2026 Offseason Preview: RB Edition

Players Under Contract:

Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears, Kalel Mullings

Pending Free Agents:

Julius Chestnut (UFA)

Cut Candidate:

Tony Pollard

Potential Free Agent Targets:

Kenneth Walker, Breece Hall, Tyler Allgeier, Travis Etienne, Rico Dowdle

Potential Draft Targets:

Mark Fletcher, Darius Taylor, Jonah Coleman, Nicholas Singleton, Anthony Hankerson

What to Watch For:

One element that the Titans lacked in most of the season was in the run game. The Titans run game came on late but I think it still lacked an explosive element to it. For me, it left a lot to be desired as far as that explosive element and in short yardage situations. We have always had an explosive run game when we are good and I think an explosive run game benefits Cam Ward for many reasons.

Let me start by saying that if it were up to me, RB would not have been an issue because Treveyon Henderson would have been drafted at the top of the 2nd round last year but that is in the past. I believe the Titans have an out on Tony Pollard's contract before June 1st (saves $7.25 mil against the cap, $2 million in dead cap), so it will be interesting to see whether or not they decide to move on from him, especially since he was a Ran Carthon signing. If you move on from Pollard, you have to think they would be players in the free agent market, as this is a relatively weak draft class at the position, outside of Jeremiyah Love. We all love Tyjae Spears but he hasn't proven to be able to stay healthy and he is more of a change of pace back. Kalel Mulllings could be a potential answer for short yardage back but we still lack that every down back and I don't think the #4 pick should be used on Love, as I don't believe the roster is where it needs to be to make that type of luxury pick.

This leads me to a relatively deep free agent class at the RB position. My 2 favorite targets are Kenneth Walker and Tyler Allgeier. Kenneth Walker would absolutely bring an explosive element to the backfield and he still has a ton of juice in him with him splitting carries with Charbonnet for the better part of the last 2 years. He's a step below elite but he is a top tier RB that could go for relatively cheap (think a potential Tony Pollard type contract from 2024). Tyler Allgeier is the 2nd option to me. He has shown plenty of potential stealing carries from Bijan Robinson. That's saying something if you can take carries from an elite RB like Bijan. He is a bruiser that would complement Tyjae Spears in a 2 back system and he has very low tread on him due to backing up Robinson. You can always look to a mid to late round sleeper at RB like Darius Taylor or Anthony Hankerson, look what the Texans did with Woody Marks.