Reloading the Titans: Dion Lewis Lands in Tennessee

Ryan Finley

I’ll start this off with a confession. I love me some Dion Lewis. I honestly didn’t know anything about him during his early career in Philly, mostly because I wasn’t deep in the dynasty well at that point. But his narrative during the 2015 season really caught my ear and then my heart. I loved hearing about a guy who could’ve been something but never got there due to injury.

It was a great tale to watch unfold in New England when, in a mere six games, we really got to see what Dion could do. Cuts like magic in the open field, leaving defenders falling down, stellar receiving skills and the unexpected ability to rush through the heart of the defense when called upon. All this from a guy that was supposed to be done, who was also playing for peanuts. I’ve been a believer in Dion ever since.

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Now that hasn’t always worked out (and let’s be honest, this is fantasy – we all have guys we are wrong about.) Lewis continued to miss time in both 2015 and 2016 due to injury, and there were times I thought he’d never quite get where I had hoped. Then 2017 happened. Here’s a look at Lewis’ numbers during his time in the NFL, courtesy of Pro Football Reference:

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Lewis played in all 16 games in 2017, put up 900 yards on the ground, and caught 32 balls for 214 yards. Oh, and he scored nine touchdowns. That was good for the RB15 in PPR leagues. Even more importantly, Lewis put up 32 points in week 16, which turned more than a few championship matchups. (I know he helped me win a ‘ship in my 16-team league.)

But that’s all in the past, as Lewis has left the Patriots’ building and landed in Tennessee. Though I have an irrational love for Lewis, he was not one of the biggest ticket free agents out there, but I still find this move one of the most nuanced and interesting to analyze.

The Tennessee Situation

The Titans are attempting to turn the offensive page this season after showing Mike Mularkey the door, even though his team did manage a nice playoff win. It appears they were too far apart philosophically to continue. (And you can read more about that in the Tennessee entry in my Coaching Carousel series.) They went with former Patriot linebacker Mike Vrabel as the new man in charge. Vrabel’s background obviously labels him a defensive head coach, but he made a very interesting choice for his offensive coordinator in Matt LaFleur, who most recently found work as the OC under Sean McVay in LA. It will be interesting what he will do with the pieces in Tennessee. More on that later.

The Titans also recently parted ways with DeMarco Murray, who had a strong season in the Music City in ‘16, but couldn’t follow it up in ‘17. To be fair, the same could be said for a lot of the Titans offense, including Marcus Mariota. It’s a big reason Mularkey’s “exotic smashmouth” left town. The Titans offense was a disappointment all around.

Once Murray was shown the door, Derrick Henry believers across the fantasy landscape rejoiced. The way-too-fast-for-his-size Henry would finally get the starting shot so many had hoped for. Henry has shown flashes of what he could be with limited touches in his first two seasons. He’s had 286 carries for 1234 yards and ten touchdowns with only a partial workload. Dreams of Henry as the RB1 dance in many a fantasy owners’ head.

But there is a catch. Henry has been quite poor as a pass protector, with a number of instances where he hung Mariota out to dry…er, get crushed. He also hasn’t shown a lot as a receiver, with only 24 catches thus far. But the lack of passing game work is likely a product of that bad pass protection, and could also be a consequence of the old, tired Mularkey and crew game plans.

The New Kid in Town

Which brings us back to Dion. If there’s one thing that Lewis can really do, it is catch the ball out of the backfield. He has Devonta Freeman-level talent in terms of route running, getting open, and scoring through the air. Some running backs can run the occasional screen or turn a nice wheel route, but some, like Lewis, can do nearly all the work of a wide receiver. He can line up anywhere and beat his man, and he’s proven it again and again.

So on one side, we have the weaknesses of Henry in pass protection and perhaps in the passing game, and the Titans have now added what could be a perfect complementary back to Henry. It’s a bit of a bummer when it comes to fantasy, as I’m sure we’d all rather they fill the rest of the running back roster with lesser players and let Henry carry a big, big load, but that isn’t the state of today’s NFL. The days of feature backs on every team are long since gone, and we have to accept this new normal of two (or sometimes more) backs splitting the load.

The Coda

So ok, we’ve talked about their complementary skill-sets and what that might mean, so let’s get back to that new offense. You should probably throw out what you think you know about the Tennessee offense, as LaFleur is a very different coach from the previous regime. I’d expect to see a lot of what we’ve seen in LA (though I won’t dare to hope for the same result.) We might see more outside zone running along with a good deal of play action and multiple route combinations. At the very least, there will be a lot more going on in the new offense.

Given that, I expect this to be a closer to even split than some might imagine. In fact, I’d expect to see Henry and Lewis share the backfield quite a bit, especially with how Lewis can easily split out as a receiver. Some might see Lewis a guy just to be used as a change of pace, but I don’t believe that to be the case. I think his skill set is sought after by the new OC, and I expect something closer to 60/40 or perhaps even more even. In any case, I think the Titans offense will be interesting to watch with the shake-ups in the backfield and the new OC.

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