Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - TITANS SQUAD SHOW: Love vs. Bailey, Titans SHOULD TAKE smart pick over fun pick

Episode Date: April 4, 2026

The 2026 NFL Draft is just three weeks away, and the Tennessee Titans are officially on the clock at No. 4 overall. Do they take the transcendent prospect in Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love, or do they address the edge with Texas Tech powerhouse David Bailey? We’re breaking down the ultimate draft dilemma: do you go with the "fun" pick or the "smart" pick? 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! Robinhood You’re no longer just a spectator. Play by play. You decide. Trade Every Play with Robinhood. Now available across the U.S. Download the Robinhood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC., a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. During the tournament FanDuel is offering $300 back in Bonus Bets every day for ten days. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game. 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.

I'm Julian Minnensohn. Fun pick or smart pick? We debate love versus Bailey here in the Titan Squad show. And I'm Brad Hopkins, and with these latest free agent signings, they're just getting ready for camp. 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 Music City,

the way only the locked-on podcast network can. Squad up. The Titans' Sports. Squad show starts now. And welcome to a Friday edition of the Titan Squad Show. I'm Julian Minneson, joined by Brad Hopkins. Kayla Anderson is out today, but she'll be back next week. Wanted to remind you, today's episode is brought to you by Fanduel.

During the tournament, FanDuel is offering $300 back in bonus vets every day for 10 days. Head toFandul.com to get started. Maybe Brad's fighting Aligni will do him a favor this weekend. Yeah, he is rooting for Illinois hard. over there. But B. Hop wanted to start here with the news of the day for the Tennessee Titans. The NFL announced its off-season schedule and the Titans, because they have a new head coach and Robert Sala, get to start two weeks earlier than everybody else. April 7th is when they could start their off-season workout program. They'll have voluntary

minicamp at the end of the month. OTA's next month for 10 days of workouts there, and then it all leads to mandatory minicamp June 16th and 17th. So with the extra time, knowing that it is a new staff, how important is it? Because we hear about it all the time, Bihab, where the results on the field during the season, it starts now. Yeah, absolutely. This is for implementation of the system. If you think about it, Julian, this is the level playing field that we're talking about

when everything is new, right? We know the thousand-yard seasons that Tony Pollard has had with this team consecutively. We know how effective Tage Spears was. I'm not speaking particularly on the backfield in the back field, but just how an offense will be ran. Brian Dayball's first tenure here at Nashville. So there's going to be a lot of newness. Therefore, they need a little bit extra time to kind of get things going as far as people

understanding what the process is, et cetera, et cetera. But that also means that it doesn't matter what you've done to this point because whatever you've done to this point is history. So now they're focusing on what tomorrow is going to look like, what the future is going to look like, what training camp is going to look like, particularly with all these signing. So they're just gearing themselves up what should be an interesting offseason to say at least. Yeah, and you mentioned training camp at the third. top with some of these depth pieces the Titans have added this week.

I wanted to go down the free agent signing list. They signed Michael Carter running back. They signed two wide receivers, Lance McCutcheon and K.J. Osborne. And then maybe the biggest one that made a splash here, at least in Nashville, because of the amount of vols in the viewing area, was Hendon Hooker, the quarterback. And he played at Tennessee, of course. So when you think of that, is it just depth? Is that what we're talking about?

Bodies for training camp? when you think of adding guys like this? Or is there a shot that we could see some of these guys make the final roster? Well, let me say this first off. Very rarely this late in free agency, do you see someone getting signed to a multi-year deal? These are guys that can, you know, their contracts can be easily absorbed or canceled or moved

or just pay off what's owed to them. You know, at the end of the day, they have to show exactly what they're worth. You know, I don't think anyone's expecting Hendon Hooker to maybe beat out Mitchell Chibisky to back up camera. Ward. And I'll get into my hot take later on. I just kind of a tease situation. But I will say, crazier things have happened now. In 2005, 2005, rather, Daniel Jones got signed to the Colts, right? He signed just a one-year deal for $14 million. This is a prove-it deal as they're getting

ready to go to camp, right? Now this cat into being a franchise QB candidate. You also can happen. Russell Douglas. He's another guy, cornerback for the Dolphins. He was like 14th among qualified corners according to PFF after he was signed by the Dolphins in August. And he had to prove himself to be worthy. Cole Strange, another guy. So it can happen. But by and large, I won't even say these guys are death pieces because there's no guarantee they're going to see the end of the roster come heading into September when the regular

season starts. So there are camp bodies in essence. They hope to put this way, if you get yourself cut before camp starts, what we say about that, you know what I mean? But at the end of the day, these guys are brought in because they are going to going to need people to run the scouts. They are going to need people to give looks to the starters. They are going to need essentially debt pieces, but I don't necessarily see all these guys sticking around that long. Yeah. Isn't it crazy, though, when you think about like Hendon Hooker, for example,

because he was the one who made a ton of noise because, you know, in 2023, there was a school of thought amongst the Vols fans that they would want Hendon Hooker in that first round for the Titans. Titans end up taking Will Levis a few rounds later. And now they're both on this roster. Levis probably on his way out and Hennon Hooker just barely fighting for a roster spot. It's kind of crazy how timing, opportunity, and how things work out or don't work out depending on the situation in the NFL. But what I will say this, Bhop, is you know how we talked about last year, how the Titans quarterback room needed to improve behind Cam Ward. Because when a Cam Ward, if he, God forbid, misses games, you can't just punt on some of these regular season games if you're trying to turn it

around. Brandon Allen didn't look so great in that final game against Jacksonville. I still feel with Hendon Hooker in here now in the mix, you have Will Levis, Mitch Trubisky, you know, the future for Willis obviously answered. And then of course, Cam Ward, I feel a lot better about this quarterback room as a whole that they're going to be at least a little bit more competitive if Cam Ward has to miss some time. What say you? Yeah, well, you know the only difference between Hendon Hooker and Malik Willis is just one start. They both have almost the same sample size of gains being played. Now, I mean, if there's an age gap, but still, people feel so much about what Malieuilis

is able to do potentially for Miami and they're excited about it, right? Well, people aren't necessarily looking at him and the hooker that way. It's almost like the same difference between a squirrel and a rat. There really isn't that much of the difference other than the buzz on the tail. But the same animal way, I last, by and large. So, you know, I think that this is only really a conversation because we don't know necessarily what's going to happen with Will Levis. What is his future going to look like?

I'm teasing again, but my heart takes home. So, you know, it is what it is. When you talk about a guy that's played in three games in 2024, 33 snaps and all. You know, that's just, it is what it is. I know there's a lot of excitement from ball fans to see some guy that, you know, used to, you know, play for old Rocky Top down the street. But he was available for a reason. Oh, hey, just enjoy him while you got him.

Yeah, no, Indy, you know when you're talking about the difference between a squirrel and a rat? It got me thinking, you ever seen scary movie three where he was like, oh, the rats are outside, the mice are inside. That's the difference between. If a mouse goes outside, does it become a rat? And if a rat goes inside, does it become a mouse, basically? That's all I'm a matter of fact, I brought the same argument of it. I think it's a while back in my barber shop.

And my barber said, well, squirrels eat nuts. You know what I mean? I can't eat anything. Well, I mean, if you make that squirrel desperate enough, I guarantee you'll eat you too. Oh, yeah. You know, one thing that just came across today, and it does impact the Titans a little bit,

and I wanted to talk about this, is the Jags secured Trouon Walker, the former number one overall pick, defensive end for them, a massive $110 million contract extension. So, you know, obviously he's been an effective piece for a team that just won the AFC South title.

And this also means that Cam Ward and that offensive line Bhop has to deal with him now for years to come, twice a year now. So the Jags trying to widen the gap that's already there between them and the Titans right now. Yeah. that's what you try and do. You try and get effective in those positions that you know

will have an immediate effect potentially on the other team's quarterback. I remember Greg Williams a few years back, I mean, I mean, a long time back, got in trouble for basically stating the obvious. And I might be going to repeat what he said because, you know, very controversial. But if you do affect the quarterback position, you have a really good chance of affecting the timing and everything else is going on with an offense. So yes, that is going to be a point of contention.

And it's also willing to make protection super important. You know what they do to keep Cam Ward protected is, I mean, really important. You already got these dogs down there in Houston that have one of the best defenses in the AFC. Though Jacksonville in the mix, I'm sure the Colts are thinking of ways to, they can befuddle a young quarterback like a Cam Ward as well. So the name of the game is disrupt the quarterback. What is it?

Stop the run. Get to the quarterback. And obviously Jacksonville is addressing that. Yeah, 27 and a half sacks over the four years in Jacksonville for Trouon Walker. And it also brings up another kind of conversation that I wanted to continue on the other side of the break here when it comes to edge. Because we see really good edges in the AFC South, doesn't mean the Titans need to take one at number four overall. Or should we lean towards a more fun pick and the love train, Jeremiah Love? That's next year on the Titans Squad Show. Keep it here.

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All right, Biaop, so the debate for what the Titans should do at number four continues to change by the day. It seems, you know, obviously Edge was the talk at the start of the off season. The Titans need to have a pass rush, like you mentioned. And then the talk for Jeremiah Love started heating up over the last couple weeks because he is touted as the best player in the draft. But the Edge conversation is still there. I'll pose it this way. Fun pick versus smart pick. Now, when I say fun pick, we're talking about Jeremiah Love. Now, I don't want to mean it by disregarding it by saying Jeremiah Love wouldn't be a

smart pick. I think he's a good player, right? But smart pick is you not only fill the need you have with Edge, but it allows you to, I guess, map out the rest of your draft board with other big time voids on the roster. So where do you stand on that whole draft philosophy? And are you still banging the drum for David Bailey like you have been for the last couple weeks here on this show. Well, I've been banging the drum for Jeremiah Love as of lately. And it's been that way for about a month or so. David Bailey was who I started out originally wanting because Edge was the smart pick.

Let's look at that definitively. Smart pick is like you just said, feeling in need. Really good prospect, according to scouts and coaches, totally makes sense, right? Fun pick. That means you have surplus. You know, it's not necessary to take that player. but seems exciting enough to, you know, see how things turn out.

You know, it could be interesting to say the least. Jeremiah Love is not a fun pick. You know, he has way more capability than his position would just suggest. Not only is he hands down the best back in the entire draft, he also can be used in so many different ways outside of the back field that he becomes a weapon, not necessarily fun.

So the question being, who do you take, if not edge or love, right? I mean, to me, the number four pick is what really makes the difference, where we're picking. You don't just take someone on the whim that high. Not everyone in the first round is worthy of a top five pick. That's just a fact. I wasn't worthy of a top five pick. I was 13, probably right where I needed to be.

There are 32 first rounders every single year. Now, the rankings can be debated, but top fives are usually consensus. Here's the top five, Fernando Mendoza, right? Sure. Top five, Jeremiah Lowe, David Bailey, Caleb Daly, Caleb Duff. Rvel Reese, Ruben Bain Jr. Those are top fives. Ty Simpson, the top five? Akeem Mesidor, he's a top five?

Denzo Boston, top five? Peter Woods might be a top five. How about Caleb Lomu? Top five? Probably not. It has to fit the pick, right? Yeah. So the Titans needs. Cornerback, edge, wide receiver, interior officer, interior officer lineman, linebacker tied in.

You can debate the order, whatever. Alante Taylor, he's okay. Cordell Flot, he's okay. You know, but will Kalin's down, Caleb Downs be better, arguably. Calvin Ridley, Wondell Robinson, really good players, but they're not franchise players like Justin Jefferson, Jackson Smith and Jigbaugh, Jamar Chase. You know, so number four, you got to grab a receiver that could be the next great receiver

or a cornerback that could be the next Revis Island or whatever else, you know? So you can go to slot or X. McCoy Lemon's probably your slot. Carnell Tate or Jordan Tyson's probably your ex. but no one would look at Cardinal Tate or Caleb Downs and say, man, they aren't worthy of four pick. What are you doing? Could a smart pick also be a fun pick? For example, like if we're touting David Bailey as the smart pick because it fills a Titans need, right? But he ends up becoming, you know,

Nick Benito or if he ends up becoming, you know, a Micah Parsons type, let's say, or like that impactful, that would be pretty darn fun too, especially. especially in a Robert Salas defense. So, you know, as much as the Titans, it would be awesome to have Jeremiah Love. Every time I do a mock draft, whether it be with Love or picking David Bailey early on, I always end up liking my drafts more when I take the edge.

I don't know that's just doing one of those, you know, PFS and simulators like we've done for a couple of the mock draft shows. But that's why I'm kind of leaning towards the edge pick because it addresses two things, the fun and the smart, at least to me. Well, fun pick is someone that makes a difference, Julia. Yeah, that's exactly my point. Yeah, right? It's not fun if the guy sucks if you can't make an adjustment.

What we're saying about it, that's not fun. So a fun pick is someone that the results really makes sense, right? to me a Caleb Downs is a fun pick. Why? Because you don't necessarily need to address cornerback first, but not only does he feel a need, you know, as far as like,

you know, the guys that he would be going up against him camp, who'd say that he wouldn't emerge as the starter. But he's also a fun pick because we're thinking that the results would make the difference. He'd be going in there and just getting some picks, you know,

shutting down and neutralizing an offense's best option, that kind of guy, you know what I mean? Because when you look at some of the intangibles from these other guys, guys, you know, one guy might not be the most best tacklers. I'm necessarily physical. His best asset would be in the shadow of a receiver, maybe batting balls down. But then you need somebody also that can get a guy on the ground unless a guy got a ball in his hands. You know what I mean? So I think that's where

Caleb Downs checks off a lot of bosses. The guy is physical. You know what I mean? Didn't Redbow you and Waterboy say that? Yeah. He's about to get real physical. Well, that's exactly what Caleb does. You know, so I get it, the comparison between smart and fun. But I think at the end of the day, fun is a smart pick because fun means that the guy got in there and he's making football fun. He's made Javon when he got in the lineup. He made football fun to watch. We wanted to hear that, oh, freak out.

That was fun. People were having fun in the stands. They're smiling and enjoying each other because we were winning. So the fun pick essentially is a smart pick, just maybe not necessarily the thing that we're thinking about first when you're talking about filling needs on a roster. When you think about Jeremiah Love versus, let's say, the three edges that are out there, Bailey, Bain, and Reese, right? Am I looking into it too much as just like the casual football fan Bhop when I think of, oh, maybe Love should be the pick? Because there's a bigger chance of getting it wrong with one of the three guys. Because as we've talked about, each of the edges, there are maybe some question marks about whatever be Bain's arm size or arm length. Reese, what is he, right?

What position could you find for him? Like, is there a worry in the sense that we could be wrong about one of the edges that you pick? And you should just go with the guarantee and that's Jeremiah Love. Ah, see. You get what I'm trying to say? I get what you're trying to say, but I think that your guarantees are backwards, in my opinion. Oh, okay, okay. So who affects an edge rusher when he puts his hand?

in the dirt. Just the offense he's facing, the skiing, maybe the guys are blocking him. But how is a running back affected? A running back ain't nothing if an offensive line sucks. Sure. So there's a variable that affects his ability to be successful as opposed to a defensive lineman. I mean, if he is not qualified to be outside with his fortune, I'm talking, let's take David Bailey for a reason, for example. David Bailey didn't have sex last season, easily probably one of the most effective edge rushers in college football, right? Absolutely. But that doesn't necessarily guarantee he's going to be able to take down a trend,

Trent Williams. You know what I mean? There's somebody, Jane Johnson who's coming back for his 14th season. You know, guys that he's going to be going up against that you know are some dogs, right? But at the end of the day, it's been messed up against him. There's nothing else necessarily that gets in the way or affects my ability to rush the passer. They might put a running back out there or, you know, to chip on the way out or a tight end. And all that says is that they truly believe that you're a player because they're going through extra measures and extra steps to make sure you don't have success.

But a running back, a running back is only as good as his offensive line. That's period point blank, just like quarterbacks. Quarterbacks are only as good as either the people that are throwing the ball to or the guys that are protecting them. Because at the end of the day, they can't do it by themselves. So running back needs help. A running back needs to be able to get the ball and have a lane to go through or some sort of scheme or whatever. to get him in space to where he can use his physical attributes. But for the most part, I think it's an easier bet to see exactly how well an edge

rusher is going to be versus, you know, a running back who we know is at the whim of offensive play calling and the guys that are blocking up front. That's the thing that worries me at least about the Jeremiah Love perspective, Bhop, is the Titans offensive line right now is not where you want it to be, right? Like you have Skoronsky. Great. great piece j c latham we're still waiting for him to get clicking and it kind of did at the end of last season but we need a bigger sample size of that and then they got holes at center and right guard right now

yeah that's listen and then left tackle i don't want you get you started on left tackle because we could be here for hours i'm not even going here i don't listen i've said enough on that's time i'm not going to say anything else you know at the end of they will see how about that sure i would hope that dan more has the same kind of finish in the season that j c latham had Because that's something to build on, something that you can potentially have hope and be excited about. He's getting better. Let's say that. I want to see those kind of, you know, those steps of them getting better.

But let's just say the offensive line played well back in 2022. When did Derek leave to go to Baltimore? 23? I believe so. Yeah. Anyway, if the offensive line were ringers and they were doing something up front and that made a difference, Derek Henry would still be wearing a Titans jersey. He'd be wearing a new logo stuff and breaking out, you know, exactly what it's going to look like for 2026.

That didn't happen. You know what I'm saying? Same thing can be happening with Ryan Tanyhill. Ryan Tanyhill was like, I mean, one of the better quarterbacks in the National Football League when he was at his, when he was taking a suit of playoffs. But what happens? When you start having problems up front and all of a sudden he's running for his life and has time to throw, just all those things that you know can affect even with an offensive. offense coordinator is able to call because of field position, that kind of stuff. Sure.

I would hate to think that that could definitely be a problem that Jeremiah Love would actually have to face, but we've seen it historically, you know, especially in recent history. So I think that Jeremiah Love is a guy that, okay, let's just say they took him out of the backfield, right? Well, put him out there in the slide. Still with the ball in his hands being effective ball carrier. You know what I mean? Do some draws. Do things that, you know, we'll get him, you know, screens, that kind of stuff.

You know what I mean? If you can't block up front. but you would hope to not have that problem because we've seen just what kind of an effect that can have on the players, especially skilled position guys. And just for context, 2023 was Henry's last year with the Titans, just over 1,100 yards. He jumped up to over 1,900 and then 1,500, the last two seasons in Baltimore. Yeah, there you go. All right.

So on the other side of the break, Bhop has teased it. He's got some hot takes, or should I say hop takes? That's going to be next year on the Titan Squad Show. Don't go anywhere. And don't forget to check out the every. Dayer Club for ad free episodes and access to a group chat with Tyler and other listeners of the show. Tap the link in the show notes or go to the screen, the link you see on your screen right there. If you're with us on YouTube, that's locked on podcast.com slash every dayer.

Once again, locked on podcast.com slash every day. All right, Bhop, it's time for another one of your hop takes. I'll give you the floor. It is all you. Now, listen, just hear me out. Will Levis could be the next Malik Willis. I say that loosely because we really aren't sure what even Malik Willis is to this point, but he's got the attention of a lot of people in national football league.

As a matter of fact, I was listening to Mantai Teow this morning talking on the NFL channel about how an exciting player he is. I mean, with a small sample side, I think to say that. But yet still, we're backing this, just move to move on from Tuotago ILO and bringing in a guy that the Titans cut. So played in only four games, started just one, did enough to do. just, you know, to get those teams interested. This will be the best coaching that Will Levis has had as a pro.

This will be a better version of the line. I say better, not the best version, because the one that Will Levis inherited sucked. You know what I mean? So, you know, basically, you know, he helped contribute to the Titans picking first, you know, in the draft last year. Brian Dayball will either make him a quality backup or at least make him good trade bait. So at the end of the day, we're going to find out more about Will Levis and what he looks like. especially with preseason those games coming up because we don't expect they see a huge sample size of Cam Ward,

even though we should see Cam Ward, you know, to some degree because he is only going into his second season. And I think that those reps actually matter. Now, how long he stays in the game, you know, that will probably fluctuate or maybe not even matter. But the fact that you're going to see him at some point is good. But we're going to see a whole bunch of Will Levis. We're going to see a whole bunch of Mitchell Trevisky. Hey, hell, we're going to even see some Hen and Hooker in there. But if Will Levis goes out there and starts shining, starts making people go,

because of him understanding Brian's philosophy. Maybe there's a clicking or something happens in there. Because I do think that in instances, we did see some good things from Will Levis. Did he gamble for a person that didn't have the credentials to gamble? Yeah. Was he running for his life when half the time? Yeah. But I think he did show some capabilities.

And there was a reason why the Titans moved up in that second round on day two to grab Will Levis. because they saw something in there, but it was just too much for him to overcome all the crap that was going on with this team. That same crap that sent Derek Henry up to Baltimore. So I'll back that up again. Will Levis could be the next Malik Willis garnering interest from teams around the national football league. And who knows, he might end up being a guy that gets a start here and there for some of the team. The next thing you know, he's the next Indiana Jones.

We'll see. Will Levis to be the next Malik Willis. I like that, Bihop. And knowing that Will is in a. contract year. He's going to want to ball out, right? He's coming back. The hope is that he's healthy for the Titans' sake, because if he is to be

healthy enough to play and play well in those preseason games, you get that draft stock up. Realistically, what are you thinking, let's say it all goes well according to plan, Bhop. What could you get for a Will Levis? Maybe, because right now it's probably a seventh. Could you bump it up to a sixth?

Could you bump it up to a fifth maybe? Because I think that's a win if you're able to for the Titans. I think that your only way you're going to be able to bump up the trade value of a Malik Willis pass to seven is if he gets into some regular season games. You know what I mean? I don't think there's going to be enough of sample size in preseason to say, oh, I'd give a five for him, you know, because who are you going up against? You know, other guys that probably aren't going to make the roster, you know, but it's just time to shine. But I think that if this guy, you know, and I'm not here, I'm knocking on wood.

You know, Cam Ward's going to finish the entire season, just like he did last year. and play the most games of any quarterback, especially rookies, whatever. But something could happen. And let's just say, I don't know, Mitchell Chubisky gets COVID. You know what I mean? Next thing you know, Will Levis is in the lineup for whatever reason. Or maybe he's even shining enough in practice to where, hey, he's not going to be the emergency. Mitchell, you're going to be the emergency.

Sure. Will's going to be the backup. And that moves him closer to being able to get onto the football field. Now, the thing is, teams aren't privy to what guys do in practice. practice. They're not sharing practice film with the other 31 teams. It's just not doing that. Obviously, it'd be as silly for them to do that. So the only way we're going to see a better sample size of Will Levis that would actually be an indicator of whether or not teams feel better about him to be able to move up and give more draft equity for him is if he were to get into some real live bullets where the games actually matter. Now, obviously, a lot of things have to happen for him to get on the field in that instance. But if he shows noticeable improvement, you know, during practice, I guarantee you that, you know, maybe if there's a trade consideration later on and say, hey, well, how's he look in practice? And Brian, be on the phone, man, this cat, he's been doing things that I really didn't even expect him to do. He's hitting marks that I'm,

I was hoping that Cam would hit. If this is part of the conversation, then there could be a level of intrigue that sparks someone to say, you know what, I see you. I'll give you a six. And we'll keep it. What do you? Yeah, no, I totally agree. And there will be. teams desperate for a QB. I mean, like, look at the Jets right now, right? You're telling me they couldn't have somebody a little bit better than Brady Cook behind Gino Smith there, or the Cardinals, for example. I mean, Jacoby Brissette is set to be their starting quarterback next season. You know where's another place I was thinking because they're probably going to be looking. Maybe they'll draft one, but maybe they'll be looking at an option for the future is the L.A.

Rams. Because Matthew Stafford, how many years does he have last? left, right? You wonder, maybe one, maybe two, they're probably going to be going for a Super Bowl at some, they're going all in for a Super Bowl this year, but for him to sit behind like a veteran and then get coaching from like a, like a McVe type, that may be, that may be a better situation for him. I mean, he wants a new opportunity. That's the thing. That, that actually would be super incredible for him. Can you imagine Will Levis learning from Sean McVeigh and and getting qualified to run that offense. And right now they only have Stetson Bennett as his backup.

Yeah. So they've got to get somebody in there. You know what I mean? Yeah. So they're looking at maybe. Yeah. No, I was just going to say, and the Rams philosophy over the last few years is not keeping a lot of picks,

you know, trade the pick scenarios. So, yeah. Well, first up, we know the Rams are going to be, they're going to be better than, say, the 20th pick of the draft. You know what I mean? Yes. So they're not going to be looking at next year's quarterback class and saying, man, we're going to get us one of the,

of those top guys unless you're willing to give away the rest of your draft to move up that far. Yeah. I think that the Rams are going to be good enough to where they're probably picking in the mid to late 20s. You know what I mean? Right. That's just seen what Sean McVeigh does. Put it this way. If they don't, that's the story.

You know, the massive fall off of Matthew Stafford. They're ready to move on. It might make it easier for them to move up because they're saying, look, Matthew sucked us last year. We're picking 13th in this draft. You know what I mean? Because of that. So let's go ahead and get one of these young cats, these young Thunder cats sort of coming out next year. And we're ready to obviously move on.

Matthew Stafford's probably ready to retire as it is. Anyway, man, you probably didn't even finish the season and used unhealthy. That's the reason why it happened. But I think that Will Levis, if he were to be in consideration for them to actually trade or just even get him as the emergency quarterback or a camp body, in essence, because we got a lot of guys. That would be probably the most optimum position for optimal position for Will Levis at this point. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see what the Titans do with that second, third quarterback position, whether they trade Levis and keep somebody like a Hendon Hooker as that third emergency QB spot,

or we'll see how Camp plays out, that's for sure. Okay, you guys have some comments, questions, concerns. We're going to answer them next in the Titan Squad show, Titans Talk segment next year on the Titan Squad show. Keep it in. All right. So the comments most of them today have been addressing the big picture of this episode, the fun pick versus smart pick, Love versus Bailey. We have a few votes for Jeremiah Love and a few votes for just defensive end at number four.

But we have one person, Daryl Smith, 6463, that says, trade the damn pick. We need to load up with good talent, take the best linemen in the first. So other picks are true game changers. So he is of the trading down and getting just more better players because Titans do need that too, Biham. Well, I think that that is probably something that is. being talked about in the war room for the Titans. They have a lot of value in this draft picking in the top five. And what that means is that somebody is interested in taking a top five player.

And for me, it's probably the commanders looking to fill a backfield that could definitely help Jalen Daniels or Jalen Daniels, you know, be better in 2026. So would they be willing to trade, you know, or at least move up to? to four with us, us move down to seven, which is still a quality pick, and then maybe have two-toos, our own second round and their second round for next year. That's draft equity. That's building for the future. You know, that's looking, going into Brian Dayball's second season as offensive coordinator, and he's looking around and saying, man, I've got a first round pick. I've got two-toos, and I'm ready to ride out and getting some really, really good players. So to me, that makes sense because guess what? You can still address edge rusher at number seven.

Ruben Bain Jr. might still be out there. David Bailey, probably not going to be out there. Akeem Messador might be out there. There's some guys that can fly out, get after it on that side of the football that, you know, are top 10 quality picks, maybe even top 11 picks that maybe make sense to take at 7. So you can still address a need in the top 10 because you're moving down, maybe say three picks, but you're also getting draft equity. That, to me, is the only scenario that would actually make sense there.

I don't know if you saw Bhop Bruce Feldman from the Athletic, his most recent mock draft, but his mock drafts are based off intel. He's gathered from coaches, scouts, and agents around the league. So it is not just, hey, I like this guy to go here. It is based off some background intel and reporting. And his latest mock draft had the Cardinals trading with the Cowboys. Cowboys move up to that third spot ahead of the Titans to take a David Bailey. because the Cowboys, they gave up a pass rusher, a pretty darn good one,

and Micah Parsons, and they're in need of one. What do you think about that and how that may impact what the Titans do at Ford? Because that is a possibility. I get it, but if that were, you know, sources and all this other stuff, you weren't for the wrong order. You're working for the wrong order and you're screwing around like that, man. Because Jared will call everybody in the same room. All right, which one of y'all is in here snitching?

And don't think I don't have your phone numbers. so before I ask the question, just consider the fact that I already know which one of y'all it is. Who is it? Johnson. Well, Lars Keith, you know, you see what I'm saying? You're not going to be giving away these things. So I just think it's hyperbole. I just think it's somebody throwing stuff out there. As a matter of fact, if I'm a writer, if I'm a media member like that, you know, like somebody that's supposed to be connected, I could make this stuff up.

And just simply coined it by saying, my sources say, well, guess what, my source could be my son that's actually playing Madden. He's looking at like the Jets whole situation. Remember where you got your kids actually playing sports? Yeah, don't take him. The facilities, janitors, mailman's second cousin. Yeah. Yeah. My barber. You know what I mean? All these things. You know what I mean? So you can't name a name because you just can get that guy fired. So in other words, we don't have access to these teams war rooms. Sure. You know, if, you know, put it this way. If they, if they, if SpyGate was

one of those situations that was one of the most talked about things. You think loose lips from some guy that's in your building is going to be truthful? Probably not. I wouldn't take that risk to even entertain you and what your thoughts are. Right. This is my thought. Yeah, no, Jerry Jones, I mean, would have that whole building like wiretapped the next day. It probably is, Julian. Yeah, no, it probably is. You're right. Right. So what, put this way. We need to need to look at the transactions and say which coaches have been fired in the last two or three weeks, you know? Well, that's the guy that's pitching to Adam Schefter. That's the guy who's talking to. And we have to remember, Bhop, offseason is lying season. And so there could be some gamesmanship in this where let's say the Titans really want David Bailey. And there are these reports that the Cowboys could jump up and jump the Titans and trade with the Cardinals to get them. Titans, if you really want them, you should trade with us. You know, like that. There's that aspect of it, too.

There's gamesmanship involved in all of this. So you got to remember that, too. I get it. There's a reason why they got Otito Abonia. There's a reason why they got Rishon and Gary, because they were expendable with the teams that they were on, right? They weren't like throwing up these big numbers. But then again, we've seen owners do dumber things,

the Cowboys included. What's the one thing that they needed the most, Micah Parsons? wasn't he on the roster? You know, I mean, didn't? Weren't they talking about an extension? And you got your feelings hurt because the backroom deal that you thought was done, the man just simply said, call my agent. Let's get it done.

You know, I'll sign it. We'll move on. No, no, no, we're right here. No, that's not why I'm giving this cap 15% or whatever it is, 3%. So I'm going to make him do his job. So call him up and we're here. So they're trying to address a bad move that was initially made. So now you get to compound the dumbness.

You know what I mean? So it makes you look even dumber. So I don't think the day when you're... It's weird. It's like, man, you needed a pass rusher. Well, you have the pass rusher. You know? I'm not poking at Kenny Clark because I like Kenny Clark.

I like him a lot. I know if I'm not. Still interior guys are harder to be as effective as outside guys, especially the outside guy like Michael Parsons. Yeah. Michael Burns, FZ3MH says, if we trade back to nine with Kansas City, do we still get love? I don't think so. I do not. There's many reports that say he won't even make it out the top five. Like if he falls to the

Giants, like they could just do something crazy and be like, you know what, we're going to take him. And then if he doesn't go there, I don't know. I mean, the Browns, Commander, St. I mean, I could see him in New Orleans. Is he from there? So that's where I had him going. Well, he's actually from St. Louis. But the point is, if the Titans don't take them at four, they're going to be the next six teams to ten saying, you know what I mean? It might change up everything that they're doing.

Okay, by example, what if for some reason when hell froze over, the Raiders didn't take for Nana Mendoza? You don't think that somebody's going to be like, oh my God, they didn't take him, you know what I mean? The Jets, maybe we'll take him right there too.

Yeah, there's teams scrambling all over to get that guy. That's not going to happen. Right. But still the player like Jeremiah Love, to fall past four. And the only reason why I was saying that is because obviously the Raiders are tied to Fernando Mendoza. The Jets have already spoken home how highly they feel of Breece Hall and he's not going anywhere.

Same thing with Tile Algier and James Connor resigning to the Cardinals and then leaving a quarterback more than the running back. So they're out, which leaves us at four. So if we don't take Jeremiah a little bit four, somebody's coming to get him before 10, easily, nine. Yeah. I think that would be the biggest. wild card. I think the Titans are the biggest, like, turning point of the draft in that sense,

because it seems like the conversation is Raiders, Mendoza, Arvel Reese Jets, and, like, offensive linemen, one of the tackles to Arizona. And then the Titans are kind of like up in the air with it. Like, they can go edge. They can go running back. So certainly interesting. They could basically set the tone for the rest of the draft. Go ahead. Real quick, real quick. Charles Davis in his mock draft, he said the same thing that I had said in my very first draft, which was that Ty Simpson was going to go to Arizona at number three. Interesting. Now, the doubt now, the only thing, and that was after Kyler Murray, you know, was gone.

I knew when they started rumoring about Kyle Murray being gone, I'm thinking, ooh, they're moving on from Kyle and Murray. That means they're probably going to get a quarterback in this draft because there's nobody out there right now that's just going to come in here and save the day, in essence. If you got a draft pick, then it's at least the patience factor of just being a guy in his first year. We weren't going to rinse Cam Ward out with the baby water, why? Because he's only in his rookie year. And there's still some growing and developing.

So that would kind of push people off of what's the coach's name? I can't remember the new coach in Arizona. Anyway, but also the conversation became more intriguing when I realized that the jets have two pitch. in the first round. And they definitely need a quarterback. So let's just say that they get Arville Reese in the second. Ty Simpson is still sitting there to sit behind Gino Smith at 16. You know, so they can still address quarterback and at a pick that makes sense because

I think people are debating whether or not Ty Simpson is the first pick, but conventional wisdom would say that he is a first rounder. I mean, I meant first round and not first pick. So, I mean, I think he'll go in the first round into a team like. Arizona or the Jets that definitely need a quarterback or the futures guy. Yeah, this is a scarce quarterback draft, but there was a time at

the college football season this year where Ty Simpson was the best quarterback in the country. Like there was a time. And you were thinking of Michael Flore, the new head coach coming over from the Rams O.C. Yes. All right. One last question here, or I guess more comment, Julius Howard,

499, says, I say we draft love, best playmaker in the draft, then get an edge in the second or third, depending on if there's a good lineman to draft. I think based on the mock drafts that we did in the last shows, this is kind of what I had is with love

and then you go second round edge and then third round either like guard or center, something like that. I think that's, that would be a smart draft to me. Yeah, Danny Dennis Sutton. Yeah. E. Mesidor, Zion Young.

Zion Young, yeah. Most type of players, I think, will be available. to taking that second round, especially where we're picking 35. So that's three picks in. That's three picks in. It's a first rounder, essentially. I couldn't even think of a better word. That's exactly what a player like that would be.

So right out of the scope of a guy that you would take in the first round. Some people might take one of those guys in the first round. But that's not a bad deal. Take love like we're supposed to is the best playmaker in this draft and then address Edge, someone that's coupled with Jermain Johnson, can help out Jeffrey Simmons, can help out John Franklin Myers and really be that edge piece that really brings diversity

and more complexity up front for the Titans defense. And they may not be on the level or the hype of a Bailey, Reese, or Bain, but you're still expecting to get a starter in that position, an impact player right away.

So that's big. Michael Barrow was our second round pick the year I was taken with the 13th pick. And Michael Barrow was a quality player and ended up going to, I think, the Giants or someplace else after they lived and leaving Houston, but still a really good player. You can stick him on the edge. He was a linebacker by trade.

So, you know, there's a lot of value that you can get in a second round pickman. Yeah, absolutely. All right. Well, that'll do it for us here on this Friday edition of the Titans Squad Show. We wanted to thank you for joining us today. Make sure to like, comment, subscribe, all that fun stuff. And get us wherever you get your podcast, not only the Titan Squad show, but locked on Titans with Tyler Rowland. We will be back on Tuesday.

Brad, Tyler and I, and then Kayla will be back with us next Friday. That's the schedule for the off season. So make sure to tune in live on YouTube or download wherever you get your podcast, like I mentioned. But for Brad Hopkins, I'm Julian Minneson. We'll see you guys next week.