ClutchPoints
The Tennessee Titans released their initial 2025 unofficial depth chart one week ahead of their first preseason game. While most of the listings were expected, the Titans’ raised some eyebrows with their placement of running backs Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears and Kalel Mullings.
The backfield did not change much over the offseason, with Mullings joining the group in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Pollard, who led the team with 1,079 rushing yards in 2024, unsurprisingly returned as the starter, with Spears expected to be a 1B to his 1A. The two began the 2024 season as co-starters on the depth chart, but Pollard separated himself in his first year with the team.
Despite Pollard’s emergence, head coach Brian Callahan teased the same idea he composed in 2024. Callahan said that he views Pollard and Spears on a similar plane, suggesting the two would be listed as co-starters on the depth chart again.
The overall numbers might suggest that those are simply empty words, but there was some credence to that claim late in the year. Pollard dominated the backfield for most of the season, but Spears closed the gap down the stretch.
Once Spears returned from a hamstring injury in Week 9, the backfield became a near-even split for the rest of the season. Spears played over 40 percent of the offensive snaps in five of his final seven games, including two games — Weeks 14 and 15 — during which he spent more time on the field than Pollard.
Everything about Tennessee’s running back room suggested that Spears caught up to Pollard, and Callahan finally had the two-headed backfield that he has been proposing for over a year. Yet, that is not what the Titans’ first unofficial 2025 depth chart depicted.
The Titans listing Tony Pollard as their starting running back on their first 2025 depth chart shocked no one. However, whether fans expected to see Tyjae Spears as a co-RB1 or not, nobody predicted that he would be listed on even ground as rookie Kalel Mullings. Spears and Mullings were both listed as second-stringers, with Julius Chestnut, Jordan Mims and Jermar Jefferson all on the third team.
Entering the draft off a fantastic end to his college career at Michigan, Mullings was an excellent value pick for Tennessee. His bulky frame as a former linebacker immediately made him the frontrunner to be the Titans’ short-yardage back in 2025, a role they did not have filled in 2024. Most fans still expected Mullings to begin his career competing with Chestnut for the third-string role, and not on par with either Pollard or Spears.
The Titans’ 2024 backfield was very much a two-man crew. Pollard accounted for 58 percent of the team’s total rushing production, but Spears’ strong end to the season set the table for what should be an intriguing tandem in 2025. Pollard and Spears were supposed to be on a tier of their...
