ED: I'm in the midst of Football Outsiders Almanac 2013 writing season, which means I've written a couple thousand words about the Titans this week but you don't get to read them yet. Blogging rate will be light for potentially the next month or so.

Quote dump today, since I'm short on time and these have been sitting on my computer for a while. First, Russ Lande in a podcast with Mike Tanier before this year's draft:

Jake is a guy that when you look at everything he has, it's rare except for one thing, and that's his accuracy. He can't hit the broad side of a barn. And I mean, I sat there at the Senior Bowl with two quarterback coaches, and we watched him. And they both turned to me and they said, "Russ, I don't mind taking on a quarterback who's inaccurate, but he better have a mechanical flaw. This kid has no flaws. He's perfect mechanically, and he still can't hit the broad side of a barn." He said, "How am I supposed to fix him?" That's the issue. Some coach saw something, I think it was Chris Palmer, and felt he could correct something, but it is so tough to correct a flaw to change the accuracy. ... It's really a shame, because he's really what you want in a quarterback. He's tough. He'll come and play through any type of pain. He teammates love him because he takes command of the huddle. I mean, he's a great athlete. He's got a tremendous arm. He can fit the ball into tiny pockets. But the problem is he doesn't know when he's going to throw into that pocket correctly, and that's the biggest issue because the ball goes everywhere.

Second, Greg Cosell talking to the Midday180 on 104.5:

Let’s talk about what I think you can do with him. What you can do ultimately with Jake Locker, and I think this is what they’re trying to get accomplished, is you want to get the run game going and be a play-action quarterback because play-action defines and clarifies reads a lot better and therefore you can take some shots, defined shots down the field. Then you hope because he’s athletic that when you get into the third-and-8s and third-and-9s that he can make enough plays with his legs to sustain some drives. I think everybody would agree that he’s not going to be a 66 or 67% passer. He’s never been that. He’s not going to wake up one day and that’s going to happen. You try to craft an offense in which you can take advantage of your entire offensive personnel and what Jake Locker is. Don't forget they had a very poor defense. That’s the other part of this equation.  I don’t think Jake Locker will be effective if he has to put up 30 points on a weekly basis.

Good luck, Dowell Loggains.

The Titans continued their roster shuffling on Wednesday, adding a veteran and a quasi-veteran in running back Alvester Alexander and linebacker Greg Jones. To room for Alvester and Jones, the Titans waived recent undrafted free agent signee running back Stefphon Jefferson, while the other roster spot came from the departure of Canadian OT Matt Sewell.

Alvester spent the final week of 2012 on the Titans' practice squad, an appearance so memorable I'd actually forgotten about it until news of the signing broke. He spent most of 2012 on the Colts' practice squad. A Houston native who attended the University of Wyoming, he has yet to appear in an NFL game. If I've seen him play (last preseason, probably), I've forgotten about it. Jefferson was a highly productive collegiate back I thought might have had a chance to beat out Jamie Harper, but that was more a reflection of what I thought Harper's role was than any particular like for Jefferson's game.

Jones, not to be confused with the fullback of the same name who also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2012 (and is now a member of the Houston Texans), was a sixth-round pick in 2011 by the Giants out of Michigan State. A highly productive tackling machine in college, he started five games at middle linebacker as a rookie as an injury fill-in but failed to make the team in 2012. The Jaguars picked him up during the season. He was credited with four tackles in six games before ending the season on injured reserve. Jacksonville waived him earlier this offseason. Throw him somewhere in the mix with Patrick Bailey and Tim Shaw as potential key special teams players the Titans would prefer not to have on the field for too many snaps.

The additions of Alvester and Jones come a day after I suggested the Titans look at adding competition at running back, linebacker, and cornerback rather than the already-crowded defensive line scramble they added Antonio Johnson to. It's rare for teams to change how good they are in May, and most of the times that news is unfortunately, like that out of San Diego. More competition, hey!

The Titans on Monday brought back a familiar name, signing defensive tackle Antonio Johnson to a one-year deal. He spent 2012 with the Indianapolis Colts.

The man known as Mookie was a fifth-round pick by the Titans back in 2007 who failed to make the 53-man roster. The Colts plucked him off their practice squad in 2008 and gave him 46 starts over the next five seasons. In their transition to the 3-4 last year, he primarily played nose tackle for a defensive line that was probably worse than the Titans'. He's a better fit as a 4-3 defensive tackle than as a 3-4 nose, but 1.5 career sacks and the fact that he's on the street in May should give you an idea of precisely what kind of player the NFL sees Johnson as.

The big question is what does this mean for the defensive line mix? I've written before on my struggles to figure this group out. Johnson gives the Titans 11 defensive linemen who spent 2012 on an NFL 53-man roster. That does not include Zach Clayton, who spent all of 2011 on the Titans' roster, or fifth-round pick Lavar Edwards. The Titans will be cutting at least three of those 13 players. The watchword that was trotted out was "competition," and the Titans certainly have a lot of that on the defensive line. If I were an irredeemable cynic, I'd suggest linebacker, cornerback, and running back as positions that could use more competition. I'm also not sure what niche Johnson fills that wasn't met. At 6'3", 310 pounds, he's slightly larger than some of the other defensive linemen, but he's also not a plus-size player of the type that Sammie Lee Hill is and Jerry Gray has wished for. But, hey, competition!

With rookie minicamp starting this weekend, the Titans finally announced their undrafted free agent signings, all of which had been previously reported. That means it's time for me to write about them.

First, the Titans have been one of the hardest teams for an undrafted free agent to make. Until long-snapper Beau Brinkley and defensive tackle DaJohn Harris made the team last year, no rookie undrafted free agent had made it through the entire season on the 53-man since 2006. With the sheer number of additions this offseason between veteran free agency and the draft, I would say it's more likely than not that no undrafted free agent makes the team this year.

Second, apparently the Titans don't plan to throw the ball at rookie minicamp, since they did not bother to sign a quarterback among their undrafted free agents. Given the presence of players like wide receivers and tight ends who might be expected to catch the ball, I find that strange. Whatever. It's an oddity, not something important.

Anyway, here's the breakdown:

Eloy Atkinson, C, UTEP-Multi-year starter in the middle of the offensive line. NFL Draft Scout's 43rd-rated center. Given the depth on the interior, camp body.
George Baker, CB, South Florida-Ran a 4.31 at his pro day, which is obviously a good time. Haven't seen anything else that indicates he's a serious prospect.
Maikon Bonani, K, South Florida-The mandatory kicker to give Rob Bironas's leg a rest.
Stefan Charles, DT, Regina-The 10th overall pick in this month's CFL draft and a player who may have gone higher had the Titans not already shown interest in him. Big man (listed at 6'5", 325 pounds) who was a Canada West all-star in 2011 and listed as the top overall prospect by CFL Scouting Bureau in September. Throw him somewhere in the complicated defensive line mix, and don't forget the Titans gave Mitch King one of the biggest bonuses of any UDFA and he didn't make the team.
Jack Doyle, TE, Western Kentucky-Three-year captain and starter for the Hilltoppers. A bigger player at 6'5" and 254 pounds, he also indicated in a radio interview he played a lot of move tight end rather than in-line as his size would suggest. Was at the Senior Bowl, where he was dinged for a lack of speed. Could be in the mix with Brandon Barden to be TE4, which is not a job that's guaranteed a spot on the 53.
Travis Harvey, WR, Florida A&M-A possible BCS recruit until he broke his ankle in high school, Harvey played only one year of college football due to academics. The Titans have too many bodies at receiver to keep on the 53 already.
Stefphon Jefferson, RB, Nevada-Highly productive his final year at Nevada, rushing for 1,883 yards. Watching him I thought he was no more than a replacement-level back. Okay quicks, marginal at best long speed, doesn't make people miss, doesn't run with much power. I thought he could push Harper for the RB3 spot, but will need to show he can do things other than carry the football to challenge Parmele.
Oscar Johnson, G, Louisiana Tech-Big man (6'5", 331) who played both guard and left tackle in LaTech's passing spread attack. Marginal foot speed, which is why he's a guard rather than a tackle (probably). Could be a practice squad guy, could just be a camp body.
Nigel Nicholas, DE, Oklahoma State-Played end and tackle for the Cowboys. Oklahoma State listed him at 269 during the season, but he was 253 at his pro day, so yeah, he's an end rather than a tackle. I haven't seen anything that indicates he's a serious threat to make the team.
Matt Pierce, CB, Valdosta State-Had a kickoff return for a score in the D2 national championship game his team won. Winning championships is awesome. Nothing I've seen indicates he's an NFL corner.
Rashad Ross, WR, Arizona State-Twitter name TheRocketRashad indicates what he's about. Ran a 4.36 at his pro day. Needs a lot of work to do outside of running go routes all day, including catching the ball. Like every other wide receiver will not make the 53, but he has a shot at the practice squad.
Matt Sewell, OT, McMaster-Big (6'8, 335) developmental tackle. Selected in the first round of the CFL draft. Highlight video on his CFL Combine page is all coaches' cam-style shots, which I wish would be the case for every prospect. Probable camp body. If he doesn't make the 53, does he go to the practice squad or the CFL? Probably the CFL.
Dontel Watkins, WR, Murray State-Local kid (Antioch H.S.) who went to Utah State and juco before ending up at Murray. Haven't seen anything that gets me too interested, though I didn't dig that deeply.
Jonathan Willard, LB, Clemson-Aka "Tig." Productive college player, multi-year starter, still a longshot to make the team.
Tom Wort, LB, Oklahoma-English native who emigrated to the U.S. in junior high. Had a year of eligibility remaining (injury redshirt), though having his degree and not enjoying Mike Stoops' scheme had something to do with coming out early. Multi-year starter at MLB for the Sooners. Doesn't seem to have plus size, speed, or strength.

Perma-disclaimer I may not repeat as often as I should: All these guys are way, way, ... way, way better football players than I ever was and tougher and strong and could probably beat me up without breaking a sweat. The 53 is far from set in stone at this point, and it's not out of the question one or more of these guys could impress and make the team. I'll be watching with interest this August to see if any can surpass my expectations and make an impact.

The Titans pulled a switcheroo at the running back position on Wednesday, waiving Jamie Harper and signing free agent Jalen Parmele.

Harper was the Titans' fourth-round selection in 2011 out of Clemson. A bigger back at 5'11", 233 pounds, the Titans seemed to draft him with the expectation he might be a short-yardage back, but he quickly fell out of favor and struggled to regain it. He finished his Titans career with 36 carries for 74 yards and 4 touchdowns. As he indicated after being notified the Titans would be parting ways with him, the writing was on the wall when the Titans signed Shonn Greene to fill the hole he might theoretically have filled. I thought there was a chance he could stick around as the RB3 behind CJ and Greene, but without the Titans' trust as a runner or the ability to play special teams he wouldn't have contributed much. His release puts about $150,000 in dead money on this year's cap.

Harper was released because the Titans wanted to sign Jalen Parmele. A member of the Jaguars in 2012, he carried the ball 8 times for 45 yards in the Week 12 contest between the two teams, a game in which he suffered a groin injury on the first play that he would aggravate later in the game and that would later send him to injured reserve. He broke in with the Dolphins and spent a couple seasons with the Ravens before getting his most extensive work (40 carries for 143 yards) in Jacksonville last year, where his position coach was new Titans running backs coach Sylvester Croom.

I re-watched Parmele's touches against the Titans and his biggest game (24-80, plus three receptions) the week before against the Texans. Like Harper, he's a bigger back, listed at 5'11" and 225 pounds. Again like Harper, I'd classify him as roughly replacement-level as a runner. If there are yards there to get, he'll get those yards. If there aren't, he won't. He caught a couple screen passes and dumpoffs. More importantly, unlike Harper, he's a special teams contributor. He returned kicks for Jacksonville last year and with Baltimore in 2009 and 2010. He also has experience playing coverage as well. It's easier to keep an RB3 active every week when he can contribute in that way. For that reason, I'd say the Titans' roster got better with this move. Not a lot better, and maybe not even noticeably better, but better.

Next up as I look in more detail at the Titans' draft picks (yes, I intentionally skipped Blidi Wreh-Wilson for now and am coming back to him) is fifth-round defensive end Lavar Edwards from LSU.

My initial reaction when the Titans selected Edwards in the fifth round, my initial reaction was he was a good fit for the tweener player Jerry Gray seems to like and didn't have last season with the departure of Jason Jones. For several reasons, I think that's why they drafted him. In Baton Rouge, he was not a starter but had experience playing both LDE and RDE, and also kicked inside on passing downs. At 6'4" and 277 pounds, he has good size for a defensive end. By comparison, Jones is listed at 6'5", 276 pounds, and Edwards' 35 1/2" arms make him longer than he is tall.

LSU had their defensive ends do a lot of mush rushing, concentrating less on sacking the quarterback (outside of obvious passing situations) and more on disrupting the quarterback run game. While perhaps a sensible strategy when it comes to winning, it makes watching their defensive ends unenjoyable for me. Watching Edwards reinforces what the scouting reports indicate, that he has excellent initial quickness that too often doesn't necessarily translate into what I think of necessarily as making plays. I'm pretty sure there's more than just the mush rush going on here, but actual technique flaws I'm not willing to pretend I can do anything other than repeat what I read about. This seems to be true of approximately every LSU defensive lineman. Tracy Rocker and Keith Millard, you have work to do.

Edwards was the third LSU defensive end off the board, behind Barkevious Mingo and Sam Montgomery, and he was third on the depth chart as well. His production would have been better if he played more, but I care very little, if at all, about college numbers. Being third on the depth chart is a concern, but sitting behind Mingo and Montgomery isn't like losing a quarterback competition to Tyler Palko (though of course Dave Wannstedt). At least some of his work at defensive tackle in sub package situations came as part of a three-man speed-oriented line.

What will he do for the Titans? It's hard to see him playing nearly as much as Jason Jones did two years ago. For one, Jones was a pretty good interior pass rusher. Second, even this defensive end depth chart is deeper than the one two years ago after Derrick Morgan blew out his knee. Third, what LSU asked of Edwards seemed to take advantage of his quickness. If the Titans really envision Edwards in that tweener role, that's not a role that privileges quickness so much, as we saw with the struggles Jones had. Rather, the Titans will probably ask him to anchor a lot. Can he do that? Tracy Rocker indicated at the press conference when they drafted him he thought he could. I'm sure Rocker's watch a ton more of him than I have, but that's something I'll have to see before I can trust. The defensive line shakeout is still a mystery to me. Pencil Edwards in somewhere in the top nine, though I'll have to see how he does with what they have him to do before I'll put him above ninth as a rookie.

Next up on my series of somewhat more in depth profiles of the 2013 Titans draft class is their fourth round pick, Cal center Brian Schwenke.

I think I've said this before, but at center there are two big distinctions. First, a center's job is to snap to ball and, for most teams, to make the line calls. Do the coaches have confidence in his ability to do these two things? If yes, then you can go on to the other questions. If not, then the player is a guard rather than a center. 2012 was Schwenke's first year at center after playing at guard his first three seasons, and his inexperience at the position was apparent early in his shotgun snaps. Too many of them were low in Cal's early season game against Ohio State. Per scouting reports, that was something he improved at as the season wore on, and improved technique work at the NFL level should continue to improve. Still, I'll be keeping my eye on it going forward. At the same time, according to draft analyst Eric Stoner, the Titans had about a six-hour meeting with Schwenke, one that ran so long they had to send other players home. That the Titans drafted Schwenke after that tells me they have a pretty good level of trust in him.

As a player, Schwenke went roughly where he deserved to go. He tends to play with good initial quickness, but his movement skills after that did not pop out to me. He plays with relatively good power, but needs to do more work there to become a quality NFL starter. This is not too unusual for a fourth round player. He does a good job of keeping his head up, checking for initial blitzers before helping one of the guards. That was a nice thing to see given his lack of experience, though he was sometimes a tick late reacting to what he saw. Again, this is nothing too unusual and something NFL coaching can fix. The most encouraging thing about Schwenke is the two people I trust when it comes to offensive line play, Ben Muth and Lance Zierlein, both had him as their top center in the draft.

When it comes to centers, there are roughly three tiers: the few great centers, the great morass of good enough ones, and the ones you need to upgrade. Schwenke for me is a guy who after a year on the bench is very likely to be somewhere in the good enough category. It's easier to find centers with non-premium picks, and the Titans used to do so regularly. Seeing Schwenke starting in 2014 would be a pleasant return to that tradition.