, Who is going to be a surprise standout in preseason football? It could be Levis or Strepo. Who do you think could shine during some of those preseason games that Titans have in August? Yeah, I think I'm not fully in on Levis at this point.

I will say, though, look, Restrepo is always one of those guys that it doesn't matter what coaching staff comes in. like we saw with Mason Kinsey and how he just was like, I called him a cockroach, and I met it in the best way. In the best way, because think about a cockroach, you can't kill him. And when you have new coaching staffs coming in and those guys continue to at least make your practice squad and then have opportunities to come up on the roster when there are injuries, like that's how I feel like Atkinsi was, and I think that's how Restreple is going to be. I think he's going to continue to try to prove like, hey,

give me a spot on this roster. I can play with the big boys. I might be a little undersized. I might not have been drafted, but he's going to be somebody who always takes advantage of the preseason games of the opportunities when he's out on the field. And I think more so this year than anything

because it is his second go-round and he knows kind of what to expect when the lights are on. So, yeah, I think strepo for sure. Well, when the Cardinals or the Dolphins come calling for Will Levis, I think that they're going to end up asking for like a fifth or a fourth round pick, not some seven pick. And the only way they can do that is by Will Levis taking the coaching that he's, the best coaching that he's ever had as a pro,

putting that to use on the football field in preseason. He's got it. You know why? Because he thinks he's a starter. in his mind, he thinks he's a starter, which is a good quality to have. He might be the third best guy on that roster, but not to Will Elvis. If you asked Will Lewis, could he start for any franchising in the NFL? What is he going to say?

1,000%? Absolutely. And you want to have that confidence. And he does. And I give him respect for having the courage or the courage, the confidence to be like, I'm a starter, brat. But he has got to prove that when he, makes mistakes or when he has a down game or practice, he has to bounce right back. And unfortunately, Will Levis, in terms of the mental part, has not proven that in the past. Maybe that can be

changed here, right? With, like you said, a new type of offensive coordinator and offense that he can might maybe get a second chance in terms of that. If he can do that, then I absolutely think he can be on a different team and possibly starting again. At least be a big solid backer. Get that question, Julian. That last one. Okay. Yes. The CRA1, no, no, no. No, no. Let me talk about the importance of routine. Maybe Levis needs to be cut out the Mayo, he said. That's Mayo. That's funny. That's funny. Away in the Eternal. I think you meant this one, right? Levis as a starter, the Titans don't want him competing against Cameron Ward.

That's the real reason he'll be traded. I mean, are we putting on the tin foil hats right now? Think about it, guys. Think about it. If this line plays better and gives the quarterback an opportunity, regardless who's back there, right? And that's the caveat.

They've got to play better. It's just going to be the same problem where we've had, you know, since Ryan Tannenhill was getting killed when title of the Juan quit and on and on. You know, there's a reason why when we drive to Malik Willis, He had a crap line. Will had a crap line. Mason Rudolph couldn't do better with behind that line.

Nobody can do anything behind that officer line. Okay? So let's just say the offensive line plays better. And with this play calling, you know, that tie that raises all ships, think about that. If Will's playing better too, and he's got a big arm. And don't start making them have some explosive plays where he just kind of like, if he would walk this way into the conversation of being legit trade bait,

In other words, some team was legitimately interested in him because he's played well enough to be in that conversation. Maybe that's not a problem you would have. You know what I'm saying? Because I think at the end of the day, there was a definite need when you're picking first in the draft. You've got to affect the most unstable position on your field. And at that time, it was quarterback, regardless of why that was, whether it was a lack of receivers, lack of protection, or whatever else. It was still an issue. So they had to go ahead and take Cam Ward.

with that pick. But what if all of a sudden those other issues have kind of been resolved to a degree, right? And now you've got both quarterbacks playing on a level playing field with that kind of consistency up front and better receivers to throw to, that might not be a situation in the type you won't see.

But then again, it could be a good one because at least I'm going to get a good quality draft pick out of shipping them out of town. Yeah, there's always teams that want to fix quarterbacks. I mean, we still are seeing it with second, third go rounds for some of these quarterbacks. back. So, I mean, with Will only being here in Tennessee, I am sure, even if, you know, like I've been saying, maybe he is a little up and down, if there's a team that sees, hey, we, we could fix him.

I mean, that's a real thing in the NFL. Honestly, honestly, Kayla, and let's go back to the night that Will didn't get drafted. Were you surprised that it didn't go in the first round? No. I was. because we talked about Will Lever's being the first round draft pick. It was the reason why he was invited to to the draft that year because he was supposed to be

maybe not the first quarterback to go, but he was supposed to be a quarterback that went in the first round. There wasn't anybody that said, yeah, you know what, I knew he wasn't going to first round. I don't know why he even went to the draft. Nobody was saying that. They all felt that angst for him because he was supposed to be a guy that went in the first round. So this was a first round player that the Titans aggressively moved up in day to take with the first pick in the second round.

So there's something to be said about what people thought about him when he came out. Now he came into the league, came to a team that had his own issues, where they couldn't help us solve those issues. So now he becomes, you know, he becomes expendable. And now the Titans got to go back to the drawing board and get another quarterback, but they're still trying to develop. But it's not to say that that feeling that people had about Will Levis when he came out of college still didn't exist somewhere.

I just think he, He freaked me out, and I think it still lives in my mind the one time that, like, the sentence he said that he had to rewire his brain. And like, it just replays in my head because I was right there when we interviewed him. And he said that. And it just replays over and over in my head. It was like, I think he's a heck of an athlete and has a heck of an arm. I just want to see this connect with this. Like I want to see two of those.

They've got to come together for him to actually be able to do what we all think he can do. He's got a slow game. He's just got a slow game down. Yeah. And for more players, that's for young players, you know, when you look at older players, you know, Aaron Rogers, you know, Matthew Stafford.

They're floating. Yeah. There's no panic into them. There's no anxiety. You got to be kidding. But for these young guys that are still trying to figure out, with the weight of the world on you, mind you, because they've been drafted for ish teams that need to be fixed, and they're not able to fix it, which makes things worse. Yeah, it's funny you say that because last week we talked about Will Levis and how he constantly is big play hunting. You know, he was never okay with slowing the game down and doing some boring stuff.

In practice on Friday, he was pressured in the pocket, threw it up in like double coverage. it was picked off. And it was like, man, like, throwing that away is the play in the NFL. And maybe they weren't trying to throw it away in practice. I don't know. But like, just the microcosm of kind of what he has kind of been through over the last couple of years and his trials and tribulations. You know what I mean?

So that, you know. Cam threw it away. And Rip Bryant was saying, right? That's a smart quarterback right there. It's a smart receiver. Well, and inevitably. there is going to be a team that has some quarterback depth issues. There is inevitably going to be an injury from somebody this summer.

And they're going to look at Will and like you mentioned, Kayla, say, we can fix him. You know, there's untapped potential there. We love the physical traits, you know, the big shoulders, the big arm. But yeah. The $6 million man was a broken dude, man. Yep. He was half dead. And what do they say?

we can fix it. We can make him better. We can make him faster. Next to you know, Lee Majors is the baddest boy on TV. Come on. Man, saying. Well, I think that's a good place to end here as we head into mandatory minicamp and say goodbye to OTAs for the Tennessee Titans. We wanted to thank you guys for joining us on this week's edition of the Titans Squad show.

Make sure to like, comment, subscribe, all of that fun stuff. Listen to us wherever you get your podcast and live twice. a week here on YouTube. But for now, I'm Julian Minnensohn. That's Kayla Anderson and Brad Hopkins. We'll see you guys in Minicamp shows up.