RBU: Schools That Produce the Best Running Backs in the NFL

HM: Memphis Tigers

•Antonio Gibson (Commanders)

•Tony Pollard (Cowboys)

•Darrell Henderson Jr. (Rams)

•Kenneth Gainwell (Eagles)

The Memphis Tigers are an interesting one here because two of these players began their collegiate careers as wide receivers. The best player of the group, Antonio Gibson, played wide receiver for the entirety of his career with the Tigers. Gibson has been productive in the NFL thus far, and assuming his health corrects itself, he should have a few more years of high-level play for the Washington Commanders. The remaining three players are all currently in backup roles. Tony Pollard is still stuck behind Ezekiel Elliott in Dallas, although Pollard set career highs across the board in 2021. Gainwell was mostly ineffective as a rookie, even when starter Miles Sanders went down with an injury. It’s doubtful that Gainwell ever becomes more than a No. 2. for the Eagles. Henderson has the best chance to regain a starter role, albeit because of different reasons. Cam Akers is returning from an Achilles injury and if he’s hobbled, Henderson is the only experienced running back rostered. Gibson had the best 2021 season of any running back from these first three schools, and that was ultimately the tiebreaker.

HM: Penn State Nittany Lions

•Saquon Barkley (Giants)

•Miles Sanders (Eagles)

Penn State is another tricky group to place on the list. Miles Sanders cannot stay healthy for the life of him, but when he is on the field it’s hard to ignore the numbers that he has put up. Sanders has a career yards-per-carry number of 5.1 and has been a playmaker both on the ground and through the air. The Eagles have one of the best offensive lines in the league and are coming off of a 2021 season where they had the best rushing attack in the league. There’s ample opportunity for Sanders to put together a full campaign as the starter. Some of the same stuff can be said about Saquon Barkley. As a rookie, Barkley produced one of the best seasons from a running back in NFL history. He eclipsed 1000 yards in year two as well but was a step behind the pace he set as a rookie. After battling ACL and ankle injuries over the past two seasons, Barkley enters the final year of his rookie deal looking to bounce back in a major way. I still believe in his talent, same with Miles Sanders. The Nittany Lions are easily the biggest “what if” on the list.

HM: Tennessee Volunteers

•Alvin Kamara (Saints)

•Cordarrelle Patterson (Falcons)

Next up is the Tennessee Volunteers. Cordarrelle Patterson was a first-round pick so long ago, that you may have forgotten he even attended Tennessee. In 2013, the Minnesota Vikings selected Patterson with the 29th overall pick of the draft. Patterson has gone on to earn four first-team All-Pro honors and three second-team selections. The caveat here is that all of those came as a returner, not a running back. Thanks to a resurgence with Atlanta in 2021, Patterson proved that he should have been used as an offensive weapon more often in his career. Kamara is also known more as an offensive weapon than a pure running back, but the difference is that all of Kamara’s production comes from the running back position. He’s never eclipsed 1000 yards in a season on the ground, but in four of his five seasons in the NFL, he’s hauled in 80+ catches. There are few in the NFL as versatile and explosive as Kamara. If he was a little bit better between the tackles, he might be enough to propel Tennessee to a place on the actual list.

HM: Oklahoma Sooners

•Joe Mixon (Bengals)

•Rhamondre Stevenson (Patriots)

•Damien Williams (Falcons)

•Samaje Perine (Bengals)

Joe Mixon is still ascending and is also coming off of the best season of his career in 2021. He helped lead the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance by providing a steady source of production from the backfield. His yards-per-carry numbers are not anything to laud over, but we must remember that the Bengals have had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL for a while now. After adding three starters to the line this past offseason, there’s reason to believe that Mixon is going to have another career year in 2022. The rest of the cast consists of three very different players. Samaje Perine is one of the backups to Mixon in Cincinnati. Damien Williams has been nothing more than a backup for the majority of his career, but he has one of the most memorable Super Bowl appearances ever. In the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory, Williams became the first player in the history of the Super Bowl to record 100 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, and a receiving touchdown in the same game. It remains to be seen what Rhamondre Stevenson will be in the NFL, but the New England Patriots clearly like the second-year running back. Mixon brings this unit as close as possible to the top six, but with uncertainty elsewhere, that’s the highest the Sooners will go right now.