# Lane Mills: Reviewing the Titans' preseason opener, Mills describes rookie guard Fernando Carmona as the starter at right guard and the answer on the offensive line, and frames Tyjae Spears as being positioned for an expanded role behind Tony Pollard. **Claimed:** Aug 16, 2026 **Pundit:** Lane Mills — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/lane-mills **Outlet:** Sports Illustrated — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/sports-illustrated **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://www.si.com/nfl/titans/onsi/4-players-to-watch-closely-in-titans-second-preseason-game-against-seahawks-01m035dvnr3p 3 checkable claims — 3 depth chart calls — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 4 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. Of the 2 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the room on 1 and below it on 1. > On a more positive note, rookie guard Fernando Carmona looks like the answer Tennessee was searching for all offseason on the offensive line. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Tyjae Spears to be 2nd on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cordale Flott to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Cordale Flott, Tennessee Titans - Verdict: not settled yet - **Fernando Carmona to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Fernando Carmona, Tennessee Titans - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Tyjae Spears — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/tyjae-spears - Tennessee Titans — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/titans - Cordale Flott — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/cordale-flott - Fernando Carmona — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/fernando-carmona ## What others said about the same people - Colin Cowherd on Cam Ward: Cowherd delivered his own top-15 draft board — what he would do as GM of each team — pairing prospects with picks 1 through 15, and separately argued Shedeur Sanders is a far better prospect than Daniel Jones and that Aaron Rodgers should retire. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/1d3f1be7-f506-422a-af38-e6e32088f3e5 (scored 100) - Cody Kessler on Cam Ward: Kessler disagreed that the Titans can skip a quarterback, predicting Tennessee takes Cam Ward with the first overall pick, and said Ward will be the first quarterback drafted in this class. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/cd11c7ce-432f-4be2-9c09-cdce4d8ee3a1 (scored 100) - Daniel Jeremiah on Abdul Carter: In his latest mock draft, Jeremiah has the Titans staying at No. 1 and selecting Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter first overall. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/e060368a-ddd8-415f-a95a-a0e04ce850df (scored 91.7) - Eric Cohen on Tennessee Titans: Cohen says the Bears win easily in Carolina, and that Tennessee starts 1-0 over a Jets team he considers the third-worst in the league. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/37c0b874-cb1b-43c8-b78e-96a7b287ae62 (scored 0) - Kirk Herbstreit on Tennessee Titans: Herbstreit made a full slate of Week 1 picks — Lions, Ravens, Bears, Bills, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Titans, Eagles, Packers and Cowboys — and also said he still thinks Seattle is the team to beat in the NFC West. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/5bc3755c-9b84-484f-b8f2-b18d51a12261 (scored 0) - AJ Hawk on Tennessee Titans: AJ Hawk picked the Ravens over the Colts, Carolina to beat Chicago outright, the Bills at Houston, the Bengals over Tampa Bay, the Titans over the Jets, the Raiders over Miami, the Packers at Minnesota and the Cowboys over the Giants. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/74f9146c-d27f-4851-b8a4-4103d043308f (scored 0) ## More depth chart calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Matt Severance on Deshaun Watson: The CBS Sports preview backs Tampa Bay to beat Cleveland in the Bucs' Week 2 home opener, and states that Deshaun Watson — not Shedeur Sanders — will be Cleveland's starting quarterback in Week 2. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/944568ce-7205-409f-8354-a392016fd8bf (scored 100) - Rafael Zamorano on Deshaun Watson: Zamorano reports Watson will start Week 2 at Tampa Bay and suggests there's little reason to expect improvement, raising the possibility Watson's five-year contract never yields more than single-digit wins. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/d7d7e0a2-61e0-4525-970b-b01a2356f11b (scored 100) - Rich Hribar on Tua Tagovailoa: Hribar expects Tua Tagovailoa to be Atlanta's starting quarterback for Week 2 while Michael Penix stays out, with Penix's return closer to Week 4. He is unenthusiastic about the Falcons' offense either way and treats Bryce Young as a fringe fantasy starter. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/124ac755-a942-4382-8bad-177da7f8170d (scored 0) - Bradley Locker on Carson Wentz: PFF's unsigned adjusted power rankings after Week 1 of the 2026 season place the Bills first, the Rams second and the Dolphins last, with notes on quarterback situations in Seattle, Minnesota and Cleveland. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/a3716f21-0488-4fc8-a414-c25c2d781a6e (scored 100) - Tyler Sullivan on Michael Penix Jr.: In a Week 1 recap with no named byline, CBS Sports suggested Michael Penix Jr. would take over as Atlanta's Week 2 starter if healthy, called Ashton Jeanty's sophomore breakout imminent, and warned readers not to overlook San Francisco as NFC West winners. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/1000d8d0-5de1-405e-b8ce-255cde75a32d (scored 0) - Pat Fitzmaurice on Rashod Bateman: In his Week 2 waiver wire column, Fitzmaurice recommends a slate of pickups he expects to outperform their current rostership (Kaelon Black, Deebo Samuel, Tyler Shough, Geno Smith and others), lays out several depth-chart expectations (Black as the 49ers' No. 2 back, Shedeur Sanders eventually taking over in Cleveland, Penix returning for Atlanta), and flags Fool's Gold/drop candidates such as Mike Gesicki, Kendrick Bourne and Rashid Shaheed. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/6218d3c2-61e7-4ace-9976-b51eeefdf22c (scored 0) --- Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages. Full method: https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/methodology We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us: https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/corrections?pundit=lane-mills