A monster game earned Jacobs a spot on my list for the first time this season. Joe Mixon might be one of then most underrated running backs in the NFL when it comes to his ability to be an every-down threat. Oklahomas Big Recruiting Haul Who Will Make the Biggest Impact for the Sooners in 2023? The "bell cow" running back is on the way out. Another reason this division is one of the best when it comes to running backs is because these players will have major responsibilities in 2022. These rankings reflect the status of each player as of today and could very well change by the seasons end. Taylor won't play against the Broncos due to an ankle injury, but I'm hoping he'll start to trend upward after giving his body a rest. Felton had just seven carries for 24 yards in 2021, the fewest of each of any running back on our list that wasnt injured. He also did that in one season with a bad offensive line and a very limited quarterbacks that allowed defense to focus solely on Harris. Having the league's rushing champion from the previous season will help that narrative, but there also are plenty of diverse skill sets on the depth chart. 8:31 am ET. Man, what a rough week for NFL backfields with a number of players who were performing at a career-best pace suffering injuries. 2022 stats:4 games | 84 att | 463 rush yds | 5.5 ypc | 2 rush TD | 15 rec | 107 rec yds | 0 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost. Chubb missed three games . The Washington Commanders placed the franchise tag on defensive tackle Daron Payne, paying him almost $19 million if a long-term deal isn't worked out.Payne earned 11.5 sacks in 2022. Expectations may be low for this year's Atlanta Falcons team but after adding roughly a dozen starters, including a new starting quarterback, fans are excited to see the team take the field.. In 2021, the veteran ball-carrier ranked top-15 among qualifiers in explosive runs (36), missed tackles forced (52), and rushing grade (82.1). His 6 scores are the most all time by a Lions player through the first four games of a season. 14). Hines has been targeted 81, 58, and 76 times in the past three seasons, catching 78, 76, and 83 percent of those throws. Again, he was not the most efficient player but was productive in the historical sense. He's getting the carries but hasn't produced much. This knack for roster building has been reflected in the league standings with the division having five appearances in the playoffs over the past two seasons (Bengals x1, Browns x1, Ravens x1, Steelers x2). While everybody is focusing on team win totals, let's be a little more specific here with some bold predictions and go out on a limb for each team, giving some takes that will be specific to PFF grades and some that are more general. DEarnest Johnson emerged as a legitimate NFL running back last season while Chubb and Hunt were injured. Will Edwards-Helaire prove he's a legitimate No. May 17, 2022. There is a clear go-to rusher in Las Vegas: Josh Jacobs. 1 spot. But James White is entering his age-29 season, which is not a super-old age but is inching closer to the wrong side of 30. Here are the current preseason depth charts at running back for each division in the AFC. Add in soft hands and good pass protection skills and Perine is an ideal third-down back who can come in on earlier downs in the pinch. With two rushers on the league's rushing top-10 list, including having . He caught 42 of 48 targets in the passing game with just two drops in 2021, and averaged 6.5 yards per target as a receiver. 1 rushing offense in the league last year, and while Jalen Hurts was the leading rusher, Sanders and Gainwell are two underrated running backs. San Francisco 49ers (Elijah Mitchell, Jeff . He, like Chubb in Cleveland, is an awesome combination of power and speed, packing serious punch coming downhill while still having the elusiveness to leave defenders grasping at air in space. Today, we rank the starting running backs for each opponent Atlanta will face this season. Kyle Madson. In no way affiliated with or endorsed by the Pittsburgh Steelers or NFL. Could that be Canadas fault or was it really due to Ben Roethlisbergers limitations? Robinson has been great ever since entering the league, that is when Urban Meyer wasn't holding him back, and he will now have Etienne as a running mate. If I want to draft a rookie, then I will draft a rookie and deal with the trouble myself. J.K. Dobbins missed the entire 2021 season due to a torn ACL suffered late in the preseason, resulting in the Ravens attempting to patchwork the position behind Lamar Jackson in the backfield. Some of the credit for Chubbs success probably goes to Clevelands strong offensive line and a game plan built around the running game a rarity in todays NFL. The Bucs fall to 6-8 but remain in first place in the terrible NFC South. 1. He had 101 total yards against the Giants and has the opportunity to continue his productive campaign this week against the Vikings, who have given up the second-most rushing touchdowns (seven). You could make an argument the AFC South is the best running back division since they have the top two running backs in the NFL in Henry and Taylor. Maurice Jones-Drew says yes. February 24, 2023 12:41 pm PT. Theres a clear-cut top choice for me, which remains relatively the same for the last four seasons, but after that its truly a toss up. 2022 stats:4 games | 45 att | 140 rush yds | 3.1 ypc | 2 rush TD | 27 rec | 188 rec yds | 1 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost. He has 3 seasons over 1,000 yards and had a break out year last year with 13 rushing touchdowns. . 1 running back ahead of National Signing Day. But where do they fall from there? All four teams (the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers) have general managers, front offices, and personnel departments that have proven more than capable of evaluating, acquiring, and retaining talent in recent years. 2023 NFL Draft Predictions: Cincinnati Bengals Biggest Team Needs, Time To Hang It Up: Five NFL Wide Receivers That Should Retire After The Season, 2023 NFL Draft Predictions: Philadelphia Eagles Biggest Team Needs, 2023 NFL Scouting Combine Preview: Wide Receivers, 2023 Prospect Profile - C.J. Mike Masala. In Denver, Williams will miss the rest of his sophomore campaign after tearing his ACL, LCL and PLC during the third quarter of Sunday's loss to the Raiders. Benny Snell Jr. is the backup running back as of now. Rookie undrafted free agents Mataeo Durant and Jaylen Warren offer the most intrigue behind McFarland at the moment, and thats saying all that needs to be said. 11 and No. Most NFL teams are opting to go with a committee at the position as opposed to a single workhorse, and franchises won't always reward their top running back with a lucrative extension. All Rights Reserved. Hes a special player. And let's not forget about running back Jonathan Taylor, who enjoyed a breakout sophomore season by leading the league with 1,811 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns. This is the time of year when NFL trade rumors start swirling. When he is not on the field the Browns definitely miss his production. The Raiders declined his fifth-year option, so it's curious as to what the future holds for him under Josh McDaniels. But his career average of 4.1 yards per carry is pedestrian compared to Chubb and others on this list. Whenever McCaffrey has an off day on the ground, he always seems to make up for it in the passing game. North Carolina: Chestnut, Julius: August 28, 2022 2:15 am ET One depth chart the Pittsburgh Steelers have yet to sort out in the preseason is running back. The Broncos may have a dynamic duo with Gordon and Williams, who finished No. Who has the best hands? Sanders averaged 12.7 ppg in 2022 with 1,269 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. The Browns not only have the best running back in the division, Nick Chubb, but they also have probably the league's best backup in Kareem Hunt. Hes started six games in two different seasons (2018 and 2020), but also missed the entirety of last season due to injury. All of the other running backs in the division have sky-high ROI projections because none of them has an ADP above 100th overall. Harris was drafted in the first round of the past NFL draft by the no-rusher-in-tow Pittsburgh Steelers. 2022 stats:4 games | 52 att | 317 rush yds | 6.1 ypc | 3 rush TD | 5 rec | 37 rec yds | 0 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost. Sanders proved to everyone he's able to be an every-down back in Week 4. I'm not so sure the blame can be put solely on him, as the offensive line hasn't played all that well either. . Hes a powerful player with some surprising speed and fit in rather nicely in the Browns system. He may have only started one game, but theres a respect for what the third-year running back out of Ohio State brings to the table. 1. The 2022 Steelers need more from Harris to better balance their offense and transition into a post-Roethlisberger team. Jackson will further be aided by the returns of running backs J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill, who each suffered season-ending injuries before the start of the '21 season.One would hope . He is an efficient, hard-nosed runner that is a solid NFL rusher, and that lands him here. I believe Najee will have an even better year. Harris was truly incredible as a rookie in 2021, rushing for 1,200 yards behind the worst offensive line in football while battling against stacked boxes due to the lack of a deep passing attack in Pittsburgh. In the second installment, we are going to rank the starting running backs in the division. Still, none of the Ravens' rushers were able to out-produce quarterback Lamar Jackson on the ground, with the exception of Kenyan Drake, who managed to score one more . 2022 NFL Draft Grades for the AFC North. The Colts are in an offensive slump and Taylor has been at the worst end of it. We would appreciate your support by either turning off your adblocker or signing up for our ad-free subscription tier.Thanks for being a reader! Stay in touch with our site and follow all AFC North news here. The bottom line is that the Cowboys have two very capable running backs. Conner, a fifth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, had just 12 carries for 42 yards as a rookie, including a touchdown on New Year's Day. Trey Edmunds is a solid special teams player as well and showed at times in 2020 that he could handle some work in the backfield, but thats a less than ideal option behind Harris due to his plodding style overall. Chiefs Mull Future of JuJu Smith-Schuster With Young WRs Ready to Step Up, Steelers Daily Links: Free Agent DT Off the Market; Bengals Shoot Down Higgins Rumors, Daily Links: Predicting Steelers Cap Cuts, Joe Haden Joins Combine Coverage, Daily Links: Steelers Host Girls Flag Football Jamboree; Musical Tribute to Franco Harris, Steelers Daily Links: Pickens Top Rookie WR; FA Landing Spots, Steelers Daily Links: 2023 Improvements, Titans Could Cut Bud Dupree, Senior Bowl Takeaways: Steelers Find Plenty of Good Lineman in Draft (+), Have the Ravens Figured Out the Steelers Run Defense? January 25, 2023 2:00 pm ET. Mixons rushing totals are productive. The offense runs through him and the Ravens tend to do running back by committee. Check out the weekly FedEx Air NFL Players of the Week and cast your vote after Sunday Night Football. The opportunities for Dobbins should be plenty on a Ravens offense that had a 56:44 pass-to-run ratio and finished 6th in rushing success rate (44.3 percent) in 2021. What I do know is Penny went off -- 17 carries for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns (8.9 yards per carry). Which player earns the No. How it all gets sorted out for the 53-man roster is anyones guess, but theres loads of talent on the shores of Lake Erie at the running back position for the Browns. After that, the Raiders got very little. Harris has the talent to perform more efficiently than he did in 2021, but until he turns that ability into productivity at the NFL level, its hard to rank him above the two established performers ahead of him. Therefore, it's no surprise that they were the Titans' sole representatives in Pro Football Focus' list of the top 101 players of the 2022 season. 2022 stats:4 games | 81 att | 328 rush yds | 4.1 ypc | 1 rush TD | 9 rec | 44 rec yds | 0 rec TD | 1 fumble lost. 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