Tennessee Titans select Tulane RB Tyjae Spears with the 81st overall pick
The Titans add another weapon to the offense
The Tennessee Titans went offense in the first two rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft and continued that trend in round three.
With the 81st overall pick, the Titans drafted Tulane running back Tyjae Spears.
Spears is coming off an incredible 2022 season, where he was a massive part of the greatest single-season turnaround in college football history. This year, Spears put himself on the map by running for 1,581 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also added 22 catches, 256 yards, and two touchdowns in the passing game.
He continued the positive momentum during the Senior Bowl, where he was one of the standout players all week long. However, his draft stock took a hit during the combine when he checked in at just 5-foot-9 and 201 pounds. He also ran a 4.52 40 during Tulane's Pro Day.
Spears led Tulane to their first-ever AAC championship and eventually a Cotton Bowl victory over USC. In that Cotten Bowl win, Spears ran 17 times for 206 yards and four touchdowns. He shredded the USC defense all game and won the Cotton Bowl MVP trophy for the performance. Spears was also selected as the 2022 AAC Offensive Player of the Year.
Here is what Sports Illustrated had to say about Spears before the draft:
“Tyjae Spears is at his best when he is in a zone-blocking scheme, where he is able to use his patience behind the line of scrimmage to set up his explosive running in the open field. He is comfortable waiting for zone blocks to develop to open up cutback lanes. Spears has great top speed that allows him to break a lot of plays into big gains. Once out in space, he is very much a north-south runner that would rather run through defenders than around them. Spears has a knack for always fighting for yards, which really sets the tone for his team. He has great open-field vision combined with the footwork to make sharp cuts and gain as many yards as possible. What is probably Spears’s most polarizing trait as a player is the heart he plays with every time he steps on the field. Despite his smaller stature, nothing seems to intimidate him. Whether it’s a defensive lineman he has to block in pass-pro or a 240-pound linebacker in the open field, Spears does not back down from a fight and always gives 100%. Having this trait demonstrates his love for the game and desire to improve, which he has every year at Tulane.”
While this should still be Derrick Henry's backfield this season, Spears can help ease the load on Henry in the short term while giving the team a long-term answer at the position.
