Tyjae Spears, Tony Pollard To Split Titans Backfield In 2024
Tennessee Titans running backs Tyjae Spears and Tony Pollard appear poised to split reps in 2024. While discussing a potential starter at running back, new head coach Brian Callahan indicated that both players could be interchangeable and may even share the field simultaneously. It affirms what many of us suspected heading into training camp, which is that this backfield will likely be roughly a 50/50 split. Both players have similar skill sets and are electric to watch when they get hot. Their speed will be a necessity given that the Titans enter the season with the 30th-ranked offensive line, according to PFF. Both players will leech each other's fantasy value in 2024. If second-year quarterback Will Levis can take a solid step forward, the dump-off opportunities could be there for both players if the running lanes are clogged. Each player is drafted outside the top-24 running backs in fantasy drafts, which is in line with RotoBaller's running back rankings that have Pollard as the RB25 while Spears is RB30.
Titans High On Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears As Receivers
Tennessee Titans running backs Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears figure to share the backfield in 2024 under new head coach Brian Callahan, and the Titans are high on both players as receiving threats. "Anytime we can find ways to match those guys up in the passing game on linebackers is a huge benefit to us. They are hard to cover. They can run routes like receivers, which is unique," Callahan said. "I have not seen guys like them very often and we have two of them...they catch naturally which is exciting." Pollard, who spent the last five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, was often used as a receiver out of the backfield as a change-of-pace complement to Ezekiel Elliott. Meanwhile, Spears played 52.9% of Tennessee's offensive snaps last year -- primarily on passing downs. It's going to be a challenge to project each back's workload in the new-look Titans' offense, but given the predicted identity shift to a pass-first approach, both could have flex value in PPR formats. Pollard is being drafted as a low-end RB2 in early fantasy drafts, while Spears is going off the board around the low-end RB3 range.
Titans Calling Tyjae Spears, Tony Pollard 1A And 1B
Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Nick Holz sees running backs Tyjae Spears and Tony Pollard as 1A and 1B in some combination at the RB position for the team heading into the 2024 season. Holz said both backs will get a lot of touches. It's clearly bad news for Pollard's fantasy value after he served as the lead back for the Dallas Cowboys in 2023, recording his second straight 1,000-yard rushing season with six touchdowns but a career-low 4.0 yards per carry in 17 regular-season starts. Expecting a third straight 1,000-yard season in his first year in Tennessee would be unwise. If both Spears -- who had 453 rushing yards and 385 receiving yards with three total TDs as a rookies last year, -- and Pollard split the backfield work evenly, they'd both be more of RB3/flex plays in fantasy on a weekly basis in an offense that could be transitioning to more of a balanced attack rather than run-heavy.
Updating a previous report, the Tennessee Titans are set to give free-agent running back Tony Pollard a three-year deal worth $24 million, according to a source. The deal won't become official until Wednesday, but this officially signals that the Titans are moving on from Derrick Henry, which was expected all along. Pollard brings a completely different dynamic than King Henry in the backfield. While Pollard should be expected to see most of the backfield touches in Tennessee, second-year back Tyjae Spears should also be heavily involved, which will hurt Pollard's overall fantasy ceiling. The 26-year-old has gone over 1,000 yards rushing in each of the last two seasons for the Dallas Cowboys, but he averaged a career-low 4.0 yards per carry in 2023 and is moving to a much less explosive offense in Tennessee with an unproven second-year QB in Will Levis.
The Tennessee Titans are expected to sign free-agent running back Tony Pollard, according to a league source. Nothing is official and teams cannot announce free-agent signings until Wednesday, but it looks like Pollard is going to leave the Dallas Cowboys for the Titans to replace Derrick Henry in Tennessee. The 26-year-old should be in line for lead-back duties in Tennessee, although second-year back Tyjae Spears earned more playing time after an impressive rookie campaign in 2023. Even though Pollard eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing for the second straight season in 2024 with Dallas, he averaged a career-low 4.0 yards per carry and didn't look the same after suffering a serious leg injury the previous postseason. He could be more efficient another year removed from the injury, but the move to the Titans is a big offensive downgrade behind an offensive line with plenty of question marks.
Cowboys Not Expected To Use Franchise Tag On Tony Pollard
The Dallas Cowboys are not expected to use the franchise tag on impending free-agent running back Tony Pollard this year at a cost of $12.109 million, according to sources. The Cowboys gave Pollard lead-back duties in 2023, and he responded with 1,005 rushing yards on 252 attempts (career-low 4.0 yards per carry) with six touchdowns while adding a career-high 55 receptions for 311 yards and no TDs through the air in 17 regular-season contests. Pollard looked better late in the season and wasn't really himself for most of the year after recovering from a significant leg injury in 2022. The 26-year-old's fantasy value for the 2024 season will depend on where he's playing, but Pollard didn't do much to show other clubs that he can be trusted as a workhorse back.
Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard's production plummeted as the team's lead back in 2023, but The Athletic's Saad Yousuf thinks the Cowboys don't need to rule out the possibility of bringing Pollard back in 2024 in free agency. Despite his disappointing season as a whole, Pollard was also coming back from a serious leg injury last year. However, he may have proved that he can't be relied on to be a workhorse. If a bidding war breaks out for the 26-year-old, though, the Cowboys won't be expected to consider bringing him back. After earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2022, Pollard averaged a career-low 4.0 yards per carry on a career-high 252 rushing attempts for 1,005 yards and six touchdowns in 2023, adding a career-high 55 catches for 311 yards through the air. Pollard may not have been back to full health until December. Where he ends up in 2024 will ultimately determine his fantasy value.
Tony Pollard Runs In A Touchdown On Wild-Card Weekend
Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard scored a rushing touchdown in the first week of the playoffs against the Green Bay Packers. Pollard ran the ball 15 times, picking up 56 yards and scoring a touchdown on a one-yard run in the third quarter. He also saw nine targets in the passing game, gaining 29 yards on seven catches. It was a very up-and-down season for Pollard in his first season as the Cowboys lead back, where he was widely drafted as a surefire RB1 but ended up disappearing often even in good matchups. The Dallas backfield will be interesting to follow throughout the offseason.
Tony Pollard Has A Good Matchup On Wild-Card Weekend
Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard has a good matchup against the Green Bay Packers on Wild Card Weekend. Pollard ended his first regular season as the Cowboys lead back with 1,005 rushing yards and six touchdowns, wrapping up with a 16 fantasy point performance in Week 18, good for an RB12 finish. Pollard had an up-and-down season, finishing as a fantasy RB1 six times, but outside of the top-30 six times as well. In what should be a high-scoring game, Pollard is one of the safer options in the first round of the playoffs.
Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard scored a touchdown in a Week 18 blowout win over the Washington Commanders. Pollard ran the ball 17 times, gaining 70 yards and scoring his touchdown on a goal line run in the second quarter. Pollard was also targeted twice in the passing game, making two catches for 16 more yards. It was a solid game for Pollard, who ceded 12 touches to his backup, Rico Dowdle, once the game was firmly in hand. Pollard, Dowdle, and the rest of the Cowboys will host the Green Bay Packers next week for the first round of the playoffs.
