NASHVILLE — Derrick Henry's move from the Tennessee Titans to the Baltimore Ravens was one of the most surprising moves this offseason. With the addition of a strong runner like Henry, the Ravens are poised to build a formidable backfield alongside star quarterback Lamar Jackson. Similarly, the Titans, who are in a rebuilding phase under first-year head coach Brian Callahan, are preparing to adjust to life without Henry.
The Titans' offense is transitioning from Henry, who leads the league in carries, to dispersing the ball between running backs led by newly acquired Tony Pollard and second-year running back Tyjay Spears.
Last season, Pollard had a career-high 252 carries, 1,005 yards rushing and six touchdowns. Additionally, he had career bests with 55 receptions for 311 yards. New Titans running backs coach Randy Jordan is excited to work with Pollard.
“I love his skill set,” Jordan told AllTitans.com. “He can catch the ball, run the ball and protect the quarterback. He has an all-around skill set that allows him to play on all three downs.”
Spears had 100 carries for 453 yards and two touchdowns and 52 receptions for 385 yards and one touchdown in his rookie season.
Titans general manager Ran Carson couldn't hide his enthusiasm for Spears when asked about the former Tulane star by reporters during the NFL Combine.
“Tije is one of those guys that’s always in the building,” Carson said. “I know there were a lot of concerns about his knee injury, and that was a big issue at this time of year and even after we drafted him. But what we're talking about is… I'm talking about a guy who never missed a practice, never missed a game, and he was, for lack of a better way to put it, with the right people and we're our. He's the type of player you want to have in your program. ”
Jordan believes the pairing of Spears and Pollard will be fun for Titans fans to watch this season.
“I like the fact that opposing defenses have a hard time plotting against us because they have similar skill sets so they can't predict what we're going to do,” Jordan said. said.
Another factor Jordan emphasized was how well both backs can catch the ball.
“Having the ability to get touches is very important in today's NFL,” Jordan said. “It's not just about handing them the ball. It's about the opportunity to catch the ball out of the backfield. That's touch. I tell them touch is important. Ten carries, catches. If you have five, that's 15 touches. Today, that's 15 touches.'' NFL, it's all about the touches. ”
Jordan also emphasized the importance of developing a third running back. Hassan Haskins and Julius Chesnutt are returners from last season, and the team added undrafted free agents Dillon Johnson and Jabari Small last week.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” Jordan said. “When you play this amount of football, you need three players instead of two. We have good depth and the biggest thing is that we are improving every day.”
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