Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - TITANS SQUAD SHOW: Rookie camp standouts, Carnell Tate is the X-FACTOR on offense

Episode Date: May 2, 2026

Rookie minicamp is officially underway, and the 2026 draft class finally looks the part in Titans blue. In this episode, we break down our first impressions from the field and why Carnell Tate is poised to be the ultimate X-Factor in Brian Daboll’s new-look offense. Plus, we look at the defensive side of the ball: Can Keldric Faulk and Anthony Hill Jr. reach their elite ceilings under Robert Saleh? 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. Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get one-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. Rugiet Get 15% off your treatment → https://rugiet.com/lockedonnfl Rugiet. Performance medicine for men. 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, rookie minicamp is officially underway, but we didn't see a ton from the draft picks. Why that might be a good thing. And speaking of draft picks, it's my first time to chime in. What do I think about the number four overall pick? And do I think he can make an impact right away? Titan up. It's the Titans. 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 Titan Squad Show. I'm your host, Julian Minneson, joined by the one and only Kayla Anderson, Brad Hopkins. He's out today. He's actually at a wedding this weekend.

So we'll catch up with Brad next week. But for now, you've got the dynamic duo today. We wanted to remind you today's episode is brought to you by Fandul. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get $100. $50 in bonus bets. If your bet wins, head to Fanduil.com to get started. And we have a jam-pack show for you today

as rookie minicamp is officially kicked off for the Tennessee Titans. We'll talk some of the defensive players, Keldrick Falk and Anthony Hill, what their potential is under Robert Sala's defense. Of course, as Kayla mentioned on the top, we're talking about Carnell take. Can he be the X factor for this team?

But I wanted to start with the big topic that it seems today coming out of rookie camp, Kayla, is that it was head coach Robert Sala's decision not to have the draft picks participate in some of the on-the-field stuff. They were doing a lot of stretching and dynamic warm-ups. And the reason being is Robert Sala says the guys have not done a lot of actual football training leading up to the draft. And so he wants to ease them into what is going to be a long and hard working off season. do you agree with that mentality from head coach Robert Sala and why? Oh, not the dynamic stretching, Julian.

Just so exciting when it comes to the video that we get when we come out to training camp. Selfishly, obviously for the TV audience, you know, and your background, obviously, you're in TV right now. I'm in radio, but I still, you know, think as a TV person and it's like selfishly, we want all the video we can get. When I first heard this, I won't lie. I was a little bit confused right away. And then I kind of relistened to the presser and understood that it was obviously their draft class that decided, he decided like, we're not going to go through drills. Obviously, the undrafted free agents will be out doing some workouts on the field in terms of practice. But when I heard his explanation, Julian, it actually made me sit back and pause for a minute.

and say, you know what? While I know that he has PTSD from what happened in Jacksonville and their first round pick and what happened there, I do understand a little bit behind it because they are, in terms of these rookies, going through such a grueling process over the last few months. And there is a lot of traveling. And, you know, with that and the excitement of draft day and draft day for those of them who were there, there's probably like you're not exactly probably, beating your body exactly everything that you want.

I mean, there's flights. And so my point being is when you're thrusted there into camp for the first time after all of this has happened, yeah, probably some things can happen. And maybe you're not fully, you know, ready to go in terms of practice. So the more I thought about it, the more I actually like it. And I understand the underactive free agents have to get out there and do their thing because they're trying to earn a spot on the team. but it makes sense to me, although it probably is not popular for everyone. You mentioned the PTSD Robert Sala might have from his time in Jacksonville, and the pick you're referring to is Dante Fowler,

and Robert Sala mentioned that in today's press conference, where he saw Fowler tear his ACL on the first rep of rookie minicamp. And look, if you're Robert Sala, who is trying to change the narrative about yourself as, a head coach and becoming successful and tried to, I guess, put away some of the stuff in the past that hasn't worked out so well. You're going to do things a little bit differently, right? And especially, Kayla, you mentioned a lot of the young players on this team. This roster, when the ultimate depth chart comes out on that final 53 man roster, it's going to be filled

with young players who are expected to contribute right away. And some position groups aren't necessarily that deep. I mean, we talked about the offensive line. And, you know, not. on wood, God forbid, something happens to one of those guys, who you have behind them, you know, when it's already kind of a skeleton crew to begin with. You're putting so much stock into Carnell Tate, maybe even into Nicholas Singleton, too, into the defensive side with Anthony Hill and Keldrick Fox. So you would just hate to see one of those guys go down who are expected to not only play, but contribute immediately, especially since you are a team trying to build back up.

Again, like you mentioned, as a person who does TV and was out there filming some of the practice, it was disappointing that I didn't get to see Carnell take catch some passes, right? It was disappointing that we didn't get to see Keldrick Falk do some pass rushing drills. I was editing my show for my sports cast tonight, and I'm like, this video stinks. Yeah, sure. But the rookie minicamp isn't for me, and the rookie minicamp isn't necessarily for the fans either. It's for getting these guys up to speed, seeing what they can do, and also getting them acclimated to the offseason program. And if that's going to be a little bit of a slower build, I'm okay with that given how much is riding on this rookie class and this new coaching staff.

And Julian, what I liked also what he said in the presser, he didn't just say this is what we're doing and there's no meaning behind it. Obviously, he shared his personal story. But then he gave an example of then what these guys are doing since they're not actually practicing. And he said, we've had some voiceovers for our coaches and the positions and they're going home and they're actually like studying this and they're going over all of this. So there is definitely things that are happening right now that they can take advantage of. It's just not physically on the field. So I did like that too that he went into some explanation and some details about what they're doing. right now with these rookies.

And again, a lot of it is soaking in all of the information, which they specifically have a way that they're doing that. Yeah, yeah. They're going through meetings. They're meeting with the coaches individually. I mean, this playbook, from what I understand, is very dynamic and a lot different, obviously, with this coaching staff and Brian Dable. So there's no new elements to that, that even the guys who are going to be coming back,

some of the vets and the returners, they're going to have to go through an adjustment period as well. And so I don't mind it. And especially like somebody just put in the comments, bottom tier collector puts, I'm with two tone blue. The sitting out of the drafted players is a nothing burger this time of year. Like what are they realistically going to get out of dynamic, you know, kind of individual workouts with other guys who are already just trying to make the team to begin with?

Yeah. I think it's a small sacrifice for ultimately the bigger picture of what we want this team to be. Yeah, absolutely. And I just, I think that that's the first thing as a new head coach and really as a new staff in general coming in and defying like the fact that like you don't have it. There's no apologies about it. This is the way I want to do it. Like I'm putting it out there. And I love the fact that he seems very decisive. And he's he's he just he's decisive. And the way that he goes about it in terms of what he says. It's just kind of like these are the expectations. And I'm going to do. this my way. And I do like that because it's his second go round. Obviously as a head coach, he learned a lot of things in that first go round as a head coach, which is not always a bad thing. It's actually a pretty good thing if you take advantage of that. We talked about that throughout the offseason, Kayla, is like the second time you do something, especially for a head coaching position, you expect the guy to learn and be better at it. And maybe this is just one of those

things very as minute as it is and as much as us in the media core kind of complained about you know not being able to see some of the the top draft picks this is something that maybe he's doing a lot better i wanted to get your thoughts real quick before we go to break and we talk about carnell tate and the other side your thoughts on the draft class as a whole because we're not going to see a ton of them this weekend and this is the first time we've been able to chat on the squad show since the eight new players have made their way to national yeah i shared the story on my radio show here in California. And again, I pay very close attention to the Titans. Like, it's actually a running joke that I, it's like people think I'm a Titans fan in California.

I'm like, no, I'm a Seahawks fan, but I just love the Titans as well. And so when I saw the first pick for the Titans, I literally gasped. Like I have it on video and I put it out on Twitter. If you want to see it, it's there. I gasped because I was in so much shock. And I believe that's how everybody else pretty much felt or a lot of the media core and a lot of fans felt. But the more I thought about the pick, the more I liked it because, A, I just love Ohio State receivers. We'll talk about that after the break. But overall, like, that was the biggest question mark at first, I think for me. And then I slowly started to say, like, okay, I actually like this. I think the biggest question mark is like, you know, do you find depth at cornerback, which they didn't do?

maybe they find that in an undrafted free agent. There's always a possibility. But, you know, I like the linebacker pick. We'll see if he can be a guy right out of the gates. I obviously liked them trading up and getting bulk. I did not expect them to do that. But I think Solis sees something in him. And I think it's very smart.

If he was there and you felt like he could go get him and trade up, if he is somebody you think you can mold into your defense, why not go get him? And then obviously the singleton pick is interesting too. I mean, could we see him overtake either one of these running backs at some point? They seem to have, you know, a little bit of an intrigue with this guy. And he has an interesting story. So I think overall it was a pretty good draft.

I mean, you're never going to be perfect. We'll see how it ends up. Oh, and I liked the add of Pat Coogan, too. Yeah, Pat Coogan laid a lot of intangible stuff with him and potentially, like if you're saying, down the line if these guys reach their ceiling and you have Pat Coogan, Jackson Slater as your center and right guard. Maybe you feel a little bit more comfortable if they become what you think that they could become. The only thing I will say about the offensive line, Kayla, is that Mike Borganzi said, hey, there is value at offensive line in day two, day three of the

draft. And they waited. They waited until day three to get those guys. And so that is the worry because you had 40% of your offensive line gone. And really Peter Skoranski was the only one last you're consistently that played well. They played better at the back end of the season. The sack numbers were down and the running, you know, the rushing yards were up. But I don't know if it was enough to say, hey, we're good here. On top of cutting Lloyd and Zeitler, obviously still kind of up in the air with his, his position there.

He could still come back. But that's the only thing is it seems like it's going to be a revolving door between center and right guard and that's going to be duped out for in training camp. And think about it too, though. like Peter's been the only one that's really had to or that's been able to stay consistently there at left guard. Yeah. Like everybody else, it's just been a constant shuffle for three years. And it's like they have got to find some consistency and leave some of these guys where they can actually thrive and feel confident in what they're playing.

No, indeed, 100%. Well, we'll see how that goes for the Titans O line as we're just getting started with the offseason here and the workouts and all of that fun. stuff. On the other side of the break, we're going to talk about number four pick, Carnell Tate, what we expect from him. And could he be the X factor for this Titans offense in 2026? That's next year in the Titans Squad show. Keep it here. All right, the NBA playoffs are here and every possession matters. If you're looking to get even closer to the action, Fanduel has a great offer to get you started right now. New customers can bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. That's right. Turn five bucks into

150 and bonus bets just for getting started. You know, you can check stats, trends, and matchups before making your picks, which makes the experience feel a lot more informed. Like, for example, I got my LA Lakers tonight. They are plus three and a half against the Houston Rockets looking to close it out. So maybe you like something on that NBA action. Head to fanduel.com. To get started, Fandual, play your game. All right, Kayla. So all eyes are, of course, going to be on Carnell Tate this offseason, the number four overall pick. And what we're expecting him, if you're picking him that high, to be the number one receiver for the Tennessee Titans and to build a rapport with Cam Ward. We actually heard from Carnal Tate on his relationship so far in the brief interactions he's had with Cam, including Robert Salah, too.

So I'm going to play that for you and then we'll react. I'm just excited to get the work together when he comes back when all the vets come back. So we're just going to start rolling from there. There's just a lot of work to be done, especially with any incoming rookie. and Carnell's got to go out. He's got to compete. He's got to prove that he belongs. He's got to prove that he deserves the ball.

And it's going to start day one once he gets here. So, yeah, that was the Carnell Tate, the brief interactions that he's had with Cam Ward and the facility so far. And looking to work with Cam once Cam gets back as we getting closer and closer to training camp, where you go through OTAs and mandatory minicamp and all that fun stuff. So I ask you this, Kayla. It is, do you think Carnell Tate, assuming that he is what they think he's all cracked up to be,

could be the X factor for this offense moving forward. Because I like the receiver room. I think without Kate, it was, I mean, just the addition of Wondell Robinson and the hope of a healthy Calvin Ridley would at least on paper look a little bit better. It looks even more intriguing now when you have this guy with,

it seems like the Titans think unlimited potential in the mix. Look, Calvin Ridley, I like this. guy, right? And I enjoyed covering him. I can't, I can't say at this point I can count on Calvin Ridley, right? I feel like whether it's injuries or just slow starts, he just hasn't been that reliable. And he's on the latter part of his career. When you look at the wide receiver room, and I know the additional addition of Wondale Robinson, I like that too, but he's not a number one. Don't forget about the second year players, obviously, E.O. Manor and, Kim DK.

Which is obviously, it was so dynamic and special teams last year. With saying all that, Julian, those are not number ones. And the biggest thing that I believe in, when you bring in a rookie quarterback that has a very high ceiling like Ham Ward does, at some point you've got to help the guy out. You've got to get someone, in my opinion, you can grow with because you're both very young. You're both going to be learning this offense together. You're both going to be relying on each other in moments. You're going to feed off of each other's energy.

And those two, I know Tate comes across is kind of like he's a little bit shorter in his answers. He's a worker, man. He went to Ohio State. The wide receiver, you. That is, I covered that university. they pump out wide receivers. I know he wasn't the first wide receiver there. I know Jeremiah Smith was the first wide receiver.

I don't give a damn because I covered a guy by the name of Terry McLaurit, who was the number four wide receiver on the Ohio State Buckeyes, who got no attention coming out of the draft. And he has been a huge piece for the Washington commanders. My point being, this guy can be the number one. And if they felt that and they saw that, I feel like that was worth going and getting him at four, no matter what other people said.

Because a lot of people obviously saying he shouldn't have gone that high, he shouldn't have been the first wide receiver off the board. Well, for this team, they felt like he should be. And for Cam Ward, they feel like he should be. And I look at him, he could be a downfield threat. He's got good, reliable hands. I think he's just a reliable wide receiver in general. And just think at this.

What if you have the future? and I'm not comparing them. I'm not saying this is a comparison, but it's an idea. What if you have the future Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase? What if you have that type of connection? Look what they have done in Cincinnati, as long as you can get the defense going here,

which I feel like you do with Sala. That's really special. Yeah, no, 100%. And, like, look, for as much of the criticism of Kate, and I even said this, we talked about this with Tyler and the squad, show earlier in the week is the criticism, well, he's not the number one wide receiver on his

own Ohio State team. The problem is the number one wide receiver was an alien and Jeremiah Smith. And Cardinal Tate would have been the number one wide receiver on pretty much almost every other team in the country. And you mentioned Ohio State, like the pedigree of guys that have come out of there the last few years. When has it not worked out when you're thinking of Jackson Smith and Jigba and Chris Olavay and Garrett Wilson and Mecca Igbuka? I mean, the list goes on of top tier wide receivers in the league that have come from there. I asked Carnell Tate today is what is it about at Ohio State that gives you guys such an edge in the NFL? And he said it was about the routine, you know, the day-to-day stuff, the little minute detail. And maybe that means,

you know, easing into a minicamp like he's like he is doing right now, just like the day-to-day in and out work, the hard-working grinder kind of attitude gives them just so. some sort of edge that you don't see as collectively for schools, as a lot of receivers do. So I'll go back to this. As much as it would have been interesting to have Sunny Stiles or an R. Well, because those two guys were on the board, you can't win a game zero zero. And if you're trying to get Cam Ward, the best and greatest asset that you have,

you need to see him take that leap from year one to year two. And I don't know if you could do that when just adding Wondell Robinson and and hoping Calvin Ridley, like you squeeze whatever is remaining from his career and you're hoping ascension from some of the rookies from Lash. You need a dog, a true number one receiver. And the hope is that Carnal Tate is that. If you're picking him at number four, the hope is he is that guy. Look, I could be dead wrong, Julian.

And this could be the one exception to Ohio State's plethora of wide receivers that have then gone and found success at the NFL level. I feel pretty confident saying that as long as Carnell Tate can stay healthy, he can definitely be one of those guys that continues this long reign of wide receivers. And again, like you're exactly right. And I loved your question because I was going to say the same thing. They teach them how to be pros there. And specifically like at the, I mean, really at every position at Ohio State, let's not kid ourselves, but specifically at that wide receiver position,

And so I think that should make fans feel even better here, knowing that like, history does not lie. And it usually doesn't change paths just randomly when they've been doing this year after year. So I have a lot of faith in Carnal Tate. I know he's a worker. And I just kind of feel with the vibe he gives too, like he's been through a lot. He's been through adversity just like Cam Ward. I think those two are going to be incredible in terms of a pairing. bottom tier collector with another really interesting comment Alabama would have traded

Ryan Williams hands for Carnell Tate's security for sure. Ryan Williams is one of the higher counted receivers in the country, at least coming into the season. He didn't have the season that maybe he wanted to. And that just proves that maybe Carnell Tate, if he was on that team, how different maybe a year that offense would have had for Alabama for sure. So I think, you know, as people in the media like us who cover the team. team and even a little bit of the fan base too.

Like we want the team to do well. Like we're not here hoping how they lose, even though we're supposed to remain unbiased to it all. And so maybe that is just a little bit of us trying to talk ourselves into the pick because we obviously can't change it. But the more I think about it and have sat with it for a few weeks and get a 360 view of it and what their philosophy is behind it, the more I understand it because this team has been looking for that.

that number one receiver since AJ Brown. Yeah, you're exactly right. And it wasn't, it wasn't the fans fault. It wasn't, shoot, it wasn't even the head coach at the time's fault that he traded, got traded away, right? Yeah. And I think that when you get that taste of that as a fan base, and I totally understand I was living in the moment when AJ was traded away.

And it's like, God, it was such a stab in the heart for so many of those fans. And those of us who even cover the team that were like, man, we finally see a wide receiver here who is a one and that can actually live up to the height. And then just to see them traded away for pennies, it was just, it was kind of just left a hole in forever. So this hopefully will fill that up for Titans fan. Yeah, they need stars. As much as they need multiple good players and maybe a trade back, maybe could have been an option. You need stars because the Titans, when they had Derek Henry and A.J. Brown, they were pretty darn good.

So on the other side of the break, we're going to talk about some of the defensive draft picks, particularly Keldrick Falk from the first round. The Titans traded up to get him. And they traded up into the second round to get Anthony Hale Jr., who could be one of the steals of the draft. We'll talk about them and their potential in Robert Solis system next here on the Titan Squad Show. Don't forget to check out the Everydayer Club for ad-free episodes and access to a group chat with Tyler Rowland and other listeners of the show. Tap the link in the show notes or go to the URL that you see on your show. your screen if you're with us on YouTube and if not it's locked on podcast.com slash every day or once again

that's locked on podcast.com slash every day. All right, Kayla, so we also talk to Keldrick Falk and Anthony Hill. This next sound bite though has Keldrick Falk in it as well as Carnell Tate talking about them taking onus of a leadership role amongst the draft class and the undrafted free agents. And because they are first rounders after all, I wanted to play this and then we'll react to. We definitely try to be the tone setter, just hold everybody accountable, make sure we all won one bad once in. We were one of the first ones to get drafted here. So, yeah, we kind of take that leadership role pretty personal.

And we're going to just validate with everybody in the building. And so you hear Keldrick Falk there, and we're also going to talk about Anthony Hill in this segment too. Those are two picks that the Titans were convicted on. Like Mike Borganzi saw both of those guys and said, I am trading up to get both of them. They were the top players on my board at that time. And so you obviously see a lot of belief and potential in those guys if you're the Titans front office. Do you see that same belief and potential under Robert Salas system as a person just kind of looking from the outside in? Yeah.

And I feel like I kind of have to, right? Like this is Salas first year at Tennessee as a head coach. but he has been always known for his defense and his defensive mind. And while he's getting a second go around as a head coach, and I do believe that he's learned from that, he has always been a defensive mind and has been very good on the defensive end of the ball. So when you see Borgozzi trading up to get Keldrick Falk, it's not just because Borganzi saw him and Borganzi's like,

oh yeah we got to go get him because that's my guy i am pretty sure that robert salla and mike forgansy as all of them do when they were having these draft talks and they put together their draft board this was a key target and so much so that they did trade up to get him because robert sala in my eyes looked at a guy like balk and said okay first of all this guy was at auburn and was a team captain his junior year he's got the leadership ability. He's got the mindset. He loves football. I love the, first of all, I love the personality of fault. I love him. He's like, he just got up there. It's like he's known everybody for years. You can see why he has an infectious personality and that obviously translates on

the field too. But I think they saw him and they were like, okay, we understand that his sack production went down this last year, this past year. And it was, he had more the year before. we're looking at a 6-6-276-pound guy who is a versatile defender who I can work with. Like the upside is there, right? He can set the edge. Like, they could use him in situations to obviously benefit this defense. And he sees a bigger role for him moving forward, obviously, because they went up to get him. But he's also very effective as a run defender.

So I just think, I think Saul looked at him and was like, ooh, This right here, this is my next big name that I can produce in the NFL. And then people will be like, that's why we traded up to get him. I just feel like he saw a lot in this young man. And obviously the mentality of the work ethic is there. Now we have to see the project come to life. Because a lot of times people are questionable about projects, myself included. But I do feel like he sees something extra in bulk.

Yeah. Yeah, you know, the production or the lack thereof, I should say, his final year at Auburn was a little alarming. But then again, Auburn wasn't very good. And in one thing I think you can take away from that is when Mike Orgonzi said he wanted high character guys and culture guys. Keldr Falk was the leader on an Auburn team that was going through one of the roughest kind of patches in that university's more recent history. And they've been trashed, though, Dillian. Yeah. I have ties to Auburn.

I mean, I don't feel bad saying this. They've been like an up and down crazy program where I can't even imagine like the instability there with coaching staffs and how it's been. No, 100%. And I think that, you know, Falk was projected to go, I think, as high as in the top 15 in some mock drafts. And so for him to fall to them at what, what was he 31? Like that's, I think that's pretty good value.

and I don't know if they really even anticipated him being available at that spot either. And so you get your edge when everybody was talking about, oh, maybe Zion Young in the second round or T.J. Parker or somebody like that. No, they got a first round value edge late in that first round. So you're getting good value for that pick. Anthony Hill is, I think, my favorite pick. I mean, on the last show, I said Nicholas Singleton. And that was because Anthony Hill was already taken and I wanted to do something different

for the sake of the pod. But I think Anthony Hill could be the steal of the draft because he had first round potential. Yeah. He fitted up to him to get to get him at 60. And we know what that middle linebacker, how important that is for Robert Salazar's defense. He had Bobby Wagner in Seattle. He had Fred Warner in San Francisco. And I was talking to some people close to the Texas program who couldn't believe he was available at 60.

Wow, really? Yeah. And so you get a guy who's played a lot of football in the SEC, still young, but was a leader. kind of in that middle linebacker role green dot helmet guy, the master communicator signal caller, all that kind of stuff. And just talking to him and getting to know him over the last like week or so since the draft and him today,

super passionate guy. I mean, he's going to be a Bullock's number. I heard that. Granted, he has to, he had to kind of look up highlights on him and to see who he really was. Generational gap there. But it seems like he is going to wear that.

number, at least early on with pride. So I think out of all the picks to be excited about the most relative to where the value is, I think Anthony Hill is probably the one that I'm looking at the most. Also, because you throw them automatically into a room with Cedric Gray and Cody Barton. Yeah. And Cedric Gray was super productive last year, top five in the NFL and tackles. You know what's crazy when you mentioned Cedric. First of all, I love that Cedric, like, flourish last year because I know his freshman year sorry his rookie year it was really hard for him I remember having conversations with setty and it was just like he was so overwhelmed by the speed and you know

it just took him longer to kind of pick up things and he came in I don't know if you remember this he came in with all the expectations that he could be the green dot like at the time it was like it was like cedric gray was going to be the guy and it was like we had already kind of set him up to be that dude and then obviously the shoulder and everything happened. So first of all, I loved being able to see him thrive last year. And then Cody Barton, don't even get me started. I just love that guy and what he does out there in his mindset. So then you add this Anthony Hill. And you're right, three-year starter at Texas, he's the prototypical linebacker. He's got the height, he's got the weight, he's got the speed. He's in all situations player. I feel like he is capable of

wearing that green dot and I'll pump the brakes on myself and I won't I won't say that yet and put that on him. But it does really seem like if anyone's going to thrive under a system and under a coach at the linebacker spot and be capable of doing that, it's going to be a guy under Robert Sala. And that's why I feel confident in that pick as well with linebacker Anthony Hill. I think it's an absolute great pick. Yeah. Yeah. And you mentioned like referring to a conversation we had earlier in the show about what these guys like Anthony, Keldrick, Carnel,

what they are doing, even if they're not, it's necessarily on the field doing individual drills on all that stuff. Anthony was one of the big things he said that he is focusing on in a lot of these meetings is, is just learning the system and gaining the knowledge from the coaches of what they're, how they see him fitting into Robert Salas system, meeting with Gus Bradley and the rest of,

you know, the linebackers coaches. And so there's a lot of kind of sponge, sponging going on if you are some of these players, even if you are not out there on the field for us to see. And so that's where, I think that's where honestly, what the working mini camp is going to get the most benefit for a lot of these players, as opposed to maybe some of the on the field stuff. For the undrafted free agents, and so the camp invite guys, and we'll talk about some of those guys in the next segment. But like, those guys are, that's what, that's what you need

the on the field stuff for to prove what you could do and see if you can squeeze an invite to training camp for the guys who are going to be on the team and rotational pieces. It's all about getting them up to speed because they've been moving a million miles a minute over the last month or so. And as you know, Kayla, like, like combine training is not the same as, you know, NFL football training at all. And so that is another thing, you know, none of these guys came in here and said, I'm at the condition where I want to be at either. Right. No, exactly. And I think that that's why I took pause for a second. And when, listening to solacea all that.

I was like, gosh, she's so right. These guys, there's so much else going on in these last three months for these guys. And then just to immediately get to what they're going to start their career off as. Think about this too, Julie. They're going to start their career in the way that they come into rookie minicamp. And the minute that they're thrusted out there on the field and then, okay, let's just be honest, we're seeing people already dissect how they're, you know, running the ball or how, you know, this catch was and it's like I kind of like it for the fact that there's not as much noise right when

they get there and let them settle in let them learn the playbook little more let them get tested and get their body right I think the more I think about I'm like dang that's actually really smart no yeah I mean if it helps if you think it's going to help you get a competitive edge you got to do what you got to do especially for a new coaching staff and a whole new cluster of draft who are, you know, looking to make an immediate impact, at least those three guys at the top of Tate Hall and Hill, who you pick them at those spots, they have first round potential or they were first rounders.

You're expecting them to be starters right away. So on the other side of the break, keep your comments and questions coming. We'll do our best to answer them as best we can here on the Titan Squad show. That's next. Keep it here. All right.

The chat is actually popping off with a lot of different types of comments and questions. Let me see. Let me see. Let me see. I'm looking through some of the good ones that we had. Let me see. Somebody had asked about some of the offensive line guys that they're bringing in as undrafted free agents.

I wanted to give them credit. But yeah, so if I find it, I'll put it up on screen. It was about some of the offensive line guys that they've brought in. Is it a Neil Wagner? Yeah, Emil Wagner from Notre Dame. He's a tackle that they brought in. The other one was Rashid Miller. He's another tackle that they brought in.

Louisville. Yeah, from Louisville. So potential depth guys there. I think the Emil, Wagner one is a little bit intriguing just because he obviously played some big time college football before. Sure. And we know the revolving door that they have at all offensive line right now.

And I think, you know, Not that he will be an end-all, be-all, you know, guy who's going to start for you for years to come, but maybe a diamond and a rough depth piece. That's kind of what you're looking at from some of these guys right here. Because quite frankly, I think you can't play around with the offensive line when you have Camber. He went through the entire season up until that last game, relatively unscathed. And that was running for his life in that first half of the season. He got lucky.

And he got lucky. And knock on wood, you know, I don't wish anything on anybody. but you need to keep him healthy, especially if, you know, Brian Dable's offense is what you're going to hope it's going to be. And you have Carnell Tate and Wondell Robinson as these two pieces. You're going to need Cam time to get them the football. You really are. Look, we've been talking about offensive line in Nashville for years.

Let's just be honest. And every year, there seems to be like, okay, well, maybe this is going to work. And then we brought in, you know, Bill Callahan. hand and we thought maybe he would be the answer to developing some of these guys. It's just not seemed to come together. Now, to give credit, it seemed like the line was better towards the end of the season, but there's still a lot of improvement that has to happen. Obviously, the center position is something that needs to be talked about of exactly

what's going to happen there. And then there's the question of J.C. Leighton, like, can he rise to the occasion? Like I he's been you know flipped to do two different sides like he's got to find some consistency and everything as well. And I think some confidence in itself. That's part of it. But I think it's important because they didn't really address the offensive line as much in the draft until a little bit later like to at least maybe find one of these UDFAs that could possibly like you said come in, compete a little. You never know with linemen. And it's always good just to have that depth in general.

So I think the more competition, Julian, you can bring into that offensive line room, the better it can be in terms of the outcome. And it was bottom tier collector right here who had any news on about the amount of offensive linemen we brought in. Seems like we might want to battle a lot of guys since we didn't do the sign or draft any high profile guys. And it is going to be a competition. They've talked about that. Yeah. Let me see.

Cadarro Bobo 4-5-20. I think that's how you say it. Sorry if I, if I butcher that. Do you guys think Nick Singleton will get any PT this year? So Nicholas Singleton was, you know, the fifth round pick running back out of Penn State. We broke the career touchdown record and all-purpose yards record there over

Saquan Barkley, I might add. But he was dealing with an injured fifth metatarsal in his foot. The expectation is that he was going to be ready for some of these spring off-season workouts. Obviously, Tony Pollard is not getting any younger, and Tage Spears is getting to the end of his deal. And so you put somebody likes Nicholas Singleton in the room. And it seems like the theme on that day three of the guys that they got, Kayla, Singleton included, was, hey, early on, we're getting guys with high upside, younger guys. Back end of that day three, getting guys who played a lot of football and a lot of pelts on the wall, at least. And at least for

Nicholas Singleton, that remains true. Yeah. Nicholas Singleton is an, interesting and I'll say, you know, what could be possibly an experiment that works out for them. I'm not saying that he's going to be the number one guy, but he could actually be there and contribute in that running backs room, even as a two. I like him for the fact that, A, we talked about pedigree from some of these colleges and what they're known for. Well, Penn State is obviously known for running backs. And, you know, there is something in terms of what they do there and how they teach their running backs. And I do feel like that does. carry over with guys. And I know that last year, he split time. And so his numbers were down a little. And then

obviously he had a very unfortunate senior bowl situation where he broke the foot. But I do see him as being a guy that if he's healthy and ready to go, they can work him in. So I do think he could get playing time. And it's it's kind of up to him what he wants to do with that. But I do feel like there is upside there. sure i wanted to uh take this fun question here camsail away workshop any nicknames for tate because i know they've had the the hashtag the taiten up i saw that sign at the draft um and he thought i asked him about that hashtag taitn up and he said he liked it he said he was a fan of it um yeah so i mean if there's any suggestions on a on a carnell tate nickname well i mean

I like tater tots. So like maybe. Oh, there you go. Well, you are from the Pacific Northwest. I know. I know. I know my time in Idaho, I swear. Maybe we can workshop in something like a tater.

I, you know. I mean, yeah, C.T. is not bad. Like CT 14. Yeah, Ct 14. That's, that's not bad. I guess he had a family nickname called Mr. When he was younger. And so I mean, I don't know.

Mr. Tate. Yeah, I mean, that would be cool, especially if he starts playing beyond his years, you know. There we are. I like that. There we go. I don't know. If you guys have your suggestions for Carnell Tate's nickname, I'm All Ears. Last thing before we go, Kayla, what do you want to learn from some of these rookies or from the coaches about these rookies before rookie mini camp ends and we get into the rest of the offseason?

Yeah, I think I want to learn like how quickly are they adapting to this playbook and how comfortable are they just being the newbies. What I think is going to be beneficial for them in this weird roundabout way for them to feel not overwhelmed right away is the fact, Julian, that everyone else is new too. This is a new coaching staff. even the veterans are learning a new playbook. There is a lot of newness to the Titans organization in general. So when you come in as a rookie, when it can feel overwhelming sometimes. And again, I've talked with thousands of rookies along my career. Like it is.

It's a thing. I feel like maybe it won't be as crazy coming in as a rookie this year because there is a lot of newness in other places for other people, including the coaches. and like I said, the veterans. So learning might come a little bit more at ease for them, but I do want to learn, like, how much are they, you know, taking on the playbook and how, you know, how are they doing it? Like, are they doing it with grace?

Are they doing it having fun? Like, I just, I want to learn more about how they handle the pressures in these first few weeks of the NFL. Yeah. I ran into Bryce Oliver, one of our, favorite yeah Bryce Oliver um yeah I got you he was coming out of the locker room um as as everybody was you know at camp and um and I was like how's it how's the new adjustment period going he's like man that play looks that play looks hard and and I he's like it's like it's like it's like it's like

it's like he'll get it down and it's going to take some time and and that's everybody's kind of starting with a clean slate. It's like when you get a new boss at work and the employees stay the same, like you are going to want to start from square one and impress that boss to show your rightful place, I guess, in the workplace. And so that's going to be the interesting thing is how far these guys are coming along because everybody's kind of in the same boat for sure when it comes to the Tennessee Titans. But a level of newness, but a new era of hopefully a lot more success than we've had the last few years here in Nashville. Okay, that'll wrap us up for the Titan Squad show today.

We wanted to thank you for listening to us. Make sure to get the podcast. Wherever you get your podcast, Apple Music, Spotify, all of that, fun stuff. Like, comment, subscribe, and catch us here on the Titan Squad show twice a week, live on YouTube or download it. Like I said, wherever you get your podcast. But for now, I'm Julian Minnesone. That is the one and only Kayla Anderson. We'll see you guys next week.