Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Titans Twitter Tuesday: First Round Fan Favorite & Emptying Out the Mailbag!!

Episode Date: April 20, 2021

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You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked On Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. It is a Tuesday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. And today's show is a Twitter Tuesday. And I'll explain. On yesterday's episode, we talked about the different combinations of players the Titans could draft

with their top four picks in regard to their top four positional needs. I called those the Titans' combo meal options. And I realized after that discussion, there was a lot more meat on the bun. Meaning I could talk about 10 to lot more meat on the bun, meaning I could talk about 10 to 15 more minutes on the topic. And that's what I want to do to kick off today's show with a little bit of a social media twist. So after that conversation yesterday, I went on Twitter on Monday and asked you which of the first round picks in those different combo meals you would feel most comfortable

with the Titans drafting? So we're going to go over those results and I'm going to analyze each player and see kind of how I feel and take my temperature on the four big options that I laid out for you guys. And then I want to make sure to get to all of your mail bag questions. There was a lot of meat left on the bone for that segment as well. You guys put in a ton of questions after I recorded, and the reality is we're not going to be able to get into the mailbag for a few weeks as we get heavy, heavy into not only draft previews,

but also draft recaps. So I'm going to dump out the rest of the mailbag on today's show as well. So taking your questions from social media and discussing a poll that you guys completed for me on Twitter on this Tuesday on the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. Titans fans, we are going to kick off this Twitter Tuesday here on the Locked on Titans podcast. But before we do, I want to remind you guys that I'm going to be putting out Monday through Friday daily Tennessee Titans content, not only during the season, but also all year long.

There's not another Titans content creator that can say that. So make sure that you follow the Locked on Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream. Also, follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans to make sure that you don't miss any of the video content that I will be putting out, giving you live recaps to what's going on with the draft next week. Also, make sure that you follow the new Facebook page at LockedOnTitansPod. I'll be posting video content on there as well. But let's dive into this poll that I posted on Twitter on Monday. So on yesterday's show,

we talked about combo meals, but those combo meals, the entree was one of four positions of need for the Titans. And I had pegged wide receiver Rashad Bateman out of Minnesota, cornerback Caleb Farley out of Virginia Tech, offensive tackle out of Oklahoma State, Tevin Jenkins, and linebacker out of Tulsa, Zavin Collins. So, what surprised me most, and I'm still kind of shocked looking at the results after a couple hundred votes here, cornerback Caleb Farley has a massive lead. He's at 50% of the vote right now. Wide receiver Rashad Bateman came in at second at 35% of the vote.

Zayven Collins, linebacker, came in at 8% of the vote. And then offensive tackle Tevin Jenkins last at 7% of the vote. So most surprising, like I said, is Caleb Farley. And the reason is Caleb Farley, while probably being the most talented player out of the four, is also the most risky, in my opinion, with the back injuries that he's suffered. He had back surgery earlier in the pre-draft process. He had a back issue in 2019 in college.

So while he's probably the best overall, most talented cornerback in this draft, the risk is truly, truly immense. And based on the Isaiah Wilson effects and the lingering thoughts from that failure, a lot of Titans fans are feeling very risk-averse. So although the Titans do have a big need at cornerback, I was surprised to see that. But after our conversation yesterday, I said the Titans need to get a cornerback in the first two rounds because the talent really, really drops off. So

maybe those comments, this vote is a reaction to that. But second, like I said, is Rashad Bateman at 35%. And I thought that he would be a landslide winner in this poll because a lot of you guys are really worried about losing Jonu and Corey Davis. Also, wide receiver is just the most flashy position out of the four. so I thought that that would have maybe not the winner but at least be very very close I am thoroughly surprised that Caleb Farley is coming in at 15 percent higher than Rashad Bateman but Bateman in my opinion is probably the safest pick out of all four options next at third place was linebacker Zavin Collins and this is a pick I'm starting to warm up to if the Titans were to trade down from 22 into the late 20s or you know one of those early 30 picks I think

Zayvon Collins could still be had incredibly freakish athletic linebacker out of Tulsa makes played play sideline to sideline can rush the passer as well drop back into coverage dominate over the middle of the field and that's what the Titans were hoping to get in Rashawn Evans. It didn't really pan out that way. He's more of a role player than a real difference maker on the defensive side of the ball, but Collins could be a replacement for that, and if John Robinson was looking for somebody like that with Rashawn Evans, then he most certainly would still want that on his defense. David Long is an unproven commodity at this point.

Rashawn Evans is probably last year in Tennessee with his fifth year option most likely being declined. And Jayon Brown is on a really small one-year deal, and he's going to be looking to get paid, and we know that from his comments that I broke down on this show earlier in the offseason. So, the Titans are going to have a major need at inside linebacker. One calendar year from now. It may be smart to go ahead and fill that with an ultra talented versatile player. Early in the draft and set yourself up to find some value in previous areas.

So Zayvon Collins at 8%. I would have that much higher in my personal poll. Although I realize he would be on the lower end of options. And then finally, Tevin Jenkins at offensive tackle, 7%. Again, this is a reaction to Isaiah Wilson, but guys, Kendall Lamb and Ty Sambrillo, I know a lot of people are concerned about that. I'm not as concerned as most people, but I understand that.

So I'm surprised that that's at seven seven percent there I think that Jenkins probably won't even be there for the Titans at 22 and I don't think they should trade up to get him so I'm okay with people being down on Jenkins but for me if he's there I think it's going to be tough for the Titans to pass with you know the type of talent that he is and the fact that I don't think he's going to get there. Plus, there is a lot of offensive tackle depth in this class, and one of those developmental prospects in the third round might make more sense for the Titans value-wise, but with that in mind, I would have to say out of the four, I would have to go with Rashad Bateman as my number one option.

I just want to be safe. I think it fills a need. You can find a corner in the second round. You can find an offensive tackle in the third round. You can go with an edge or a stand-up linebacker in the fourth. And I think you would be all right. And that would be a good haul. But we're going to move forward on this Twitter Tuesday.

Going to dive back into the mailbag next and answer all of your guys' questions. Make sure that we empty the clip there. But before we do, I want to remind you about BetOnline.ag, the fastest and easiest way to bet all your sports action. Football might be over, but there's NBA, NHL, and MLB. They also have award shows, TV shows, and reality TV. Make sure that you head to their website, BetOnline.ag, or use your mobile device. Sign up for free today. Use the promo code

LOCKEDON. That's one word, LOCKEDON and you'll receive a 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit. BetOnline, your online sportsbook experts. Titans fans, let's continue this Twitter Tuesday. Going to dive into the mailbag and answer your guys' questions that you asked me on Twitter, at TicTacTitans. Before we do, I want to remind you the Locked On Podcast Network

is covering the NFL Draft from every angle. Catch up on the Ultimate Mock Draft 2021 podcast presented by Odyssey. Follow the Locked On NFL Draft podcast and the Draft Dudes podcast for your latest draft news. And stay tuned for more info about our live NFL Draft coverage. But we are going to get into your guys' questions some more. And the number one question I have here is from Mike Inclon. And he says,

Do you think Jim Schwartz was brought in specifically to fix the pass rush? Thanks for answering my question last week and all the great content in general. Thank you, Mike. Not a problem. But I don't think that Jim Schwartz was brought in just to fix the pass rush. I mean, obviously, the pass rush was the biggest issue with the defense, so I guess if you wanted to, in theory, say, hey, he's going to start with the pass rush, that's what they would hope would get fixed the most, then yeah, I guess I get that, but I don't think that

they're going to be adopting anything schematically from Jim Schwartz. They're not going to turn into a 4-3 base defense with wide nine edge rushers like he has done for most of his career. They're still going to run Mike Vrabel's scheme, which is multiple, which is changing coverage, which is changing fronts, changing looks on defense, different gap assignments and things like that to keep the offense off balance. Really what I think is Jim Schwartz was just brought in from a wisdom game planning,

play calling on defensive standpoint. I mean, it's really just think about what the Titans were trying to hire Dean Pease for. He really is a senior defensive assistant. I don't think that, I mean, obviously he's going to be involved in game planning and things like that, but he's not going to come in and mold the defense to what he's done historically, schematically speaking, on defense. So from that perspective, I don't think that he, I don't think John Robinson in his mind is saying he is going to fix the pass rush.

I think that really, if anything, Jim Schwartz is just a fail safe in case Shane Bowen just falls off a cliff again. If that's the case and the Titans' defense is just looking absolutely miserable through the first third of the season, then I think Jim Schwartz may get some more responsibility and may ultimately take over some play-calling duties or maybe at least in a shadow role start having a little bit more impact on the day-to-day game planning and the scheme and things like that.

But I really do think he is just a sage. He is just a wisdom provider and a guy who can provide feedback to a young defensive coaching staff. The next question here is a non-football question, and I really enjoy those from my boy Slappy. He can always count on you, man. You have a 3 p.m. tea time on a beautiful Saturday. What three athletes from any sport are you taking with you?

I really spent about 10, 15 minutes before the show just thinking about this question alone. It's really tough. Dead or alive. What's the, you know, it's just a really tough call. And I ended up with this. Number one, I want to have a good time. But number two, I also want to have some intense golf

knowledge. So from that, I went with Marshawn Lynch who is just an all-time fun professional athlete. Also a really good dude by all accounts. I went with Shaquille O'Neal and while I bemoan him as an

announcer Shaq's got to have some of the best stories and as a guy who Kobe is my idol and a big big deal in my life if I can't have Kobe then I'd like to have Shaq. Here's some Kobe stories here's some general stories from one of the funniest, most likable celebrity athletes in the history of the planet. Also, my mom's favorite, favorite basketball player ever was Shaquille O'Neal. So I would love to take a picture, get an autograph, and bring it back to my mom. And then the third final person is Tiger Woods. I mean, Tiger Woods has been my favorite golfer my entire life, as I'm sure is the case for

most of you guys as well. We're out playing golf, man. I gotta have Tiger Woods has been my favorite golfer my entire life, as I'm sure is the case for most of you guys as well. We're out playing golf, man. I got to have Tiger with me. Marshawn, probably not the best golfer. Shaq, probably not the best golfer. I need somebody out there who's going to take it seriously, give me some tips on how to play since I'm a bum. That would really be cool.

Hit some awesome shots that I can get excited about. And Tiger is going to have some excellent stories as well. So having stories with Marshawn, Tiger, Shaq, I mean, it would be great. I also considered Mike Tyson as well. I still, even right now talking, I may put Tyson over Shaq, but I don't want to upset Tyson. I have strong opinions. I have hot takes.

Don't want to upset Mike Tyson and end strong opinions. I have hot takes. Don't want to upset Mike Tyson and end up leaving the green without a few teeth. So that would be my three, Shaq, Marshawn Lynch, and Tiger Woods. We would have a fantastic time. Also see some pretty good golf. The next question that I have here is from TitansFan66.

He said, First and second round picks for the Titans. What is more important in the first and second? Wide receiver one and corner two or corner one and wide receiver two? Or what combo do you think? Combo meals. So here's my thing. This is a tough, tough question to answer without knowing who is available.

So if one of the big three wide receivers, Devontae Smith, Jalen Waddle, Jamar Chase are available, I'm going wide receiver all day. But if we get to pick 22, those guys are probably gone. Rashad Bateman is the highest level talent I think could realistically be there at 22 for the Titans. If you have a choice between Rashad Bateman and Caleb Farley, and that's your best, Rashad Bateman and Greg Newmanley and that's your best Rashad Bateman and Greg Newman or

Greg Newsome from Northwestern if that's what you're looking at then I'm probably going Bateman but if Bateman's gone if the top four wide receivers are gone and you're left with Greg Newsome on the board because Sertan Horn and Farley are gone

or even Sertan Horn Horn, and Farley are gone, or even Sertan, Horn, and Newsome are gone. If you're left with Newsome or Farley, I'm going to take Newsome and Farley over any other wide receivers outside of the top four. So it really does depend. But overall, you could probably get better value at wide receiver in the second round. So if I had my pick of anything realistic, I would hope the Titans could get their hands on Horn.

Maybe get their hands on Newsome. And that to me would be the better value. But it's going to be hard to pass on Rashad Bateman if the Titans can't get JC Horn. So for me, ultimately, after going back and forth in my head while talking to you guys, I'm going to say that based on what I realistically think could happen, I'm going to say that the Titans should go with wide receiver Rashad Bateman and look for cornerback in the second round. If the top four wide receivers are off the board, including Bateman in the big three,

then the Titans should go cornerback over wide receiver. I would not reach that high up for Rondell Moore, Elijah Moore, Terrence Marshall, Diami Brown. Wouldn't go that far for one of those guys. So kind of depends on how the board shakes out, but that would be my answer. We are going to continue this Twitter Tuesday, though, and I am going to get into the rest of your guys' mailbag questions. Before we do, got to remind you about rockauto.com.

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We are going to round out this Twitter Tuesday by finishing the last few questions left in the mailbag before we get deep into draft preview and draft recap content throughout the next few weeks. But before we do, I want to remind you guys the Ultimate Mock Draft 2021 presented by locked on and odyssey is happening now featuring analysis from nfl experts michael irvin jason la canfora and brian baldinger are local experts including me for every team making trades and picking the next stars for their club search the ultimate mock draft 2021 on the on the new Odyssey app or wherever you get

your podcast. Odyssey is your home for all the sports, podcasts, music, and news that matter to you. That's A-U-D-A-C-Y. And for real guys, you got to check out the Ultimate Mock Draft 2021. We're going to have tons of video content up for all the picks. I've done my pick for the Titans. It's one of my favorite things to do for the entire network. So make sure that you guys check out the Ultimate Mock Draft 2021. It is fantastic. But let's dive into the last few questions that I have here. Number one, question from AJ Guns.

He says, I don't think it will happen, but I heard some rumors that Kadarius Tony could go before Devontae Smith. If something crazy like that happens, what pick would you be comfortable with the Titans to trade up to get him? And what do you think the trade would look like? Okay, so this question actually prompted me to ask you guys on Twitter, would you be comfortable with going and getting Devontae

Smith if he dropped out of the top 10? Now, in my opinion, the Titans would probably have to give up, let's say, pick number 85, their first third round pick, and at most their fifth round pick. So a third and a fifth, that would be 85 and 166. I think that could be a logical trade. So 22, 85, 166 for let's say pick number 11, pick number 12, something like that. I think that could really, really work for the Titans. Someone said that they don't think that that would add up because the value didn't add up

exactly on the Jimmy Johnson trade chart. If you guys don't know, Jimmy Johnson, the old coach for the Cowboys, who's also on Fox doing NFL coverage, but he used to have a numerical value for every single draft pick throughout all seven rounds, and he would do draft trades based on if the numerical values were even. I don't think that that trade chart can be applied exactly anymore. And I also think that the position that you're coming up to draft matters as well. The Titans aren't going to pay as much to go from 22 to 10, or not 10, outside the top 10, 22 to 12, 22 to 13, 22 to 14. The Titans aren't going to pay as much to go up to get Devontae Smith as they would if they were going up to get Pat Mahomes, to get Deshaun Watson. These teams know who the team they're trading with is coming up to get Devontae Smith as they would if they were going up to get Pat Mahomes,

to get Deshaun Watson. These teams know who the team they're trading with is coming up to get. And they make you pay a premium for a quarterback. And with how this draft is set up, and teams looking to add swings in the late rounds, and the depth that's in wide receiver, the depth that's in cornerback,

the depth that's in tackle, the depth that's in edge, I think teams that's in cornerback, the depth that's in tackle, the depth that's in edge. I think teams are going to want to get as many swings as possible in those mid-rounds and that could help the Titans trade up. So in my opinion, if Devontae Smith is available between picks 10 and 15

and the Titans can find a way to trade a third and a fifth to move up and get him, I think that would be a slam dunk outcome for the Titans. You would still have three picks in the top 100, one of those picks being Devontae Smith. Forget the concerns about weight. If you're getting him at that pick, it's worth the risk. He would fit so perfectly with A.J. Brown as a physical dominant over the middle of

the field wide receiver, a guy that can stretch the field vertically, a guy that's a savvy, precise, ultimate style route runner, his releases off the line of scrimmage are just unbelievable. The Titans need somebody who can win and get open and separate at all times when teams are blitzing and sending the house. They need that curveball. They need that slider. And Devontae Smith could do that.

So a guy that talented, I'm absolutely okay with doing it. I think it could potentially be even less. The Titans could give up pick 85 and pick 205. I think would be an option. The Titans could give up pick 85 and a second round pick in 2022. I mean, there's tons of options to get up that I don't think would be crippling. So yes, I absolutely do think the Titans should go up and get him if he falls.

And as a matter of fact, speaking of the ultimate mock draft 2021, I tried to make that move, guys. I tried to make that move up the board to get Smith. I really did. And it didn't work out for different reasons that I don't think will have as big of an impact in real life.

But definitely, definitely something the Titans should do if possible. Next, Ron G. Titan said, what are your thoughts on Christian Fulton finally playing the outside corner position like he should have been playing last season? So I think that he got moved around just because of what the Titans were dealing with in the secondary. I don't really fault any of the coaching staff for that. He was hurt. Fulton was dealing with in the secondary. I don't really fault any of the coaching staff for that. He was hurt.

Fulton was for most of the year. But if you recall, on my podcast on Friday, I had a little fun with, you know, the buzz in the investing world right now. And I talked about which Titans player I think could go to the moon in 2021. And I picked Christian Fulton. I think Fulton has a chance to really blow up. I think he was an incredibly talented guy out of LSU, and I think that having the opportunity to have a close-to-normal offseason,

have some actual practice time, if he can stay healthy, I think he could really blow up and play excellent starting-level outside cornerback for the Tennessee Titans. So I'm really high on Christian Fulton this year, and quite frankly, the Titans need Christian Fulton to work out after what happened with Isaiah Wilson and what they did with Malcolm Butler and Adoree Jackson this year. Those moves in themselves put a big amount of pressure on Christian Fulton to be good. The last question I have here is a non-football question, and I'm excited for it. Derek Shuler, my guy.

I told you I would get to this question. Surprise. But he said, do you think pineapple belongs on pizza? And this is a simple answer. Yes. Anything can belong on pizza, man. It's all about combinations. Now, I don't like ham.

I also don't like Canadian bacon, which is just ham. I do like bacon, though. However, I do like pulled pork. However, a pulled pork pizza with pickled red onion and pineapple and barbecue sauce? Bro, that's hot. That's the fire a bacon pizza with

pineapple and uh banana pepper I mean turn up man alright I gotta stop

I'm starving I gotta end the podcast there but yes pineapple belongs on pizza if it's in the right combination but definitely not with ham. That's all I have to say about that. But that's going to do it

for today's show, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans. Thank you.