For the second straight season, Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard is off to an excellent start despite sharing his time on the field with fellow backfield mate Tyjae Spears.
But could an ankle injury to the backup allow fantasy managers to possibly slot Pollard as their RB1 for Week 3?
Here’s the fantasy football outlook for both players heading into Week 3.
Projecting Tony Pollard’s and Tyjae Spears’ Fantasy Output in Week 3
In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, PFN’s Consensus Rankings say that Pollard is the player to start. His projected 11.7 points include 51 rushing yards, three catches, and 19 receiving yards. That outperforms the consensus projection for Spears (7.9 points, 37 rush yards, two catches, and 14 receiving yards).
My ranking for the two Titans running backs aligns with the consensus. Pollard is the more featured back of the two, and he has a favorable matchup against the Green Bay Packers defense.
Tony Pollard the Titan!
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Pollard’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
After opening with an 82-yard rushing effort and a touchdown in Week 1, Pollard had over 100 scrimmage yards in Week 2. He’s done this despite not being on the field for at least 70% of the Titans’ offensive snaps in either game.
Even in sharing the time on the field with Spears, Pollard, who has never averaged 15 carries a game in a season, is averaging over 16 carries per game this season (16.5).
And while he didn’t have the same production on the ground in Week 2 (62 rushing yards on 3.7 yards per carry) as he had in Week 1 (82 on 5.1 YPC), Pollard was able to come up with five catches for 40 yards last week.
In terms of fantasy, Pollard’s first two games have been very productive. After two weeks, Pollard’s total of 33.6 fantasy points — which ranks 12th among running backs — is higher than more heralded players like Bijan Robinson (32.3), Kyren Williams (29.6), and former Titans legend Derrick Henry (27.2).
KEEP READING: PFN’s Consensus Fantasy Football Rankings
And Pollard’s opponent this week, the Packers, have struggled defensively in an area where Pollard has excelled this season.
According to Next Gen Stats, Pollard has 135 rush yards after contact in 2024, which ranks sixth in the NFL. Meanwhile, the Packers rank in the bottom 10 in the NFL (24th) in opponent yards after contact per (3.6).
Spears’ Fantasy Outlook This Week
When deciding between Pollard and Spears this week, Spears’ current issues for fantasy managers revolve around a lack of time on the field. He was on the field for just 33% of the Titans’ offensive snaps against the New York Jets.
While it likely won’t keep him out of the lineup for Week 3, there’s an ankle injury on top of that did have him on the injury report all week. Spears’ ankle injury caused him to miss practice on Wednesday, but he was a limited participant on Thursday and a full participant on Friday.
Though he is still listed as questionable, Spears’s full practice on Friday seems to be a good indication that he will be available on Sunday.
Spears is averaging fewer than four yards per touch so far this season (3.9) and only has 16 total touches through two games anyway.
While fantasy managers should expect Spears to play, putting him in the lineup ahead of Pollard doesn’t seem like the wisest decision in Week 3.
Kyle Soppe’s Fantasy Outlook for Pollard and Spears in Week 3
Pollard: This offseason, we were sold that Pollard’s struggles last season had as much to do with limited health as anything, and for two weeks at least, I’m tempted to believe it.
Not only has Pollard finished as a top 20 player at the position in both games this season, but he’s shown flashes of the versatility that we fell in love with initially. In Week 1 against a stingy Bears team, he picked up 5.1 yards per carry. In the loss to the Jets last weekend, he earned six targets.
With 41 touches on his résumé up to this point and a 20+ yard gain in both contests, Pollard is a Flex-worthy player, even with Spears eating away at his touch upside. My primary concern in this game is possession count, but given that the Packers have already allowed eight RB carries for 10+ yards (second most), I’m OK with betting on Pollard being efficient with the work he gets. Maybe this is a bit spicy, but I’m playing him over Rhamondre Stevenson on Thursday night, one of the breakout players up to this point.
Spears: He has exactly eight touches in both games this season and has yet to rip off a 12+ yard gain. Up to this point, and I’ll admit that it’s still very early, he looks like a poor man’s version of what Pollard was early in his career to Ezekiel Elliott – a low-touch back that needs efficiency to pay off. What’s the hitch? This offense doesn’t have much hope of being efficient, and that keeps Spears well off of fantasy radars until otherwise noted.
Stats in this article are from TruMedia unless otherwise stated