Michigan Football: Hassan Haskins lands in ideal spot with Titans

Michigan football’s Hassan Haskins went in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft to the Titans and here’s why that’s an ideal landing spot. 

It’s ironic that Hassan Haskins is most well-known as a Michigan football player for his five-touchdown performance against Ohio State and now, he is going to be coached by a former Ohio State Buckeye in Mike Vrabel.

That’s following the Tennessee Titans’ selection of Haskins, an All-Big Ten running back in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft on Saturday.

Some NFL draft analysts had Haskins projected to go as late as the seventh round. However, after breaking the Michigan football touchdown record in 2021 and proving to be an elite power back, it’s not a surprise to see a run-heavy team like the Titans take him early on day three.

D’Onta Foreman was a solid backup for Derrick Henry last season but he’s now with the Panthers and since the Titans ran the ball more than any team in the NFL last season, it stands to reason that they would want to add some reinforcements.

Haskins isn’t Henry, but he’s got some similar traits and it’s possible that he can take some of the hits that Henry has absorbed over the past few years.

Why the Titans are a great fit for Hassan Haskins

Henry averaged 4.3 yards per attempt last season but only racked up 937 yards. Henry has carried the ball at least 200 times in each over the past four seasons which included more than 300 carries each in 2019 and 2020.

As the Titans probably learned last season, 300-some carries are just too many. Henry wasn’t quite the same last season and by drafting Haskins, a one-cut, no-nonsense runner who always finds a way to get yards, they can maybe lighten Henry’s workload just a tad.

Haskins doesn’t really rip off huge runs as we have seen Henry do over the years. He isn’t a home-run hitter and that’s one reason why he’s still available.

But he’s a tough runner and he’s actually pretty good in pass protection which should help him play early. He can catch too but it’s not a strength.

Haskins was overlooked as a three-star recruit coming out of high school and he was overlooked in this draft. Yet, he will prove to be a solid value for Tennessee and a good backup to allow Henry to stay fresh.