With new HC Mike McCoy calling the shots for the Titans, Tyjae Spears ($5,100) and Tony Pollard ($5,300) saw very similar workloads in this past Sunday’s 38-14 loss to the Colts. Pollard rushed 11 times for 44 yards and logged 46.9% of the snaps, while Spears rushed nine times for 59 yards and a touchdown on 52.1% of the snaps. In the passing game, Spears caught all three of his targets for 23 yards on 23 routes, while Pollard caught one of his two targets for nine yards on 17 routes.
Pollard appears to have a slight edge over Spears as a rusher, but Spears continues to have the clear edge in the passing game. Plus, Spears notably out carried Pollard 3-to-1 in the redzone, which is a very interesting devolvement and a change of roles for these backs.
It’s difficult to say if Spears seeing more redzone usage than Pollard was a part of the game plan and something that will continue, but the bottom line is that Spears has been the more effective player this season and is the better fantasy option going forward. Spears is averaging 5.6 yards per touch this season, compared to 4.4 for Pollard. Fantasy wise, Spears is producing 0.35 FPTS per touch, while Pollard is averaging 0.30.
While Spears leapfrogging Pollard on the depth chart and becoming a featured back is unrealistic, Spears should see a few more touches than Pollard this Sunday vs. the Chargers. As an 8.5-point underdog for this tilt on DraftKings Sportsbook, Tennessee is likely to be in a negative game script, which is a situation that better favors Spears, given he is the Titans’ main receiving back.
Spears finished with 17.2 FPTS last week and he brings similar upside this Sunday. Spears also should come with very little ownership and using him as a bring back play for Los Angeles stacks is an intriguing strategy for GPPs.
