• Miles Sanders is the highest free-agent choice: Sanders averaged 3.0 yards after contact per stick with it the best way to the Tremendous Bowl final season and has averaged 3.1 for his profession.
• Bijan Robinson is a difference-maker: The Texas product is the perfect operating again prospect to enter the league since PFF has been grading faculty soccer (2014), eclipsing the likes of Saquon Barkley, Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey on the time they have been drafted.
• Titans seeking to transfer on from Derrick Henry? Over the past 5 seasons, Henry has nearly 1,000 extra yards after contact than some other again, and he has damaged 279 tackles.
Estimated studying time: 5 minutes
With the franchise tag deadline already gone and free company simply days away, all 32 NFL groups are actually firmly into the team-building course of and will probably be each choice to enhance their roster.
NFL groups can deal with roster wants in 3 ways — free company, the 2023 NFL Draft or by buying and selling for a participant — so right here we’ll have a look at how the market appears to be like as we head into what guarantees to be one other fascinating offseason.
Now we have already checked out a number of different positions this offseason, and now it’s time to judge the out there operating backs. It is a passing league, however the group of operating backs out there this offseason is the perfect the NFL has seen in fairly a while.
And whereas the franchise tag has already eliminated a few the perfect potential free-agent choices, high quality backs are nonetheless out there.
Finest Free Brokers (rank amongst PFF’s High 100 free brokers)
- Miles Sanders (73)
- David Montgomery (79)
- Devin Singletary (112)
- Jamaal Williams (114)
- D’Onta Foreman (120)
- Kareem Hunt (124)
- Damien Harris (145)
- Jerick McKinnon (146)
- Jeff Wilson Jr. (148)
- Rashaad Penny (149)
This record seemed so much higher earlier than Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley and Tony Pollard have been slapped with the franchise tag by their groups. All three of these star backs are coming off a profession yr on the peak of their prime and would have made a marquee signing in free company.
Their absence leaves Sanders as the perfect out there choice, however the first few backs on the record present that loads of backfield expertise continues to be out there.
Sanders averaged 3.0 yards after contact per stick with it the best way to the Tremendous Bowl final season and has averaged 3.1 for his profession. He additionally notched 11 dashing touchdowns in 2022, exhibiting what an anomaly his scoreless 2021 actually was.
Montgomery has been a strong, well-rounded again for the Bears since getting into the league. Over 4 seasons, he has damaged 185 tackles throughout 915 carries.
Maybe essentially the most fascinating identify additional down the record is that of Kareem Hunt, whose profession was sidetracked by an off-the-field incident of violence that has left him to play within the shadow of Nick Chubb in latest seasons. Hunt has the ability set to be a lead again in an NFL offense and could be an every-down power for a workforce if he nonetheless has fuel left within the tank.
With the league transferring ever extra towards operating again by committee, loads of free brokers can improve backfields and make necessary contributions.
Finest RBs within the 2023 NFL Draft (PFF Huge Board rank)
- Bijan Robinson, Texas (27)
- Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama (51)
- Zach Charbonnet, UCLA (60)
- Devon Achane, Texas A&M (72)
- DeWayne McBride, UAB (80)
- Tank Bigsby, Auburn (83)
- Kendre Miller, TCU (96)
- Tyjae Spears, Tulane (98)
- Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State (102)
- Sean Tucker, Syracuse (119)
PFF’s massive board is created with positional worth already baked into the equation. But when it have been merely a listing of the highest-graded prospects, Bijan Robinson would doubtlessly be a top-five participant on this draft.
The Texas product is the perfect operating again prospect to enter the league since PFF has been grading faculty soccer (2014), eclipsing the likes of Saquon Barkley, Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey on the time they have been drafted. Robinson is excellent in all aspects of play and broke 104 tackles on 257 carries final season, shattering the earlier single-season report.
Robinson is nice sufficient that it’ll check the place the league at present is by way of valuing the operating again place and the way extremely they need to be drafted.
Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs brings elite velocity and playmaking means as a receiver. He is an ideal again for at present’s NFL and can instantly be a matchup drawback on the subsequent degree.
General, this is among the strongest operating again courses to enter the league in a very long time. All through this high 10, there are gamers who could be instant starters within the NFL, with gamers like Tyjae Spears dominating at All-Star video games and searching exceptionally fluid in the course of the mix drills in Indianapolis.
It’s additionally one of many deepest courses to come back alongside, with potential roles there for gamers all over this draft.
It’s group of free brokers, however the expertise out there this yr within the draft might result in a fairly gradual marketplace for the veteran gamers.
Finest RBs Accessible through a possible commerce
- Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans
- Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas Metropolis Chiefs
- Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
The Titans have their finger hovering over the reboot button, internally debating whether or not this roster wants a whole reset and to be torn aside earlier than it may be constructed again right into a contender. The transfer that can signify that the button has been pushed is that if they commerce Derrick Henry away — an choice latest reviews have advised.
Henry has been the workforce’s bell cow and arguably the driving power behind the offense over the previous couple of seasons. He has been the one operating again who adjustments the principles by way of how necessary he’s to an offense. Over the past 5 seasons, Henry has nearly 1,000 extra yards after contact than some other again, and he has damaged 279 tackles.