Without Derrick Henry, Titans to unleash ‘1-2 punch’ of Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears

Brian Callahan’s offense boasts one of the NFL’s best wide receiver trios on paper in DeAndre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd. The new Titans coach also gets the chance to shape and mold second-year pro Will Levis, the franchise’s hopeful franchise quarterback. 

But Callahan doesn’t want anyone to overlook his “really fantastic” running backs, Tyjae Spears and Tony Pollard. He sees their explosiveness, how they move across the formation, how they make plays in the screen and passing game. 

“Of all the groups we have,” Callahan said last month, “I think those guys are the ones who are most exciting for me.” 

The Titans are banking on the Pollard-Spears tandem as their solution to replacing perennial Pro Bowler Derrick Henry, who signed with the Baltimore Ravens in March after a historic eight-year run in Nashville. 

Tennessee never ruled out his return ahead of free agency, but the offense’s shift to a pass-first scheme under Callahan made it unlikely. Pollard and Spears fit the new vision as dual-threat backs, and the team hopes their collective talent — and versatility — neutralizes the loss of Henry’s dominance. 

Pollard, who signed a three-year, $21.75 million deal with Tennessee after five years with Dallas, has had at least 1,000 scrimmage yards — including 300 receiving yards — in each of the past three seasons. He’s also registered 1,000 rushing yards in back-to-back years despite becoming a full-time starter for the first time last season. 

A 2023 third-round pick, Spears shined in a complementary role to Henry as a rookie, registering 1,108 all-purpose yards — 453 rushing yards, 385 receiving yards and 270 kick-return yards. 

The 6-foot, 215-pound Pollard is an inch taller and 15 pounds heavier than Spears, but on the surface, their games are very similar. Both have shiftiness running between the tackles. They can also catch at a high rate out of the backfield. 

“What’s crazy is that in the pre-draft process, they compared me to him,” Spears said of Pollard. “When we got him, I sent that to him. … We laughed about it.” 

Pollard sees their personalities as “night and day.” He describes himself as laid back, while Spears is the loud, outspoken one. 

But Pollard sees the similarities, the potential for a “nice 1-2 punch.” 

“Just never giving a defense a break,” Pollard said of manning the backfield with Spears. “You got one guy that can come in there and do a lot of different things. Then sub out and put in another back who can come with that same energy.”

Spears said he and Pollard got into an argument during OTAs last month. It was “nothing crazy,” he acknowledged, but they exchanged words. The second-year running back chalked it up to their competitiveness. 

He wants them to dominate in 2024. 

“I want to see us in the top five in rushing, top-five best backs this year with the offensive line we have,” Spears said. “We can reach those heights, but we have to push each other.”

It won’t just be as rushers.

With the Titans’ talented wide receiver trio, Callahan anticipates single coverage opportunities for Pollard and Spears to exploit in the passing game.

“A lot of times, when you have backs like those two guys, they’re going to be at a matchup advantage against linebackers most of the time,” Callahan said Tuesday. “You try to find every which way you can to put them in that space so they can go beat what is likely a lesser athlete. And they both have the ability to do it. 

“As we get closer to game planning and less installing of a system,” he continued, “now we have a chance to be a little more free and creative with how we deploy them and the formation and use them against players we think they can go beat.” 

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For Levis, the tailbacks’ presence means more peace of mind going through his progressions. 

“I have confidence now every single time we drop back, with whatever running back is going to be in our backfield, that we can dump it down and make somebody miss and get a first down,” he said.

Spears admitted that he misses Henry’s presence in the locker room. What did he learn from the former Titans superstar? 

“Everything matters,” he said. “All the small details when it comes to running outside zone or running any type of run play, just stick to the details. Also, don’t be so hard on yourself. Give yourself time to develop because it’s going to take some time.”

The Titans hope it won’t take too long for the team’s new backfield tandem to make its mark. 

Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

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