Fifth-round steal Nicholas Singleton is progressing toward team drills as he recovers from a foot injury, offering a potential spark for Tennessee’s struggling ground attack this season.
The Tennessee Titans were able to find an electric college football player in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Despite leaving the Penn State Nittany Lions as their all-time leading touchdown scorer (55) and fourth all-time career rusher (3,461), running back Nicholas Singleton fell to the fifth round of the draft.
The cause is a foot injury he sustained at the Senior Bowl in January.
Dr. Ronald Derr of the Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee weighed in and shared that the exact injury Singleton has, a Jones Fracture, usually needs three months to heal correctly.
On Friday, the Titans held a press conference for Robert Saleh as they kicked off another round of OTAs. Saleh was asked about how much Singleton would be allowed to do and if he had been cleared yet.
Saleh shared that Singleton was improving and would be involved in team reps at practice, but in a limited capacity.
"Yeah, he's progressing into team reps today, just a couple of them, but he's progressing really well," Saleh said.
If Singleton can transition well to the speed of the NFL, he could really benefit this Titans' rushing attack, which struggled mightily last season. The Titans averaged the third-fewest rushing yards per game (93.5) in 2025.
The Titans' backfield now contains Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears, Singleton, Kalel Mullings, Julius Chestnut and Michael Carter. Carter was added in free agency, and Singleton comes to the team from the draft.
The problem wasn't Pollard last season, that's for sure.
Pollard had his second-straight 1,000-yard season with the Titans last year. He is the only other player besides Derrick Henry to have 1,000 yards or more in the last four seasons.
The problem was the players behind Pollard on the depth chart at running back.
Spears missed four games due to injury and finished with 283 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Cam Ward had more rushing yards than Chestnut did, ending the year with 159 compared to the running back's 40.
The Titans have added more weapons around Ward this offseason, but it's critical that the team run the ball more efficiently in 2026.
Ward has Wan'Dale Robinson and Carnell Tate to throw to, but he can only do so much if the team doesn't support him with a consistent running game.
If Singleton is anything like the player he was in college, he could be one of the steals of the draft.
