Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday that Sean Payton is the right coach to get Russell Wilson back on track. Knight provided a boost in his first three games at the NFL level, racking up 230 yards and a TD on 46 carries (5.0 yards per carry). Williams remains in a timeshare with the still effective Melvin Gordon, but there's no doubt he will be the preferred dynamic lead in the new offense with his budding all-around explosiveness. Join for FREE Player J. Taylor L. Fournette A. Ekeler N. Chubb D. Harris R. Penny J. Robinson A. Dillon T. Pollard D. Johnson E. Elliott M. Sanders A. Jones In 2021, Najee Harris was the only running back who played on over 70% of his teams offensive snaps (83%), and just five running backs cleared the 60% threshold. With J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards still recovering from knee injuries suffered in 2021, the Ravens signed Drake in late August. And though a high ankle sprain sidelined the third-year back in Week 11, it's no certainty that CEH reclaims the RB1 job in 2023. Harris falls into the uber efficient in a limited role category after earning 85.0-plus PFF grades in each of the last two seasons on between 250 and 450 offensive snaps. Add in the increased role that Jones has filled in the passing game for the Packers, and hes right on the border of the elite tier at the position. follow. He's still special as a complete receiving-leaning back when healthy and that's why he remains in the top 10, but the lingering injury issues can't be ignored in relation to those now ranked ahead of him. He almost never left the field and was integral to everything Carolina did on offense, ranking eighth in the league in rushing conversions (56) and ninth in receiving conversions (58) across players at all positions. McKissic, Jaret Patterson,Jonathan Williams. 2022 stats: 16 games | 295 att | 1,312 rush yds | 4.4 ypc | 10 rush TDs | 57 rec | 338 rec yds | 0 rec TDs | 0 fumbles lost. The Chiefs signed him to the practice squad a week later, but Gordon didn't see another snap all season. We have already ranked the quarterbacks, running backs and receivers. Expect Jones' receiving prowess to take on critical importance given the remixed wideout corps around Aaron Rodgers. Murray proved to be a solid midseason pickup for the Broncos after starter Javonte Williams sustained a season-ending injury, averaging 5.1 yards per carry in his seven starts. 22 in this list because of his efficiency. With Jones being the versatile, elusive playmaker in space, Dillon is a bruiser at the line of scrimmage with the ability to gain chunk yards every time he gets the rock. is currently the more effective back and should be the starter, a healthy Elliott performing like he was at the start of last season is still a valuable piece of an offense, but it just remains to be seen if he can get back to that point. These are my rankings for the top-5 running backs in the NFC South as we head towards the 2022 season. That's the big question, but the Rams have confidence that he can deliver effective lead rushing production with the right dash of receiving pop. Thats pretty strong evidence pointing to the idea that the partially torn PCL that Elliott played through impacted his performance. Williams has taken PFFs missed tackles forced statistic and made it his own at the college level and now in the NFL. 2022 stats: 17 games | 203 att | 914 rush yds | 4.5 ypc | 5 rush TDs | 5 rec | 26 rec yds | 0 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost. If this were simply a list of the top running backs in the NFL over the last three seasons, Henry would find himself at the top. Clement had all 15 of his carries over the final two games of a lost season for the Cardinals, hitting pay dirt on a 1-yard plunge in Week 18. He joined another free agent in 2022, James Conner, at the bottom of this list, with the pair tied for ninth-highest-paid RB. 2022 stats: 13 games | 220 att | 939 rush yds | 4.3 ypc | 4 rush TDs | 30 rec | 165 rec yds | 1 rec TD | 2 fumbles lost. Zeke averaged under 4.0 yards per carry in a season the first time in his career. If this were simply a list of the top running backs in the NFL over the last three seasons, Henry would find himself at the top. By: David Latham, Managing Editor | February 28, 2023. In the shadows of Ezekiel Elliott during his first three seasons, Pollard joined the 1,000-yard rushing club and was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time. It was great watching Pollard in the spotlight in 2022. McCaffrey earned an 86.5 PFF grade in 2019 third among qualifying running backs on over 1,000 snaps. He put out plenty of positive tape to build on in Year 2. 2020 stats (at Clemson): 168 carries, 914 rushing yards, 5.4 yards per carry, 48 receptions, 588 receiving yards, 16 total TDs. Montgomery has been a dependable player for Chicago, posting at least 800 rushing yards in each of his four NFL campaigns, making him an interesting back in free agency. . Fantasy Football Depth Chart Takeaways: NFC West. The 49ers get a big stop by dropping Sony . I love the Packers' backfield tandem of Dillon and Aaron Jones, the perfect combination of thunder and lightning. Conner should be treated as more of a workhorse with Chase Edmonds now playing for the Dolphins. Round 7, No. Ranking the NFC West's running back rooms entering 2022 Schedule Teams AFC East Bills Dolphins Jets Patriots AFC North Bengals Browns Steelers Ravens AFC South Colts Jaguars Texans Titans. The Seahawks, Dolphins, Patriots, and Ravens are the next best, but all also rely on a combination of several running backs. promoting him in-house from his 2022 job as a special assistant on McCarthy's staff, to replace the departed Kellen Moore. With Bobby Wagner . With 1,210 scrimmage yards in 11 games for San Francisco -- he had nearly 1,900 on the season -- McCaffrey's abilities were on display weekly in Kyle Shanahan's offense. 2022 stats:7 games | 80 att | 463 rush yds | 5.8 ypc | 4 rush TDs | 19 rec | 218 rec yds | 1 rec TD | 1 fumble lost. A do-it-all playmaker for the Chargers, Ekeler's 2022 campaign was one for the ages. A fine all-around RB2, Perine's now set to hit free agency at age 27. Although Elliott is still the lead in the Cowboys' eyes, it's become more of a 1-2 punch with the latter helping the former stay effective with less mid-career wear. He logged five regular-season games with 100-plus rushing. Which player earns the No. He earned a sub-70.0 PFF rushing grade for the first time in his NFL career last year, and his 22% of carries that resulted in first downs or touchdowns was nearly seven percentage points lower than his career-best 29% in 2020. His 0.2 PFF WAR finish last season was tied with Jonathan Taylor for the highest in the NFL, driven by a significant role in a Cincinnati offense that made it to the Super Bowl. Mitchell was a sixth-round rookie and led the division in rushing. FEB 14 NEW HEAD MAN IN NFC WEST. None of these three start or carry the majority of the workload for their respective teams, but theyve been among the most productive running backs in the NFL when they have found the field. NFL running back rankings 2022 1. The Packers took a step back on offense in 2022. Looking at Weeks 14 through 17 -- after he returned from midseason knee surgery -- Dobbins led the league in both rush yards (397) and yards per carry (7.0) in that span (min. Cook just needs to come through with full health for his Age-27 season. 2022 stats:11 games | 192 att | 861 rush yds | 4.5 ypc | 4 rush TDs | 28 rec | 143 rec yds | 0 rec TDs | 3 fumbles lost. Considering those results came at 22 years old with plenty of offensive line shuffling in front of him, theres little reason to expect Taylor to slow down in 2022. Lost in all the noise and hype surrounding the quarterback and wide receiver position is running back. The Seahawks took second place, led by veteran Geno Smith, who many wrote off as a career backup or bridge QB after the . Unfortunately, he couldn't sustain that success down the stretch. The injury history is a big concern. The Doug Pederson-Press Taylor offense also caters well to Etienne's versatility. Fast forward to his rookie season in 2021, and Williams once again led his peers in missed tackles forced per rushing attempt with 63 broken tackles on 203 carries (0.31 per carry). Get the comprehensive list of every Running Back for each NFL pro football team Maurice Jones-Drew identifies five running backs who can save their teams' seasons down the stretch. As the Bucs prepare for this year's training camp, we're taking an in . July 25, 2022 1:46 pm ET. In a crowded backfield that featured Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Ronald Jones II and Jerick McKinnon, the seventh-round rookie emerged as a reliable playmaker in the rushing attack. He had four more than the next-closest players (Derrick Henry, Austin Ekeler and Jalen Hurts). Edmonds' midseason move from Miami to Denver was beneficial for the fifth-year back. Kevin Patra of NFL.com recently reviewed every team's running back situation and said the following regarding the Commanders: Top RBs under contract for 2023: Brian Robinson, Antonio Gibson, J.D. A free agent this offseason, Scott might be better suited to play outside of Philadelphia next season, with fleet-footed QB Jalen Hurts and RB Kenneth Gainwell already in the fold and the team potentially bringing back fellow pending free agent Miles Sanders, who's coming off a career year. 2021 stats:307 carries, 1,200 rushing yards, 3.9 yards per carry, 74 receptions on 94 targets,467 receiving yards, 10 total TDs. 2021 stats: 203 carries, 918 rushing yards, 4.5 yards per carry, 28 receptions on 38 targets, 213 receiving yards, 10 total TDs. McKissic. 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