Sometimes, a rookie like, say, I don’t know–De’Von Achane–runs for over 200 yards and scores four touchdowns, and all of a sudden, the guy is unavoidably on your Week 4 Waiver Wire radar. Then sometimes, a rookie like Tyjae Spears (24% rostered) runs for six yards on four carries, adds a gaudy three more yards on four catches, and you’re still forced to take a look.
Why is this a thing?
Well, the 22-year-old out of Tulane plays behind one of the all-time greats, Derrick Henry. The absolute bruiser of a back is known for punishing defenses more and more as the game progresses and wearing them down. Traditionally, no one is tougher in the fourth quarter than Henry, except when he doesn’t really play.
Down basically the entire game to the Browns, Henry was only on the field for 17 of the Titans’ offensive snaps. On those snaps, Henry managed a disgusting 11 rushes for 20 yards–he actually went into halftime with a negative 7. That’s 17 snaps out of 47. That’s barely a third of the time (36%). Spears, in contrast, was out there for 27 of 47 (57%). That’s a significant (potentially concerning if you are a Henry owner) difference. You can’t score fantasy points if you’re not on the field. Spears, despite his relative lack of production, was on the field.
This actually marks the second game in the young season that Spears has out-snapped Henry–he was on the field in Week 1 when the Titans faced the Saints 34 times, whereas Henry only played 30 snaps. And that game was close–literally decided by 1 point.
The fact is that Henry has not looked like the dominant force of nature this year that he has in the past. He has yet to average 4 yards a carry in a game, he’ll be turning 30 (which is ancient by running back standards) before the year is done, and if the Ryan Tannehill-led Titans continue to be down late in games, Spears–the team’s clear pass-catching back–may see the field more and more. Spears has been no slouch on the ground, either. He averages 5.5 yards a carry on his 15 rushing attempts this year.
Look, I’m a Henry owner and a huge fan. I don’t want him to fail. But the wheels of time are turning, cruel and inevitable. Spears is the next guy up right now, so if you’re a Henry manager, he’s definitely worth a look if you’ve got a spot on your roster someone like AJ Dillon has been stinking up. Maybe Henry explodes this week, but even if he does, Spears seems like he could become an essential handcuff as the season progresses.
Henry still resides at RB10 on The Wolf’s Rest of Season Rankings, while Spears climbs up to RB36 (+6 vs ECR).
