After a dismal rushing season, Tennessee bets on Penn State powerhouse Nicholas Singleton to revitalize their backfield and alleviate pressure on quarterback Cam Ward for the 2026 campaign.
The Tennessee Titans had an issue with consistency in the running game last season.
The lack of a consistent running game put a lot of pressure on Cam Ward. Regardless, he still threw for 3,169 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The Titans had the third-fewest rushing yards per game in the NFL, at 93.5. Tony Pollard had his second consecutive 1,000-yard season. Outside of that, Tyjae Spears was second on the team with 283 rushing yards, followed by Julius Chestnut (40) and Chimere Dike (18).
After the 2026 NFL Draft, the Titans' running back room now features Pollard, Spears, Chestnut, Kalel Mullings, Michael Carter and Nicholas Singleton.
Singleton was selected by the Titans in the fifth round of the draft out of Penn State. He fell that far due to a foot injury he suffered in the Senior Bowl.
He had an extremely productive college career, leaving Penn State as the program's all-time leading scorer (55) and fourth in career rushing yards (3,461).
Singleton's number took a hit last season, as he finished with 549 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
This can be attributed to the down year that Penn State had in 2025. The Nittany Lions barely made a bowl game at 6-6, and head coach James Franklin was fired. Penn State wasn't able to run the ball as much since they were down in games.
Todd McShay believes that Singleton's early success in college is a good indicator of how successful he'll be in the NFL, courtesy of AtoZ Sports' Austin Stanley and Easton Freeze.
“You’re betting on the early career stuff, and you know, it’s interesting if you go back and study the trends,” McShay explained. “Running backs that had great production early in their college career, regardless of what it was late, tend to work out. Why the correlation? You can, you know, raw talent or whatever it is. But there’s a strong correlation between running backs that, like, freshman/sophomore year that have massive production in college wind up going into the NFL and either out-play their draft slot or out-play a lot of other running backs that maybe finish their career stronger.”
Singleton fits that mold after the success he had early in his career at Penn State.
Singleton had a solid freshman year at Penn State in 2022. He rushed for 1,061 yards and 12 touchdowns.
If the Titans are able to establish a running game, it would greatly benefit Ward and the rest of the offense.
The data supports what McShay said about Singleton. Can he unlock what was a mostly dormant rushing attack last season?