The Train Daddy is back with sports news, life lessons and politically incorrect talk. All aboard!
Seems like just yesterday we were getting ready for spring and talking about the incoming NFL Draft and here we are today heading deep into summer and closer to one of my favorite holidays!
We blow stuff up and eat food all in the name of freedom—Independence Day! That’s a topic for my next issue, though, Joey Chestnut gorging himself on wieners and me pretending to be a black man married to a stripper who ultimately saves the world from evil aliens.
So, what shall we talk about for this article? Titans! My thoughts on our new signal caller and the other additions to this football team after a stellar draft.
But first let me rant about transgender athletes, something I have been writing about for over a decade here in the Pulse. I remember when I first started talking about this back in 2010 and received numerous emails from people calling me a fear-mongering bigot. These emails all said the same thing: biological males won’t willy-nilly be allowed to compete with women; you are writing about a problem that doesn’t and won’t exist.
Fast forward to now and the examples are becoming plentiful. Thankfully, the current administration is fully against this, and the fight continues to keep men out of women’s sports. We need more Riley Gaines in the world to speak out and say “enough!” Nothing would have a bigger impact than female athletes at every level saying this is not okay. Having female athletes forfeit and refuse to compete against these men would be the loudest action.
Biology matters in sports, and the only argument these people continually have simply doesn’t add up. They say trans women are women, end of story! I don’t care what nonsense people do or say about themselves as they navigate life, live your life as you see fit. But in the realm of sports, that insanity has no place.
We all know California is lost on many of these topics. I was thankful to see President Trump going after the state, threatening to cut federal funding if they continue to allow men in women’s sports. If California wants to continue with this nonsense, we should make it a massive headache for them to do so.
In the headlines recently are the California track and field state championships, which allowed a male student to participate in the triple jump, long jump and high jump, taking opportunities away from actual female athletes. This individual—born a male—ended up taking first place in two of those events. Yuck.
This topic is tiring but I won’t stop. I am sure titanman1984@gmail.com will continue to receive messages, but that’s okay.
Recent NCAA rulings were a win to stop this nonsense. Following Trump’s executive order, the NCAA announced it only allows females assigned at birth to compete in female athletics.
What’s funny is that, on the men’s side, the NCAA has no interest nor a need to add that language. Regardless of sex at birth or gender identity, student athletes may participate in men’s sports. Few are worried about a biological female playing with men and having any impact in that sport.
That should not be an offensive statement, it’s simple biology. The vast majority polled in this country agree with me; poll after poll shows that people are not okay with wieners in female sports. Enough of this embarrassing topic—let’s talk Titans!
The Titans had a stellar draft. It’s Borgonzi’s world and we are all just living in it. This draft class is Titans General Manager Mike Borgonzi’s first real stamp on the team.
This Titans team was ass last year and when you are ass you get a high draft pick. When you are the ass above all other asses you get the number-one draft pick, and the Titans indeed were the number-one ass in 2024.
So, as a reward, they received the number-one pick and hopefully secured their future at the most important position in football. The Titans took the best quarterback in the class, Mr. Cam Ward, out of the University of Miami. He is a playmaker with a big accurate arm, a mobile QB with intelligent decision-making ability, and Cam has been 100% on board since coming into the Titans’ building. Respect to the Titans brass for not trading the first pick away for more picks. That would have felt like a very Titan thing to do.
I wish Will Levis well. He is still in the building and may remain, but I think it’s very possible he ends up with a change of scenery sooner than later. I appreciate the few good times Levis gave us early on but with a jellybean for a brain and some of the worst decision-making I have ever witnessed, his time was short. Levis was a weekly meme on the internet, and his time at QB wasn’t fun for a Titans fan.
So, the new GM had the number-one spot and tied his future to an exciting quarterback in Cam Ward, hopefully a franchise-changing player!
The team’s next draft pick has been electric since entering the building—an athletic edge rusher! We can call second-round pick Oluwafemi Oladejo “Femi.” The legend himself, Keith Bullock, made the draft announcement onstage (Femi originally said he would wear number 53, the same iconic number as Bullock, but later changed). I believe Femi has game-changing ability, a player the opposing offense will mark. He has size, speed, length and aggression. While he might be a little raw at the position, everything about Femi screams superstar, he is built differently.
In the third round the Titans took another playmaker at safety, Kevin Winston Jr. Kevin is coming off a torn ACL last September, which may be a little concerning. That makes it feel like a J-Rob pick, but at least it wasn’t at a first-round cost like the failed Caleb Farley disaster under former GM Robinson. Kevin has star potential as a big, physical player who is considered one of the best run-stop safeties in the draft. He plays with a controlled violence that will make the best of opposing tight-ends nervous. If his body holds up in the pros, the Titans got a third-round steal.
These next three picks, all in the fourth round, is where I believe the most noise will be made regarding this class. I expect at least two of these guys to be real producers in the future as weapons for Cam Ward.
The Titans started the round off taking the speedy wide receiver out of Florida, Chimere Dike. This kid ran a 4.3 40-yard-dash and while he isn’t an all-around great receiver, he certainly can become a vertical threat and a player that safeties could be forced to respect. Dike also has top-tier special team value, having averaged 16.5 yards per punt return in the SEC with four 20-plus yard returns. He could be the mismatch-type player Coach Callahan lines up everywhere.
The team then added some serious size with elite hands—Gunnar Helm out of Texas. The big 6-foot 5-inch weapon has pass-catching ability and, at that size, ass-whooping capability. Gunnar holds several single-season records for tight ends at the University of Texas. He should be a solid run blocker for the Titans and with that size I expect his pass blocking will improve. Gunnar and Chig make for a nice TE duo this season. Everything about Helm from his size, speed and athletic ability screams superstar.
Then they added a wide receiver whom I couldn’t believe was still on the board late in the fourth round: Elic Ayomanor out of Stanford. This kid was Pro Football Focus’s highest-graded talent left on the board when the day started. Tennessee ended up trading up to make it happen and I am thankful they did. I certainly hope Dike works out, but I would have taken Elic over Dike. Elic is a contested catch freak with a big catch radius. He is the dude Cam will look to when it’s 50/50 time. Elic typically wins those.
Ayomanor is a versatile wide receiver who runs a 4.3, and that versatility and speed is what helped him burn the Heisman winner Travis Hunter in one of the most memorable college games of 2023. Stanford, down 29 at the half, took the game in double overtime 46–43 and Elic finished with 13 catches, 294 yards and 3 TDs, lining up against Travis Hunter. That’s bananas! Now, with Jacksonville having drafted Hunter, the two will face off twice a year.
Jackson Slater, a guard out of Sacramento State, went to the Titans with a fifth-round pick. He was a standout at a small school who thrived at protecting his QB and has all the tools for Daddy Callahan, the offensive line guru, to shape into an actual NFL player.
The sixth-round pick, Marcus Harris, cornerback out of Cal, is undersized but obviously athletic. This sounds like a depth piece and a solid special teams player at best.
Last but far from least is a bowling ball of a running back, Kalel Mullings out of Michigan. This beastly 6-foot 1-inch, 226-pound big-bodied back has the ability to find holes and get upfield! A linebacker-turned-running back, bro produced nearly 700 yards after contact and 40 missed tackles in 2024. Tennessee is set at RB with Pollard and Spears, but I imagine they can find some short yardage work with the new bruiser. It’s rare players drafted this late would have me excited, but this guy is an absolute unit.
Breaking down all these draft picks really puts into perspective how amazingly this class came together. This class and its success obviously starts with Cam Ward, but unlike most recent draft classes, it really feels like most of these guys will be productive pieces very soon. Time will tell.
One more player! While Xavier Restrepo wasn’t drafted, Cam Ward wanted his favorite wide receiver out of Miami and Tennessee obliged. Restrepo probably would have been drafted had he not run such a slow 40 at his Pro Day. The shifty little slot receiver will now get his opportunity. He may have a decent chance to make the 53-man roster. Call me crazy, but he is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons at Miami and has great familiarity with Cam. The pressure is on for Xavier, possibly the most overhyped undrafted free agent signing in Titans history due to his time with Cam. I am rooting for him and hope he makes the 53.
That’s all I have for you on this issue! Stay tuned for my over-the-top patriotic article next month. To all my readers, and even the haters, much love. The Train is rolling into the station. Choo-choo!
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Oluwafemi Oladejo photo courtesy uclabruins.com
Gunnar Helm and Cam Ward photos courtesy tennesseetitans.com
