As fantasy owners are well aware, the true workhorse running back
has become a rare breed. They still exist, of course, but many teams
have transitioned to the most frightening acronym in fantasy football:
RBBC, or running back by committee. To help fantasy owners navigate
the murky waters of teams that utilize a RBBC system, here are the
breakdowns of what they did last season, and how things might play
out in 2015.
| Buffalo - 2014 |
| Player |
Rush Att |
% of
Tm Atts |
Rush Yds |
% of
Tm Rush Yds |
Yds/Carry |
Rec |
Rec Yds |
| Fred Jackson |
141 |
35.1 |
525 |
35.4 |
3.7 |
66 |
501 |
| Anthony Dixon |
105 |
26.1 |
432 |
29.2 |
4.1 |
8 |
49 |
| All Others |
156 |
38.8 |
525 |
35.4 |
3.4 |
|
|
|
2015 Outlook: Buffalo underwent a
major shift in their backfield with the acquisition of LeSean McCoy
to replace C.J. Spiller. Acquiring a do-it-all back like McCoy would
spell the end of a RBBC on many teams, but not the Bills. The reasons
are quite simple – head coach Rex Ryan is unapologetically
a run-first coach, and the team’s quarterbacks leave much
to be desired. McCoy didn’t have the type of season many expected
him to in 2014, but he should still be a first-round pick.
| Cincinnati
- 2014 |
| Player |
Rush Att |
% of
Tm Atts |
Rush Yds |
% of
Tm Rush Yds |
Yds/Carry |
Rec |
Rec Yds |
| Jeremy Hill |
222 |
45.1 |
1124 |
52.4 |
5.1 |
27 |
215 |
| Giovani Bernard |
168 |
34.1 |
680 |
31.7 |
4 |
43 |
349 |
| All Others |
102 |
20.8 |
343 |
15.9 |
3.4 |
|
|
|
2015 Outlook: Jeremy Hill was
sensational as a rookie last season, outpacing the expectations
of most. There’s no reason to think he’ll fall off,
making him a late first-round, early second-round selection when
fantasy drafts come. The bigger question is Bernard. Most thought
he’d be the breakout player in the Benglas’ backfield,
but his numbers last year were very similar to what he put up his
rookie season. Bernard remains useful, particularly in PPR leagues,
but Hill is the main attraction here, making Bernard an upper-mid
level pick.
| Cleveland -
2014 |
| Player |
Rush Att |
% of
Tm Atts |
Rush Yds |
% of
Tm Rush Yds |
Yds/Carry |
Rec |
Rec Yds |
| Terrance West |
171 |
35.8 |
673 |
38.9 |
3.9 |
11 |
64 |
| Isaiah Crowell |
148 |
31 |
607 |
35.1 |
4.1 |
9 |
87 |
| All Others |
158 |
33.2 |
448 |
26 |
2.8 |
|
|
|
2015 Outlook: The Browns had an uninspiring
– to say the least – running attack in 2014. Ben Tate
was supposed to be their main ball carrier, but he flamed out and
was eventually jettisoned. Both Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell
had their moments, but neither was dynamic. Cleveland added an interesting
piece in the third round of the draft with Miami’s Duke Johnson.
He’s a good receiver out of the backfield, something neither
West nor Crowell can claim, but none of these guys are worth taking
before the middle of fantasy drafts, and of the three, Crowell is
the most promising.
| Detroit - 2014 |
| Player |
Rush Att |
% of
Tm Atts |
Rush Yds |
% of
Tm Rush Yds |
Yds/Carry |
Rec |
Rec Yds |
| Joique Bell |
223 |
56.3 |
860 |
60.5 |
3.9 |
34 |
322 |
| Reggie Bush |
76 |
19.2 |
297 |
20.9 |
3.9 |
40 |
253 |
| All Others |
97 |
24.5 |
265 |
18.6 |
2.7 |
|
|
|
2015 Outlook: Joique Bell (Achilles,
Knee) took the reins as Detroit’s lead back and was productive
enough to be a regular in fantasy lineups, particularly at the end
of the season. Bell should be the Lions’ starter once again
in 2015, though the team did pick up Ameer Abdullah in the second
round. The rookie will certainly get his share of touches, but fantasy
owners should still think about taking Bell somewhere in the fourth
or fifth round.
| Indianapolis
- 2014 |
| Player |
Rush Att |
% of
Tm Atts |
Rush Yds |
% of
Tm Rush Yds |
Yds/Carry |
Rec |
Rec Yds |
| Trent Richardson |
159 |
38.3 |
519 |
32.2 |
3.3 |
27 |
229 |
| Ahmad Bradshaw |
90 |
21.7 |
425 |
26.4 |
4.7 |
38 |
300 |
| All Others |
166 |
40 |
668 |
41.4 |
4 |
|
|
|
2015 Outlook: It’s safe to say
that the Colts made a tiny error in giving up a first-round pick
for Trent Richardson, who was terrible in his two seasons with the
team. They finally cut the cord with the former No. 3 overall pick
and didn’t re-sign Ahmad Bradshaw, losing their top two rushers
from last year. Indy did bring in Frank Gore, but relying on a 32-year-old
free agent is risky for both the team and fantasy owners. Daniel
Herron should get a decent amount of action as Gore’s back-up,
though neither player should be at the forefront of fantasy owners’
minds come draft day.
| New England
- 2014 |
| Player |
Rush Att |
% of
Tm Atts |
Rush Yds |
% of
Tm Rush Yds |
Yds/Carry |
Rec |
Rec Yds |
| Jonas Gray |
89 |
20.3 |
412 |
23.9 |
4.6 |
1 |
7 |
| Shane Vereen |
96 |
21.9 |
391 |
22.6 |
4.1 |
52 |
447 |
| All Others |
253 |
57.8 |
924 |
53.5 |
3.7 |
|
|
|
2015 Outlook: It says a lot about
a team’s running back corps when their leading rusher picked
up almost half of his rushing yards in just one game. That was the
case with Jonas Gray, who gained 201 of his 412 yards in one contest
against the Colts. The team did win the Super Bowl with a nondescript
group, but have since lost Shane Vereen. Their top back will likely
be LeGarrette Blount, who is capable of putting up solid numbers.
Unfortunately, fantasy owners have no idea from week-to-week who
the Patriots will feature at the position, or if they’ll even
run the ball more than a few times in a game. That makes Blount
a risk not worth taking until the middle rounds.
| New Orleans
- 2014 |
| Player |
Rush Att |
% of
Tm Atts |
Rush Yds |
% of
Tm Rush Yds |
Yds/Carry |
Rec |
Rec Yds |
| Mark Ingram |
226 |
55.7 |
964 |
53 |
4.3 |
29 |
145 |
| Khiry Robinson |
76 |
18.7 |
362 |
19.9 |
4.8 |
8 |
63 |
| All Others |
104 |
25.6 |
492 |
27.1 |
4.7 |
|
|
|
2015 Outlook: It took Mark Ingram
four seasons, but he finally proved that he could actually run the
ball in the NFL. The former Heisman winner was on his way to bust
status before finally making progress in 2014 as the Saints’
top ball carrier. Yet it was obvious the team missed having an elusive
pass-catching threat like Darren Sproles, so they signed C.J. Spiller.
If he can stay healthy, Spiller should be a very dangerous piece
of New Orleans’ offense, and potentially one for fantasy owners.
| New York Giants
- 2014 |
| Player |
Rush Att |
% of
Tm Atts |
Rush Yds |
% of
Tm Rush Yds |
Yds/Carry |
Rec |
Rec Yds |
| Andre Williams |
217 |
48.3 |
721 |
45 |
3.3 |
18 |
130 |
| Rashad Jennings |
167 |
37.2 |
639 |
39.9 |
3.8 |
30 |
226 |
| All Others |
65 |
14.5 |
243 |
15.1 |
3.7 |
|
|
|
2015 Outlook: Despite Andre Williams’
poor YPC average, he did have his moments as a rookie in 2014, scoring
seven times and scampering his way to a pair of 100+ yard games
at the end of the season. But Williams may not be in line for as
much work this season with the Giants picking up Shane Vereen. He’ll
undoubtedly be the team’s primary third-down back, and Rashad
Jennings is likely to remain New York’s number one option,
so fantasy owners should focus on those two for now, leaving Williams
as a late-round pick.
| New York Jets
- 2014 |
| Player |
Rush Att |
% of
Tm Atts |
Rush Yds |
% of
Tm Rush Yds |
Yds/Carry |
Rec |
Rec Yds |
| Chris Ivory |
198 |
39.1 |
821 |
36 |
4.1 |
18 |
123 |
| Chris Johnson |
155 |
30.6 |
663 |
29.1 |
4.3 |
24 |
151 |
| All Others |
154 |
30.3 |
796 |
34.9 |
5.2 |
|
|
|
2015 Outlook: Chris Ivory and Chris
Johnson made a solid 1-2 for the Jets last season, but only Ivory
remains. New York picked up Stevan Ridley as well as Zac Stacy and
still has Bilal Powell. That’s a lot of runners for just one
ball. It’s a nightmare scenario for fantasy owners, though
the best guess – if Ridley comes to camp healthy – is
that Ivory and Ridley split time, leaving them as lackluster fantasy
options.
| Philadelphia
- 2014 |
| Player |
Rush Att |
% of
Tm Atts |
Rush Yds |
% of
Tm Rush Yds |
Yds/Carry |
Rec |
Rec Yds |
| LeSean McCoy |
312 |
65.8 |
1319 |
66.2 |
4.2 |
28 |
155 |
| Darren
Sproles |
57 |
12 |
329 |
16.5 |
5.8 |
40 |
387 |
| All Others |
105 |
22.2 |
344 |
17.3 |
3.3 |
|
|
|
2015 Outlook: LeSean McCoy is gone,
and DeMarco Murray (and to a lesser extent, Ryan Mathews) are in.
The Eagles got rid of their starting quarterback and running back
from last season, so Chip Kelly needs a lot out of Murray. It’s
unlikely he’ll produce at the same level as he did in 2014
(1,800+ yards, 13 TDs), but nobody should really be expecting that
anyway. Darren Sproles and Mathews will ease some of Murray’s
workload, but Murray is still a top-10 selection.
| St. Louis -
2014 |
| Player |
Rush Att |
% of
Tm Atts |
Rush Yds |
% of
Tm Rush Yds |
Yds/Carry |
Rec |
Rec Yds |
| Tre Mason |
179 |
45.3 |
765 |
46.8 |
4.3 |
16 |
148 |
| Zac
Stacy |
76 |
19.3 |
293 |
17.9 |
3.9 |
18 |
152 |
| All Others |
140 |
35.4 |
577 |
35.3 |
4.1 |
|
|
|
2015 Outlook: Rams made a bold choice
in the draft, selecting Georgia’s Todd Gurley with the 10th
overall pick. It’s highly unlikely he’ll be ready once
training camp opens as he continues to recover from a knee injury,
and he could miss a portion of the regular season. Tre Mason proved
he could be a lead back in this league and will be just that until
Gurley gets healthy, but once he does, expect the rookie to get
the ball early and often.
| Tennessee -
2014 |
| Player |
Rush Att |
% of
Tm Atts |
Rush Yds |
% of
Tm Rush Yds |
Yds/Carry |
Rec |
Rec Yds |
| Bishop Sankey |
152 |
42.7 |
569 |
39.3 |
3.7 |
18 |
133 |
| Shonn Greene |
94 |
26.4 |
392 |
27.1 |
4.2 |
1 |
13 |
| All Others |
110 |
30.9 |
486 |
33.6 |
4.4 |
|
|
|
2015 Outlook: There was very little
happening in the Tennessee backfield in 2014, with rookie Bishop
Sankey doing nothing to make anyone think he could handle a large
workload. Yet the team recently released Shonn Greene, and did very
little to address the position in the offseason, with fifth-round
pick David Cobb being the only notable addition. Sankey’s
value to fantasy owners is waning but as the team’s top back
he should still be drafted somewhere in rounds 8-10. Cobb has a
legitimate chance to see the field on early-downs and carve out
a 50-50 split with Sankey. |
