Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard had a lot of expectations entering last season as he was set to be the full-time starting running back for the Cowboys as Ezekial Elliot left in free agency for the Patriots.
Pollard did not live up to the hype as a starting running back with his numbers in rushing yards, yards per attempt, receiving yards, yards per reception, and touchdowns all decreasing from the 2022 season when he was in a reduced role.
The former Pro Bowler now joined the Tennessee Titans where his play caller is Brian Callahan who also has experience handling an offense with another Pro Bowl running back, Joe Mixon.
Mixon and Pollard are similar running backs both being able to play the receiving game and physical on the ground with Mixon being slightly bigger listed at 6’1 220 pounds compared to Pollard at 6’0 209 pounds.
Callahan took over as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator back in 2019 so let's compare Pollard’s stats to Mixon’s from 2019 to now.
Mixon has all the total stats with 392 more rushing attempts for that time frame and gaining 997 more yards than Pollard. But Pollard averaged 4.8 yards per rushing attempt compared to Mixon’s 4.0 yards per rushing attempt.
The receiving game is similar as Mixon clocked in 34 more receptions for 237 more yards than Pollard but the new Titans running back averaged 7.5 yards per reception with Mixon averaging a close 7.4.
Their games are similar and the numbers back it up, they both have made the Pro Bowl one time so it’s only right to see how those numbers compare.
Mixon’s 2021 Pro Bowl year he had 1,205 rushing yards on 292 attempts, 13 rushing touchdowns, 42 receptions, 314 receiving yards, and 3 touchdowns playing 16 of the 17 games that year.
Pollard on the other hand made the Pro Bowl in 2022 and he totaled 193 rushing attempts for 1007 yards and 9 rushing touchdowns, with 39 receptions for 371 yards to go along with 3 receiving touchdowns in a backup role starting in just 4 of the 17 games he played that season.
Pollard’s biggest challenge will be continuing to adjust to the volume of a starting running back. Before last season, he was never a starter including his day at Memphis. Callahan has been able to manage an injury-prone Joe Mixon for good success so it will be fun to see if Callahan can get Pollard back to a Pro Bowl level in a similar role.
