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Week 5 was a big week for bounce-back performances, as guys like Breece Hall and Ja'Marr Chase went absolutely nuclear after looking very pedestrian through the first quarter of the season. Unfortunately, it was also a big week for injuries with multiple fantasy studs going down and likely to miss a decent amount of time.
If you were able to avoid the hits, good for you. I'm one of those people who had Justin Jefferson and De'Von Achane on my roster so I'm most definitely hitting the waiver wire in search of some help.
One of the guys who is a relatively hot name right now is Tennessee Titans' rookie running back Tyjae Spears. Can Spears help your team in Week 6? Should you pick him up? Let's take a look.
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What Did Tyjae Spears Do In Week 5?
Spears was a 3rd-round pick out of Tulane University this past April. He ran wild his senior season, rushing for over 1500 yards and 19 touchdowns. Seen as a three-down back coming out of school, Mike Vrabel and Co. decided to take a chance on Spears despite one of his knees missing an ACL entirely.
Spears flashed heavily in the preseason, leading the NFL in yards after contact per rush. Heading into his rookie year, many thought he would merely be a handcuff afterthought to future Hall-of-Famer Derrick Henry, but Spears has played early and often in his young career.
He had his best game as a pro against Indy last week, rushing seven times for 34 yards and a score, adding four receptions for 35 yards. While Henry was his usual self the week prior dominating in a very favorable game script, that hasn't been the case for most of the season. It's a bit eye-opening when viewing the snap numbers both of these backs so far.
Spears is a great receiving back who is seeing the field a ton. The Titans are not an elite football team by any stretch of the imagination and have found themselves down quite often in '23. Their lean-on-Henry+defense tactic that worked for a number of years appears to be faltering, and Spears is the biggest benefactor from this new forced outcome.
King Henry's YPC is down this year and the eyeball test says he's lost a step. The 2015 Heisman Trophy winner has had quite a decorated career, but the tables are starting to turn in Nashville. The burst and explosiveness that Spears shows on this touchdown run are a prime reason why he is seeing so much playing time this early on.
Are There Any Worrying Signs With Spears?
While Spears has shown plenty of promise in only five games thus far, he is still squarely behind Henry on the depth chart and this will not change unless the latter goes down with an injury. If the Titans are in a positive game script, Mike Vrabel will still want to run the ball 25+ times with Henry if he can. While it's definitely a question mark of how often Tennessee is going to be in that environment, it's unlikely Spears will out-touch Henry no matter what. This has yet to happen once this season, even with Spears seeing over 50% snap share in 4-5 games.
Just because he won't see as many touches as The King on a weekly basis does not mean the rookie isn't valuable, though. The Titans will likely be in a negative game script more often than not, which will favor Spears' talent. He's a much better pass-catcher than Henry and has been a lot more efficient with these touches this season. The only worrying signs with Spears are that he may not see enough opportunities to be a weekly flex, but the kid is extremely talented.
Should I Pickup Tyjae Spears Off the Waiver Wire in Fantasy Football?
With Henry's efficiency struggles and the Titans offense looking bone-dry for much of the season, the team needs an electric player like Spears to help them move the ball. It's evident that the coaching staff really trusts him with how much he's seeing the field and that should continue to at least hold steady, especially if the Titans find themselves playing catch-up more often than not.
Spears is one of the best stashes in fantasy football given his talent and snap share in this Titans offense, and should fly up dynasty RB rankings throughout the year if he continues to impress. Henry has terrorized their Week 6 opponent the Baltimore Ravens in the past, but if Lamar Jackson gets it going early, Spears could be in for a nice (London) afternoon.
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