Titans land RB Tyjae Spears with 3rd-round pick

The Tennessee Titans selected Tulane running back Tyjae Spears in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 81st overall.

Spears was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Year after accounting for 1,837 and 21 total touchdowns. The native of Louisiana enjoyed a breakout performance, rushing for 205 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Green Wave to a win in the Cotton Bowl over USC.

Concerns regarding the health of his knee played a factor into the talented tailback lasting until the third round, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Tennessee adds depth behind star tailback Derrick Henry. Hassan Haskins and Julius Chestnut are other options at the position for the Titans.

Pre-draft profile

Spears should be getting a whole lot more attention than he has been during the pre-draft process. While teams may hesitate to give him a feature workload on account of his slender frame, there's still plenty of opportunity for him to make an impact as a 1A option in a two-man backfield. Spears has an exhilarating combination of explosiveness and lateral agility, and an innate feel for setting up defenders both behind his blocks and in the open field. His ability to create extra yards for himself, turning small gains into big ones, is going to make him an impact playmaker from Day 1. He's also flashed significant upside as a pass-catcher out of the backfield when given the opportunity - this should be an area of his game that is unlocked at the next level. Spears is an exciting prospect who could end up being one of the best running backs in this class.