Tennessee Titans: Derrick Henry, Dion Lewis could be devastating duo

The Tennessee Titans backfield will now feature Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis, and the duo provides perfect complements to one another.

Watching the Tennessee Titans offense was a painful affair at many times throughout the 2017 season. Yes, it was often tough to watch Marcus Mariota seemingly be caged in by milk toast schemes and play-calling. However, there may not have been a more frustrating thing on the offense than watching Derrick Henry continually be the best running back on the roster while Demarco Murray was given the RB1 workload more often than not.

With Murray now out of the picture in Tennessee though, it would appear that Henry is in line to take that role. However, the Titans also made a splash in free agency when they picked up former New England Patriot Dion Lewis. There’s no doubt that Lewis’ arrival will again signal a split workload in the backfield. This time around though, it should be far less frustrating.

Among the biggest gripes about the Titans backfield of Murray and Henry was the lack of variety that the combination provided. While different players to some degree, they were largely asked to do the same things when on the field. The other major issue, of course, was that Henry was better at those things when on the field but given less consistent opportunities.

That won’t be an issue with Henry and Lewis working in tandem out of the backfield, however. Obviously the big difference is the size of the two backs, Henry towering over the diminutive Lewis. With that said, both men have the ability to run between the tackles and bounce it outside. But the big difference is the threat that Lewis provides as a pass-catcher.

Throughout his tenure in Foxboro, Lewis’ ability as a receiver out of the backfield is what brought him the most attention. For all of the talent that Henry possesses, that’s certainly not his strong suit. Thus, Lewis will come into the offense and provide a perfect complement to Henry, while also still being able to provide the things that Henry does — perhaps to a lesser degree — to keep opposing defenses honest.

By providing this extra dimension out of the backfield, an often stagnant and predictable offense will now become multi-faceted just based off of the personnel available. More importantly perhaps, this new dynamic will also be functioning under the watch of a new coaching staff with head man Mike Vrabel and new offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur.

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With all of these pieces falling into place, the Titans offense could completely transform in 2018 — and that’s without even digging into the receiving corps finally being healthy and having talent around Mariota. At the epicenter of this potential offensive turnaround though will be Henry and Lewis. When it’s all said and done, they could provide the spark that Tennessee needs to take the next step.