3. Time for young players to make a splash.
Early I said that rookies were going to be key in the process of getting over this massive drop in cap space for 2021, but let’s get into specifics.
Right now we know that the Tennessee Titans are most likely not going to sign Derrick Henry to a new deal and they will let him play on the tag. Fans are understandably not incredibly excited about that, but financially it does make sense. (Still, I completely understand why everyone is nervous.)
Enter rookie #1 which is Darrynton Evans, the Titans 3rd round running back out of App. State.
There is a good chance that Evans sees 100+ touches this season because he is replacing Dion Lewis who wasn’t exactly efficient last season, but who still managed to get nearly 80 touches in this offense.
I don’t think the plan is to run Derrick Henry into the ground and let him walk, I still think the Titans see him as the long term answer. However, if there is any question about that at all after this season Tennessee is going to face a terrifying predicament but one that would be much worse if they had just made him the highest-paid RB in the NFL.
Similarly, Kristian Fulton is the other rookie who could have a massive impact on the Titans plans going forward. Remember that proposed restructuring of Malcolm Butler’s deal that I talked about?
Well, if Fulton plays well and the Titans haven’t agreed to a new deal with Butler, then the idea of a CB group built around Adoree Jackson and Kristian Fulton is a pretty strong option for the Titans and it gives them a lot of speed on the boundary. With slot corners still being a pretty easy position to come back, a great Fulton season could save the Titans nearly $30 million over 2021-2022.