The Tennessee Titans made what was no doubt their most surprising pick in recent memory — well, some would say since the second-round pick of Will Levis, but I digress — when they drafted running back Tyjae Spears in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft.
The selection is bizarre for several reasons, chief of which has to do with the Titans already having one of the best running backs in the sport.
Even if Henry isn’t in the plans for 2023, the Titans have Hassan Haskins, and Spears figures to be a complementary back rather than a workhorse, which is hardly worth taking over a major need at wide receiver.
I don’t even need to throw in the concerns over his knee to further show how bad this move is, but I will anyway. However, let me be clear, I think Spears is a talented player and this reaction has less to do with him than it does the circumstances in which he was taken.
At the combine, new #Titans RB Tyjae Spears’ medicals showed no ACL, loss of cartilage, and arthritis in his knee (via @RapSheet)
Questions about “if his career can outlast his first contract.” That’s why a player of his caliber dropped to 3rd Round.
— Sam Phalen (@Sam_Phalen) April 29, 2023
The Titans remain without an addition at wide receiver through three rounds of the draft, something I would have considered impossible to happen going into it.
I can live with the move for Levis in the spot it happened, but, again, this one just doesn’t make any sense to me. The reaction, as you’d expect, wasn’t positive.