Former Auburn running back Tank Bigsby continued his fantastic second season in the NFL last Sunday, rushing for 101 yards on 13 carries while scoring two touchdowns in the Jaguars 37-34 win over the Colts. Astonishingly, Bigsby’s 7.7 yards per carry last Sunday brought down his average on the season, as the 24-year-old now is averaging exactly 8 yards per rush attempt this year.
That number has the former Tiger ranked in first place among all NFL rushers in the metric. After five weeks, Bigsby leads two-time MVP Lamar Jackson (6.8), J.K Dobbins (6.1), Derrick Henry (6.0) and Saquon Barkley (6.0) for the highest total in the league. While the former Tiger hasn’t accumulated nearly as many rush attempts (34) as the other players on the list, his efficiency, and knack for finding the end zone, could lead Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson to re-think his running back snap share as the season moves on.
Perhaps more important than the yards per carry metric, the 6-foot, 213-pound bruiser is somewhat hilariously miles ahead of any runner in the NFL in yards per contact per carry and tackles avoided per carry. Current Jacksonville starter Travis Etienne has not been nearly as efficient with his opportunities, although the Clemson product’s 4.4 yards per clip is still a solid number.
With Jacksonville sitting at 1-4 and the offense mostly struggling to find sparks, it is very possible Bigsby could be in line for extended work as we venture further into the fall. If we were to take over the starting role and “run” with it, the former Tiger could play himself into the Most Improved Player conversation.
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