Titans 2022 training camp preview: Who spells Derrick Henry?

The heart and soul of the Tennessee Titans’ offense is its rushing attack, which is led by superstar rusher, Derrick Henry.

Unfortunately for Henry and the Titans, he missed half a season in 2021 due to a broken bone in his foot, otherwise the Alabama product was likely heading for another 2,000-yard season and rushing title.

Even without Henry, the Titans still managed to thrive on the ground thanks to stellar blocking from the offensive line. In fact, the rushing attack was far and away the best thing about Tennessee’s offense.

Henry’s two main replacements, Dontrell Hilliard and D’Onta Foreman, had a combined total of 916 yards on the ground over the last nine weeks, just 21 less than Henry did over the first eight weeks.

Looking ahead to 2022, Foreman, who took control of the backfield with Henry out, is no longer with the team after signing with the Carolina Panthers, but Hilliard remains.

With the Titans looking to lessen Henry’s workload at least a little bit, who is in line to help out? We take a look at that and more in our training camp preview for the running back position in Nashville.

Note: we’ve also included the fullback position in this article because fullbacks need love too.

Roster locks

Syndication: The Tennessean

Roster locks: Derrick Henry, Hassan Haskins, Tory Carter (FB)

I guess you can use the old “never say never” adage with Haskins when it comes to his being a roster lock after we saw 2021 fourth-round pick Dez Fitzpatrick get cut in 2021, but from all accounts Haskins is doing just fine and we have zero concerns about him making the roster right now.

Whether or not he wins the job as the back who primarily spells Henry remains to be seen.

Henry needs no mention for obvious reasons, and the Titans will carry Carter as Henry’s lead blocker again after it was clear Tennessee’s offense was able to do more with Carter on the field in 2021.

On the bubble

AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

On the bubble: Dontrell Hilliard, Trenton Cannon, Julius Chestnut, Jordan Wilkins

Hilliard is easily the favorite to secure a roster spot out of the players in this group and is as close to a roster lock as one can get. Cannon is a good bet because of his special teams prowess, both as a defender and returner.

Chestnut and Wilkins have an outside shot at best to make the cut, but both could be vying for a spot on the practice squad after cuts are made.

The battle for scraps

AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

While we’re calling them “scraps,” there might actually be more work to go around in 2022 with the Titans likely hoping to lessen Henry’s workload a bit after he handled 900 carries over his last 39 regular season games.

However, there’s no telling how things will go when the Titans are in the flow of games, especially when they have the lead and the ability to feed one of the game’s best closers in The King.

Most of the snaps up for grabs figure to come on third downs, where the Titans simply haven’t used Henry enough in years past, although he was easily on pace to break his career-high in receptions before getting hurt.

If we’re talking third downs, Hilliard has the edge here thanks to experience, but he is vulnerable. Hilliard showed some warts in pass protection last year and is an average pass-catcher out of the backfield.

Haskins did prove to be a reliable receiver and pass protector in college, but he’ll not only have to show he can be the same in the NFL, he’ll also have to prove to be better than Hilliard, which isn’t exactly a tall task.

Haskins’ best bet to see snaps in 2022 is as a rusher. The Michigan product has a similar bruising style to that of Henry’s, so he’s an ideal fit to take the ball on early downs and obvious running situations on third downs when Tennessee wants to give Henry a breather.

The only semblance of a threat to the Haskins-Hilliard competition is Cannon, but he’s really here for special teams more than anything else.

Cannon has just 51 carries and 20 receptions in 46 games over four seasons in the NFL. Of his 607 career snaps, 377 of them have come on special teams. If he makes the roster, it’ll be for that purpose.

As far as Chestnut and Wilkins are concerned, one of the two is likely to be kept on the practice squad after getting cut. Chestnut has gotten some praise from beat writers in practice this offseason, but Wilkins has been quiet.

53-man prediction

AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

Prediction: Titans keep Derrick Henry, Hassan Haskins, Dontrell Hilliard, Trenton Cannon and Tory Carter (FB) on the 53-man roster, while Julius Chestnut is kept on the practice squad.

We caught a lot of slack for carrying four running backs on our last 53-man roster projection (five if you include fullback Tory Carter), but it isn’t outlandish to think Tennessee does just that.

The Titans love a good special teams player, and Cannon qualifies as such. Not only can he contribute as a gunner, but the veteran also has return experience, and both of Tennessee’s return roles are up for grabs.

Henry, Haskins and Hilliard will handle the duties on offense, while Cannon will serve as a key special teamer. Haskins and Hilliard also figure to chip-in on special teams in some capacity.

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Syndication: The Tennessean

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