00:00All right, breaking news.
00:01The Titans have agreed to trade nose tackle to Vondre Sweat to the Jets
00:05for defensive end Jermaine Johnson.
00:07Robert Salah gets one of his edge rushers out of Florham Park to relocate to Nashville.
00:12So let's break down the trade with ESPN's Titans beat writer Teron Davenport,
00:17who's actually out in Indianapolis for the combine.
00:21Teron, appreciate you making yourself available for us with this breaking news, man.
00:25It's the first big breaking business out of the combine.
00:28So let's break this down from a Jets point of view first.
00:32Who exactly is Tavondre Sweat?
00:35Like, what are the Jets getting?
00:37Yeah, the Jets are getting a really good player in Tavondre Sweat.
00:40He's more of like that two-gapper, you know, occupying two blockers, that type of thing.
00:46A really good run defender.
00:47But the main thing for Tavondre Sweat is just taking things a little more personally.
00:52And I talked to him at Locker Cleanout.
00:53He said that one of the things he was going to do this offseason was work with Jeffrey Simmons,
00:57drop some of his weight, become a more agile player from a pass rushing perspective.
01:02And I think that's the big thing.
01:04But, I mean, he's very athletic.
01:05He's a guy that has a tremendous bull rush.
01:07You saw all the pressures he got at Texas.
01:10It just kind of didn't work out from a scheme fit with the Titans.
01:13And now, you know, he's able to get Jermaine Johnson.
01:16And I think Johnson, you know, will help solve that edge issue that the Titans have.
01:19When it comes to Sweat, do you think he can replace the production of a Quentin Williams?
01:25Or is he a guy that you may need to pair up with someone like he was paired up with
01:30Jeffrey Simmons down in Tennessee?
01:33I mean, it's tough to put the Quentin Williams tag on him.
01:36Quentin Williams is one of the top five D tackles in the game.
01:39So, I'm not going to do that.
01:41But I think T. Sweat is a guy that can, on his own, make things happen.
01:45But, like I said, it's just all about him taking things a little more seriously, dialing in more.
01:49And he has to cut down his weight a little bit, his conditioning, and be able to, you know, go
01:54a full season.
01:55He missed five games this past year.
01:58That cost him some.
01:59But, you know, when he's on the field, he's a guy that's going to stop the run.
02:02That's the big thing about him.
02:04And you talk about cutting down that weight.
02:06I say that to myself every day.
02:07And I'm not in the NFL anymore, man.
02:10No dad bod in the summer this season.
02:13But, all right, let's talk about things from a Titans standpoint.
02:17Salah obviously gets his guys traded for his guy, Jermaine Johnson.
02:21He's coming off of a down season, his first season back from that Achilles injury.
02:26Like, how important was it for Salah and the Titans to get an edge rusher like Jermaine Johnson on that
02:34defense?
02:35Yeah, I think when you look at Jermaine Johnson, he's a guy that brings power on the edge.
02:40He sets it really well against the run.
02:41And they are pretty weak from that perspective, the Titans, you know, as far as edge defenders.
02:47Reuben Bain is a guy they obviously like.
02:49And, I mean, he could be the pick at two or he could be the pick at four.
02:53But I think when you look at this, it allows them, if they want to go with who I feel
02:56is the best pass rusher in the draft,
02:59and David Bailey, they could do that because they have that heavy edge, you know, in Johnson now.
03:04But, I mean, if you look at Bailey, Brandon, I mean, this guy, his get-off is crazy.
03:08But the thing I really like about Bailey is he has that counter, too, where he could spin back inside
03:13and he'll give you power.
03:14Watch the ASU game.
03:16He definitely, you know, showed a full display there, a couple sacks.
03:19So, I think it gives them a little bit more flexibility as far as, like, if they want to go
03:23with a pure pass rusher, they could do that.
03:25Okay, so outside of that fourth overall pick going to an edge or a pure pass rusher, bringing in Jermaine
03:32Johnson,
03:33does that change things up for what the Titans could possibly do in terms of going with maybe someone for
03:39the secondary
03:39or someone on the offensive side of the ball?
03:42Does Jermaine Johnson fill that void on the edge?
03:46Yeah, he helps fill the void on the edge.
03:49But, as you know, you can never â I mean, you played on a team that had a whole bunch
03:52of pass rushers.
03:53And you can never have too many edge guys.
03:56So, I think when you look at that, they could still pick a Bain, a Bailey, you know what I
04:01mean?
04:01But one of the other things you got to consider is going running back at four.
04:06And I'm not even going to say running back.
04:07I'm going to say playmaker because you look at Jeremiah Love out of Notre Dame.
04:11Look, man, you could motion him into the slot and have him run routes there.
04:14You could send him on jet motion, run the sweep, and then run counter off of it.
04:18He's a home run hitter.
04:19And one of the things I asked Robert Sala and Mike Baganzi about the running back position
04:24and going that way in top five, and they mentioned Jameer Gibbs.
04:28And they talked about how, you know, there's a comp there as far as a home run hitter
04:32and also being a three-down back.
04:34So, don't rule out Jeremiah Love.
04:36I doubt they go receiver at four.
04:37I think you look at, you know, the Brian Dabo and what he does.
04:42A lot of times you have a slot receiver that has to be dominant.
04:45And Makai Lemon fits that bill, but I don't think they go C-Rap four.
04:50Lastly, were you surprised at this trade?
04:52Like, are you surprised that Robert Sala got straight to the business so fast into his tenure?
04:58No, you know how it is, man.
04:59Coaches, they go to a different place and they have their guys that they like.
05:03And that's pretty much what happened.
05:05And I think you look at Tavondre Sweat.
05:07He wasn't, again, necessarily a fit in that defense.
05:09And they get a guy â I personally just hope that this is something that's kind of like a kick
05:14in the behind to Sweat
05:16and makes him, you know, take things a little more personally, as I said.
05:20But it doesn't surprise me that they made the trade.
05:23Very interesting, man.
05:24Enjoy Indy.
05:25And once again, appreciate you making yourself available to talk and break down this trade, man.
05:30Yeah, for sure.
05:31Look, since we're in New York, let's go Mets.
05:33I'll be up there for the home over there.
05:35Let's go Mets.
05:35Let's go.
05:36Hey, we're going to a Mets game, man.
05:37When you come out here, we're going to a Mets game.
05:38Yeah, for sure.
05:39Let me know.
05:39I got you.
05:40All right.
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