Running Back – Tulane
5’10” 194 lbs
3rd Round (81st Overall) – Tennessee Titans
Tyjae Spears had a phenomenal Senior Bowl that pushed many evaluators to review his tape. He is a smooth runner who can make defenders miss “in a phone booth.” Additionally, he has a smooth ease of movement without much effort. Further yet, he sets up defenders well and has great decision-making behind the line of scrimmage.
This past season, Spears had 1,052 yards after contact. Spears’ change of direction is truly elite as his ability to drop his weight and flip his hips can be made with no transition steps. This is huge as most running backs need a few steps to gather before making that kind of directional change.
Furthermore, Spears is also useful in the passing game. He’s capable of making a linebacker in coverage hate absolutely everything. To be completely honest, he is my favorite runner to watch in this class. If you want to draft someone else, I do not recommend watching Spears’ highlights, as watching him run in space is like watching the store-brand version of Reggie Bush.
As far as negatives go, the only real knock you’ll see on Spears is his knees. He has a pair of torn ACLs during his college years. Additionally, he has no ACL in one knee and has arthritis. However, running backs in the NFL tend to have a short shelf-life, to begin with.
Fantasy Football Outlook
Currently, the Tennessee Titans running back room is led by none other than Derrick Henry. Landing in a spot behind a running back such as Henry is far from ideal for immediate production. Really, it’s one of the worst possible spots you can land for immediate fantasy production.
The other running backs include Hassan Haskins and Julius Chestnut. With Haskins and Chestnut, there isn’t anything particularly threatening in terms of Spears fighting for reps in the passing game. Spears doesn’t get credit for his receiving chops, but he’s skilled at earning position against defenders. Furthermore, he has some advanced skills at the catch point. He’s also a competent blocker at the college level with skills that should eventually translate to the NFL, given time.
Henry will still command the primary usage in this offense. After the top two running backs that went in the 1st round of the draft, all the running backs taken have nuanced situations to navigate to production. That is of course, if Henry is back in Tennessee when Week 1 rolls around.
2023 Projections:
- 14 Games
- 68 Carries
- 311 Rushing Yards
- 26 Receptions
- 233 Receiving Yards
- 4 Total Touchdowns
In terms of redraft leagues, Spears is nothing more than a high-end handcuff for this year. He will do well with a change of pace and still see a handful of touches on a per-game basis. Additionally, should anything happen that leads to Spears starting this year, he would become the top waiver wire pickup in any format of the league. Keep that in mind as he will need to be the name to have in 2023 fantasy football leagues if you are planning on rostering Henry.
Dynasty Outlook
As for dynasty fantasy leagues, Spears is a middle of the second round pick. He has a lot of upside as Henry has been the subject of trade rumors. Additionally, Henry is also 29 and in the last year of his current contract. Overall, while Spears is slightly undersized, he still has the potential to earn a significant share of the touches in the future. I believe Spears has the upside of an RB2 if you have the patience to hold onto him, despite all of the concerns with his knees.
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