Running Backs: The Next NFL Evolution

“All I know is grind.”

Well said, Ray Lewis.

This time of year known as the football offseason is also known as “the grind”. That is not just for football players, but for us writers as well. It’s when we have more time to really dig in and do all the research we want.

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However today is not about me, nor writers, or football in general. Today is about the NFL running backs!

I’ve always had a special place in my heart for running backs. One of the few people more passionate for the position than me might be Steven Jackson, former running back of the St. Louis Rams and the Atlanta Falcons. He went as far as starting his own “save the running back” campaign.

What we are basically saying is that the running back position needs to make its return to stardom.

Sep 7, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Steven Jackson (39) runs onto the field during player introductions prior to the game against the New Orleans Saints at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

I know what you’ve got to be thinking … “running backs are stars, right?”

Well you’re right, and wrong. The league has turned into a passing camp, and throwing has gone up dramatically the last seven to ten years.

What happened before then?

Priest Holmes, Shaun Alexander, and Ladanian Tomlinson happened.

These guys started something incredible that the league has not seen in quite some time, and it is time for it to happen again. Those three took the league by storm and put up rushing touchdown numbers that hadn’t been seen in years- 27 and 28 touchdown seasons purely by rushing is just incredible.

Yes younger readers, that actually happened. Go look it up after you’ve finished reading.

Last season the leading rushers had 13 rushing touchdowns.

In 2003 Priest Holmes had 27.

So how are the running backs coming back into play? It’s only natural!

Because of those running backs, Rush defenses became more stout and pass defenses weakened. So then there became more passing. The receivers got bigger, and we started having 5,000 yard passing seasons become a regular thing. Now the corners have gotten bigger to counter those big receivers and the rush defenses have weakened.

On top of those rush defenses weakening, the running backs are becoming more and more complete to be 3-down backs again. That does not just mean big bruisers like Brandon Jacobs (yes he is one of my all time favorites). It means guys who can run in the middle, the outside, block and catch. That is a TRUE 3-down back.

Adrian Peterson was just the beginning. After this last NFL draft we now have an entire fleet of running backs, and it’s about time they take their rightful place on top of the league.

Yes, I’m a running back kind of guy. Anyone that knows me will tell you that. Not just any kind of back, a specific type. The type that makes one cut, finds a hole and takes off. None of this dancing around the hole junk that became so popular with scat backs.

For example…

• Marshawn Lynch
• Adrian Peterson
• Todd Gurley
• LeVeon Bell
• Jeremy Hill
• Rashard Jennings
• DeMarco Murray
• Jamaal Charles
• Isaiah Crowell
• C.J. Anderson
• Eddie Lacy
• Chris Ivory

See what I’m talking about?

These guys have a true nose for the end zone.

They are mostly one-cut running backs who try finding a lane and hitting it hard.

They are NFL running backs!

Even the smallest name on that list, Isaiah Crowell had eight touchdowns last season as an undrafted rookie on the Browns. He averaged 38 yards per game, 4.1 yards per carry, but was tied for third in the league with touchdowns on an offense as bad as Cleveland’s. He took the starting job part-way through the year because he was a more decisive running back.

(Yes I put Todd Gurley on that list before ever playing a snap in the pros. Go watch his tape, he makes one cut and is gone with a huge nose for the end zone.)

Look at the other backs in this class: Melvin Gordon, T.J. Yeldon, Duke Johnson, Tevin Coleman and even smaller names like David Cobb and Josh Robinson can join in the club as one-cut running backs.

Melvin Gordon is iffy, he tries too hard to get to the outside at all costs, but when he does make one cut he’s running behind his pads and is gone! There is still much, much more detail I could go into about all the players listed, but I think you get the point by now.

At the end of the day, I’m a fan. Just like you. These changes seem inevitable at this point. I can’t wait to see just how this change is going to happen. When it does, that means my defensive favorite position will begin to take control again, the linebackers.

Evolution of football — just fascinating isn’t it?

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