Heisman Trophy winner and first overall selection Cam Ward enters
his rookie season as one of those franchise saviors that many
first overall selections are viewed as. Ward overtakes the starting
spot after Will Levis was given the opportunity last season and
proceeded to have a painfully erratic and overall dreadful 2024
campaign. Ward’s physical tools, his experienced offensive
weapons, and his documented history of success provide the groundwork
for a productive season.
Head coach Brian Callahan and offensive coordinator Nick Holz
are both entering their second season in their respective positions.
But we can safely assume that Callahan will have his fingerprints
all over Ward’s development. Remember, Callahan groomed
Joe Burrow into the fantasy stud he’s become while OC in
Cincinnati, guiding him to 82 TD passes through his first three
seasons. While Ward may not have as high a ceiling as Burrow,
his floor suggests he’s at least worthy of a roster spot
who could find himself startable against certain opponents when
byes and injuries begin piling up. Stash him as a QB3 and keep
tabs on his production.
RB Tony Pollard
(2024 RB Rank No. 23, 11.4 FPts/G)
Chances are, 28-year-old Tony Pollard won’t be the reason
you win your fantasy league this upcoming season. He’s a
running back who has never eclipsed 1,100 yards rushing, has only
one season with more than 50 receptions, and only one season of
double-digit TDs. Not exactly a fantasy option that managers are
fighting over. But Pollard provides solid depth on any fantasy
roster he’s on. He’s a durable (only missed two games
in his six-year career) starting RB on his NFL team with few proven
commodities behind him and an offensive-minded head coach who
wants the offense to be the calling card of this team.
Tennessee’s defense last season, particularly its run defense,
was pretty bad. They finished 26th in total yards allowed, and
only five teams in the NFL gave up more than the 21 rushing scores.
That translates into hidden production through the air for Pollard.
Ward is not much of a run threat, and young passers tend to lean
heavily on dump-offs to RBs and TEs. That means Pollard can have
one or two weeks where he ends up as a top-12 RB due to garbage-time
receptions. If you draft Pollard as a RB3/flex option, you won’t
be disappointed.
Spears is one of those lottery tickets we find in the sofa cushions
that we soon realize was not worth the price. Spears, to his credit,
has at least been a consistently average RB so far through his
first two NFL seasons and does modest work in the passing game.
He’s played in 29 games but has only seen double-digit rush attempts
in four contests. Two of those games came in the final two weeks
of 2024 when the season was essentially over. Translation: Spears
is not a cornerstone fixture in Tennessee’s offense and should
be largely ignored in most fantasy drafts until the later rounds.
But, as always, if something happens to Pollard, Spears will become
a hot commodity.
It still sickens me that I selected Calvin Ridley over Malik
Nabers last season as my WR3. I tried using the Will Levis excuse
to pacify my frayed emotions, but it didn’t work well. Be
that as it may, Ridley will be working with the best QB he’s
had since Matt Ryan during his Atlanta Falcon days (and yes, that
includes Trevor Lawrence). The Titans’ defense is expected
to be in the bottom-third of the league in 2025, meaning Tennessee
will have no other choice but to toss the rock to keep up on the
scoreboard.
To what degree Cam Ward will help fortify Ridley’s productivity
will, of course, help determine Ridley’s viability as a
player fantasy managers can bank on in 2025. If Ward is solid
and looks like he belongs (concepts Levis couldn’t grasp
in 2024), Ridley can return to fantasy-worthiness. But if he encounters
rookie struggles throughout the season, Ridley will return to
the fringe-starter role he played in the fantasy realm in 2024.
No other player on Tennessee’s offense is tied more to Cam
Ward’s development than Ridley. Keep that in mind when you
select him in the middle rounds.
Tyler Lockett is on the wrong side of 30 years old, and his play
has looked like it, as he has progressively worsened statistically
during the last three seasons. Every year between 2022 and 2024,
his numbers have steadily dropped across the board in receptions
(84, 79, 49), receiving yards (1033, 894, 600), and receiving
TDs (9, 5, 2). He will turn 33 at the end of September, and there
is no reason we shouldn’t see the recent trend continue.
Lockett is worthy of a roster spot only in larger leagues. His
downward production trajectory and his age, however, should make
his tenure on your roster a temporary one.
Chig Okonkwo is listed as the starting tight end in Tennessee,
but that’s not saying much in terms of fantasy value. He’s
played in every game during his three-year career which is respectable
but he only has 5 total TDs. While there could be times when Okonkwo
benefits from a high pass-volume game, that’s simply too
flimsy a reason to stash a player with as low a floor and as low
a ceiling as he has. Leave him on the waiver wire.
