2021 Summer Sleeper: Tennessee Titans
In our annual 32-part Summer Sleeper series, DLF scribes identify a lightly-touted player on each NFL roster who may be worthy of your consideration. Our subjects all have varying levels of “sleeperness,” but each merits a bit of in-depth discussion here in the Premium Content section.
To help everybody along, we are going to be categorizing our sleepers under one of three headings:
- Super Deep Sleepers – Players who aren’t roster-worthy in 12-team leagues, but are still worth keeping an eye on.
- Deep Sleepers – An end-of-the-roster player who is more often than not on the waiver wire in 12-team leagues.
- Sleeper – A likely rostered player who makes for a good trade target. Their startup ADP puts them out of the top 175 or so.
Because we aren’t going to give you mainstream sleepers, most of these players will undoubtedly fizzle. All we are asking is for you to keep an open mind and perhaps be willing to make room for one of these players on your bench. You never know when the next James Robinson is going to spring up. Feel free to add your own thoughts about our choice for the designated sleeper, or nominate one of your own in the comments below.
The Tennessee Titans have an offense with an exciting mix of changes and stability that makes them one of the most discussed teams this off-season. On the one hand, they have successful starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill, star running back Derrick Henry, and young stud receiver AJ Brown. On the other, however, they also allowed Corey Davis and Jonnu Smith to walk in free agency, leaving them super thin at the skill positions.
They tried to fill the void left by Davis and Smith with cheap solutions, signing Josh Reynolds from the Rams in free agency and drafting Dez Fitzpatrick in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. But neither Reynolds nor Fitzpatrick would even come close to replacing Davis or Smith, let alone both. Anthony Firkser at least represented some form of a fill-in for Smith at tight end, but he’s just a guy. He cannot offer any part of Smith’s athleticism.
Luckily, Tennessee made a massive splash in the trade market, acquiring Julio Jones from the Falcons. Jones gives the Titans two stud receivers, taking some of the pressure off Brown. Brown, Jones, Firkser, Reynolds, and Fitzpatrick offer the Titans at least some depth in the receiving game. While I almost chose Firkser for this discussion, I felt that his ceiling mostly went away after the Jones trade.
Instead, I want to discuss a new favorite player of mine on Twitter. He’s incredibly supportive of content creators, especially in the fantasy community. But of course, that’s not why I picked him here. Let’s jump into…
Darrynton Evans, RB
Category: Sleeper
Unlike some sleepers in this series, Evans is rostered in almost all dynasty leagues. The Titans selected him in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, with the 93rd overall pick. He profiled as an attractive potential complement to Henry, who the Titans had just extended to a massive contract.
Chart courtesy of Sports Reference CFB.
Evans played his college ball at Appalachian State in the Sun Belt Conference. He started his career as a backup in 2016 before taking a medical redshirt season in 2017. However, in 2018, he became the clear starting running back, leading the team in carries. Then in 2019, he became a workhorse, moving up to 255 carries and 1,480 yards with an impressive 18 rushing touchdowns. He also expanded his receiving work. Because of his success, he skipped his potential redshirt senior season and declared for the NFL Draft after 2019.
Even though Evans was a true workhorse in his final college season, his size suggested he would be more of a complementary back at the NFL level. While he wasn’t an exceptional college receiver, it seemed like NFL teams would like to use him as a third-down back to hide his small stature. Of course, the Titans previously employed Dion Lewis as a third-down pairing with Henry, so there was a roadmap for Evans’ potential usage.
Unfortunately, Evans saw little playing time as a rookie. He finished training camp as the Titans number two running back behind Henry, with fullback Khari Blasingame as the only other running back on the roster. However, he suffered a hamstring injury before week one, which derailed his rookie year. He missed weeks one and two with that injury before returning for week three. After playing two games, he reinjured the same hamstring, and the Titans placed him on injured reserve.
Due to Evans’ injury struggles, the Titans turned to veterans Jeremy McNichols and D’Onta Foreman as Henry’s backups. None of the Titans’ backups made any impact, though, as Henry had 378 carries, while no other running back had more than 47. By the time Evans returned, the Titans were in a playoff push, and they didn’t have time to integrate him into the offense. As a result, he only saw mop-up duty, finishing his rookie year with 14 carries for 54 yards and two catches for 27 yards and a touchdown. I fully expect Evans to have been Henry’s backup as a rookie without his injuries, as the Titans went into the season with only Henry and Evans on their active roster at halfback.
For 2021, the Titans retained McNichols and signed Brian Hill to replace Foreman on their roster. However, neither player has any guaranteed money, so the Titans can quickly move on from one or both of them. Before they traded for Jones, the Titans seemed to be interested in deploying Evans as a receiver in a Tarik Cohen-type role. But now, I expect them to focus on using him to spell Henry in the passing game. Hill is purely a backup, while McNichols is the ultimate journeyman. Neither player is a threat to take playing time from a healthy Evans.
In 2020, Henry had only 31 targets and 19 receptions, both of which were career-highs. He also had a ridiculous carry workload, and he’s 27 years old, putting him at a higher risk of injury. Based on Evans’ college profile, he could at least handle a starting role in a committee, even if he wouldn’t offer anything near what Henry does. Evans also recently turned 23 years old this month, and the Titans did spend a third-rounder on him just last year.
Right now, Evans is the RB59 and 189th overall pick in DLF’s June 1QB ADP. I rank him almost two rounds higher in that format, at 167th overall. He currently ranks behind Latavius Murray, Lamical Perine, and Jeff Wilson Jr, and I would prefer Evans over any of those options. It’s always tough to trade for a player like Evans, who carries little dynasty value. Therefore, I like him more as a sleeper to draft during a startup draft or a throw-in on a far more significant deal. At his current price, he only has upside with minimal risk.
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