Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Who Would the Titans Steal From the AFC: Team by Team Breakdown

Episode Date: July 8, 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, this Thursday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast is presented by the Locked On Fantasy Football podcast. Winning your league starts with the right data. Vinny Iyer of The Sporting News provides you with the edge

that you need to win your fantasy football leagues. Locked On Fantasy Football is a daily podcast all year round, so your fantasy team never fails. Make sure that you follow the Locked On Fantasy Football Podcast on whatever platform you do stream. Titans fans, I teased this in the Twitter Tuesday

episode, but I got asked a question this week about which player I would steal off another team in the NFL to put on the Titans. That got me thinking. Which player would I take off every team in the NFL to add to this Tennessee Titans team?

So today, we are going to go through the AFC division by division, team by team, and I'm going to tell you which of the players on all of these different teams I would number one want most to put onto the Tennessee Titans with the goal of not only making the team better, but getting the Tennessee Titans closer to decide which player I truly think would get the Titans closer to a Super Bowl, and that mattered most. So with that in mind, we are going to dive into every single AFC team and which player on that team I would steal to put on the Titans on this Thursday edition of the Locked On

Titans podcast. Let's get it. Here we go. I am very excited to do this little exercise here with you guys. And I got a couple things I want to lay out before we get into it. But number one, whoo, that let's get it. I'm in mid-season form, baby. That was a good one. But anyways, moving forward, as I announce these names, the player I would steal from

the other team, I want to kind of give you guys an opportunity to have some fun as well. So I'm going to take just a brief pause between the team and then the player's name and let you guys kind of guess out loud which player you think I am going to choose. So we'll play a little game in that way, although we can't interact with it. Feel free to hit me up on Twitter at TicTacTitans and let me know how many of them you guessed correctly or which ones you just think I'm wrong on. Totally open for all of that criticism. And while we're talking about social media, check out the Facebook page at LockedOnTitansPod.

And of course, got to remind you guys, on Friday's show, I'm going to go through the NFC entirely and steal a player off each team. Next week will be the last week of three days a week shows. I will be going team by team through the AFC South and giving you kind of a division preview, if you will, one team each day. And then the week after that, we are back to five days a week getting you ready for Tennessee Titans training camp at the end of July. So either way, make sure that you never miss an episode of the Locked on Titans podcast

by following or subscribing to the show on whatever platform you do stream. Let's dive into this list. We are going to start with the AFC South that is ultimately the smallest division we have to cover since there's only three options that we need to steal from. And we are going to start with the Indianapolis Colts. My pick was linebacker Darius Leonard. Now, here is a perfect example of what I said in the intro. Darius Leonard is not the best football player on the Indianapolis Colts. That honor would go to offensive lineman guard,

there were some whispers about potential tackle duties, but offensive guard Quentin Nelson, who already is a Hall of Famer. He's going to be a Hall of Famer, one of the best offensive linemen that we've seen in this generation. But, I think the Titans offensive line is solid. I don't think the Titans would take an incredible leap in their potential as a team by adding Quentin Nelson.

It would make the team better. Don't get me wrong. It's a Hall of Fame lineman. It would make the team better. But if you look at the deficiencies on defense for the Titans, and now I know what you're thinking too. The second best player on the Colts is DeForest Bunkner, the interior lineman. He's absolutely fantastic.

But hear me out on this. The Titans brought over Danico Autry, $7 million. They still have Jeffrey Simmons. Only two of those three guys, if the Titans added Buckner, only two of those guys would be on the field 60% of the time because you'd have Bud Dupree and Harold Landry on the edges. So with that in mind, I think where the Titans could use the biggest upgrade out of the three best players on the Colts is that

linebacker. Darius Leonard is a literal freak. He's incredible. So to me, I think they call him the maniac. That's his nickname, the maniac. He's long, rangy guy, sideline to sideline, can hold up and pass coverage. Nasty and physical in the run game. He's one of my favorite players to watch in the NFL. It's sad that he's on the Colts, but a great pick by their GM, Chris Ballard. Darius Leonard. I believe he was a second round pick, but that's who I would steal for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

And let me tell you guys, this was kind of tough. I am not completely sour on the Jags offensive line I like some of the guys that they have there I like Jawan Taylor I like Andrew Norwell who played against my high school in the playoffs the high school football playoffs so it was cool to see him up close and personal

when he was in high school but thought about that thought about Miles Jack on the defensive side of the ball but like I said don't need an offensive lineman. Miles Jack, while being a linebacker, I don't think he's nowhere near the player of Darius Leonard. So it's not a big enough upgrade over Jayon or Rashawn for me to waste it there.

I did consider Trevor Lawrence. But ultimately, I went with Josh Allen, the edge rusher, the young edge rusher. Again, I know that I just said I wouldn't add DeForest Buckner because how many pieces, but I think edge rusher is ultimately more important, and Josh Allen is such a young, talented player that I think you add him to Harold Landry and Bud Dupree, and I think that would just be a nasty trio of guys, and now you can have Jeffrey Simmons, you can have Harold Landry, Bud Dupree, and Josh Allen out there as a rush package. Sounds dynamic. The last team is the Houston Texans, and I gotta tell you guys, out of all

of the teams that I went through, it was almost impossible to find anybody on the Texans that I really wanted outside of the guy that I picked, and that's offensive tackle Laramie Tunsell. I know that I said adding an offensive lineman to this group, to this Titans team, isn't the ideal scenario because the offensive line is solid already. But man, look at the Texans roster. There's just nowhere else to go.

Zach Cunningham's a decent player inside linebacker, but not a big enough upgrade like Miles Jack. Not a big enough upgrade to want to pick him. Yeah, Deshaun Watson, of course, but is he even going to play? I don't know. And Ryan Tannehill really has a good hold on this team. So I don't know if I would take Watson, but I would go ahead and take Tunsell. So that is the players I would steal from the AFC division rivals for the Colts, linebacker Darius Leonard, for the Jaguars, outside linebacker

edge rusher Josh Allen, and for the Texans, left tackle, Laramie Tunzel. We are going to get into the AFC East and the AFC North next. Before we do, got to remind you guys that the fastest and easiest way to bet on all your sports action is at betonline.ag. We're not in football season, but baseball season's in full swing. The NHL is in the finals. The NBA is in the finals. There's a ton of good boxing and UFC stuff coming up this summer. You got Tyson Fury and Deontay

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Let's dive into two divisions in our middle segment here. We are going to start with the AFC East, and this was a lot of fun. We are going to go with the Buffalo Bills first. And I picked wide receiver Stephon Diggs, and it was very challenging. I also considered cornerback Tredavious White. I wrote that weird in my notes,

which is why I pronounced it that way. I don't know. My handwriting is just absolutely terrible. But going forward, I also consider Josh Allen. I mean, Josh Allen, in my opinion, is a better quarterback than Ryan Tannehill right now. But again, like I said with Deshaun Watson, I just feel like the difference between Josh Allen and Ryan Tannehill isn't enough to sacrifice the chemistry of having Ryan Tannehill leading the Tennessee Titans. So that's where I'm at on that. Ultimately, though, went with Stephon Diggs.

Yeah, the Titans could use some help at cornerback. No, the Titans don't need a ton of help at wide receiver. But here's the thing. You throw Stephon Diggs, the leading receiver in the NFL last year, the best receiver in the NFL last year. Yeah, if you make your list, he's probably not number one overall. the leading receiver in the NFL last year, the best receiver in the NFL last year. Yeah, if you make your list, he's probably not number one overall.

But if you just look at 2020, the NFL season that was, there's no argument that Stephon Diggs was the best wide receiver in the league last year. There's no argument against that. So there's no argument against that is what I mean to say. So with that in mind, you add Stephon Diggs to this Tennessee Titans offense, and I just think it goes to a historic level. It's just absolutely ridiculous. AJ and

Julio outside, Furk and Stephon Diggs running in the slots. Get out of town, guys. Unstoppable. So I almost did pick Trey White, but that's where I went. But when we go to the next team, the New England Patriots, I picked cornerback Stephon Gilmore. And it's funny because Gilmore has kind of been a centerpiece of trade rumors for the Titans for two years. That's probably gone now. We're not going to hear about that anymore after the Julio trade, drafting Caleb Farley and Elijah Moulton, all of that. The Titans clearly decided to try to fix their cornerback room using their assets and their resources in a different way. But looking at the Patriots roster, honestly, not super impressed

from my opinion of what they have on the roster. The offensive line is okay, but again, nobody on the offensive line is good as Laramie Tunsil for me to even want to do that. You look at the only other option that I had, Jonu Smith. I mean, the Titans definitely could use Jonu Smith. The problem was they didn't want to pay him that kind of money. In this fantasy scenario where I get to steal the guy off the team

and put him on, I didn't really consider money in that aspect because, you know, we're just having a thought experiment. But if I could steal anybody, I might steal Johnnie back. But ultimately, Stephon Gilmore going out there, lining up with Janoris Jenkins, knocking all the rookies down a peg. I think that would be healthier for the Titans to reach their Super Bowl dreams than any other route for the Patriots. I think Gilmore would have a bigger impact on the Titans' Super Bowl chances

than Johnnie Smith would ultimately. I think General Manager John Robinson agrees with that. That's why they let Jonu walk. Next, going to another team that took a Titan, the General Manager let a player walk. The New York Jets. The goddamn Jets, for all my Big Daddy fans out there. One of my favorite movies ever. But on the Jets, it was also kind of tough.

Not going to lie, it wasn't as tough as the Texans, and it wasn't as tough as another team in the AFC North that we're going to talk about in a moment, and I'll point them out as well, but for me with the Jets, you look at a guy like Mekhi Becton as an offensive tackle. Excellent young offensive tackle, but I've talked about my hesitancy with the offensive line. You look at a guy that everybody wanted in the draft, wide receiver Elijah Moore, who I still think could be a big help for the Titans offense. You look at a guy that Titans fans wanted in free agency, Edge Carl Olson. But for me, I'm taking the best player on the New York Jets if they're

going to have a slimmed down roster and that is defensive lineman Quinnen Williams I would love to see Quinnen Williams next to Jeffrey Simmons and I know that earlier I said I wouldn't do DeForest Buckner but the thing is Quinnen Williams

could be with Jeffrey Simmons for a very very long time because he's such a young guy and unlike the Colts, the Jets didn't really leave me a lot of options. Quite frankly, they don't have any awesome linebackers or awesome cornerbacks that I would actually take from. So with what they did give me, I went with Quinn and Williams. That would be my choice for the Jets. Going into the next, oh, Miami Dolphins. Sorry, Miami. I hate when the Titans play Miami so much that I try to

like erase the Dolphins out of my mindset but for the Miami Dolphins for being a decent team this was actually really hard to pick a player that I really wanted to take ultimately though for the Miami Dolphins I went with Jalen Waddle the rookie receiver. Not very likely that I'm going to be picking rookies in this list with a full roster to choose from, but Zavian Howard at cornerback, good player, but now he's asking for a bunch of more money and angry that his teammates getting paid more, and I don't want to introduce that into the Titans team on a Super Bowl,

but then again, we said the money wasn't a factor, but just not high on Zavian Howard. I think it's kind of a flash in the pan sometimes what he's able to do and I know the coach is a great defensive coach there in Brian Flores so I'm gonna stay away from Xavier and Howard Will Fuller was an option but injuries do concern me Jalen Phillips the rookie edge rusher somebody I was very interested in during the draft but I ultimately went with Waddle who I thought would have been a perfect fit on the Titans offense. He got picked in the top six. He was never fallen to the Titans, but add him to Julio Jones, A.J. Brown with that speed out of the slot

or on the outside, I think it would just be super dynamic for the Titans offense. Moving to the next division, and I will go a little bit quicker for you guys through this one but the ASC North we are going to start with the Baltimore Ravens and this was very very difficult for me but ultimately with the Ravens I decided on tight end Mark Andrews I think Mark Andrews gives the Titans offense exactly what they need at tight end a guy who can can block great block block consistently, but also is a good receiver as well, good route runner, very strong hands, very reliable at the catch point, pretty good after the catch as well, not dynamic, but pretty good. So I think that Mark Andrews, outside of Marlon Humphreys, and I also considered Hollywood

Brown for some of the reasons I considered Waddle, just speed on offense. Ultimately, though though I want Mark Andrews I think he would be the biggest boost to the Titans from the Ravens but Marlon Humphrey at cornerback is definitely a very very close second the Cincinnati Bengals another team that is very difficult to

be able to pick a player that I would even want to steal but if there's one guy it's the guy who intercepted Ryan Tannehill in the red zone last season in one of the worst Titans games of the year that I just so happen to be in attendance for that it just so happened to be 50 mile per hour winds and freezing and um yeah it was a terrible experience but Jesse Bates got Ryan Tannehill. So that's why I'm going with safety Jesse Bates. I think he's the most talented player on the Bengals.

I know Joe Burrow. I know. But I'm not as high on Joe Burrow as the national consensus is. I'd rather have Justin Herbert out of that draft class. I was wrong about Herbert. And I'm willing to admit that and alter my evaluation now. That's the only thing a smart man would do is take the most recent information. And I'm worried about Joe Burrow's arm strength, especially playing in a windy city,

in a cold city in the AFC North. I'm worried about that knee. I don't know how he'll respond from that. They have a good set of wide receivers with Boyd and Higgins and now Jamar Chase. But to me, Jesse Bates is a third safety for the Titans who would allow Amani Hooker to come off the bench. Jesse Bates is one of the most underrated players in the league because he plays in Cincinnati and because he's a safety. So I love Jesse Bates. He's a great player. The Browns, obvious one.

I'm taking Miles Garrett. I think he's one of the top 10 best players in the entire NFL. I think he's the best edge rusher in the entire NFL. I'm taking Miles Garrett. Denzel Ward, really good player. Safety John Johnson, really good player. Jedrick Wills, the young tackle, really good player. Heck, I could even steal Jack Conklin back.

Wyatt Teller at guard, great player. The Browns really do have a loaded roster. They really do. But ultimately, I'm taking the best player on their team, Myles Garrett, who fills a long-term need for the Titans. For the Steelers, I even wrote down a name, and I crossed it out and wrote a new name. It was very tough. It's a toss-up to me.

But ultimately, for Pittsburgh, I went with T.J. Watt. Same reasons as Myles Garrett. Phenomenal edge rusher. He could be the best edge rusher in the NFL. Quite frankly, it's up in the air, and I would accept both answers. But T.J. Watt, Minka Fitzpatrick, though, what a playmaker on the back end of that defense. I did consider him as well. But that's going to do it for the AFC North and the AFC East.

We are going to round things off with the AFC West next. Before we get into that, though, do want to tell you guys about BuiltBar.com, home to the best-t tasting protein bars ever. And one of those bars happens to be the new limited time flavor Built Grasshopper Cookie. It's only going to be available from July the 6th to July the 9th. So make sure that you get on BuiltBar.com right now and you check it out. What does it taste like? It's basically like the classic thin mint cookie. It's got 150 calories, 17 grams of protein, only 5 grams of sugar. It's going to be on the website along with their other 9 delicious flavors. The bars don't just taste good, they're healthy for

you as well. Like the Grasshopper cookie bar, all the bars are low caloriecalorie, low-sugar, high-protein, high-fiber. They're absolutely fantastic. So make sure that you go to BiltBar.com. Use promo code LOCKED15, and you'll get 15% off your next order. Once again, that's promo code LOCKED15 for 15% off at BiltBar.com We are going to cap off this Thursday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast by going through the fourth and

final AFC division that we need to steal players from. We went through the AFC South, the AFC East, and the AFC North. Now it is time to dive into the AFC West. And as a reminder, on tomorrow's show, the Friday edition, we are going to go through the NFC as well. So it'll be fun to go through that. Make sure to send me all of your feedback on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans.

Tell me which players you disagree with, which you agreed with, and of course, how many you've been able to guess right. But before we dive into the AFC West, another reminder, the Locked On Today podcast, all the biggest sports stories, under 20 minutes, every single day. Check out the Locked On Today podcast on whatever platform you do stream. The first team we are going to dive into is the team that we have to worry about the most, and that's the Kansas City

Chiefs. And I know, I know, you think I'm going to say Pat Mahomes, but I'm not! Travis Kelsey! Tight end Travis Kelsey is my answer again. The Titans have Ryan Tannehill, and although Patrick Mahomes is generational,

Tannehill is good enough to win a Super Bowl for the Titans if the rest of the team is good enough. And the counter may be the rest of the team doesn't have to be any better. If you add Pat Mahomes, you can just win with the team right now. And that may be the case, but I'm going with Travis Kelsey. I think a game-breaking tight end over the middle of the field to pair with the two wide now. And that may be the case, but I'm going with Travis Kelsey. I think a game-breaking tight end over the middle of the field to pair with the two wide receivers and Derrick Henry

would just, you wouldn't need Pat Mahomes because the offense would just be so absolutely ridiculous. Of course I considered Mahomes. Of course I considered Tyreek Hill, and I actually really considered defensive lineman Chris Jones, but ultimately went with Travis Kelsey.

The Los Angeles Chargers. You got a young quarterback like Justin Herbert. But, my pick for the Chargers is Joey Bosa, the edge rusher. I also considered Keenan Allen at wide receiver. Austin Eckler at running back, who I think would be a great pairing with Derrick Henry, and Derwin James at safety, who I think healthy. Derwin is one of the best three safeties in the entire NFL,

but I ultimately went with Joey Bosa. Once again, dominant edge rusher, absolutely dominant edge rusher, would pair perfectly with what the Titans need, and he would instantly improve their Super Bowl chances to a totally new level because you have reliable pass rush. We'd like to think that the Titans have fixed the pass rush, but we don't know.

We don't know. We hope that a guy coming off a torn ACL, a free agent signed over the age of 30. We hope that those guys help fix the pass rush. But we don't know. If the Titans got Joey Bosa, I know that that would help fix the pass rush. So that's where I went.

For the Denver Broncos, I know that you guys are going to be a little confused by this one, but I went with safety Justin Simmons. Now here's my thought process. I know I just talked about Ed Rusher and you got guys like Von Miller. You got guys like Bradley Chubb, but Von Miller is in the twilight of his career. Bradley Chubb is a good player, but I don't know if he really moves the needle all that much. I also consider Noah Fant because he's a, you know, a pretty solid tight end, but doesn't block well enough, in my opinion, to be a big enough of a difference maker for the

Titans. So I went with Justin Simmons and I know you guys are like, wow, picking a couple of safeties in here. You must not have faith in Amani Hooker. And while I do have faith in Amani Hooker, let's be honest, the Titans would be in a better spot if they had an all pro safety and Amani Hooker could go back to being that third safety off the bench. That would be ideal for the defense and fixing the coverage. With everything the Titans have done so far, I think it would just be fantastic to have Justin Simmons out of this team. And then the last team that we are going to talk about, this was another tough one.

The Bengals was tough. The Dolphins, the Jets, the Texans, the Jags. It was tough to pick players off this team. And ultimately, with the Raiders, I just went with one of my favorite players from the pre-draft process to the draft to now Max Crosby, the defensive lineman. It's so funny that the Raiders took Cleland Farrell

with the fourth overall pick in the draft, and they drafted Max Crosby in like the third or fourth round, and Max Crosby is way better than Cleland Farrell. It's hilarious how bad the Raiders have been with their first-round picks. What the heck are they doing? Damon Arnett, I think Jonathan Abrams, Cleland Farrell, Henry Ruggs. I don't even remember who they drafted this year, but it was a reach. Oh, it was Alex Leatherwood. I mean, man, I just do. I mean, I get having your convictions and saying, hey, this is my guy, but I mean, at some point you

got to read the room here and minimize risk. So, anyways, Max Crosby is my pick. Mad Max. Excellent pass. Not excellent, but he's a solid pass rusher. The other options, Casey Hayward at cornerback, who's an older player. Trevon Moerig, who they just drafted at safety, who I'm high on, but he's a rookie. How do we know he's going to be able to help the Titans win a Super Bowl? Kenyon Drake, who I just think would be a nice pairing with Derrick Henry.

Henry Ruggs, even. Speed at wide receiver. But, man, that roster. Yikes. Not very good. I'll take Max Crosby. Mad Max. At least I'll have fun watching him play.

If I can't get a talented player who's going to make a difference, I'll at least pick a guy who I like. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. I'm going to be back with you tomorrow. Remember, as I said, stealing players off all of the NFC teams as we stole players off all of the AFC teams today. But as always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.