Titans believe Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears can replace Derrick Henry's production

The Tennessee Titans plan to replace Derrick Henry‘s workload with a combination of Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears as dual-threat weapons.

Running backs coach Randy Jordan, who worked the past 10 seasons in Washington, noted he’s familiar with Pollard’s work and pointed to the backs’ interchangeability as key to the Titans’ offense in 2024.

“I am really excited to work with them,” Jordan said, via Jim Wyatt of the team’s official website. “I was in the NFC East, and I got to see Mr. T.P. quite a bit. So, when we had the opportunity to get him, I was really excited. I love his skill set, in fact, I love the skill set of both (Pollard) and (Spears).

“Both guys, you don’t have to worry about in terms of counting touches in terms of handoffs, running the ball. Because they can both catch the ball fairly well out of the backfield. So, in that respect, I am not counting touches in terms of rushes. I’m counting, ‘Hey, you got 10 rushes, but you also got six catches, and that’s a total of 16.’ And I think they’re getting a really good feel for each other on and off the field.”

Assuming head coach Brian Callahan brings a similar offense to Tennessee that the Bengals ran under Zac Taylor when Callahan was offensive coordinator there, the ground game won’t be forgotten, but it also won’t be Henry running into a wall 30 times like we’ve become used to.

Pollard’s one-year stint as the workhorse in Dallas didn’t pay off, but he still has the skill set to work between the tackles. Both he and Spears own dynamic ability in the passing game and could do damage as check-down options for Will Levis.

Tennessee also has Hassan Haskins and Julius Chestnut as short-yardage options out of the backfield. Undrafted free agents Dillon Johnson and Jabari Small round out the backfield.

Fantasy football managers might not like to hear Jordan’s comments that Spears and Pollard can be used interchangeably, splitting carries and reps. Still, it will make the Titans’ offense more diverse and unpredictable under Callahan.