Looking at the Titans this week, I saw some promising things for third-round running back Darrynton Evans. He's firmly behind franchise back Derrick Henry, of course, but he has basically zero competition for the No. 2 job. If you want to throw a late-round pick at a rookie and be certain you're getting the backup, you could do worse.
The other intriguing aspect is that as long as he can show credibly in pass protection, he should be able to earn the passing downs job for the Titans. Henry has caught 57 passes in 62 career games. And Evans has shown well thus far in that regard in camp. Ryan Tannehill lauded his work catching the ball in practice last week. "When you see a running back catch the ball naturally, whether they're coming out of the backfield or split out wide, it definitely adds another element to the offense," says Tannehill.
On the other hand, Evans goes to a team that hasn't thrown much to its running backs in recent years. Over the last three seasons, in fact, no team's running backs have caught fewer passes than Tennessee, and no team's running backs have averaged fewer receiving yards per game. Not the kind of track record anyone can really put a positive spin on.
Table is sorted by total running back receptions the last three years. Again, Titans would also be last if sorted by running back receiving yards per game.
| RUNNING BACK RECEIVING, TEAM (2017-2019) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | YPG(17) | YPG(18) | YPG(19) | No(17-19) | YPG(17-19) |
| New Orleans | 78.4 | 56.4 | 51.5 | 376 | 62.1 |
| New England | 57.4 | 62.4 | 70.9 | 362 | 63.6 |
| LA Chargers | 51.0 | 65.6 | 84.8 | 348 | 67.1 |
| Carolina | 47.0 | 57.4 | 66.8 | 332 | 57.1 |
| Chicago | 45.7 | 60.3 | 41.4 | 311 | 49.1 |
| Oakland | 39.8 | 52.4 | 51.6 | 292 | 47.9 |
| Jacksonville | 49.1 | 49.4 | 43.1 | 287 | 47.2 |
| NY Giants | 38.0 | 53.8 | 34.9 | 287 | 42.2 |
| Cleveland | 57.7 | 44.5 | 45.4 | 282 | 49.2 |
| Detroit | 39.6 | 47.1 | 31.3 | 274 | 39.3 |
| San Francisco | 52.8 | 48.8 | 47.1 | 273 | 49.6 |
| Denver | 43.7 | 43.8 | 34.4 | 271 | 40.6 |
| Pittsburgh | 41.9 | 47.0 | 40.0 | 270 | 43.0 |
| Kansas City | 42.7 | 57.6 | 40.5 | 261 | 46.9 |
| Minnesota | 42.6 | 35.2 | 53.4 | 260 | 43.8 |
| Washington | 55.3 | 38.3 | 41.4 | 242 | 45.0 |
| Green Bay | 31.2 | 37.6 | 53.3 | 241 | 40.7 |
| Arizona | 46.1 | 37.7 | 41.2 | 240 | 41.6 |
| NY Jets | 44.3 | 37.4 | 36.5 | 240 | 39.4 |
| Baltimore | 43.1 | 28.4 | 25.6 | 232 | 32.4 |
| Cincinnati | 46.9 | 34.7 | 33.4 | 231 | 38.3 |
| Indianapolis | 33.9 | 38.5 | 31.5 | 229 | 34.6 |
| Miami | 30.7 | 41.9 | 36.3 | 228 | 36.3 |
| Buffalo | 41.6 | 36.8 | 28.8 | 226 | 35.7 |
| Atlanta | 40.6 | 29.4 | 38.0 | 224 | 36.0 |
| Tampa Bay | 32.6 | 27.4 | 45.2 | 221 | 35.1 |
| Philadelphia | 31.0 | 41.3 | 50.4 | 220 | 40.9 |
| Seattle | 46.8 | 31.8 | 31.5 | 215 | 36.7 |
| Dallas | 33.9 | 40.0 | 32.9 | 214 | 35.6 |
| LA Rams | 52.6 | 42.3 | 16.3 | 181 | 37.0 |
| Houston | 37.8 | 23.8 | 28.8 | 172 | 30.1 |
| Tennessee | 25.1 | 31.2 | 26.5 | 171 | 27.6 |
I have some interest in Evans as a last-round pick. He's definitely going to be the No. 2 running back in Tennessee, in line to start should Derrick Henry miss time due to injury, and the favorite for passing downs work from the get-go. It just needs to be acknowledged that those chances haven't been a huge part of the offense the last few years. Evans probably won't be usable as strictly a third-down back. He'll need to start to make much of an impact.
--Andy Richardson