If you thought the Lions were creative last season, just wait till
Thursday night. On the road in a HUGE primetime spot, the Lions
are going pull out all the stops to steal one in Arrowhead. Look
for OC Ben Johnson to deploy Gibbs all over the field as they seek
out mismatches. Short passes to extend drives, screens to slow the
rush, wheel routes on slow footed backers, I think Gibbs touches
the ball close to 20 times, and becomes the player Detroit wanted
D’Andre Swift to be.
One of the most explosive runners in the NFL when healthy, Mostert
enters Week 1 with a full head of steam, and the backfield nearly
to himself. With Jeff Wilson on the PUP list and rookie Devon
Achane still healing from a shoulder injury, Mostert should be
in line for at least 20 touches against a Chargers run defense
that was in the bottom of the NFL last season. With this game
likely to be a track meet, plug in the dude who was a Big 10 track
champion at Purdue.
I was surprised to hear the Packers were in on the Jonathan Taylor
sweepstakes, but in reality, Jones is a 28-year-old back who took
a pay cut to stay in Green Bay this offseason. Despite all of
this, Jones had one of the best total yardage seasons in his career
(1,516) and was only held out of the top tier of the position
because of a fluky two rushing touchdowns. Jones should continue
to hold off former first rounder AJ Dillon for top dog honors
in this backfield. With Jordan Love still getting comfortable,
look for a big dose of Jones in a divisional road game against
a weak Chicago front seven.
Pierce, the former 4th round pick balled out last year for a
bad Texans team. Running angry, he was one of the hardest backs
in the NFL to take down, and he’s going to need that with the
Ravens top ranked rush defense on tap for Week 1. With a rookie
quarterback starting his first game on the road, Houston is Week
1’s biggest underdog. Try as they might, it’s going to be difficult
to establish Pierce if the game gets out of hand too quickly.
Volume is key to his production, and Devin Singletary should be
the main pass catcher in this backfield.
Signed as depth piece and hedge for Breece Hall, Cook only joined
the Jets at practice a few weeks ago. I’m sure he’s a quick learning
vet, but with the famously fickle Rodgers demanding perfection,
it’s hard to believe Cook has a firm grasp on protections and
hot calls. This backfield is a messy committee that should see
Hall’s talent prevail. So, for the early going, consider Cook
a low-end FLEX play at best.
The idea that backs and receivers who miss time away from camp
are more likely to be prone to injury has some statistical anecdotes,
but that normally wouldn’t be enough to give me pause this
week. The fact that Jacobs has had only a few weeks to get into
“football shape” and the combination of the high altitude
in Denver means the volume could be on the low side to start the
year. Remember, Jacobs had an NFL high 393 touches last season
and that isn’t easy to bounce back from.
