The Tennessee Titans are beginning a new era at the running back position in 2024 after parting ways with Derrick Henry earlier this offseason following an eight-year tenure that saw Henry ascend to elite status and build a foundation for a Hall of Fame bid.
2023 third-round pick Tyjae Spears is returning for his second season after a promising rookie campaign, and he’ll be joined by veteran and free-agent addition, Tony Pollard.
The thing that stands out the most about this duo is the fact that the two backs are similar. That will make it much tougher for defenses to predict what the Titans will do based on who’s on the field
“Everyone keeps saying interchangeable, and we see it that way,” offensive coordinator Nick Holz said earlier this offseason. “We don’t want any tendencies when those guys are in there. So, we think they both can have a skill set as pass catchers, skill set running the gap schemes and all the different zone schemes we are going to have. So, that’s where it is really most exciting as we go, you are not going to say ‘when this back is in these are the plays, and when this back is in those are the plays.’ They can really function on all three downs, and really, there are not any scheme limitations.”
Despite the obvious similarities in their games, Titans head coach Brian Callahan still believes they’re “unique” from one another, and that will make it fun to utilize the pair.
“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, per ESPN’s Turron Davenport. “I’m excited about the style that we can run with. We can do a lot of different things.”
While we know what the Titans are getting in both backs, it remains to be seen how the workload will be split up between the two. It figures to be just about 50/50, but the Titans aren’t exactly paying Pollard like a 50/50 back at a little over $7 million per year.
“We see it 1A, 1B, and they’re both just gonna play a ton, get a lot of carries and let ’em roll,” Holz said of the workload distribution.
Both players are explosive, yet can run tough between the tackles, they can catch the ball out of the backfield and are strong in pass protection. Spears and Pollard should be a fun duo to watch in 2024.
