Best Crop of Rookie Running Backs Since...... ?

[JetBlue]

Every year there are running backs taken that are outstanding.  

2022 is no exception and the number of potential franchise backs is very impressive.  

Lets start with the back who really should be leading this conversation if it were not typical Jet luck...

Breece Hall - This guy is that DUDE.   I truly think he would be the run away offensive rookie of the year had he stayed healthy.   I don't think it would be out of the question for him to have exceeded 1000-1500 yards on the ground and 500-1000 in receptions along with double digit TDs.  We can only dream about what our season would have looked like with a healthy Hall (and AVT for that matter).  As it was, he averaged 5.8 yards a carry, for 463 yards,   4 tds with 19 receptions for another 218 yards.  All in just 7 games (really on 4 that he started)!!!  WOW.....  as bad as the ZW pick is looking, that is how GREAT the Hall pick appears to be.  

Kenneth Walker III - If Breece is 1A, the Walker is 1B.  Only thing really separating Breece from Walker is he is a much better receiver.   However if Walker can improve in that area, the sky is definitely the limit.  It will interesting to watch these two players careers.   Of course a lot will depend on health but it appears both the Jets and Seahawks hit home runs with their picks. 

Brian Robinson Jr. - The Redskins resurgence is mostly the result of their much improved running attack.  Robinson has been a Godsend and has exceeded expectations.   He is a power back who has shown some surprising speed.  He looks like he has a very bright future. 

Dameon Pierce - He burst on the season and has continued to be the best thing about the Texans this season.  He is closing in on 1,000 yards and should surpass it this weekend.   He was definitely the early favorite for offensive rookie of the year and is still in the running. 

Tyler Allgier - Wow, wow, wow.  That is all I can say.  Who would have thought that the best player from the Zach Wilson BYU teams was Algier?  Well to be fair, there were several folks who were interested in drafting him in the later rounds had we not taken Hall.   As a running and receiving back, he may be second only to Hall in his potential.  He has rushed for over 800 yards averaging 4.9 yards a carry.  Taken in the 5th round by Atlanta, he is a star in the making.  

James Cook - I remember we had a great laugh at the expense of at Buffalo fans who went ballistic we drafted Hall.   Well it looks like they got a pretty good consolation prize in Cook.   While he is has been more of a change of pace back (like Michael Carter has been for us) he has really excelled in that role and lately has seen his role expanded.  He is tied with Hall averaging 5.8 yards per carry on 80 carries.  It is funny though, they both have as of this posting almost the same amount of yards 463 or Breece to 462 for Cook.  Of course Hall only played in 7 games (and really only got the bulk of the carries starting in game 4, another reason I am down MLF, but that is another post....)  while Cook has played in 15 so....

Isiah Pacheco - I didn't even know who this dude was coming out of Rutgers but he landed on the perfect team (the Chiefs) and has been a true revelation in both the run and pass game.   Yep just what Mahomes needs; another dynamic playmaker lol.  

Honorable Mention:
Here are few guys I think will have good careers but are currently stuck on depth chart and didn't get lot of action: 
Isiah Spiller - He is playing behind Austin Ekeler who is one of the best backs in football
Jerome Ford - I have not really followed Detriot Lions much so not sure why he has not played much but I do know they have DeAndre Swift and few other decent backs so for the time being I think he is just playing on specials.  
Pierre Strong - He burst onto the scene with a monster game.  Was it a fluke?  Remains to be seen but I do remember folks being high on him during the draft. 

Well there you go folks, I am sure I may have missed someone or perhaps overhyped someone while undervaluing another.  Some of this is subjective of course but I would stack up this running back class with any I have seen in the past few years going back a decade, in terms of quantity of potential "FRANCHISE" backs and not merely good ones.  What say you guys?  I know this is a small sample size so please, no need to go there.  We are simply looking at the ability demonstrated so far and if they guys stay relatively healthy for their careers.  

[TNJet]

We have way more needs than RB. Hopefully Hall comes back to full form, but Carter and Knight are plenty good enough. The real problem is our injury prone oline. If there's not a QB worth taking in the first round I say we draft best Olinemen available. I think its time we move on from Becton, he's too fat and lazy and injury prone.

[JetBlue]

On 12/29/2022 at 1:01 PM, TNJet said:

We have way more needs than RB. Hopefully Hall comes back to full form, but Carter and Knight are plenty good enough. The real problem is our injury prone oline. If there's not a QB worth taking in the first round I say we draft best Olinemen available. I think its time we move on from Becton, he's too fat and lazy and injury prone.

What made you assume I wanted to draft a running back?????   Please READ the post again.  I am simply stacking up this years ROOKIE running backs against previous seasons.  

 

[Paradis]

On 12/29/2022 at 8:31 AM, JetBlue said:

Every year there are running backs taken that are outstanding.  

2022 is no exception and the number of potential franchise backs is very impressive.  

Lets start with the back who really should be leading this conversation if it were not typical Jet luck...

Breece Hall - This guy is that DUDE.   I truly think he would be the run away offensive rookie of the year had he stayed healthy.   I don't think it would be out of the question for him to have exceeded 1000-1500 yards on the ground and 500-1000 in receptions along with double digit TDs.  We can only dream about what our season would have looked like with a healthy Hall (and AVT for that matter).  As it was, he averaged 5.8 yards a carry, for 463 yards,   4 tds with 19 receptions for another 218 yards.  All in just 7 games (really on 4 that he started)!!!  WOW.....  as bad as the ZW pick is looking, that is how GREAT the Hall pick appears to be.  

Kenneth Walker III - If Breece is 1A, the Walker is 1B.  Only thing really separating Breece from Walker is he is a much better receiver.   However if Walker can improve in that area, the sky is definitely the limit.  It will interesting to watch these two players careers.   Of course a lot will depend on health but it appears both the Jets and Seahawks hit home runs with their picks. 

Brian Robinson Jr. - The Redskins resurgence is mostly the result of their much improved running attack.  Robinson has been a Godsend and has exceeded expectations.   He is a power back who has shown some surprising speed.  He looks like he has a very bright future. 

Dameon Pierce - He burst on the season and has continued to be the best thing about the Texans this season.  He is closing in on 1,000 yards and should surpass it this weekend.   He was definitely the early favorite for offensive rookie of the year and is still in the running. 

Tyler Allgier - Wow, wow, wow.  That is all I can say.  Who would have thought that the best player from the Zach Wilson BYU teams was Algier?  Well to be fair, there were several folks who were interested in drafting him in the later rounds had we not taken Hall.   As a running and receiving back, he may be second only to Hall in his potential.  He has rushed for over 800 yards averaging 4.9 yards a carry.  Taken in the 5th round by Atlanta, he is a star in the making.  

James Cook - I remember we had a great laugh at the expense of at Buffalo fans who went ballistic we drafted Hall.   Well it looks like they got a pretty good consolation prize in Cook.   While he is has been more of a change of pace back (like Michael Carter has been for us) he has really excelled in that role and lately has seen his role expanded.  He is tied with Hall averaging 5.8 yards per carry on 80 carries.  It is funny though, they both have as of this posting almost the same amount of yards 463 or Breece to 462 for Cook.  Of course Hall only played in 7 games (and really only got the bulk of the carries starting in game 4, another reason I am down MLF, but that is another post....)  while Cook has played in 15 so....

Isiah Pacheco - I didn't even know who this dude was coming out of Rutgers but he landed on the perfect team (the Chiefs) and has been a true revelation in both the run and pass game.   Yep just what Mahomes needs; another dynamic playmaker lol.  

Honorable Mention:
Here are few guys I think will have good careers but are currently stuck on depth chart and didn't get lot of action: 
Isiah Spiller - He is playing behind Austin Ekeler who is one of the best backs in football
Jerome Ford - I have not really followed Detriot Lions much so not sure why he has not played much but I do know they have DeAndre Swift and few other decent backs so for the time being I think he is just playing on specials.  
Pierre Strong - He burst onto the scene with a monster game.  Was it a fluke?  Remains to be seen but I do remember folks being high on him during the draft. 

Well there you go folks, I am sure I may have missed someone or perhaps overhyped someone while undervaluing another.  Some of this is subjective of course but I would stack up this running back class with any I have seen in the past few years going back a decade, in terms of quantity of potential "FRANCHISE" backs and not merely good ones.  What say you guys?  I know this is a small sample size so please, no need to go there.  We are simply looking at the ability demonstrated so far and if they guys stay relatively healthy for their careers.  

What if I told you it was one of the most underwhelming I can recall recently lol

[Beerfish]

There are good backs pretty well every year.  

Oh and whoever drafter Pacheco in the 7th round for the packers in the jet nation mock draft must have been an astounding GM.

[Dax89]

This list is further evidence why you don't spend premium draft capital on RBs or pay them big money.  Good running backs are always available day 3/UDFA.  It's less about how impactful they are, rather they are in abundance around the NFL. 

[JetBlue]

4 hours ago, Paradis said:

What if I told you it was one of the most underwhelming I can recall recently lol

I would respectfully disagree....  Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker, Dameon Pierce, Tyler Allgier, Brian Robinson.... underwhelming; really? 

[JetBlue]

2 hours ago, Dax89 said:

This list is further evidence why you don't spend premium draft capital on RBs or pay them big money.  Good running backs are always available day 3/UDFA.  It's less about how impactful they are, rather they are in abundance around the NFL. 

Good point.  Although I did want Breece Hall or Kenneth Walker, Tyler Allgier in the 5th may be the best value of this draft. 

[Dax89]

9 minutes ago, JetBlue said:

Good point.  Although I did want Breece Hall or Kenneth Walker, Tyler Allgier in the 5th may be the best value of this draft. 

I mean not going to lose sleep taking Breece with a 2nd but you need a performance just about line what we got out of him to make even that a worthwhile investment IMO.  Having 3 solid RBs these days is pretty common these days.

[Paradis]

On 1/3/2023 at 5:27 PM, JetBlue said:

I would respectfully disagree....  Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker, Dameon Pierce, Tyler Allgier, Brian Robinson.... underwhelming; really? 

i was being a facetious... I did think it was overhyped but it hasn't been as murky as i made it out to be last spring. Most of the big names delivered; Hall, Walker, Cook, Pierce... 

If i'm playing devil's advocate, Brian Robinson despite being forcefully made, the starter hasn't produced. It's been a struggle. . Allgiere's a mirage - my view on that won't change, but good for him carving a role out for himself. Spiller's been a disappointment but i think testing showed that was gonna happen.

There's also bright futures for R White, TPD and Pierre Strong... so all in all, yea - it was a potential to be one of the more fruitful classes in some time. 

[JustInFudge]

Wow, Bam Knight hater