When it comes to the Tennessee Titans and running backs, the conversation starts and ends with star rusher, Derrick Henry, who has dominated the league like no other the past two seasons.
But the Titans do have an intriguing player behind him in 2020 third-round pick and running back, Darrynton Evans.
The Appalachian State product was limited to just five games due to injury during his rookie campaign, but showed flashes of being an impact player during the Titans’ Week 15 win over the Detroit Lions when he totaled 57 yards on 10 touches and a touchdown.
Looking ahead to 2021, ESPN’s Mike Clay placed Evans at No. 24 in his backup running back rankings, while also giving a little fantasy football insight into Tennessee’s situation at the position.
24. Darrynton Evans, Tennessee Titans – Flex if Derrick Henry is out
Evans landed in a very insurance-friendly spot when he was drafted in the third round last season, but he went on to play only 34 snaps as Henry held up for all 17 games. Evans projects as a change-of-pace/receiving specialist in the pros, so while he could flirt with flex numbers in PPR, he’d certainly share snaps and carries with Brian Hill and Jeremy McNichols.
It remains to be seen exactly how the Titans will deploy Evans when Henry is healthy, but we can guarantee that the second-year back won’t see many, if any carries when the Alabama product is healthy.
Evans’ best bet to produce with Henry in the lineup is in the passing game, where he could soak up third-down work and be split out as a receiver in some instances.
Still, with Julio Jones now in the mix, Evans will have a ton of competition for looks there, also. As a result, he doesn’t have standalone value in fantasy football no matter how you slice it.
Should Henry get hurt, Evans would see an increase in carries and, to a lesser extent, in targets, but he wouldn’t receive the kind of workload Henry does thanks to his smaller frame.
Instead, he’d split snaps with whoever else is on the depth chart. We project that to be Brian Hill, who has a frame more suitable for a heavy dose of carries if Henry has to miss time.
