The OTP: Draft Recap

draft is in the books. The Tennessee Titans got to work, and work they did, particularly on defense, particularly in the secondary, and overall though you see them and what they're able to do with this draft class, Amy, I think they're gonna feel pretty good about meeting the majority of their needs. Absolutely. I think the thing that stands out to me the most when I look at this list is how they

addressed so many different positions of need. Obviously, the secondary was a place that the Tennessee Titans needed help, a lot of it due to injury in twenty twenty. But now having had to make some of the roster adjustments that they've made, there are some holes to fill and they addressed that this week in the draft, so that's

a big deal. But they also were able to address the offensive line, which is a place where they're going to need some depth they were able to add a wide receiver, they were able to add some linebackers, so they were able to cover a lot of ground in three days, which I think is a really big deal for John Robinson and the rest of the scouting team.

The words that continue to come out around the league about Caleb Farley is that he talked with other teams and as they did their due diligence like the Titans did, that his medicals were coming back in an exceedingly positive manner, not just for the Titans but for others. This pick looks better in the light of day three days later

than it did on Thursday night. Absolutely, we were all excited when Caleb Farley became kind of a possibility for the Tennessee Titans, and you started to see how the boards were shaping up. Everyone started to say, Okay, this could actually happen, and then it did. Now a couple days later, when we start to get more information and hear more stories about how his medicals shook out like you were saying, and just what kind of a player

he is. This is a really, really good get for the Tennessee Titans, and it feels like less of a risk today. On Saturday than it did on Thursday night. It doesn't seem like a bold choice by John Robinson.

It feels like the right guy for the job. They get another corner two on Friday night at number one hundred, and I would say of all of the Titans picks, the one that is being celebrated the most in terms of the player, where you got him and what his value is is Elijah Molden from Washington, the five nine and a half one hundred one pound corner who people really feel like he's going to play the slot corner

in the pros. He's the son of former NFL player Alex Molden, and gosh, I mean, by the time I got home early Saturday morning and was, you know, looking at different things all over the web, the fact that the Titans were able to get him at number one hundred was being applauded by most everybody. Yeah, which is so great. And this is also a testament to what

John Robinson and his team is able to do. They are so good at finding that guy that's a going to fit their system so well, but also as a steal where everybody kind of looks at each other and goes, wait a minute, how do we miss that? Why didn't we get that guy? Really excited to have him because of his versatility. What he's going to be able to do in that defensive backfield and also some other places where he might be able to contribute. Is that special

teams we'll see. But I think that he's going to be a guy who's going to make an immediate impact on this Titans team, if for no other reason, because he's going to provide some competition at some of those spots. And the Titans staff saying that Elijah Moulden's virtual interviews were the best of any player that they worked with, And again, I think it comes from a guy whose dad was a pro, knows what it takes. I was reading his bio too, and part of his game is

that he just takes it so seriously. On his questionnaire, it said what are your pregame rituals? He says, I don't have any I don't even listen to music. I just show up ready to play. That's who he is. He's not afraid of anybody. I think there's some Courtland Finnegan to this guy. There is certainly some scrap to this guy, and I think that's one of the reasons that Robinson and Raybell like you. I think that's great, but not listening to music in pregame, Like dude doesn't

listen to music in pregame. I think all he cares about is just getting to the ballpark and playing ball, and that's what it comes down to. So Elijah Molden at number one hundred is the pick that is getting the most praise universally in terms of value for the spot, and he was taking at number one hundred. The one that's close to it is Dylan Raidens, the North Dakota State offensive tackle. All of the draft analysts we're thrilled

with this pick for the Titans. They feel like he's going to play ball for Tennessee at some position in twenty twenty one. And you had a chance to visit with him. I know you were impressed, But this is exactly what the doctor ordered for this ball club right now. Absolutely, he's someone that can provide depth. He's someone that maybe could fill him right away at that right table spot. There's a lot of things that he can do, and he's ready to go. He's not afraid of coming in

and being a rookie. He's ready to learn and he's ready to compete for a spot, and I think he takes it really seriously. He understands what the position of being an offensive lineman means. He's got that personality to him, you know, very protective and wants to make sure that the people around him are able to do their jobs well, running the ball, throwing the ball, all the things that skill players do. And he takes it really seriously. And I think that that's something that's going to fit in

really well to that offensive line room. Well. I mean we've heard this from Farley, from Raidens, from Molden, and as you go down the list of guys, I think there was a big focus in this entire draft class on people who are extremely serious about football, their football careers and doing their jobs. I mean, they all seem to have the Robinson Rabel thing in common. It's apparent it's something that they certainly dug for, but I don't think they had to dig very hard to find it

in these players. Yeah, it just continues to show how much importance this team puts on being the right fit for this team. Right Listen, there are a lot of good players that have been on the board when the Titans have been picking. There are a lot of guys who have been high rated and all those different things, but you've got to be the right fit. You've got to work with this locker room, with this style of human being, because if not, you're not going to last.

You're not going to be able to make the impact on the field, if you can't even get to the field because you're not meshing well with the rest of the culture in the Tennessee Titans. Well, and here's the other thing too. They've said this, and this has been an important part of what they've done since John Robinson has been here and since Mike vrabel has come on after year two of John Robinson as GM. But they redoubled it in this offseason after what happened with Isaiah Wilson.

They went back and they even they refocused that even more. It became even more of a priority for obvious reasons. And as I dealt with Caleb Farley at the stadium and had a chance to spend time with him, he asked me a question. I'm going to share this. I don't think he would mind. He said, who's fastest guy on the team? I said, well, I don't know he said me. I mean, this is a guy who has run in the four twos and he takes seriously, very seriously,

how his speed impacts his game. And of course the first thing he said to John Robinson is when do I get the playbook when you meet him? I mean, he was there with his dad doing the things that you need to do. But it was clear to me that it was business with this kid. Was he excited to be at Nissan Stadium, Yes, Was he excited that there was a big welcome Caleb Farley on the JumboTron? Yes. Did he take pictures for social media, Yes, but he gets that that's great. But what he's here to do

is be an impact player in twenty twenty one. And that struck me as I interviewed him for Titans All Access, which will come out next weekend. Yeah, I think that that is what Mike Vrabel specifically is looking for, because that's how Mike Vrabel is. This is a job. It's a glamorous job. There are some fun things that come along with it. At the end of the day, you are here for ball and that's it, right. You are here to contribute to this football team, and that is

what we take seriously. All the other stuff will kind of come, and that can be all well and good and something you participate in when you're not doing your job that is football. And it is so clear that that is what they want to be on this football team. They want every single person to realize this is a job. And then there's that other stuff. That's right, and the other stuff's great, but that's not what you're here for. That's not what you were hired to do. That's exactly right,

all right. So the only other pick from Day one and Day two was Monty Rice, the linebacker at number ninety two out of Georgia, and that was the one that sort of had a lot of people going who that kind of surprised me, and I think it surprised us that the linebacker pick came in the third round. It didn't surprise because of the depth issue at linebacker, and we went over that on Titans Radio. The Titans

have almost no depth at inside linebacker right now. They have Jayon Brown and Rashaun Evans and David Long and then three other guys that they have signed, and one b J. Bellow, has played in the league, but he's more of a special teams guy. The other two have never been on an active roster. Monty Rice is here to compete not just for special teams, but to be depth overall going forward in case they need a linebacker

to come in the game. And the other thing too, is when you look at contracts past this year, they're gonna be decisions that are gonna have to be made. So they had to go get a linebacker that they feel like can potentially get on the field and play snaps.

The other thing too, that jumps out to me about him, and I've really been digging in him since day two ended because I really wanted to learn a lot more and that is speed speed speed, speed four or five seven in the forty And I think they feel like they needed to bring in another quality linebacker that's a quality prospect, but a guy that could run, who can potentially be a three down linebacker, And that is why

they grabbed him at that point. Well, and realistically, you've got to think about the people that he will be learning behind. He'll be in the room with a Jayon Brown, with a Rashaun Evans, with some of those guys who can really not only show him how to be a pro but can show him kind of the ropes. I mean, he's walking into a world where we all know Mike Vrabel likes to work with the linebackers and like really

work with the linebackers. He likes to get his hands on them, and so being able to be a part of that and have other guys that are around him to kind of let him know this is how you maneuver that situation. Keith has the opportunity to learn this system while still contributing on special teams and kind of

being that guy. He gets a chance to really grow in this space, which I think some people come in and it can be a little jarring because it's a little bit different to have a coach like Mike Vrabel who's so involved specifically in your development. Well, I think a lot of the picks were made very obviously with twenty twenty one in mind, and Farley is clearly that Raidens is clearly that I think Molden is going to be in the mix for that as well, and some

of the others we'll talk about in a minute. Monty Rice was a guy they took not only for twenty twenty one, but for beyond, you know, because because you're always having to anticipate some things in the beyond. And I think most people probably thought linebacker. On Day three. They saw a guy that fit them so well and he was the best player on their board. That's why they grabbed him. I get it more spending time with it after the fact. Then at that moment when I

saw Monty Rice Georgia, I knew him. He's an SEC player, He's very good linebacker. My question wasn't him. My question was linebacker at this spot. But then you see what they were able to do on Day three, and you understand it because everybody's like, okay, receiver. Well then you grabb Dez Fitzpatrick trading up. You know you're able to trade some picks that you had gathered to get Monty Rice.

You know you're able to get the extra four. And so you go up and you get Dez Fitzpatrick from Louisville. And this is a guy I like a lot because again, he fits the template the Titans because they play two tight ends a lot. Amy are not gonna play a lot of three receivers sets. They will in certain situations, but they're gonna play two tight ends, two receivers and

the receivers are generally gonna be bigger. Des Fitzpatrick from Louisville six two two O two four four to seven in the forty very productive receiver for the Cardinals, even though two two at well was really the focus. This is a guy nearly twenty four years old, he'll be twenty four by the end of the season. Four year ball player, you know, physical guy, played one on one on the outside, and so you say, Okay, there's your guy that makes total sense that you dealt that the

draft picks to get up and go get this guy. Yeah, he's got the body type, he's got the skill set that can compliment what the Titans do on offense anyway, and he has some familiarity with the program because he's been watching it for a while. He said that he's been watching the Titans since Corey Davis was drafted, So he's kind of got an idea of what he's walking into. And who wouldn't want to walk into a room with a J. Brown? Are you kidding me? How much fun

is that? But he's a guy that really can compliment with the Titans are already doing on offense and can fit right in. You're right because his body, typed and skill set are just made for this Titans offense. The other receiver that they took at number two oh five overall, Racy McMath from LSU, maybe the most interesting player in the entire group. Racy McMath, And this is just crazy. He's a kid out of New Orleans. He's nearly six three, he's two hundred and fifteen pounds, he runs under four

to four. Benn's press is almost four hundred pounds. And he's this amazing athlete. And he goes to LSU and what happens. They only have twenty wide receivers there. You know, he's played with all these receivers and he's been overshadowed. So his only way to get on the field was to play special teams. For the majority of his career, he played over five hundred special teams snaps. And then he goes to Senior Bowl and he blows everybody away

with the special team's work. Here's what's interesting about him as a receiver. So he finally became a starter this year and then he missed the last four games of the season with a hamstring injury. So his time to sort of show himself kind of went out the window because LSU didn't throw it that well, and then he misses forty percent of the season with injury. Okay, got that. But he plays in the slot a lot. And I reached out to Mike Detillier because he's in Louisiana from

the MD draft report. I said, tell me about Racy McMath and he said, of all of the LSU receivers that he played with during that time, he's the fastest. Wow, he has incredible upside. He's got a lot to learn about route tree and things like this. But he's a ball player. You know, he's big, he's physical. He was listed at two twenty four. At his pro day. He weighed two eleven and so I was going back to the two twenty fourth and here's what's going through my mind.

Titans didn't draft a tight end. So I asked Mike Dee. I said, is there any chance that with his body type, they're thinking bulk this guy up and make a tight end out of him. He's absolutely not. He said. He's a receiver and if he's in the right situation, you know he's got a chance to be a better pro receiver that a college receiver. And We've seen this out of a lot of LSU receivers where they've been good, solid college guys, but then they've gone to the NFL

where they throw it more and they do more. And so maybe Racy McMath is going to be that guy for the Titans. But the Titans don't have a better athlete in this group of draft picks well, and that's encouraging and should be exciting for Titans fans because when you see someone with raw talent and ability, you can

coach the rest of that stuff. And the Titans have a lot of good teachers on their staff, so combining good teachers with someone who has raw ability and Jess need maybe some coaching to refine some of the things that he does, but also just needs more balls thrown his way. I mean, at a place like LSU, you've got some grown men in front of you. And it's not because you too are not a grown man, but

there's only one football. That's the reality, that's true. The only guy who threw the ball for them though, was Joe Burrow in twenty nineteen. I mean, you remember, coming out of twenty eighteen, they still didn't have a passing offense, right, and then Joe Burrow goes in there in twenty nineteen and LSU starts throwing the ball all over the place.

And then last year they were kind of right back to where they were before where they threw it, but they certainly didn't throw it like they did in twenty nineteen. And I mean, we'll see, you know, we'll see what McMath can do. But I think you've hit on something really important there, and that's Rob Moore, the Titans wide receiver coach. Think about what he did with Corey Davis. Corey Davis got better. Think about what he's done with A. J. Brown.

Think about what he has done with some other guys that they've put in Situationally, Cam Batson is an improved player under him, So that's exactly right. Racy McMath might be a big find, particularly if he could go in a slot when you go three wide receivers. Oh my goodness. I was really thrilled of the third day picks. I think the one that I went yes, Yes, Yes on was Rashad Weaver, the outside linebacker from Pitt For a

lot of reasons. He's six four, he's two sixty five, he's got the long wingspan, He's the guy that can put his hand in the dirt and rush the passer when you go in those situations where you're gonna line up four guys just to rush. He can play outside backer. He plays the run well. So the Titans have two outside backers coming from the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bud Dupree and Ola Daney, and now they have one coming from the University of Pittsburgh pitt and Rashad Weaver. What's funny about Weavers.

He's almost the exact same size as bud Dupree. He's got that Derek Morgan type size, which you really like to set that edge and not only be able to rush the passer, but to play the run well. And he already has a relationship with bud Dupre. They know each other, they've spent some time together, they have some mutual people in common, and so they've had experiences with

each other dinner, things like that. But to already have that relationship with him and have that established kind of maybe built in teacher, someone who can kind of take him under his wing, the sky's the limit for him, especially when he already has those physical attributes that you're looking for. I think that's really exciting, and the more good players that we can steal from the Pittsburgh area,

I am all for it. Let's go. The first thing I thought about with Weaver was the bud Dupree thing, because I didn't know before he talked that they knew each other. But I'm absolutely sure he's a bud Dupree fan. You know, you're one hundred percent sure that a guy who's this aware, he's another one who will be twenty four years old during the course of the season, So he's not twenty and he's gonna know exactly who bud

Dupree is. He's gonna have watched and studied his game and just think about what that's gonna mean to him to sit down in a room with bud Dupree. If bud Dupree carries his tray out of the cafeteria in a certain way, he's gonna do it the exact same way. And that's one hundred percent what you want to see. Absolutely, You like those guys who walk in day one, take it seriously, No right away, the guys that they need to be watching, talking to, emulating and can just go

do it. And then they got a safety in Brady Breeze, converted linebacker, sat out this year at Oregon, and you know, it happened to a lot of those Pac twelve guys because the Pac twelve was not gonna play. You remember that they have decided they weren't going to play, and then they decided they would play late. And he came back, Brady Breese did and said, well, I've already sort of committed myself to what I'm gonna do in terms of

getting ready, So he opted out. If he doesn't opt out, he's probably higher than the two hundred and fifteenth pick because his story first two years at Oregon, he's a special team's demon, converted linebacker, backup safety, ends up in his career playing over seven hundred special team snaps. So then his junior year nineteen and this is guy was a four star recruit and is the nephew of Chad Cota, who played safety in the league for a long time.

So I mean he's a heralded type prospect. So he doesn't become their starter and the consistent starting guy in Oregon's defense until at the end, and then they go to the Rose Bowl and they play Wisconsin and he just goes off eleven tackles for his fumble fumble recovery, I think he scored a touchdown. He's the MVP of the twenty twenty Rose Bowl, yep. So if he doesn't opt out, and if he plays as well as he did at the end of twenty nineteen, he ain't last

until day three. Problem and the opt out thing, and the twenty twenty season in general has just been so screwy you almost can't even take that as part of the story when evaluating someone because the circumstances were just so bizarre across college football. Yeah, and it's one of those things that it's so frustrating now because you wish

you could see what these guys could have done. But I guess the plus side is there's a lot of people who are really hungry to get out and play in the National Football League and are so excited to get back to real organized football. I mean, he's been working out for a year, right, That is that is not football. Working out as important it is valuable, but you don't get the same experience as actually being in

football routine with your teammates. So I guess the plus side of what a goofy year twenty twenty was is that you get a lot of guys who are coming into the Titans locker room who are hungry and they are fired up. That's right, that's right, And I mean the fact of the matter is the Titans haven't opening it's safety. Brady Breeze could win that job. He could start at safety in week one. Now. Amani Hooker is going to have something to say about that, and Dan

Crookshank's gonna have something to say about that. And there may be others, you know, Matthias Farley may have something to say about that. We'll see. But two corners, a linebacker inside, a linebacker outside safety, two big receivers, and an offensive line. So that's your group. I guess the thing that everybody's talking about as the draft ends for the Titans is no tight end. And the Titans currently have five tight ends on their roster. Jeff Swaim and

Anthony Firks. Are you know those guys are playing ball. Parker Hessey is entering his third year out of Iowa. He's a converted defensive lineman. He's gonna have to make a move to make the roster. Tommy Hudson is a guy who's on the practice squad last year spent part of the season on the suspended list. He's good blocker, He's got a chance. And then you know Jared Pickney from Vanderbilt, who's in his second year away from the

Vanderbilt program, is the wildcard in all of this. Is he the guy that maybe takes the place of the draft pick? Is he the guy who can make the move? I don't know, it's possible. And we also have to remember, Mike that there's still some people who are in free agency right And that's what I was gonna say is maybe the Titans are a team that decides to spend some money and they don't have a lot of money right now, and you know, they're they're still gonna be

cap issues. They're still gonna be moves that they have to make. But do they say, I'm going to spend some of that dough and bring in another veteran, you know? And that may be what they do. The other thing, too, is let's say Kendall Lamb does not win one of the starting jobs on the offensive line. What did he do and has he done throughout his career? He's played the jumbo tight end. You know, come in in the

blocking situations as the extra tight end. David Quessenberry has done the same thing, So maybe the Titans don't carry as many tight ends this year. It's obviously going to be an area that you have to address. And you never come out of the draft getting everything. You can't, No, I don't think. I mean unless you have thirty eight picks, which you don't unless you are some select teams that just collect picks most of the time. You don't have a million picks in the draft. You just don't. So

you address the areas of need. You address based on what is on the board that's in front of you. But do you get everything. No. For months, we've been talking about how there's probably going to be a third wave of free agency where teams are going to be making some cuts and adding some new people. The cap situation is weird this year. It just is, and it's

playing a big part in all of this. So now we wait and see what happens with free agency, and we see kind of how rosters shape up through team's offseason programs, and then we'll address it again at training camp. That's the next time that we'll kind of look at

this and see what we've got, absolutely good stuff. Amy will seventy nine players on the Titans roster as the draft ends, So you know, they could waive a guy or two and sign more than eleven undrafted free agents, or they could sign right at eleven, or maybe they just take nine or ten and go out and sign another veteran free agent somewhere to add some depth, because they're going to be some guys looking for jobs and

they're going to be some more veterans. Unfortunately that get cut in the next week to month based on what teams got in this draft because you've got to get cheaper. I think one thing's for sure, a veteran player making the Titans roster to just play special teams probably doesn't happen this year. Yeah, I mean the Titans have done well with that. Obviously. We love Darren Bates, Nick Dzubnar. We've seen Brendan Trowick do it. I mean, there have been guys who have done that and they are playing

for more than the rookie minimum. It's just hard to see. Now. Now, maybe that changes, maybe some money gets freed up and you can figure out a way to do that. But it looks like, you know, these guys, drafting Breeze a good special teams player, Drafting McMath a good special teams player, Drafting Monnie Rice a guy who figures to play special teams. You know, those sorts of things were done with the

idea in mind. You're not going to be able to spend two to two and a half million dollars on a guy to cover kicks in the twenty twenty one scenario for most teams. It's just it's just probably not going to happen in many places around the league. Yeah, but what an opportunity for some of these young guys to get on the field and make plays and show

that they can. I think that this is gonna shake out well for some young players who really are able to take advantage of that situation, because you're gonna need bodies out there. I mean, yes, you want playmakers, and you want guys who are good at that position, but at the end of the day, you still got to

field a whole team of people out there. And I think it's gibe a really good opportunity for some young guys who maybe can't get the snaps that they want within their respective positions, especially on the defensive side of the wall, but they want to show that they can make plays and earn a spot on the active roster. The OTP is brought to you by Farm Bureau Health Plants. Let the expertive Farm Bureau Health Plants coach you through it, and then you need great healthcare coverage at a price

you can afford. They've been protecting Tennessee and since in the nineteen forty seven for Amy Wells. I'm Mike Keith. Thanks for joining us for the OTP.