Story by
Austin Stanley
Thu, July 9, 2026 at 3:55 AM UTC·4 min read
Tony Pollard isn’t getting slept on. He’s not getting disrespected. The Tennessee Titans running back is getting flat out ignored, like he doesn’t exist
Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard just got snubbed from ESPN’s latest NFL running backs breakdown for the 2026 season. No, I’m not here to make the case for Pollard to be ranked as a Top 10 running back in the league…
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The wild part is that ESPN named 20 total running backs in the article, including the top 10 ranked, three honorable mentions, and seven as “others receiving votes”, and Pollard didn’t appear anywhere
Not once
The man who is one of only two NFL running backs with four consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons, alongside Derrick Henry, apparently doesn’t exist to NFL execs, coaches, and scouts
I wasn’t expecting Pollard to crack the top 10. I think (10-1) Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker Jr., De’Von Achane, James Cook III, Henry, Jonathan Taylor, Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Bijan Robinson all deserve those spots
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But not a single vote? Not even an honorable mention? That’s where this falls apart
Tony Pollard’s numbers should speak for him
Pollard finished 13th in the NFL in rushing last season with 1,082 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 4.5 yards per carry across 17 games for a 3-win Tennessee team
The year before that, in 2024, he was 12th in the NFL with 1,079 rushing yards and five touchdowns, again averaging 4.5 per carry for the 3-win Titans
His final season with the Cowboys? He was 12th in rushing yards that year too. And the season that kicked off this 1,000-yard streak, he was 16th in the NFL with 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns while sharing carries with Ezekiel Elliott in Dallas
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That’s four straight years of 1,000-yard production. Only two players in the league can say that
Context makes this even more impressive
It’s not like Pollard has been running behind elite offensive lines or playing with consistent leads
It’s literally the opposite. Tennessee’s offensive line has been… awful
The Titans fired head coach Brian Callahan six weeks into last season. The defense cycled through 29 different starters throughout the year, rotating players off the street and off the couch into starting roles. I hadn’t even heard of some of these guys until I saw their last names on a Titans jersey during a game
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All of that losing meant the Titans found themselves often trailing by two touchdowns in the third quarte, which meant throwing the football instead of running it. Cam Ward had the 8th most pass attempts in the NFL last season with 540 (don’t forget Cam missed most of the last game)
Pollard’s 13th-place rushing finish happened despite the game script working against him constantly
The names that got votes over him
This is where it gets frustrating. Among the running backs who received votes ahead of Pollard on ESPN’s list: Alvin Kamara, Javonte Williams, DeAndre Swift, Chase Brown
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Pollard had more rushing yards than Hall last season. More rushing yards than Walker with the same number of touchdowns. More rushing yards than Chase Brown. Five fewer yards than Swift
I’m not saying those are bad running backs. They’re not. But the math isn’t mathing. You can’t be 13th in the NFL in rushing one year and 12th the year before and not land somewhere in a 20-player list. It makes no sense
This isn’t “Tony Pollard disrespect” anymore
Tony Pollard isn’t getting slept on. He’s not getting disrespected. He’s getting flat out ignored, like he doesn’t exist
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Robert Saleh made it known before he was even the Titans head coach, after Pollard ran for 100 yards against Saleh’s San Francisco defense last season, that he respected how professional Pollard is. Saleh has continued to praise Pollard’s approach this spring
“He’s an unbelievable pro,” Saleh said. “(He) does everything the right way, brings a lot of juice and energy, he’s a positive individual.”
Pollard is entering a contract year with a new coaching staff, a franchise quarterback in Ward entering year two, and a roster that should be significantly better around him. He’ll keep grinding, keep producing, and keep getting overlooked nationally. It’s just what happens when you play for a team that wins six games over two years
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But four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons on rosters that bad, behind offensive lines that shaky, with game scripts that unfavorable? That deserves more than zero votes. His work deserves to be acknowledged
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: It’s Official: Tony Pollard doesn’t exist in the NFL universe, and the math doesn’t add up for the Titans running back
