Tennessee Titans Will Levis is the X-FACTOR, Tyjae Spears Breakout & Treylon Burks Make or Break

Tennessee Titans Will Levis is the X-FACTOR, Tyjae Spears Breakout & Treylon Burks Make or Break

the biggest X Factor for the 2024 Tennessee Titans is the performance of will Levis and there isn’t a close second I’ll explain why on today’s edition of the locked on Titans [Music] podcast you are locked on Titans your daily Tennessee Titans podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day welcome welcome to the locked on Titans podcast I am your host Tyler Roland Titans fans today’s edition of the locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more as playoffs wind down the Sports Stop sporting like we want them to but this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily that’s right there’s something for everyone every day all summer long visit fanduel.com lockon to get started it’s top five week here on the locked on Titans podcast I’m going to be doing top five lists all week long we’re going to start Today’s Show the top five x factors for the titans this year the top five potential breakout players for the titans this year and the top five make or break Seasons ahead can’t wait to dive into all of that before I do thank you for making the locked on Titans podcast you’re first to listen each and every day remember Monday through Friday Tennessee Titans content all year round always for free you’re not going to beat that anywhere else make sure that you get subscribed stay subscribed it’s your team every day here on the locked on Titans podcast speaking of every day shout out to my every dayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday couldn’t do it without you guys it’s going to be a great week here on top five week tomorrow we’re going to look at cut candidates we’re going to look at trade options we’re going to look at potential firsttime pro bowlers as we get through the rest of the week I got a lot of great stuff planned for you guys as well and at the end of the month training Camp begins so make sure again that you get subscribed stay subscribed throw a thumbs up on the video if you’re watching on YouTube helps support the Channel with that being said My Number One X Factor for the Titans is by far will Levis I mean there really is no other good answer if you ask for the number one X Factor look if Will Levis makes the leap if Will Levis takes a big jump if Will Levis goes from you know the be level quarterback that I talked about a couple of weeks ago to being a an A minus level quarterback one of the top 12 quarterbacks in the NFL the Tennessee Titans are going to hit their ceiling like they have put ran carthon and and the front office have put together a good enough roster to do that yes there are some holes on defense which we have discussed at length the right side of the offensive line could be better of course those are absolute factors this isn’t a stacked roster but the roster is good enough for the Titans to be a division winner for the Titans to make the play playoffs all of that is going to depend on how good will Levis is this year how well he performs and on the flip side of it if Will Levis does not play well if Will Levis plays terrible if Will Levis does not get the job done the Titans could be awful the Titans could be as bad as all of these things that we see where they’re last in the power rankings or second worst odds for the Super Bowl or all these different things that really irritate Titans fans right now because of the lack of faith if Will Levis is bad then that’s that’s what’ll happen so a lot of this of course there are other xfactor players I’m getting ready to dive into but a lot of this a lot of this hinges on will Levis now I’m curious what you guys think who are the other xfactor players on the Tennessee Titans this year let me know Down Below in the comments on YouTube or hit me up on Twitter at tictac Titans let me know what your thoughts are on the other axactor players but the next one for me is JC leam I know leam is rookie so that maybe makes it loow hanging fruit to pick him as an X Factor because we simply don’t know what we’re going to get but the reality is the Tennessee Titans have had the worst left tackle position for the last two years maybe two and a half years running okay so if the Titans can get just average NFL left tackle play it is going to fundamentally change what they can do on offense it is that big of a deal so if JC leam is good that gives the Titans the ability to hit their ceiling and it gives will Levis the ability to to be the X Factor in a positive way that the Titans need if JC leam is bad though and maybe he’s we look at it at the end of the year like oh he’s got to go over to right tackle he can’t be a left tackle in the NFL if that’s the way it turns out the Titans are going to be in the dumps there’s just going to be no way for the offense to recover and likewise on a lower scale obviously this is my number three where leam is number two but Nicholas P fer the two offensive tackles spots are so so critical I mean they need leam to be the number seven overall pick and they need npf to just be an okay I don’t even think he needs to be an average level starter he could be slightly below average and still be decent he just can’t be the Abomination that he was when he played in those few short weeks last season excuse me just thinking about npf’s tape from last year when he played obviously it does something to me and it’s hard to continue if he plays like he played last year before injury after the suspension I have a hard time believing that the Titans can make the playoffs with that bad of a right tackle situation now in the past you know they’ve had Dennis Kelly and and Quisenberry and and other guys man that spot and they were able to fight through it but the other spots on the o line were much more solidified I guess as the way to put it so for me looking at the two offensive tackles can they play well can they hit their ceiling as a player can they at least give decent play to this offensive line because I feel pretty confident about Peter scony at left guard cushenberry at Center even sadique if sadique Charles is your fifth best player on the offensive line I think you could make that work but if npf is terrible and leam is not a left tackle and is a right tackle that will Doom the Tennessee Titans season and even if Will Levis plays decent it may not be enough because of the pressure that he’s going to be under so will Levis JC leam npf the entire output on the offensive side of the ball really relies on them in my opinion on the defensive side my last two x factors doing top fives this week so will Levis JC leam npf my final two are on defense we got to start with Amman hooker so the Titans obviously haven’t picked up a free agent safety yet and pickings are getting slim there and it’s making me think that maybe they’ll just go with Elijah molden as the other starting safety well if that’s the case then Amman hooker has to be special he I mean he has to be he has to be his 2020 self where he’s getting four interceptions and making pass breakups I expect the cornerback play to be good with Roger McCreary in the slot and Cheeto and sne on the outside if Amman hooker has a good season like close to Pro Bowl level season the Titans are going to create so many turnovers it’s going to be so difficult to throw the ball with the cornerbacks and then one really good safety that could totally change the defense on the back end and all the concerns that we have about safety are still going to be there until they sign somebody or if they don’t they’ll persist but Amman hooker could really limit that if he has a good year so I think on defense you know what you’re going to get from the quarterbacks you know the linebackers aren’t very good you know that Jeffrey Simmons and Harold Landry are going to do their thing up front it’s Amman hooker at safety can he control the back end can he create turnovers based on the pressure they’re getting up front and the lack of space for wide receivers Amman hooker Big Year coming for him to see if he’s able to be an X Factor for this team it’s really that simple and then finally my fifth X Factor is tandre sweat and simply because of the Boomer bust nature of tandre sweat if tandre Sweat hits pick hits hard he’s Dexter Lawrence he’s V vea you know what I mean he’s that level of player that can rush the passer they could collapse a pocket that can’t be double teamed but if things go bad and he’s a guy who can barely play 30 snaps a game purely a twood down run stuffer standing up high getting knocked off in his pass rush it’s going to be tough for the Titans so Levis leam npf hooker sweat we got to talk about the breakout candidates next before we do though do want to let you guys know that today’s episode is brought to you by fan duel Sportsbook look I love sports pretty obvious I would think I love them so much I never want them to stop but the finals are over we’re getting fewer games in sports than ever and the sports quite 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reason make sure that you get subscribed stay subscribed we’re going to have a lot of fun over the next few weeks going to do some roster previews 53 man roster projections and then training camp is right around the corner but right now we’re talking about breakout candidates for the Tennessee Titans and no one is at the top of that list other than Taj Spears all right I think that Taj Spears is the best running back on the team I have continued to say throughout the offseason that regardless of the Tony Pard signing and Tony Po’s contract number Taj Spears is rb1 okay Spears has such great explosiveness for a guy his size he runs strong with power people look at Taj Spears as a small guy who can’t help in the red zone or on the goal line or short yardage Taj Spears was statistically one of the most effective short yardage running backs on third and fourth down last year in the NFL so he’s a guy who’s slippery he’s strong and I think more importantly than anything he just has elite football character I mean how all look at the twinkle in Rand carthon’s Eye when he talks about Taj Spears look at it just watch it it he loves him ran carthon loves Taj Spears like he’s his son for real he loves Taj Spears because of the type of person that he is and I think that that mentality shows out on the field he’s never going down on First Contact he’s always fighting for more yards for a guy his size he runs so hard noos he is not afraid of anything um I think it’s smart to have good balance you don’t want Taj Spears being like a Derk Henry in terms of usage you don’t want Taj Spears to be a Bell cow back but as I’ve said all along Taj Spears can be your primary running back as part of a committee so Tony Pard good player bigger bodied guy I think he’s gonna be very helpful to the Tennessee Titans very excited about Tony Pard in the backfield but Taj Spears Taj Spears is one of those names right now where fantasy football players are like yeah Taj Spears I like Spears blah I got my Dynasty friends reaching out like man Taj Spears blah blah blah blah but I think Taj Spears’s name is going to burst onto the scene for the national conversation not just the fantasy football conversation so love s Taj Spears is a breakout candidate Peter scaroni so everybody who listens to the show or has watched the show for a while knows that I’m a big Peter scony fan all right I’m a score guy I I really do love me some pet Peter guns as he was uh dubbed by one of my commenters on Twitter love that name especially with how big he looks this year last year he’s a rookie he is surrounded by garbage on the left and right side of him with Aaron Brewer at Center look Aaron Brewer is a good run blocker but he is truly garbage in pass protection he’s just small there’s nothing he can do he tries hard he seems like a good guy tougher than a $2 Stak but having Aaron Brewer on your right side and then Jaylen Duncan Andre Dillard this version of npf on your left side I mean that’s a tough situation for a guard to be in let alone a rookie guard in a bad offense where people are not afraid to bring pressure downhill and not only that but we have the mid-season appendectomy where he loses 15 to 20 pounds of muscle he’s talked about how that affected him he he is a guy he said I don’t want to make excuses but I mean obviously that’s a big deal and with how much bigger Peter scony looks this year I think that he can break out to being one of the top five guards in the NFL like when you talk about young interior offensive linemen who are at the top of the game I think Peter Scar’s name will be on that list by this time next year all right and then also a quick one Josh Wy we talked about Josh Wy I think that chika cono and his production lately is pretty close to what his production will be for most of his career I don’t think chaona is ever going to be a thousand yard receiver 800 receiving yards stuff like that five 600 I think that’s a good range Josh Wy could be the tight end one this year and like I think he has the potential with his MIT mismatch capabilities his body size all that I think that he has the potential to be that 800 yard receiver a big red zone threat I think those two guys together could be absolutely fantastic so very excited for that I I think that Taj Spears and Peter scony could be like Pro Bowl level players I’m not saying that Josh Wy is going to break out in that way but based on what we saw from last year to where I think we could be talking about him next year it would be considered a breakout season okay on defense Roger mccre I’ve been talking about Roger for two seasons now saying how great of a player he is like now that he doesn’t have to play on the outside hopefully people stay healthy there’s more depth he needs to be on the inside if he can stay on the inside all year where he’s supposed to be he’s just gonna he’s just GNA ball out and with an improved cornerback group in general that should help Roger mccre out matchup wise confidence wise in his mates I think that Roger mccre is a guy who I’ve been saying this the last few weeks but the national conversation the national media is starting to pick up on how good Roger mccre is I think he could be considered a top five slot quarterback in the NFL barnun by the the end of the season honestly I think he’s probably right outside of that right now I think he’s probably top eight top 10 but people will really know about Roger mccre because he’ll make more big plays this year now that he’s able just to focus on his assignment and isn’t worried so much about everything going on around him and he could just play in the slot where he’s supposed to be the last name that I have for you here it is a bit controversial I know it is a bit controversial Jack Gibbons now I talked about this at the end of last week but a lot of Titans fans don’t like Jack Gibbons and I get it he’s not the most athletic guy when you watch him run Chase blah blah blah you’re like man he’s slow but National people who watch all the teams have a different Viewpoint of Jack Gibbons okay Gibbons is a guy who is always in the right place has great awareness understands route Concepts can get his teammates lined up he may not be an elite athlete but as Brian Callahan said you don’t have to be an elite athlete to be a good off-ball linebacker in the NFL and this ties into my positional value conversation about inside linebacker if you’ve been listening throughout the draft season and throughout our roster conversations how I feel about the inside linebacker position from a value and from a roster building standpoint this ties right into that Gibbons could take a step forward to where instead of us having these conversations of is Cedric gray gonna replace him is this gonna happen is he gonna make the team is it blah blah BL I think it could be one of those things where like most people are like yeah Jack Gibbons is a starting linebacker in the NFL he’s our starter we want to improve we want to build but we know that Jack Gibbons is a starter I think he could be that consistent and all he needs to do is make some more plays and I think having better secondary better up front around him will allow him to do that so I think we could see a breakout year where Jack Gibbons goes from you know overlooked underrated surprise starting linebacker for the Titans too oh Jack Gibbons is a starting linebacker in the NFL period no question about it so I think that’s what we could be looking at for some breakouts so again Taj Spears Peter scaroni Josh Wy Roger mccre Jack Gibbons let me know your breakout candidates down below now we got to talk about guys who it’s a make or break year for him in the NFL before we do though do want to let you guys know that today’s episode is sponsored by better help look guys comparison is the thief of Joy it’s easy to Envy other pe people’s lives in today’s day and age you see it on Instagram Facebook Twitter everybody looks like 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five cut candidates for the Titans top five firsttime pro bowlers top five trade options then next episode my top five best players on the Tennessee Titans right now my top five best Tennessee Titans of all time and then my top five personal favorite Tennessee Titans on Thursday I’m gonna do a top five episode with your top five questions from Twitter so I put out a post on Twitter asking for your top five list it could be Titans it could be anything and then on the last episode of the week I’m going to get some top five list from you guys on YouTube so make sure that I give my two favorite platforms their day but send me your top five requests if you want me to answer your top five question I can only pick three per day so keep that in mind but just do want to let you guys know what this week is going to look like uh also want to let you know to check out locked on sports today it’s 247 it’s streaming on YouTube it’s on Amazon Fire TV get rid of ESPN and Fox Sports One just throw on locked on sports 247 and and get your sports background noise all right but as for maker breaks obviously we got to start with Trin Burks I feel like that is that is not a hot take that tayin Burks is in a Mak or break year I would say not only for his Titans career but for his NFL career okay Burks has been an utter disappointment and not only that but there are questions about his work ethic off the field how much he loves football uh questions about his conditioning how hard he’s willing to work all those questions are swirling right now and you know the coaching staff is saying well we think Burks has been exceptional he’s worked really hard BL but then they’re also saying hey he’s gota work to find a spot on the game day roster he’s got to be on special teams and be a Gunner and blah blah BL to you know find a spot on the roster I think that tayin Burks is going to have another opportunity with another team event but if he doesn’t show up this year in some capacity the view of him is going to [Music] be way down it’s going to be in the dumps around the NFL he’s going to get veteran minimum contracts these uh Tyler Boyd up to five million but it’s three and a half million guaranteed if Burks doesn’t do something this year that’s what he’s going to be looking at for the rest of his career and he may not even be on the Titans next year so I think this season whether Burks is he may be in the NFL for a few years after but whether he’s ever going to live up to that first round billing or not some of you have already given up on that but if he is it’s going to start this year it is a make or break year for who he is going to be as a player the rest of his career period all right on that same note I don’t have to spend as much time on it but Kyle Phillips Kyle Phillips was a fifth round pick who was entirely overrated by Titans fans because of what he did week one against the giants’ rookie year that one game alone has led to so much unnecessary hype for Kyle Phillips like we all wanted it to work out we did but he’s just not sturdy enough not explosive enough the punt return Fiasco has really hurt his career that was something he had to be good at to find a long-term career in the NFL I think there’s a chance Kyle Phillips doesn’t even make the team this year like I think he might get cut after training camp so it’s clearly make or break for him I would say training camp is make or break for Kyle Phillips not even the regular season training camp also npf I’ve talked about npf we talked about him the X Factor if he wants to be considered a starting level offensive lineman in the NFL he’s got to put in the work this year he’s got to prove it this year he’s going to be given the opportunity he’s gonna be I mean they’re basically giving him the starting right tackle job at this point if he’s ever going to be healthy and get out on the field so npf like tayin Burks the way he’s viewed the perception of him as a player and then in turn the money that he’s going to get going forward will be determined by how he does this year period period on defense two guys who are from the same draft class who were drafted by John Robinson who are not rancon Bryan Callahan guys Rashad Weaver and Elijah mold I’m going to talk about them a lot in a lot of these discussions because they are interesting players Weaver looks slim down maybe he does take that next step this year but there is a chance the average NFL career is three years so there is a chance that neither of these players are even in the NFL after the year it’s their fourth year now there is a chance that neither of them are in the NFL next year so not only is it Mak or break for them in their role with the Titans that’s obvious it’s contract here but it’s make or break for their NFL lives SAR to npf similar to Burke similar to Phillips like it’s maker break for them with the Titans but it’s Mak or break for them period as professional football players can Elijah molden who right now if things St and the Titans don’t sign a safety is being handed the starting safety spot can he take advantage of that where he wasn’t able to take advantage of it last year and ended up getting passed up by Kayon Wallace and I think a healthy Mike Brown could have bit into those snaps too and then with Weaver had the five and a half sack season when Harold Landry was out and got way more opportunities but can he do something against the Run can he quit being so undisciplined in his pass rush and getting too far up the Field opening avenues for quarterbacks like can he be a more disciplined player in year four can he be a guy who can hold up against the run I mean he look at Weaver he’s huge he’s 64 you know 250 some like he is big enough and strong enough to set that edge in the Run game one thing I will say Mike was not a bad football coach he’s a good football coach he wasn’t the right football coach for the Titans but he’s a good football coach and his philosophy and run defense of edge wall swarm that’s a great coaching phrase right there you create the edge then you wall up the interior and then you swarm to the ball carryer Rashad Weaver was never able to set that edge if he can do that this year and is more explosive and in better shape and has more disciplined that he can make a big impact if not and we see what we saw from him last year again Rashad Weaver could be out of the NFL by this time next year I think that molden and Weaver will get another shot with another team next year but still it it’s gonna be non-guaranteed money training camp try out type status so again my make or break guys tayin Burks Kyle Phillips Nicholas Patia rer Rashad Weaver Elijah molden basically all the guys who were drafted by the previous regime who haven’t really lived up to it so far so let’s see it but I’ll be back with you guys tomorrow for another day of top fives unless big Titans news happen then I’m going to Pivot make sure that we talk about that but we are in the Dead period so there is a good chance that that we don’t get any news but would love to see a Justin Simmons signing Carl Lawson Emanuel agba Edge something like that would be nice knowing the Titans they’ll just sign another offensive tackle from Bill Callahan’s past right anyways that is going to do it for me today though folks as always I am your host Tyler Roland and this was locked on Titans [Music]

The Tennessee Titans head into 2024 with a wide range of outcomes possible and most of them will hinge on the performance of Will Levis who is clearly the team’s X-Factor. Next, plenty of players are primed for a breakout this season, but none more than Tyjae Spears who can become a household name in 2024. Finally, it is make or break time for a few Titans, but Treylon Burks is at the top of that list and is fighting for his NFL future.

Tennessee Titans Will Levis is the X-FACTOR, Tyjae Spears Breakout & Treylon Burks Make or Break
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