Tag: Elijah Molden

Elijah Molden’s dad reveals he’s still paying Titans DB’s phone, car insurance

Elijah Molden wasn’t exactly thrilled about his dad sharing this information.

Just weeks after we learned of the heartbreaking news that the mother of Tennessee Titans EDGE Rashad Weaver would no longer pay his phone bill, it appears cornerback Elijah Molden is on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Molden’s father, Alex, who is a former NFL player himself, revealed that his son still has his phone bill and car insurance paid for, at least until he signs his rookie deal.

“He doesn’t have money. He may front like he has money… he has to sign his contract,” Alex Molden said, according to The Oregonian’s John Canzano.

Naturally, Molden wasn’t thrilled that his dad publicly shared this information.

Molden is one of two Titans 2021 draft picks yet to sign their rookie contract, along with fellow third-rounder, linebacker Monty Rice. Perhaps this is a 200 IQ play by Molden to stay on his parents’ dime for a little longer.

According to Over the Cap, the Washington product is projected to make about $4.7 million over the course of his four-year rookie deal, so he should be able to squeeze the expenses into his budget.

If not, we know of another Titans rookie who Molden could go Dutch with in order to help ease the financial burden.

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Titans’ Elijah Molden: ‘I’m learning a lot’ from Kevin Byard

Kevin Byard continues to step up as a leader for the Titans.

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With all of the youth and new players being added to the Tennessee Titans’ roster in 2021, veteran leadership is as important as ever, and to no one’s surprise safety Kevin Byard is stepping up.

Rookie cornerback Elijah Molden recently explained how Byard is already rubbing off on him despite the pair only having a short time together, according to Ben Arthur of the Tennessean.

“So far, he’s taught me a lot, just about how to approach the game,” Molden said. “He’s staying after and doing stuff in between practice and it’s just the attention to detail. I’ve only been with him for a couple weeks, but I’m learning a lot from him.”

Molden had his first opportunity to work with Byard during OTAs, and that continued during the team’s mandatory minicamp, which wrapped on June 17.

Now, the Titans will have more than one month off before the start of training camp on July 27, where Molden will have an opportunity to compete for the starting slot cornerback job.

Meanwhile, Byard, who says he wants to be more of a leader for the whole team and not just the secondary, is looking to prove that his down year in 2020 was just an outlier.

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Titans’ new-look defense ranked in bottom half of NFL

The Titans’ ranking is fair considering the current situation with the defense.

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The Tennessee Titans have undergone a lot of changes on both sides of the ball during the 2021 offseason, but the biggest adjustments have been made on the defensive side thus far.

Tennessee spent over $100 million to improve their defense with additions such as cornerback Janoris Jenkins, outside linebacker Bud Dupree and defensive lineman Denico Autry.

To further bolster their defense, which was among the worst in the NFL last season, Tennessee drafted cornerbacks Caleb Farley and Elijah Molden, as well as inside linebacker Monty Rice; however, those three players are no doubt wild cards for 2021, and really, beyond.

The changes didn’t come without some tough decisions, though, as the team also had to part ways with Adoree’ Jackson, Malcolm Butler and Kenny Vaccaro, on top of losing DaQuan Jones in free agency.

Granted, it wasn’t easy losing any of those players, but then again all four were present in the debacle that was Tennessee’s defense last season.

After all the smoke has cleared from Tennessee’s offseason moves, Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay ranked the Titans’ current unit at No. 22 in his power rankings for every defense in the league.

After ranking amongst the worst defenses in the league last year, the Tennessee Titans knew they had to improve on this side of the ball to realistically contend.

The organization deserves credit for completely revamping some of their most problematic areas this offseason. It overhauled the cornerback position after cutting 2020 starters Adoree’ Jackson and Malcolm Butler, signing Janoris Jenkins and using a first-round pick on Caleb Farley to replace them. The team also added one of the best nickelbacks in the class when it selected Elijah Molden in the third round.

The Titans also needed to work on their edge-rushing capabilities, accomplishing the goal by paying top dollar for Bud Dupree, getting a proven veteran in Denico Autry and taking Rashad Weaver at No. 135 overall.

There is still some work to be done here—most notably at the safety position—but Tennessee is poised for a significant improvement this coming campaign.

The ranking is more than fair considering where Tennessee’s unit currently stands.

After all, we really don’t know what the Titans’ defense will be yet with all of these new parts, and Dupree coming off a torn ACL and the uncertainty of the incoming rookie class makes things even more unpredictable.

Even some players who were already on the roster and could be stepping into bigger roles, like Amani Hooker and Kristian Fulton, are also wild cards. We still don’t know who will replace Jones’ snaps, either.

There’s no question that the talent is there on paper, just like it was last season, but turning that talent into successful execution is another story. Not to mention, defensive coordinator Shane Bowen has to be better.

At worst, we expect the Titans’ defense to be average in 2021, which would be a big step up from 2020 and enough of a complement if Tennessee can continue the torrid offensive pace it has set the past two years.

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Elijah Molden named Titans’ biggest steal of 2021 NFL draft

Multiple experts believe the Titans’ pick of Elijah Molden was a good one.

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The Tennessee Titans nabbed an impressive slot cornerback, who has been dubbed a “jedi in the slot,” during the third round of the 2021 NFL draft when they selected Washington product Elijah Molden at No. 100 overall.

Many experts thought that was a steal, as Molden was projected by some to go in the second round or early in the third, but instead the 22-year-old went late in the third, which might have been a result of poor workout numbers.

Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling is one of those experts who had Molden going earlier than he did, and as a result believes he was Tennessee’s biggest steal among all of their 2021 picks.

Easterling isn’t the only expert who feels this way, though.

Pro Football Focus’ Anthony Treash called the pick of Molden “one of the best picks of the 2021 NFL Draft” and listed the cornerback as one of the biggest steals of Round 3.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper was also on board with this thought process, calling the selection “one of the better picks in round three” and suggesting to “forget workout numbers” when it comes to Molden.

The excitement for Molden is palpable, but there’s a long way to go before we can say that the experts and Titans were right about him.

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Elijah Molden’s former HC explains why Titans CB is a ‘jedi’

Washington head coach Jimmy Lake did his best to explain.

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Ever since ESPN’s Louis Riddick dubbed new Tennessee Titans cornerback Elijah Molden “an absolute jedi in the slot” those who follow the team can’t get enough of this comparison.

But what exactly did Riddick mean when he said it?

Molden’s former head coach at Washington, Jimmy Lake, sat down with NFL Network to try and explain what the “Monday Night Football” commentator meant by the description.

“Well, I think what he was trying to say is he plays a different game — above checkers, above chess — jedi is somewhere like way up here. That’s what I think he was trying to say. And you can see that, the way he diagnoses plays, the way he covers, the way he blitzes, he plays zone; this guy can do it all. He was a leader for us, he made all of our checks; he’s going to walk into the Tennessee Titans, he’s going to learn that playbook inside and out… that’s what type of worker they’re getting, that’s what type of work he did when he arrived here. He already played in an NFL-style defense that we run here at Washington and that’s going to have a big-time carryover into a lot of his success he’s going to have at the NFL level.”

The buzz around Molden is palpable. We’ll see just how much it is warranted when he takes the field for the Titans comes September.

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2021 NFL draft grades: How experts viewed Titans’ Day 2 picks

The Titans received some pretty good grades for their Day 2 picks.

The Tennessee Titans made three selections on Day 2 of the 2021 NFL draft, which saw picks made in the second and third rounds.

In the second round at No. 53 overall, the Titans found their right tackle of the future in North Dakota State product, Dillon Radunz.

After trading back from No. 85 overall with the Green Bay Packers, the Titans netted Georgia linebacker Monty Rice at No. 92 overall, and then Washington cornerback Elijah Molden at No. 100 overall.

Those picks didn’t come without some controversy, though.

Many fans aren’t happen the Titans took a chance on another right tackle so early in this draft after the Isaiah Wilson mess in 2020, and taking an inside linebacker over a wide receiver wasn’t exactly well received.

But how did experts view the Titans’ Day 3 picks? Let’s find out right now as we take a tour of expert grades for general manager Jon Robinson’s selections in the second and third rounds.

Titans’ Jon Robinson, Mike Vrabel talk Day 2 picks, not taking a WR

Jon Robinson addressed questions about not taking a WR.

Day 2 of the 2021 NFL draft had some controversy in Tennessee Titans land, as the team failed to add the receiver that the fanbase has been craving for thanks to the team’s current lack of depth at the position.

Instead, Tennessee added offensive tackle Dillon Radunz in the second, and linebacker Monty Rice and defensive back Elijah Molden in the third.

The selection of Monty, which came after a trade back with the Green Bay Packers, was especially surprising, as linebacker isn’t exactly a major position of need, and definitely nowhere near as dire as wide receiver.

At the conclusion of Day 2 on Friday night, Titans general manager Jon Robinson and head coach Mike Vrabel met with the media to speak about their newest additions. Robinson did address the thought process behind waiting even longer on a wide receiver.

What Titans’ Monty Rice, Elijah Molden said in first pressers

Rice and Molden met with the media shortly after being drafted.

The Tennessee Titans added two new pieces to their defense during Day 2 of the 2021 NFL draft on Friday night after selecting inside linebacker Monty Rice out of Georgia and cornerback Elijah Molden out of Washington.

Prior to making that pair of third-round picks, the Titans selected offensive tackle Dillon Radunz in the second, which means the team didn’t address the wide receiver position once again, something that wasn’t expected.

Whatever the case may be, the Titans may have added their slot corner and inside linebacker of the future.

Molden could slot in as soon as 2021 and makes a once-depleted secondary a little stronger, especially after the Caleb Farley pick, while Rice will likely have a year to develop with Rashaan Evans, Jayon Brown and David Long already on the roster.

Shortly after being drafted, Molden and Rice met with the media via Zoom conference. Here’s what two of the Titans’ newest additions had to say.

New Tennessee Titans DB Elijah Molden: How he fits

A quick breakdown of how Elijah Molden fits with the Titans.

With the 100th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans selected the extremely versatile defensive back out of Washington, Elijah Molden. This is one of the scenarios where the talent was clearly too good to pass up despite investing their first-round pick on a corner earlier in the weekend

Molden was a popular choice among fans within the fan mock drafts scattered all across social media – and it is obvious why.

The Washington product is an extremely vital piece to a defense in need of a face lift. Let’s take a look at what makes Molden such an intriguing prospect for the Tennessee Titans.

Measurables

Position: Defensive Back

School: Washington

Current Year: Senior

Height: 5’10

Weight: 190 pounds

Instant analysis and grade for Titans picking Elijah Molden

The Tennessee Titans — once again — have found outstanding value in the 2021 NFL draft.

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The Tennessee Titans — once again — have found outstanding value in the 2021 NFL draft. Late in the third round, the Titans selected defensive back Elijah Molden out of the University of Washington.

Not the Elijah we saw coming.

General manager Jon Robinson is putting on an absolute clinic at this point from a value perspective. Molden is listed as a safety but will likely transition to slot cornerback at the NFL level. He’s been the best at his position at the collegiate level for the better part of the past two seasons.

While Molden might not have been on your radar, he’s a safe prospect. JRob hinted that the team was looking to add immediate impact players early in this draft, and he’s accomplished that with the selection of Molden.

In fact, most media pundits had Molden going much earlier, and in particular, early in the second round.

This doesn’t bode well for cornerback Kevin Johnson, whom the Titans added earlier in free agency. Molden should be a plug-and-play starter for the two-tone blue in the slot.

Despite the Titans’ blatant attempts to ignore the wide receiver position, this selection is too good, which the following grade will reflect.

Grade: A

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