By Chet Gresham – @ChetGresham
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Dallas Cowboys Last year, Dallas running backs ranked 13th in rushing attempts, 11th in rushing yards, 26th in rushing touchdowns while ranking 13th in targets, 12th in receptions, 18th in receiving yards and 15th in receiving touchdowns. Overall, the Cowboys ranked 13th in total running back looks, but Ezekiel Elliott saw 399 of the 466 total looks despite missing a game. He was without a doubt the only back the Cowboys trusted last season and finished fifth in overall fantasy points for running backs.
The depth chart at running back for Dallas looks similar to last season in that no player behind Elliott has the ability to replace him and be trusted to put together good fantasy numbers. Behind Elliott are Darius Jackson and rookie Tony Pollard. Jackson was cut by the Cowboys going into last season, and Pollard was picked 128th overall this year. Pollard does have 4.42 speed and could easily become a part of the offense to ease the burden off Elliott, but that would be asking a lot of the rookie. If Pollard does get snaps, it likely won’t be at the expense of Elliott but more as an additional offensive outlet for Dak Prescott.
Elliott could be in trouble with the league again, but at this point we have no clear way of knowing what, if anything, will happen. If Elliott were to miss time again due to suspension, the Cowboys wouldn’t go into the season with Jackson and Pollard as their replacements, as they would pick up backs to compete for the job while Pollard would likely be valuable as a receiving back. But as it is, Elliott is again poised for a big workload. The trouble last season was that Prescott took away a big chunk of Elliott’s touchdown chances, as Prescott ran the ball 10 times from inside the opponent’s five-yardline and scored four touchdowns, while Elliott ran the ball 11 times in the same situations and scored twice. When you look at the top running backs in the league in goal-line opportunities, Elliott ranked 15th.
New York Giants Giants’ running backs last season ranked 22nd in rushing attempts, 14th in rushing yards, 12th in rushing touchdowns while ranking second in targets, third in receptions, seventh in receiving yards and 12th in receiving touchdowns. Overall, the Giants ranked ninth in total running back looks, giving the bulk to Saquon Barkley with 375 of their 477 total.
Barkley finished last season as the No. 1 fantasy back overall and is currently the favorite to finish as the top back again, while the Giants didn’t add anybody of consequence to the running backs room. Right now, Wayne Gallman, Elijhaa Penny, Paul Perkins and Rod Smith are the names behind Barkley. Gallman should remain his direct backup, but if Barkley were to lose a big chunk of time to injury, we would likely see a committee of sorts.
After trading away Odell Beckham Jr., the Giants waived a white flag for the passing game and decided Barkley would be the engine to the offense. The Giants still have solid receivers, but their quarterback will do them no favors and we should expect a short passing game to be the norm. Barkley will likely see a big percentage of stacked boxes, making life tough for him, but his opportunities will be so great that an injury will be the only thing holding him back from another top-three fantasy season.
Philadelphia Eagles In 2018, Eagles running backs ranked 15th in rushing attempts, 18th in rushing yards, 12th in rushing touchdowns while ranking 20th in targets, 21st in receptions, 17th in receiving yards and 12th in receiving touchdowns. Overall, the Eagles ranked 18th in total running back looks with no one player taking a big lead in touches.
Jay Ajayi was supposed to be the early-down and lead back last season, but he only lasted four games before an ACL tear finished his year. After Ajayi’s injury, rookie Josh Adams led the way with 133 looks, followed by Wendell Smallwood with 123, and then Corey Clement with 93. But that group will have a lot more competition this season, as the Eagles signed free agent Jordan Howard and drafted Miles Sanders 53rd overall. Those two moves should pit Howard and Sanders against each other for lead-back duties. Sanders is more versatile than Howard, but he’s a rookie and Howard has shown enough ability as an early-down back to not be thrown the wayside.
Smallwood and Clement got their chances, as did Adams, and Philadelphia decided to go with Howard and Sanders. Those are the two who will get the most chances, but I also think they will hurt each other’s upside until either an injury or one player completely outplays the other. Sanders’ versatility as a receiver puts him ahead on paper, but I’m not going to draft Sanders as if he’s the Eagles’ starting back. If Howard’s ADP starts to slip, however, I’ll go after him.
Washington Redskins Washington running backs last year ranked 21st in rushing attempts, 23rd in rushing yards, 19th in rushing touchdowns while ranking 16th in targets, 18th in receptions, 20th in receiving yards and 15th in receiving touchdowns. Overall, the Redskins ranked 21st in total running back looks with Adrian Peterson taking the bulk of the work with Derrius Guice injured for the whole season and Chris Thompson never quite healthy.
Peterson played well as the starter, amassing over 1,200 yards and hitting eight touchdowns while averaging 4.2 yards per carry. The Redskins kept Peterson around for this season, but they hope that Guice can return to form and take over as the lead back. The depth chart remains Guice, Peterson and Thompson, with Samaje Perine and Byron Marshall as emergency exits. Bryce Love is injured but will likely return midway through the season.
In a perfect world for Washington, Guice is ready for training camp and shows he is back from his ACL tear and starts the season as the No. 1 back. If that happens, Guice is a solid pick in any fantasy league, but I’ll give that scenario a 50-percent chance at the moment. Peterson showed enough at 33 years old to believe he still has some left at 34. Jay Gruden likely wants one back to get the bulk of the work, and if Guice isn’t fully back, Peterson should get the lead-back duties early on. The situation is scary for drafters at this point, so I’m mostly shying away or drafting whoever lasts longer.
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