For the last few years, opposing defenses had to contend with Derrick Henry when facing the Tennessee Titans, with the running back serving as the main workhorse for most of his time with the team.
But Henry has moved on to Baltimore, and under a new coaching staff the Titans have shifted their approach to a two-man tandem in the backfield, with Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears expected to split snaps.
Pollard said recently that he expects the pairing with Spears to be a “nice one-two punch” for the Titans offense, but his teammate went even further when speaking this week.
Talking to the media from OTAs on Wednesday, Spears said that in his mind, the goal is for both players to finish at the top of the running back rankings in 2024.
“We’re just pushing each other, we want the best. I want to see both of us in top-5 rushing, top-5 best backs this year,” Spears said. “With the O-line we’ve got, we can reach those heights, but we’ve got to push each other, and it starts now.”
Those are lofty goals, for sure, but there is undoubtedly an opportunity in front of the duo as they enter the spotlight in the Tennessee running game.
Spears is entering his second year after being drafted in the third round of the 2023 draft. Spears collected 100 carries for 453 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, even despite being the RB2 behind Henry.
Pollard, on the other hand, is a veteran with five years with the Cowboys under his belt. For most of that time he split snaps with others, but earned a consistent starting role in 2023, during which he put together his second straight season with 1,000-plus rushing yards.
Though the pair come in with different backgrounds, the Titans’ coaching staff see similarities in their skill sets. Running back coach Randy Jordan said recently that he sees both players acting as dual-threat backs, fitting into the scheme as consistent pass-catching options out of the backfield.
Spears had 52 receptions for 385 yards in his rookie campaign, ranking third and fourth on the team, respectively. Pollard also consistently contributed to the pass game as a Cowboy, collecting a total of 176 catches, 1,319 yards and five TDs in his time in Dallas.
With the option of lining up both players in areas throughout the offense available to him, head coach Brian Callahan expressed excitement for the opportunities this dual-threat duo could provide the offense in his first year at the helm.
“I can’t wait to start playing around and using them in different ways, because they both do things differently, they’re unique,” Callahan said. “Tony’s got great acceleration and great explosiveness with the ball in his hands. Tyjae does too, and Tyjae’s got really great short-area quickness, so any time you can find some way to match those guys up in the passing game on linebackers, it’s a huge benefit for us. They’re hard to cover, they can run routes like receivers, which is unique.
“I’ve not seen guys like them very often, and we have two of them.”
