Good Pass-Catching RBs Never Get Old: Nyheim Hines, Indianapolis Colts. As such, these rankings will attempt to be as objective as possible and provide a guide for where Browns players are currently among their peers in the division. Chubb is a fantastic back with excellent speed, agility, and power to finish off defenders trying to tackle him. Rookie undrafted free agents Mataeo Durant and Jaylen Warren offer the most intrigue behind McFarland at the moment, and thats saying all that needs to be said. Going into the 2022 offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers had some massive holes to fill, especially in the offensive line. Sanders carried the ball 27 times for 134 rush yards and scored 2 touchdowns all while averaging 5.0 yards per carry. Ranking the AFC North running backs. Plus, an updated ranking of his top 15 running backs ahead of Week 17. The Cleveland Browns were able to get four players on the list with three of them coming on offense and only one on defense. CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 14: Mark Barron #26 of the Pittsburgh Steelers attempts to tackle Nick Chubb #24 of the Cleveland Browns during . Anyone else see this offensive performance coming from the Seahawks? Trey Edmunds is a solid special teams player as well and showed at times in 2020 that he could handle some work in the backfield, but thats a less than ideal option behind Harris due to his plodding style overall. Stay in touch with our site and follow all AFC North news here. Brown. Chiefs Mull Future of JuJu Smith-Schuster With Young WRs Ready to Step Up, Steelers Daily Links: Free Agent DT Off the Market; Bengals Shoot Down Higgins Rumors, Daily Links: Predicting Steelers Cap Cuts, Joe Haden Joins Combine Coverage, Daily Links: Steelers Host Girls Flag Football Jamboree; Musical Tribute to Franco Harris, Steelers Daily Links: Pickens Top Rookie WR; FA Landing Spots, Steelers Daily Links: 2023 Improvements, Titans Could Cut Bud Dupree, Senior Bowl Takeaways: Steelers Find Plenty of Good Lineman in Draft (+), Have the Ravens Figured Out the Steelers Run Defense? Najee Harris had the ultimate it depends upon how you look at it rookie season. Toggle AFC North subsection 2.1 Baltimore Ravens. Dobbins proved to be elusive, finishing 2nd among qualifiers at the position in breakaway percentage (39.1 percent), which is a PFF metric that measures rushing yardage on designed attempts that gained more than 15 yards. 12); D'Andre Swift, Lions (No. Maurice Jones-Drew reveals his top five rushing duos in the NFL this season. Since coming into the league in 2018 Chubb has made his presence felt. Add in soft hands and good pass protection skills and Perine is an ideal third-down back who can come in on earlier downs in the pinch. Ryan is 36 years old but still a top 15 quarterback. Nick Chubb is not only the best running back in the AFC North, but he also sits in the top-5 at the position across the entire NFL. Patterson deserves credit for last season, even if he can't build on it. Johnsons combination of easy acceleration and quick feet allow him to cut on a dime and forced missed tackles at ease. Plus, how far did Josh Jacobs climb in MJD's top 15 RB rankings after a huge performance last week? February 26, 2023 9:00 am CT. With a questionable offensive line and a young quarterback, the Bengals need Mixon to be a security blanket for Joe Burrow in the passing game and keep the offense on schedule and he does just that. The NFC West is arguably the best division in the NFL and had three of the top 11 rushing offenses last year. Like the Browns the Steelers also have quarterback uncertainty. Now would be a perfect time to reflect on the . The 2022 NFL season is almost upon us, which means it's time to make some bold predictions. Maurice Jones-Drew spotlights three teams who will be looking for a new primary RB in 2023. . The Chargers finally decided to make Ekeler the feature piece in the win over Houston. He owns the coveted collegiate production, having rushed for 1,400+ yards and 20+ touchdowns in each of the last two seasons. NFL QB Index, Week 5: Patrick Mahomes rises to No. Type above and press Enter to search. It was a quiet week for Cook, who played in London for the first time in his career. We all know there will forever be one and only one name to definite the pass-catching tailback: James White, of all men. Atlanta Falcons: Cordarrelle Patterson, Tyler Allgeier, Damien WilliamsCarolina Panthers: Christian McCaffrey, Chuba Hubbard, D'Onta ForemanNew Orleans Saints: Alvin Kamara, Mark IngramTampa Bay Buccaneers: Leonard Fournette. AFC North running backs ranking. As such, he claims the 2nd spot in our rankings. 2.4 Pittsburgh Steelers. We use ads to fund this site and continue to bring you premium Steelers content. Depth charts for every team 2022 stats:4 games | 81 att | 459 rush yds | 5.7 ypc | 5 rush TD | 6 rec | 37 rec yds | 0 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost. That contract paid off during the 2022 season, where Mixon had his best season for the Queen City. These are both playoff . Mixon also made an impact in the passing game with the 7th-most targets (68) and 10th-most receiving yards (421) at the position. They've cycled through plenty of running backs over the past few years with no issue, although Mitchell does appear to be a great player. Unfortunately, that help isnt behind him at the moment. Look at this group: Dobbins rushed for 805 yards and nine touchdowns in 15 games with one official start in his rookie season before missing last year due to injury, Mixon had a career year in 2021 as the Bengals made it all the way to the Super Bowl, the dynamic duo of Chubb and Hunt is probably the best in the NFL and then Harris had a very promising rookie campaign in which he touched the ball more than anyone. The Chiefs have found relative success with a few different running backs they've thrown out there, but the offense obviously runs more through Patrick Mahomes. He had some off the field issues which is what led to the slide because, he was actually a projected first round pick. Ads help us pay RotobBaller's award-winning writers as much as possible they are vital to the site's operations and team. He has missed some time due to injury like last year but that did not stop him from surpassing the 1,000 yard mark. See the full pecking order. Maurice Jones-Drew ranks each team's primary starting running back for the 2022 NFL season. In 2022, for example, three NFL running backs 28 or older rushed for more than 500 yards. Ranking the Steelers among AFC North running back groups. Whenever McCaffrey has an off day on the ground, he always seems to make up for it in the passing game. He was the incumbent starter at the running back position after a fairly successful 2020 season, during which he totaled 890 yards on 153 attempts (5.8 yards per attempt) for ten touchdowns and an 82.0 rushing grade. He, like Chubb in Cleveland, is an awesome combination of power and speed, packing serious punch coming downhill while still having the elusiveness to leave defenders grasping at air in space. Bengals to keep rolling against Ravens? Sanders proved to everyone he's able to be an every-down back in Week 4. Check out the weekly FedEx Air NFL Players of the Week and cast your vote after Sunday Night Football. The value can't be higher given his ADP of 141st overall and RB41 at the time of this writing. Felton had just seven carries for 24 yards in 2021, the fewest of each of any running back on our list that wasnt injured. With that being said, there are still elite running backs who are capable of completely carrying an offense. 2022 stats:4 games | 45 att | 140 rush yds | 3.1 ypc | 2 rush TD | 27 rec | 188 rec yds | 1 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost. Before the 2020 season, Joe Mixon signed a 4-year, $48 million contract ($10 million fully guaranteed) to remain with the Cincinnati Bengals (at minimum) through the 2022 season. But his career average of 4.1 yards per carry is pedestrian compared to Chubb and others on this list. 4/practice squad role in Cincinnati. The 3-1 Giants have a big test ahead in London, and if they want to prove they're a legitimate threat in the NFC, there's only one thing to do: Keep feeding Barkley! Veteran Samaje Perine backs up Mixon and is coming off of a second straight strong season in Cincinnati in which he recorded a career-high in catches with 27 out of the backfield. , The Browns, despite having two very good running backs in Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb, have dealt with plenty of injuries in their backfield over the past few years. Full schedule | Standings The Rams had to fight through the regular season without Akers, who tore his Achilles but still returned for the playoffs. Heading toward the start of free agency, front offices around the league will be analyzing their rosters position by position to determine their team needs ahead of the 2023 season. . Five running backs and the Baltimore Ravens' lone fullback handled the ball in the team's backfield in 2022, totaling just over 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns between them. Could that be Canadas fault or was it really due to Ben Roethlisbergers limitations? Chicago Bears: David Montgomery, Khalil HerbertDetroit Lions: D'Andre Swift, Jamaal WilliamsGreen Bay Packers: Aaron Jones, AJ DillonMinnesota Vikings: Dalvin Cook. If he wants one last good NFL running back contract, hell need to maximize his 2022 season. Again, he was not the most efficient player but was productive in the historical sense. Which one of the eight divisions has the best running backs? He's getting the carries but hasn't produced much. For one, Edwards is coming off of an ACL tear, which puts him in more contentious waters than a healthy Johnson. Former NFL rushing leader and NFL Network analyst Maurice Jones-Drew will survey all running backs and rank his top 15 each week of the 2022 season. AFC North; Baltimore Ravens; . Selected in the fourth round, Spiller was one of the top value selections after being pegged as one of best running backs in this class. He earned his big pay day. Najee Harris was the Steelers' ground game during his rookie season in 2021, as he was the only running back to play greater than 70 percent of the team's offensive snaps . The AFC North has the best overall running back group in the NFL, as this division had three of the top four rushers last year. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. February 24, 2023 6:55 am ET. "GMFB" discusses if keeping quarterback Daniel Jones, running back Saquon Barkley is the New York Giants best option. But James White is entering his age-29 season, which is not a super-old age but is inching closer to the wrong side of 30. 2021 Season Stats 228 carries 1,259 yards 8 touchdowns 5.5 ypc. 3, at least for now, is absurd. Unless his receiving work reappears, I . The Steelers need to get him some help. 53 while Henry followed close behind at No. He was not necessarily the most efficient running back with a number 34 overall finish in rush success rate (49 percent) and 35th finish in DVOA (-4.8 percent, Football Outsiders), but he was impactful in breaking tackles and after contact. July 10, 2022 9:30 am ET. Edwards also missed the entire 2021 season due to a knee injury, so his return is a significant boost as well, considering hes rushed for at least 700 years in each of his three seasons in the NFL. Copyright 2021 Pittsburgh Sports Now / Steelers Now. Maurice Jones-Drew assesses the Hall of Fame candidacies of Ezekiel Elliott and Derrick Henry, two running backs who could pass him on the all-time rushing leaderboard in Week 16. MORE: 2023 Dynasty Rookie Rankings. The AFC North has the best overall running back group in the NFL, as this division had three of the . On three occasions, teams have made it to at least the divisional round. Ma' Rookie, Ma' Problems: Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers. Playing in rainy conditions that dictated a run-heavy game plan, he took advantage. 3 AFC South. Our goal is to put out the highest-quality content and tools. Harris was drafted in the first round of the past NFL draft by the no-rusher-in-tow Pittsburgh Steelers. In the early stages of the offseason, Miami has moved on from their defensive coordinator and three different positional coaches. Conner, a fifth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, had just 12 carries for 42 yards as a rookie, including a touchdown on New Year's Day. Gordon had 918 yards rushing while Williams put up 903 while averaging 4.5 and 4.4 yards per attempt respectively. And Jakob Johnson did some fine blocking work for him. The DCs project the real-life pecking order expected to be used by head coaches at the respective franchises, not where RotoWire projects those players to finish in fantasy leagues. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. He's missed 23 games over the last two seasons, and hasn't been the same dual-threat weapon he was before he signed his massive extension. Since then Chubb has put up 3 consecutive 1,000 yard seasons and at least 8 touchdowns. As for Ekeler, he's a bonafide dual-threat weapon, and recorded a career-high 1,558 yards from scrimmage and 20 touchdowns last year. Fantasy managers are well aware of the situation, so you'll have to pay to get Williams (RB12 ADP), but it should be worth it. On three occasions, teams have made it to at least the divisional round. 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