Tennessee

Titans

Jefferson was second on the Titans in receiving yards and did it all on one catch. He was also second on the team with five targets and would have had a 40-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter if Cam Ward, who was pressured on the play, hadn’t sailed the pass over his head. The Titans have talked about getting Jefferson more involved, and he’s the clear depth threat in this offense, so perhaps he will luck into some garbage time production over the final weeks. However, he did leave the game in the fourth quarter with a lower back injury after making an impressive leaping catch and landing directly on his back. Keep an eye on his practice reports.

Ayomanor had only one target on the day, but he hauled it in, so that’s something. The Titans don’t seem to want Cam Ward to throw the ball downfield much, which means it’s really hard for anybody to roster Ayomanor in re-draft leagues for the remainder of this season. However, Ayomanor and Ward also had a miscommunication on a fourth-quarter pass that almost led to an interception, so maybe that hesitancy makes some sense.

Dike had the most targets of any Titans wide receiver, but that’s not much to write home about. The Titans love to run screen passes, and Dike is really shifty after the catch, so you figure he’d be a good option on those plays, but they don’t seem to agree. However, the rookie also had a brutal drop in the fourth quarter on a play where Cam Ward evaded three rushers and escaped to the sideline before throwing a dart that hit Dike in the chest. He needs to make those catches, and the drop is a good example of why he’s hard to trust in fantasy leagues right now.

Okonkwo led the team in targets, but that’s mainly because the Titans seem to only want to run screen passes, which leads to plenty of targets for their tight ends and running backs. Okonkwo did have a nice 17-yard catch and run in the first half, where he broke a few tackles, but this is not a role that provides much consistent fantasy value.

Helm ran a nice route in the first half and was left wide open for an easy, walk-in 34-yard touchdown catch. He is an athletic tight end and possesses a little bit of fantasy upside if this Titans offense could get anything going. However, that is more of a question for next season, and Helm is also stuck in a bit of a committee with Chig Okonkwo, so it’s hard to rely on him outside of deeper two-tight-end leagues. He’s an intriguing stash in dynasty leagues though. There is something here.

He also added just two receiving yards on two catches. Spears’ three carries on the day put him well behind Tony Pollard’s 14 rushes. Spears also only had two targets despite the Titans trailing by double-digits for most of this game. It seems that Pollard’s breakout game last week convinced the Titans to give him the far larger share of the workload this week. We’re not sure that the backfield split will stay this pronounced, but it’s hard to roster Spears in redraft leagues considering how little he’s producing and how bad this Titans offense has been.

Pollard looked good on the ground again, one week after obliterating the Browns for 161 yards rushing. The Titans were down multiple scores for most of the game, so they weren’t able to rely on the ground game too much, but they kept giving Pollard chances because he was far and away their best offensive player. He also outcarried Tyjae Spears 14-to-3, which is good news for Pollard’s fantasy value since it seemed like Spears had taken over the lead in the committee a few weeks ago. The veteran has been playing with some juice lately and is a low-end RB2 option against a deflated Chiefs defense next week.

Ward has become a more efficient game manager as the season has gone on, which is a compliment to the rookie based on how the beginning of the season went. He eluded rushers in the pocket, extended some plays with his legs, and threw the ball away instead of taking unnecessary shots downfield. His touchdown throw to Gunnar Helm in the first half was a frozen rope, but he also missed a wide-open Van Jefferson for a potential 40-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Ward remains inconsistent, but this Titans offense is not as giving to opposing defenses as it had been earlier, which is a step in the right direction. We’d like to see them let Ward take a few more shots down the field, considering they’re 2-12 and fully in development mode. Perhaps next week, against a Chiefs team that was just eliminated from the playoffs, would be the right time.

No real surprises here, and nobody of much fantasy relevance.

He appeared to have injured himself in practice on Thursday, and the veteran guard did not participate in Friday’s session. Left tackle Dan Moore (neck) is also questionable after getting in limited sessions on Thursday and Friday. We have higher hopes for Moore than Zeitler at this point, but the Titans could be down two of their better linemen against the 49ers on Sunday.