Top 20 NFL Running Backs

00:00:04
Speaker 1: Welcome to NFL Daily, where running backs have always mattered to us. I'm Greg Rosenthal and I'm here with Nick Shook where you are taping this show, Nick. June twenty third, it is officially the dead zone of the NFL season.

00:00:20
Speaker 2: Spoiler alert.

00:00:20
Speaker 1: Football is not back for the next couple of weeks, and yet we're going to be cranking out some fun NFL Daily content.

00:00:26
Speaker 2: No one I'd rather do it with than.

00:00:27
Speaker 3: You, Nick, you know, judging by your tone in the way that you made that claim about running backs, I don't know if I believe you, but I definitely believe you that we're in the dead zone. Surprisingly, we're we are operating in a world now in which the NFL dominates i'd say about fifty weeks out of the year. So to have two off not bad, good job.

00:00:44
Speaker 1: Well, people will still want to come up with it. It is a weird thing, yeah, for people who aren't as familiar. This is the one time of year not only a lot of media goes away and we'll get into our schedule coming up in the next few weeks, but the teams are just literally out of the bill until at least after July fourth. So even though we're getting closer to training camp when NFL Daily is truly back to daily again. It is the one time of year even though we're close, that teams are off. And yet nick running backs have always mattered to me. I don't know why you're coming.

00:01:17
Speaker 4: It is at me.

00:01:18
Speaker 1: I mean, it's like the coolest, the most fun position to watch, and so we're going to talk about them today. We're going to draft the best twenty running backs in the league, back and forth, who we would want to be our running back in our backfield this year. Kind of a snapshot of where the position is at. And it's better than it's been in a long time, you know, since we last taped a show that was kind of tape that day. It was Patrick and Omar. Great job by them. They did the JayR Alexander news. Not a lot of news has popped up since, some updates injury wise, that Anthony Richardson fully expected to be back for training camp. I personally thought it was interesting that the Chiefs confirmed their first round pick Josh Simmons fully ready for camp including contact.

00:02:01
Speaker 2: That's interesting. And then CJ.

00:02:03
Speaker 1: Moseley, the longtime Jets and Ravens linebacker retired so happy trails to CJ.

00:02:09
Speaker 2: Moseley.

00:02:10
Speaker 1: A really good player who just couldn't get medically cleared to play another year. But a hall of very good guy, five second team All Pros, like a very steady captain type. And that's about it. That's all you need for the news for the last like three or four days.

00:02:23
Speaker 3: Yeah, if you think about Mosley's career, I prefer you think about his career with the Ravens instead of the Jets, because he went to the Jets as a high price free agent. They obviously had their struggles. He did make a Pro Bowl in a second team All Pro in twenty twenty two, but again, yeah, he had some health issues in his last season and just felt like he never quite lived up to the contract. And yet he was a very good football player over the course of his career, especially if you think.

00:02:47
Speaker 4: About his Ravens years where he was at his best.

00:02:50
Speaker 1: You know what, I think he gave the Jets leadership that year he had where he got the second team All Pro. He was out outstanding, one of the guys that everyone said that played arount him second in Defensive Rookie of the Year back in twenty fourteen. Interestingly, was one of the few people that completely opted out of the COVID season. If you remember, he didn't play at all that season, but was a really good player for the Ravens and yes, had some nice years for the Jets, So happy trails to him. Let's get to the draft. I will give you the first overall pick. Again, the parameters who we want playing running back this year. It is not a lifetime achievement award. It is not even just who is the best last year? Who is our type of guy? It's not fantasy numbers because we're taking everything into account, receiving, blocking, whatever you want. Who are the very best right now? Looking forward? You have the first pick.

00:03:43
Speaker 4: It's gonna be chalk.

00:03:44
Speaker 3: And really, what I found in this exercise was that I like rooms more than running backs individually. Like, I'm a big fan of certain rooms in the league, and we're not drafting rooms. So I'm gonna go with the guy who's on the cover of Madden twenty six.

00:03:58
Speaker 4: I'm going with sa Kwan Barkley, simple as that. There's no argument.

00:04:02
Speaker 2: I think there could be an argument.

00:04:04
Speaker 1: It would be just that he's coming off this incredible season and maybe we'd knock him for that that the history of running backs or can you do it like two years in a row and that this year is some of the other top five guys, like a slightly more consistent player on a snap to snap basis. You could have said that Nick. In Saquon's career before this last one. The thing that changed in Philadelphia was, for instance, his success rate in New York was always a little hit or miss, was kind of low big plays, but a lot of negative plays, and that was partly because of the offensive line. But this last season he was hitting the six to seven, the eight yard games in addition to the eighty yard games.

00:04:46
Speaker 3: Yeah, and he was a player that was three down back and was a home run hitter and a closer, which we hadn't seen from him except for in early in his career before you know, he kind of those injury struggles that he ran into in his final years with the Jets. And I think more than anything, yes, we'd like to see a guy rush for two thousand yards. It's fun to watch that. It's cool to be like, I remember where I was when Saquon broke two thousand yards. I remember that season. But what really I thought was most special to me, beyond the Super Bowl victory was the fact that he was able to overcome all the doubt, all the naysayers, all the well, Saquon might never be what we thought he was going to be because of all these injuries. No, he just went out and rush for two thousand yards and was an awesome running back. Can do I think he's gonna do it again.

00:05:25
Speaker 4: I don't know. It's really hard. It's basically almost impossible to do it two years in a row. So I'm gonna say no.

00:05:30
Speaker 3: But also, if he's the player he was last year, which I think he is, I'm and I'm picking him just for this year. He's at the top of my board.

00:05:37
Speaker 2: Absolutely.

00:05:37
Speaker 1: He had four hundred and ninety six yards over expected according to next Gents. That's in the second half of last season. That number nick would have been more than any running back in an entire full season since nineteen or since twenty eighteen when they started keeping truck. So just in the second half, he was getting more extra yards than any runner in a full season since twenty eighteen, except for one guy who did it over the course of last season. We'll get to him in a minute. But yeah, he's the man. He would have been my number one pick. It gets interesting here. I think the next three backs in my mind could go in any order, but I'm taking Bajohn Robinson. It's my team, it's who I want. Last year, it kind of snuck up on me that he had eighteen hundred and eighty seven yards from scrimmage and fifteen touchdowns. And one thing that I love about him is he gets more than what's blocked. Since he entered the league, he has fifteen more mistackles forced than anyone else, So that's over a three year span. Derrick Henry's actually second in that, so that shows that that's been a skill set since day one.

00:06:42
Speaker 2: But what gets me about him is just how complete he is.

00:06:46
Speaker 1: Obviously he's good as a pass catcher, but I mentioned success rate hasn't been as consistent for Saquon as great as Saquon was, and I'm sure we'll get to Derrick Henry sooner than later. The league leader in success rate last year, and that you can measure it in different ways. Different come and he's measured differently, but essentially it's getting a certain amount of yardage or a first down on plays like over four yards on first down. The leader in success rate was Bijon Robinson last year, so he was extremely consistent in addition to giving you all the eye popping plays that you expect from him.

00:07:16
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, when I think about the Falcons, I think about the players that are actually quite talented that maybe don't get the exposure league wide that they should, and he's one of them, because people don't necessarily pay attention to the Falcons all the time. They did early in the season last year because they got off the hot start, but then they fell apart down the end, and it feels like they're in the shadows there. Players like Bijon are always in the shadows there. Kyle Pitts was the subject of that before and now he's going into a pivot year, of course, so I just want them to succeed as a team so that then he has elevated Bjhon Robinson to a larger stage that the rest of the football world can appreciate him properly, because those numbers that you just listed absolutely do not lie, right.

00:07:55
Speaker 1: He he has improved steadily in each one of his seasons. I think we expect running back to come into the league and just blow the doors off and rookies are eligible.

00:08:03
Speaker 2: By the way, Nick, I don't know if I mentioned.

00:08:05
Speaker 4: They're eligible and fantasy drafts too.

00:08:07
Speaker 1: Okay, okay, they're eligible. He has gotten just a little bit better. He came in already I think better than people realize, like a top ten type of back, and he's gotten just a little savvier, a little better in each one of the seasons.

00:08:19
Speaker 2: All right, give me who you have number three over.

00:08:21
Speaker 4: My number three is going to be Derrick Henry.

00:08:24
Speaker 3: And this was a pick that I may not have made even a year ago because I thought, look, this guy, a lot of the tread has been worn off those tires. He's gotten a high volume of carries over the course of his career. He's been the rushing leader multiple times. He is the model of being a superhuman running back who will throw defenders through the air if you try to encounter him and take him home with an arm tackle. But what he did last year within Baltimore's offense told me that he's still had plenty of gas left in that tank. Do I think that he's necessarily going to flirt with the career year this year? No, because they spread the ball around so much. But that's what makes him so effective. So I know we're talking about just running backs on there and not necessarily taking into account all the circumstances around him, but you can't evaluate him without considering the fact that he plays with Lamar Jackson, that he plays behind an offensive line that got a lot better than most people would expect last year, and an offense that's balanced enough to throw over Shot Bateman and z Flowers so that they can't just load the box against Derreck Henry, which helps him succeed as much as he did last year. I believe in him for at least one more year as a guy who's going to hit home runs, who's going to run guys over. He's going to go over one thousand yards, and it's going to be a bell cow back for this team. So that's why I take him with my second pick.

00:09:29
Speaker 1: It's crazy if you look at the numbers, they were almost identical to his best season. You know, when everyone remembers he ran for twenty one hundred yards from scrimmage, ran for over two thousand in that COVID season where he was Offensive Player of the Year, and that's what you think of as his peak. And yet last season was actually right there. He in a lot of ways, he was better because he took fifty less carries to get there, so he led success rate. I mean in terms of he led an EPA per play or total EPA. He actually ended up having more rushing yards overexpected than Saquon Barkley last season. By almost any measure, it was one of the best rushing seasons of all time. I saw another interesting stat. You next Gen does a lot of work for us that you know out of the pistol. When they ran the pistol, he had the best like running back season out of the pistol of any running back ever forty nine for four hundred and ninety two years. Like he was ten yards per carry out of the pistol. So he somehow is getting better as he gets older. I think that's a strong pick for number three, but I would have disagreed.

00:10:32
Speaker 2: I actually would have had him fourth.

00:10:33
Speaker 1: I would have taken Jamiir Gibbs fourth or third, and so I'll take him fourth now. And again I'm just thinking, I am projecting a little bit forward, and I'm thinking about what I would want on my team, and to me, he's just so versatile. He led the NFL in terms of the yards per carry between the tackles. And that's the thing I think people don't really understand with Gibbs. Obviously, you have the home run ability that Saquon and Derrek Henry have. You know, Gibbs had the highest explosive rate explosive play rate in the league in terms of plus ten plays. But he's very physical, like he can run inside, he can run over people, and to me, he's just hitting his prime. So I'm going to Miror Gibbs next.

00:11:14
Speaker 3: Yeah, he was up there on my list too, And I actually went back and forth with my choice here because this is where I think it gets a little interesting, because it's skews toward preference, and I like a guy who I can trust to make defenders miss, to break tackles, to be very hard to bring down, and to also make a difference out of the backfield as a pass catcher. I like Bell Cows, I like Josh Jacobs. That's where I'm taking him here. And this might be a little high from what most people would expect, but you know, you look at like success rate you want to talk about, you know, different running backs with higher success rate.

00:11:43
Speaker 4: His actually was lower than it was.

00:11:44
Speaker 3: Outside of the top ten, really out of the top fifteen when it comes to next gen stats. And yet when I think about a per down back, if circumstances are right, the play is schemed up properly, he's going to make a play. He's going to get those extra yards. He's going to be a guy that I can look down my roster and say I would give him the ball twenty five times a game and feel perfectly fine about it because I know he's a workhorse.

00:12:05
Speaker 4: So that's why I would take him.

00:12:06
Speaker 1: Yeah, bigger workload certainly than Gibbs, although for instance, gives two hundred and fifty carries so less, but fifty catches, so it gives you that receiving game.

00:12:15
Speaker 2: Jay Jacobs does that too.

00:12:16
Speaker 1: He's made people miss in terms of mistackles since the day he entered the league. No, he would have been either next or two away on my list. He does have a little bit of an every other year thing, but he's kind of earned that spot.

00:12:31
Speaker 2: Almost reminds me of a little of.

00:12:34
Speaker 1: A Man Green back in the day for the Packers in terms of a guy who's like never the best, but man, it's really awesome to have a guy that you can give the ball to three hundred times and you'll know is like a top seven or eight back and you don't have to worry about him. I think that's the part of Josh Jacobs's career that he's in. Now I am going to take a rookie. Now, I'm going at Ashton Genty. I love a lot of other running backs in the league. And I know you might think this is high, this is this is sixth overall, But I just thought, like, would I rather have Ashton Genty or let's say Christian McCaffery is going to come up at some point, or whoever else is coming up next. I am content, I'm confident enough in Genty. I'm going sixth overall. It's not a position where you know players have to ease their way into the league. Often they peak rather early, like even great all time backs are great right away, like an Adrian Peterson, like Ladanian Tomlinson. So the contact balance, the consistency I think he's going to bring.

00:13:34
Speaker 2: I'm believing in Genty. I don't need to see anything.

00:13:36
Speaker 3: No, And you know what, this is a rare case in which I would agree with a high evaluation of a rookie coming into the league. Usually I'm very anti like, don't put especially when it comes to fantasy. You don't put a lot of stock and a guy who hasn't played it down in the NFL yet, because you're just you're you're playing blind, essentially. But if somebody was buying stock in teams this year, you are buying all the stock in the Raiders. So I am not at all surprised that you're taking Ashton genty here and and what you just said makes a whole lot of sense because what you see on tape translates to the pro game. It's just a matter of how fast can he hit the ground running? Can they scheme it up well for him, because you don't want to put him behind an offensive line that's not good and he has to try to be a superhero just to gain a few yards. But if it's in a vacuum, yes, I totally agree with you.

00:14:18
Speaker 1: Well, part of the reason I did it nick it out. I'm curious if you would how you would answer with your next pick. I thought, like, what would NFL team who would ret NFL teams rather have for twenty twenty five, even if it's somehow in a weird universe where they could only take him for one year. Would they rather have Ashton Genty or would they rather have the guy they already have who's coming up on our list. I bet almost all of them would take Ashton Genty.

00:14:39
Speaker 2: I really do.

00:14:39
Speaker 1: But maybe I'm wrong, and maybe we're all wrong about our evaluations.

00:14:42
Speaker 2: Who do you got?

00:14:43
Speaker 4: No?

00:14:43
Speaker 3: I actually I agree with you on that too. My next pick is this is where I get a little uncertained, a little nervous, because I have a hard time putting stock in running backs who can't stay on the field. But I'm going with it anyway, and I'm going with Christian McCaffrey, who never got rolling last year because of injury, and his season ended prematurely and it was just a wash or a waste of a season for him. But I believe in the talent, and I believe that he would still have one healthy season in him if we're only playing for one season, And there are few players who are as dynamic and as explosive as he is when he's fully healthy. So at this point I'm getting in with this value Christian McCaffrey.

00:15:17
Speaker 4: I'm taking it.

00:15:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, at first, I had him high on this list, And as I kept doing, I kept moving him down and down, and I realized he's only been healthy nick three out of the last seven years.

00:15:30
Speaker 4: So maybe this is before.

00:15:31
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's not enough to me. It's just good enough. He did the too straight in San Francisco. But then when you have a completely misseason, essentially last year, then it reminds you of all the other ones that happened before that with Carolina, and that to me, that's part of the position, unlike any other where availability is really a trait, it's really a skill. It's why I feel fine taking a guy like Kyron Willy eight, because I want to have some love for the consistent player.

00:16:05
Speaker 2: A fifth and success rate.

00:16:06
Speaker 1: In his two seasons, he's thirteen hundred and fifty yards from scrimmage, fourteen hundred and ninety yards from scrimmage. He played the most snaps last season. This shocked me. Of any running back in the league that surprise you. You think of them like bringing in some other backs. But he's there blocking, He's there as a terrific receiver. He's there to pick up five when you block three. He's just consistent, And to me, he is a guy I am just trusting to be out on the field. So it's a rare position where I'm not just going for ceiling. I actually would rather have him than McCaffrey because I'd rather just have a guy that I know is going to be there, even though I know at their peaks, obviously McCaffrey is a better player.

00:16:44
Speaker 3: Yeah that, And you know, Kian Williams value to the Rams is even more noticeable. It's obvious, painfully so when he's not on the field, because they are so much worse as a running team without him than they are with him on the field. He is a special type of player and a guy that a lot of people didn't see coming and kind of forget about until he's back in the field and makes a big play, and then they're just constantly reminded of how good he is and they have to accept that he's an excellent running back. So I agree with you on that, and I'm not surprised by the total snap count because it's visible. Basically, if he's available and he's playing a lot, the Rams are going to win games, and if they win games, will make the playoffs. And that's basically how last season went. So that all tracks I'm going to go I'm overdrafting here, and this is because I believe that the Bills.

00:17:25
Speaker 4: Are treating this man wrong. And it's James Cook.

00:17:28
Speaker 3: It's James Cook because I again workhorseback and a guy who if you actually get him in the right scheme and run with him with intent, you're not in the Ken Dorsey offense. You're more in the Joe Brady offense, and you're handing it to him many times a game, and you're letting him get going. He can be a big time difference maker. And we spent on this time paying attention to Josh Allen everybody else, and rightfully so. But he's a big part of that offense that I think isn't getting the love he deserves from that organization as he goes into a contract year. And frankly I would pay him and keep him and put him in the right situ and ride him as a bell coow.

00:18:01
Speaker 4: So that's why I take him this high.

00:18:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, I love it.

00:18:04
Speaker 1: I had him a few spots lower, but I don't think it's crazy to go James Cook that high. You look at the last couple of years very similar in terms of yards from Scriage fifteen sixty two years ago than twelve sixteen last year, but out of the eighteen touchdowns, and he's my type of back that he's just an excellent.

00:18:23
Speaker 2: Receiver, a versatile receiver.

00:18:26
Speaker 1: You want him on the field, even though they have a great third third done back so they don't need to like lean into it. Cook can do absolutely everything. So I'm fine with that. I'm struggling with my next pick. If it was actually my team, that this next group is all very close, I had to Cook a little lower. But I'm just going to give James Connor some love here to wrap out of the top ten. Yes, his first two thousand yard rushing seasons were the last two, but he did get over fifteen hundred yards from scriage last year, and he's really improved as a receiver. He's very high in terms of forcing mistackles, and he would rank really high in a stat that doesn't exist that Adrian Peterson I think would be the all time leader in at least of players that I watch, which is running hard per snap. Joe Mixon is going to be high in this one. I'm sure he'll come up later. He just the effort on every single run is outstanding. He's getting better as he gets older, and so there's a couple of flashier options out there.

00:19:25
Speaker 2: But I'm going James Cooknam I mean James Connor number ten.

00:19:28
Speaker 3: I like that pick because, much like Kian Williams of the Rams, when you could basically predict the Cardinals outcomes last year, whether he had a great game or not, like if he was near one hundred yards in the ground, they probably won the game.

00:19:41
Speaker 4: If he was bottled up, they probably lost.

00:19:43
Speaker 3: And he was so important to them in that regard and is such a hard runner.

00:19:48
Speaker 4: I totally agree.

00:19:49
Speaker 3: I'm a big fan of his and every time he had a big game, I enjoyed it very much. I am gonna take a guy who statistically resonates with those who like to scroll down spreadsheets, but those who like availability little on the sideline here, because that's where he spent a lot of his time over the last few years. And it's Jonathan Taylor from the Colts. He finished last year with fourteen thirty one rushing yards and eleven touchdowns, and yet here he is going eleventh in our draft. It was quiet because of the Colts in their dysfunction at quarterback and his checkered injury passed that. You know, he hasn't been a reliable player, but when he's there and he's healthy, and sometimes it's more in spurts than consistent, it still looks really amazing. So to get him here at eleventh, I'm gonna take that all day.

00:20:32
Speaker 1: I love it. It's exactly where I had him. But there's a reason if James Cook is kind of my type, I think Jonathan Taylor is not. Not that big plays aren't incredibly valuable, but it's why I'm not going to knock Kyen Williams too much. If your twenty five to thirty yard run would have been sixty if it was Jonathan Taylor for a touchdown like that is a big edge for Taylor. But the consistency eight on and always looking for home runs, grinding out the four or five six yard runs, and then more importantly the receiving. This he has an old school like box score only one hundred and thirty six yards as a receiver, just kind of a zero in that department. Not that he can't catch the ball though he has some pretty high profile drops, but they also just don't trust him as a blocker, and to really understand the full thing. So I think that's that's why he is a great runner. That's but that's also why he went eleven.

00:21:30
Speaker 2: All Right, I'm gonna.

00:21:32
Speaker 1: Go Aaron Jones number twelve. Just a guy I love, and I had this feeling that he kind of faded at the end of last year, and then I really like by the end he actually had over fifteen hundred yards from scrimmage.

00:21:44
Speaker 2: He was not great in the red zone.

00:21:46
Speaker 1: He's not a true just give the ball to him and he's like your main guy. Like, how many guys we already have gone through? How many of those are there? Really not that many. He actually hasn't lost his speed at all. He is the sixth fastest player according to Next Gen Stats on a per snap basis in terms of just the miles per hour that he is running. So the speed is still there, and I'm going Aaron Jones number twelve. We're going to take a quick break and we'll be back and wrap.

00:22:17
Speaker 2: Up the rest of the Running back Draft. They're back.

00:22:31
Speaker 1: Back on NFL almost daily. Yeah, you probably noticed this time of year, we're taking a little bit of a step back, but this week we have regular shows throughout the week. We've got our crew with Jordan Rodrieg and Colleen Wolf. For our next show, we'll have a Friday show as well, and then we've been working on a really exciting project that's going to start going up next week and so everyone be on the lookout for that. Also, thank you to everyone who's listened to me lately and been writing reviews on iTunes and Spotify giving us five star reviews. It really helps us out subscribe on YouTube. We appreciate you all, all right, Number thirteen overall in the running back draft, Nick, this is your most important pick.

00:23:16
Speaker 4: Oh, this is my most important pick.

00:23:18
Speaker 3: Wow, because it came back after the break and got to keep the listener engaged. Okay, cool, well, listener, pull up a chair, because we're going to pick a guy that I think Greg overlooked, a guy that's been one of Greg's favorites over the course of this man's career. It's Alvin Kamara from the New Orleans Saints, a running back who fits exactly what Greg looks for on a three down basis. Let's just look at his numbers from last year. Yes, he finished at nine hundred and fifty rushing yards and six touchdowns. He played in fourteen games, but he added another five forty three through the air with a couple of touchdown catches at greg I think back to a couple of years ago when the Saints offense was just dreadful, which we could say for most of the last three years, and it was a game in Seattle in which their defense won.

00:23:55
Speaker 4: I think the final score might have been ten.

00:23:57
Speaker 3: To six, and it felt like the entire Saints offense, Jameis Winston at quarterback was just drop back, let Alvin Kamara run a choice route and just throw it wherever he decides to go. And that's how we're going to move the ball in that game. And that's the type of running back he can be. I don't know if he's the home run hitter. In fact, I don't think he's the home run hitter that he used to be. But he's still an every down guy that presents a threat that, when he's healthy, is still one of your top weapons on the field. So to let him come down to thirteen, I'm just going to scoop him up here and ride off into the sunset all happy.

00:24:25
Speaker 2: Well, you're just doing this to annoy me.

00:24:27
Speaker 1: I told you during the break that I forgot someone and I should make this a sponsored segment. Every single one of these drafts there is someone. I was like, oh wait, I meant to take him away earlier, and I said that during the break. I didn't say who it was, and you guessed it it was Commaned.

00:24:42
Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah, Well that's the benefit of knowing you for a decade.

00:24:45
Speaker 2: I want to apologize to that man.

00:24:46
Speaker 1: So this is why you got to listen to the pod and not just look at the rankings that we're going to put out.

00:24:51
Speaker 2: On social We should still do it.

00:24:52
Speaker 1: Because I had Kamara rang to eighth, and it's not that I forgot him. Like I got my sheet, I printed it out like an old man. We've got a printer here, and for some reason I spaced looking past.

00:25:06
Speaker 2: I had him eighth.

00:25:06
Speaker 1: I had him ahead of McCaffrey and Connor and even Taylor. It kind of snuck up that he proved what I had believed for the last handful of years, which is that if they could just block for him, he really hadn't declined as much as the numbers showed that I thought he still had juice. That I thought he's very intelligent reminds me a lot of Frank core in terms of his intelligence in the passing game. And then yeah, you mentioned it last. I mean he went for fourteen hundred and ninety three yards from scrimmage. He had the highest target rate by far of running backs in the league. Actually had one of the highest target rates of any player. I think it was top five including wide receivers. So if he's on the field, what that means is they're throwing him the ball like sixty eight catches for five hundred and forty yards and you're like, Okay, he's just catching a bunch of dumpops. No, he's running a lot of different routes. And yes, he doesn't have the long speed.

00:25:57
Speaker 2: He just doesn't.

00:25:58
Speaker 1: You're absolutely right, top five Nick according to Next Gen Stats in speed crossing the line of scrimmage. So that's that initial burst and when you watch him, I see that too, And yeah, he's those long plays that maybe earlier in his career, like that's not quite as there, but he can he can increase you if you can block, and so I think he's gonna have a good year.

00:26:20
Speaker 2: I really regret that I let him.

00:26:22
Speaker 1: If I could trade I would trade him up higher, but I'm not allowed to.

00:26:27
Speaker 3: Well, the only trade I'm accepting is Ashton Genty for Alvin Kamaras, So I don't think that's all.

00:26:32
Speaker 1: That's too rich. I would give you Kyron at the eighth pick. I don't even know what that means. Since we're not actually playing fantasy here, I will go my next pick. That broke my heart. I'm just such a space at it. Maybe we can put a little note with the top twenty rankings that we put out that that Greg just forgot, forgot and apologizes Bucky Irving.

00:26:52
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, I love this pick.

00:26:56
Speaker 1: The highest rate of Forcemiths tackles in the entire league over five yards per carry on inside runs and outside runs. There were there were some number numbers, and this is you know, in large part due to the great Bucks offensive line. But when teams played single high safety and Bucky Irving was on the field, like he averaged a preposterously high h yards per carry, just like you literally could not play single high against Bucky Irving. You took that extra guy from not in the box like he is gonna have some space, he is gonna make you miss. And the numbers, like the advanced numbers and the raw numbers would actually tell you he was already like a top eight to ten back. I'm not ready to go there, but I'm happy to put him deside.

00:27:42
Speaker 3: Yeah, ninth and success rate right behind Saquon Barclay by just a zero point one percent difference. A player who finished with one hundred and eighty six rushing yards over expected, and a guy.

00:27:53
Speaker 4: Who I think is just scratching the surface.

00:27:55
Speaker 3: One of my favorite guys out of the combine in his class went to Tampa.

00:27:59
Speaker 4: They needed a running back.

00:28:00
Speaker 3: He took Rashad White's job rightfully, so he's on the path the success. I love that pick up. Now you've kind of wiped out a little bit of what was remaining of my board. But we're gonna go to a guy that I think, Look, yeah, he had a couple of ankle injuries last year. Yes one was caused, if not both, by hip drop tackles. But we're going with Joe Mixon in Houston because I think Joe Mixon was kind of not treated poorly, but undervalued a little bit by Cincinnati. They col let go of him for a seventh round pick. They were gonna cut him. He ends up going to Houston. He has a really good start gets hurt, misses some time, comes back, has a nice little, you know, period of games before he gets hurt again. If he was healthy over the course of the season, he'd be an unquestioned weapon in that offense more than he is. And the idea of him with the Texans with Cjstraw, with everybody they have receiver, and then adding in whatever is left of Nick Chubb.

00:28:54
Speaker 4: I'm just I feel good about him going into the season. Now.

00:28:56
Speaker 3: It might be one of his last productive seasons of his career, considering how long he's been in the NFL.

00:28:59
Speaker 4: But he's just a guy that I like.

00:29:01
Speaker 3: He runs hard, he can hit the home run, he can make plays. He's just one of my favorite running backs to watch. So that's one I take him here.

00:29:08
Speaker 1: Yeah, the only question is really if he can keep not just on the field, but when he comes out at the beginning of the season and he's fully healthy, he looks one way, or sometimes if he has a week or two off and then it's coming back, like he looks one way and then you see it fade just a little bit if he loses some of the bursts, some of the physicality. But he's averaged over thirteen hundred and fifty yards from scrimmage over the last four years, so extremely consistent.

00:29:34
Speaker 2: This is right where I had him in the draft as well.

00:29:37
Speaker 1: I'm going back to another rookie here for sixteen because when it comes down to it, I am confident enough in Amari and Hampton. He is one of my favorite like running back evaluations over the last handful of years. I think he is complete, like a great blocker. I think he's gonna matter in the passing game. He can be a big playmaker. I think he in a perfect world, he's a little bit bigger and a little more complete of a Jonathan Taylor type of player. Probably not gonna make you miss as much as a lot of the running backs ahead of him, but that's okay when you have the juice. And I think that the third down availability that he's going to have, so I would take him over the rest of the veterans on the list.

00:30:21
Speaker 2: I feel good about the unc back at sixty.

00:30:23
Speaker 4: Yeah. I like that pick too.

00:30:24
Speaker 3: And this kind of goes back to what I was saying about rooms is I really love the Chargers room. The balance between Najee Harris and o'mari and Hampton is really exciting for me, especially with their identity as a team that wants to be physical, that wants to win on the ground. They have two different backs that can do a lot of different things. They can balance them well together and make quite a tandem. I think it's going to be very benful, beneficial for them going into twenty twenty five. Next up on my list, we're gonna go Devon a Chan and I'm going there because of the big play capability, because he is a guy you always have to account for on the field, because of that home run speed that he has. I don't see him as an every downback. I do see him as the best option that they have in that backfield who could grow into something more if the rest of their offense could get back on track, because they certainly weren't last year. I like his raw potential, the untapped potential that we've yet to see him what we've already seen from him with the big plays.

00:31:16
Speaker 1: I mean, a ridiculously efficient like rookie season. Last year was kind of the opposite, where felt like he left yards on the field. Not great blocking, certainly, but he was hunting big plays. He's a guy who won't look good in terms of yards over expected. I think he was under because he was trying to make things happen. I'm not going to say it's a reach, but I had him more like around twenty five. But I think it's more styles. It depends what you're looking for the runners at this spot. It's kind of like pick your favorite. I do think one back has been underrated in our draft more than any other, and you know, I've taken other guys over him, so that's on me too, and that's Tony Pollard, Like what does Tony Pollard need to.

00:31:58
Speaker 2: Do to get a little more respect.

00:32:00
Speaker 1: He's actually been consistent in terms of production, despite you know, you think of him at the end of Dallas getting hurt, but that was at the end of a season over thirteen hundred yards from scrimmage in three straight. He was sixth last season in terms of yards after contact. So he's a guy who actually makes plays on his own. I thought last season was about as good as he's ever run, but really no one noticed because it was in Tennessee, and so he was someone if you were still sticking around with your game pass condensed or whatever. Deep into Week thirteen fourteen, it was like man Pollard is the guy I think that they wanted him to be when they when they brought it him to Tennessee, the guy that Dallas almost never let him be, Like a real one, a type of guy, complete guy. And really nothing I could say was wrong with Pollard. Maybe not like the number one guy you would pick to like get two yards when it's fourth in gold and like run through tackles, but not a zero in that respect either, And so I really like him here at at I'm glad he got out the list at least.

00:33:03
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, I agree with that too.

00:33:05
Speaker 3: And I think that he, unfortunately is a representation of the mismanagement of the running back position on the part of the Dallas Cowboys over the last two to three years, because they had a chance to make him their guy and stick with him, and they let him walk, and he walked it Tennessee, where he obviously didn't have He wasn't in a good scenario because their quarterback situation was in flux and you know, they're still a rebuilding team, but the talent is undeniable there I and everything that you just said I totally agree with, and that if he's in the right situation, if they get better as an offense, you know, with cam Ward being there and they've showed up the offensive line again.

00:33:35
Speaker 4: I think we could see great things for him because he's got the juice for sure.

00:33:38
Speaker 2: He's making seven million dollars a year too, Nick Like.

00:33:41
Speaker 4: I know he's chaged. It doesn't Did you not keep him? Dallas? What are you doing?

00:33:45
Speaker 1: There is a level of veteran running back that becomes available in free agency that the second contracts are very much worth it because then the Titans don't have to worry about that position, and that is not a lot to pay.

00:33:56
Speaker 2: No, your last pick shook?

00:33:57
Speaker 4: Is it last?

00:33:58
Speaker 2: Making sure you get whoever you want on this list needs to be back.

00:34:02
Speaker 3: Well, we're throwing it back. I'm gonna take the other half of the Lions tandem. I'm going David Montgomery. That's a guy who I watched and multiple ones in his last year. Just win the war of attrition, the ground and pound. I'm bigger and stronger, I'm gonna run harder than you, and I'm gonna close this game right now by running between the tackles and doing what my coaches want.

00:34:21
Speaker 4: I want a guy like that on my team.

00:34:23
Speaker 3: I don't care if he doesn't bring everything to the table in every area that you get from other running backs. That's a guy that I want in my depth chart and the capability, Like you just said, to get fourth and two two yards, I'm giving it to David Montgomery. I can trust him. He's a gritty type of old school running back.

00:34:37
Speaker 4: I love him. He's my last pick.

00:34:39
Speaker 1: He was first in the NFL last year in success rate on under center runs, So it's exactly what you say. How did the NFL used to be played like under center? He's gonna get you four to five yards. He was absolutely my next pick two. We've reached twenty and now it's like, who do I want to make sure is on this list because a lot of them aren't my types. Some options I'm just gonna throw to give people some love.

00:35:04
Speaker 2: We didn't.

00:35:04
Speaker 1: We didn't pick Trayvon Henderson and I'm not going to, but just wanted to send him some love. Pa Checko's coming off a bad season, so he's not going to get drafted. Chewba Harvard really improved, but I think doesn't quite have the juice to make this list. I like what I saw out of Tyrone Tracy. I think Chase Brown is an ascending player, but ultimately this last spot comes down to three players for me, either Breese Hall, ken Walker or Remandre Stevenson. Now it was the next three on my list, Okay, Now, in my heart, Remandre is more my type of guy. He's coming off a season where he fumbled, he was not good. He's not coming off of a good season. Neither neither is Breese Hall. And yet like Remandre is to me the most complete of these guys, and like the guy that would be my style. But I'm so you know, anxiety ridden about being called just a Patriots homer. I will take ken Walker, who I had written down next, who it is fun to have a runner who can run one way, look like he's got to get tackled for five yard loss and run for forty the other way. And he was hit behind the line of scrimmage so often and was playing in such a bad situation. I know Vermandre was too, but ultimately, man, that guy. It would be great to see him behind a good offensive line, and I think can be a really dynamic playmaker, has the highest ceiling.

00:36:29
Speaker 2: I'm torn.

00:36:30
Speaker 1: If it was actually my team, maybe I would take Rimondre I think he's got a bounce back season coming up and is a really good NFL player, But I will go Kenneth Walker for just the highlight, real place.

00:36:40
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't hate this pick at all for everything that you just stated, I'm on board with that. I am curious though, because it was such a forgettable season for bresee Hall, where does he because we don't know what the Jets are going to be They have a new identity, new quarterback, new everything else, But like, do you see a bounce back year for him that reminds us of the guy he was? Because you want to talk about home run hitters, he was a home run hitter a couple of years ago, and that's maybe that's more my style.

00:37:04
Speaker 4: I don't know.

00:37:05
Speaker 3: I'm kind of bouncing between the two. But do you think that that is within him going into twenty twenty five and maybe even twenty twenty six, even though we're not considering that year in this draft.

00:37:14
Speaker 1: Absolutely, this is a confirming my prior situation. There is something about running backs of you know it when you see it, and I like instincts. I like the feel of making people miss in a small area in a hole, like the vision, like I think Remondri's very good at that, even though he's not going to be a big playmaker. He's more like the Frank Gore type of mold. Yeah, Breese Hall, I've never like wrapped my arms around too, because to me, he doesn't feel as talented as he is. He doesn't feel as instinctive as a back as some of these other guys. Just like a truly great natural just runner. But he's an athlete and he could make this ranking look very disrespectful with a big season.

00:37:58
Speaker 4: He could.

00:37:58
Speaker 3: He could, And you know what, we can eat that crow. That's fine. That's how this thing works.

00:38:02
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I don't know if the Jets are like totally in on him that he was like dangled a little bit, so I think they'll they'll spread it around. But it is a position where opportunity makes all the difference in the world.

00:38:12
Speaker 2: So who knows, Like maybe uh, maybe an R. J.

00:38:15
Speaker 1: Harvey or or quinchin Junk And I'm trying to think of some other players that didn't come up to the Caleb Johnson Travis et and maybe he'll bounce back like any of those players could bounce on this list for next year, we will put it out and we will see who we get made fun of the most shook. It's gonna be it's gonna be a minute until we have you back on NFL daily, So enjoy the time off.

00:38:36
Speaker 2: And you know, I don't know what you're doing this offseason.

00:38:41
Speaker 3: Well, I mean, that's that's all good, because yesterday I narrowly avoided getting a sunburn on the top of my head. So maybe by the time I come back, I'll be looking like a tomato.

00:38:49
Speaker 1: You don't know, impossible, And don't don't celebrate the Calves suddenly being like the favorites in the Eastern Conference just because halliber And and Tatum are injured going into next year.

00:39:00
Speaker 4: Well, you know, nobody, nobody celebrates. Nobody celebrates injuries.

00:39:04
Speaker 3: But the Cavs had their own injuries in the Eastern Conference semifinals that they had to deal with too, So you know, we'll see, we'll see how it goes.

00:39:10
Speaker 4: It's a long way away.

00:39:12
Speaker 1: Watched Game seven on a flight back to LA and it broke my heart.

00:39:17
Speaker 2: You know, I'm not a patient. We will be back in your feed on Wednesday morning.

00:39:20
Speaker 1: Yes, Colleen Wolf, myself and uh Jordan rod Red and yeah, I can't lie this.

00:39:28
Speaker 2: This is the part of the season. Football is not back, but we're gonna we're gonna make you want to listen anyways.