Titans’ GM Ran Carthon, 2023 first-round draft pick Peter Skoronski and head coach Mike Vrabel

The Train Daddy is back with sports news, life lessons and politically incorrect talk. All aboard!

Many of you took my last article to heart and sent me numerous emails at titanman1984@gmail.com screaming and crying about what I wrote in last month’s Pulse.

All I said was that female athletics has lost its integrity these days and we continue to slap biology in the face in the world of sports, where gender separation is done for good reason. I said a few other things also, but the point was that allowing dudes with chimichangas—“biological males”—to compete with biological females is a joke.

I love how I am perceived as the problem for not bending over backwards and taking it from these people screaming that “trans women are women.” The reality is trans women are dudes born with Twinkies who at some point, just like Shania Twain, started feeling like a woman.

Biology matters in sports.

I should probably stop now. The editor in chief of this great paper was expecting Titans Talk, not another rant on transgender sports. Makes me realize how special the people behind this paper are. They probably do not agree with everything I say, and I have been told a few times to tone it down, but they have never refused to let me voice my own thoughts. I think that is rare and a special thing in today’s media, and I will continue to appreciate it by not tiptoeing around certain topics. I learned long ago that, in the world of journalism, haters make loyal readers.

Let us talk Titans! The 2023 NFL draft is officially over, and if you spend any time on Titans social media then you have seen an emotional mix of reactions regarding Titans new GM Ran Carthon’s recent first draft.

Had you told any Titans fan prior to the draft that they would spend every draft pick on an offensive piece and ended up with, in no particular order, a new QB, WR, RB, TE, and two pieces for the O line, probably every Tennessee fan out there would have said “hell yeah!”

The criticism is obvious to me. There are many Titans fans who are also Vols fans, and it irked many of them to see former Kentucky QB Will Levis drafted while Hendon Hooker slipped past to the Detroit Lions. It created an emotional response from Vol nation.

And the Titans decided once again to almost completely ignore the receiver position, drafting a dude out of Tennessee Martin with the 228th overall pick who very likely won’t even make the team. Heading into the 2023 season, this team has yet recovered from the 2022 trade of A.J. Brown, so not having made the receiver position more of a priority is a tough pill to swallow.

But, the Titans certainly filled a need with their first-round pick of arguably the best offensive line prospect in this year’s draft in Peter Skoronski, who should be a solid piece on a line in need of replacement and hopefully a future starter for many years to come. Everyone knows this was a smart pick and all the draft grades show it with A ratings up and down the board.

In the second round Mr. Ran Carthon grabbed Will Levis, who slid into the second round for whatever reason. Will was projected a top 10 pick by some prior to the draft and a first-round talent by nearly everyone. Will is a big quarterback who played in a pro-style offense at Kentucky. Levis may be a weird dude who puts mayonnaise in his coffee, but he also has a special set of athletic abilities to go along with a cannon of an arm and electric quick release with the football. The knock against him seems to be accuracy and decision making—important things for a QB, I know!

Will Levis; images courtesy tennesseetitans.com

But drafting Will was not a crazy move, given that he slid so far and that Ryan Tannehill is on the last year of his contract. You could not ask for a better situation for Will Levis with the identity this team presents. He will more than likely have a year to learn behind Tannehill and another year for Ran to add to this team. In the 2024 draft the possibilities will be endless, given the great salary cap situation for Tennessee if Will Levis shows that he has potential to be a starting QB in this league in his second year.

The problem with trading up to grab Will Levis at the start of round 2 was that between that pick and the Titans’ next one in the third round, about every team in the NFL decided it was a good time to grab a wide receiver. We saw Jalin Hyatt drafted, Cedric Tillman and a dozen-plus other WRs. It would have been nice to have grabbed a solid piece at that spot, but after the run-on receiver Ran decided not to scrape the bottom of the barrel and he drafted a young playmaker to run behind King Henry this season.

Tyjae Spears stands 5-feet 10-inches and just over 200 pounds out of Tulane, and he definitely produced in 2022, racking up over 1,500 yards and 19 TDS. Unfortunately, we have some very real injury concerns with this player, but if he comes out of the gate running, he will be a valuable, explosive weapon that was needed in this backfield as the King nears the age of 30. I love the upside of this player in the run and pass games, but I hate the fact that we ignored a major need at receiver in favor of a position farther down the needs list for a player with a very troubling medical history.

Tyjae Spears

I guess it was too much to ask that with the firing of former Titans General Manager J-Rob that we stop drafting players with medical red flags. I mean, Ran Carthon just drafted a player that has apparently torn his ACL twice and does not have an ACL in one knee, whatever that means! He reportedly has arthritis so bad in that knee it’s become a topic. That seems like a pretty big risk, and it’s hard for me to feel it’s justified at this point.

Let us move on to the monster drafted in round 5, the next Travis Kelce. Even if most fans like myself wanted a receiver here, I do not hate this pick. The Titans needed a big, blocking-style tight end to pair with Chig (who I believe is set to have a year-two breakout at the position himself). Josh Whyle, a four-year starter out of Cincinnati, is a huge, athletic, 6-foot 6-inch, 250-pound nasty dude with a willingness to block and is also considered a valuable pass catcher. He should be able to carve out a nice role as a rookie behind Chig Okonkwo at tight end for the Titans.

It is rare that I would continue to be excited for any players drafted this late in the game, but how can you not be for the round 6 monster, the offensive tackle out of Maryland, Jaelyn Duncan?

The cherry on top is that the 6-foot 5-inch, 300-pound NFL-bodied Duncan already knows and is buddies with Titans first-round pick Peter Skoronski. Jaelyn is quoted saying that “Peter is a cool guy, we both played in the Big 10, so we played against each other, and we started training together. Peter is a great guy. He’s a great athlete, he is smart, and he moves well. I am happy to be with Peter. I think he’s a great addition to the O-line room as well.”

Talk about positive vibes in a room that desperately needs it after last season’s disastrous results. It’s rare you get such an intriguing prospect this late in the draft. Duncan played 42 games for Maryland. He slid because he remains unpolished as a player who was a late bloomer and did not start playing ball until he was 14, but he obviously has the size to play in the NFL and the attitude.

Duncan said he is ready to “be able to get in there and work and be a part of the grind. I am willing to do anything and everything.” Make no doubt, bro, you will get every opportunity with this group. It’s an exciting time in Tennessee for that group as we find new blood, I am already a big fan of this player.

With the 228th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft the Titans finally selected a receiver, out of UT Martin, Colton Dowell.

Colton grew up just down the road in Lebanon, Tennessee. He has ability, no doubt. As a senior he racked up over 1,000 receiving yards and averaged over 15 yards per catch. He also put on a show playing against the Vols when he caught 7 passes for 112 yards last season.

He joins a receiver room that is severely lacking, and, sorry Titan nation, embarrassing! Treylon Burks is the clear number one. He has star potential without doubt, and I believe he is a true number one in this league if healthy, but after that, who stands out?

Chris Moore was a smart addition, and if Kyle Phillips can get on the field, cool. Let’s be real, though, after that it’s NWI, Mason Kinsey and Racey McMath. That is a mess. I respect Ran for fixing the offensive line first. It seems to be headed in a positive direction, but this receiver group was a mess last year and the Titans did little to address it.

Skoronski

So, the Titans went all offense in this order: OL, QB, RB, TE, OL and WR in the 2023 draft, I believe making it the only team in the draft to not take a single defensive player. I guess it’s a good thing the Titans locked up the superstar Big Jeff Simmons and that this Titans defense already has the tools to be a very adequate, if not a truly special, unit.

I love this team, obviously, and I stand with new GM Ran Carthon, who is not in the business of making the fans happy. His job is to put the best team on the field and create the potential for a brighter future. We, the fans, can scream about decisions made—I fully support that, too. But trust the process and stay positive. Titan Up! Next up, the NFL will announce the 2023 league schedule on May 11.

That’s it—the Z-Train is rolling into the station. Until next time, choo-choo!