Tag: running game

Broncos’ rushing leaders from 2023 season

Javonte Williams (774), Jaleel McLaughlin (410) and Russell Wilson (341) were the Broncos’ leading rushers in 2023.

Sean Payton aimed to beef up the Denver Broncos’ rushing attack when he joined the team in 2023, but it’s fair to say the ground game was a disappointment in Year 1 under Payton.

The Broncos rushed for 1,810 yards in 2023, a downgrade from the team’s 2022 total of 1,935 yards. As a team, Denver averaged 4.0 yards per carry, which was also lower than last year (4.4 YPC).

A contributing factor was the Broncos’ lead running back, Javonte Williams, returned from a serious knee injury and never regained his old form. After averaging 4.4 YPC in 2021 and 4.3 YPC in 2022, Williams saw his average drop down to 3.6 YPC in 2023.

Jaleel McLaughlin ended up being Denver’s most efficient rusher in 2023, averaging 5.4 YPC. After him were fellow running back Samaje Perine (4.5) and quarterback Russell Wilson (4.3).

The Broncos only gave carries to three RBs in 2023 — Williams, McLaughlin and Perine — with fullback Michael Burton (1.3 YPC), wide receiver Marvin Mims (3.3 YPC) and quarterback Jarrett Stidham (0.9 YPC) each rushing fewer than 10 times. In terms of yards, Wilson was the team’s third-best rusher.

Here’s a look at Denver’s leading rushers from the 2023 season.

5 things to watch for when Broncos face Bills on ‘Monday Night Football’

Here are five things to watch for when the Broncos go on the road to face the Bills on ‘Monday Night Football.’

The Denver Broncos are set to make a 1,500-mile journey to Orchard Park, New York to play the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 10. Here are five big things to watch in this big prime-time game.

Broncos coach Sean Payton implementing run-heavy offense

Take note, fantasy football managers: Javonte Williams should have a heavy workload after the Broncos’ bye week.

Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson had more than 30 passing attempts in four of the team’s first five games of the season. Over the last three weeks, he’s had 22, 29 and 19 passing attempts.

In that same three-week span, running back Javonte Williams has seen his carries increase from 10 to 15 to 27. The Broncos have become more run-heavy in recent weeks, and the team is 2-1 during that span.

Denver coach Sean Payton downplayed the team’s 40 rushing attempts against the Kansas City Chiefs last week, claiming that a four-minute drive to kill off the game skewed the numbers.

“I wouldn’t have been able to guess how many — normally speaking, when you get into four-minute, that’s when you pick up 10 extra rushes,” Payton said after Sunday’s win over the Chiefs.

“They’re not always good ones because you’re going against a goal line or a heavy-loaded front, but we had — so count 10 extra ones when you’re running — or eight extra ones. But we ran the ball well the last time we played them. We just felt like we needed to throw it better and score. We were able to do that to some extent, but enough to win.”

Even if the rushes from the final drive are tossed out, the Broncos still had a run-heavy attack against Kansas City. Wilson admitted that after the win, and he praised Payton for the successful offensive game plan.

“I thought the game plan was a great plan by the coaches in terms of the mixture of what we wanted to be able to do,” Wilson said. “We knew that defense is — they’re one of the top defenses all year. I think they’ve been [No.] 1, or 2, or 3 all year. They have good guys on that side of the ball and they do a good job of mixing things up.

“I thought our offensive line — we wanted to set the tone of how physical we wanted to be throughout that game. I think we ran it 40 times. In terms of the passing game, we wanted to capitalize on our opportunities when they were there. I thought it was a really great gameplan by Coach Payton — all the coaches. I think all the offensive coaches did a really good job of painting the picture of what we wanted to do.”

If that’s a sign of things to come for Denver’s offense, Broncos fans can expect to see a run-heavy attack — featuring plenty of Williams carries — in the second half of the 2023 season. Take note, fantasy football managers: Williams should have a heavy workload after the bye week.

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Don’t panic over Vikings running game

Don’t panic about the Vikings running game just yet

Going into the season, the Minnesota Vikings were focused on trying to improve a running game that was far from successful in 2022. After the first game, things aren’t looking great.

In 64 snaps, the Vikings ran the ball only 17 times (26.5%) and did so for a paltry 41 yards (2.4 YPC). That isn’t a great start to fixing the issue.

While things weren’t great, the circumstances behind it were far from ideal. The Athletic’s Alec Lewis pointed out that the Buccaneers were using eight-man boxes frequently.

  • 64.7%, or 11-of-17 runs, were up against eight-man boxes.
  • The Buccaneers ranked sixth in the NFL last season in using eight-man boxes.

Eight-man boxes make it significantly harder to run the football and it’s something that both Kevin O’Connell and Kirk Cousins should have noticed. Checking out of a running play with an eight-man is commonplace, especially for a duo that has been working together for a couple of years.

The running game will show improvements over the course of time, but it’s not there yet. They don’t have an easy matchup this Thursday against the Philadelphia Eagles and their excellent defensive line.

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Chargers 2023 roster review: RB Joshua Kelley

Joshua Kelley will be fighting for his future in Los Angeles next season on the last year of his rookie contract.

The 2023 season is just a month away, and with weeks of dead time during the quietest part of the NFL offseason, Chargers Wire is endeavoring to document each of Los Angeles’ players before the start of the team’s training camp.

Running back Joshua Kelley competed for the No. 2 spot with Sony Michel early in the 2022 season and missed four games with a sprained MCL, but he solidified himself as the bonafide backup by the end of the year.

Kelley finished the season with 69 carries for 287 yards (4.2 yards per carry) and two touchdowns and caught 14 of his 25 targets for 101 yards.

In his introductory press conference, Kellen Moore mentioned how Kelley “came along” in 2022 and said he would like to have two or three running backs he can count on while referencing the Zeke/Pollard one-two punch with the Cowboys.

Kelley has shown glimpses of excellence, and now it’s just a matter of staying healthy, something he has struggled to do in his first three seasons. If he can, he and Austin Ekeler should be a nice backfield duo.

Contract (2023): $1,010,000 base salary, $195,086 prorated bonus, $1,205,086 cap hit.

Acquired: Kelley was selected by the Chargers with the 112th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft.

Quote: Running backs coach Derrick Foster on Kelley:

“JK has developed in the last three years. I can see different changes in him from Year 1 when I got here to now. Even in our group meetings now, a question is asked and JK is on it. He has the answer whereas in the past, he may have been a little bit hesitant to give that answer. I think the game is slowing down for him and he’s recognizing where he needs to improve at as well. He’s a guy who takes a lot of pride in his work off the field, too, in terms of his work ethic. I think that can’t go unnoticed like when he made the transition in his third year in his weight and he got stronger and things of that nature. He takes pride in that and knowing what to do. And then growing in his role on special teams and helping his team out as best as possible. To answer your question, I definitely do think that he’s taking the steps in the right direction to get over that, to take it to another level. I think we’ll get an opportunity to really witness that as he continues to grow in his role.”

Highlight:

Ravens officially re-sign RB Justice Hill

The Ravens officially announced that they re-signed running back Justice Hill

The Baltimore Ravens continued to practice patience in their approach to the 2023 free agency period. However, on Friday they officially announced that they re-signed running back Justice Hill in a move that could prove to be consequential to their chances of improving next season.

Hill has been a steady role player for Baltimore since joining the team as a fourth-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft. He played collegiately at Oklahoma State University, and is well known for his impressive foot speed and sneaky elusiveness in the Ravens’ backfield. While he hasn’t put up amazing numbers to this point in his career, Hill managed to average more than five yards per carry in 2022 and could be set to take on an expanded role on his new deal.

The details of the contract have yet to be announced, but his retention isn’t projected to have a significant impact on the Ravens’ salary cap. As a player who has played mostly in a depth role, the deal is likely to run for a shorter period of time, giving Hill a chance to earn a more lucrative contract in the near future.

Vikings’ 2022 season in review: assessing the play of Minnesota’s running backs

Dalvin Cook’s production in the #Vikings’ offense was a major of the team’s success in 2022, but his cap number could present issues in 2023

In a season where everything seemed to go right for the Minnesota Vikings until they started competing in the playoffs, the team’s running game was a key part of their success through the regular season. With the help of star running back Dalvin Cook’s outstanding production, the Vikings’ offense was buoyed by no less than 18 rushing touchdowns on the year, which helped lift the team to a 13-4 finish in the regular season.

But with the offseason fast approaching and decisions to be made on both sides of the ball to get Minnesota under the NFL’s salary cap, they may need to make some sacrifices that could put their ability to replicate their outstanding performance on the ground in jeopardy.

Here is a look back at what the Vikings’ running backs accomplished this year, and what the team may decide to do at the position in the coming months:

Chargers RB Austin Ekeler named ‘NFL Slimetime NVP of NVPs’ by Nickelodeon

Chargers RB Austin Ekeler won Nickelodeon’s NVP of NVPs award.

Chargers running back Austin Ekeler was named Nickelodeon’s NVP of NVPs on Wednesday. The award represents the highest honor that the children’s network bestows upon NFL players and was won by Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow last season.

Ekeler became eligible for the award by winning the NVP vote in Week 4 for his electric three-touchdown performance against the Houston Texans. His efforts in 2022 helped lift the Chargers to their first playoff appearance since 2018, and despite falling short in their Wild Card loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Ekeler was a key part of the team’s success all season.

Despite a lackluster running game as a whole this past season, Ekeler provided plenty of value to the offense with his versatile skill set this season.

Ekeler finished the 2022 regular season as the franchise’s single-season reception leader (107), surpassing Keenan Allen’s previous record of 106. He topped the 900-yard mark on the ground for the second consecutive campaign.

Hopes are high that Ekeler and the Chargers will be able to make good on this prestigious award by showing even more of a spark next season.

Chargers’ 2022 season in review: Assessing the play of Los Angeles’ running backs

Chargers RB Austin Ekeler had a remarkable 2022 season.

In the modern pass-first NFL, a solid running game is something of a novelty, but the Los Angeles Chargers proved in 2022 that a throwback run-and-shoot strategy can still work. Quarterback Justin Herbert has lifted Los Angeles to new heights with his work in the passing game, but veteran running back Austin Ekeler’s effort on the ground helped immensely in the Chargers’ fight for a playoff spot.

Ekeler carried the ball 204 times in 2022 for 915 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns in what would be the most productive season of his career. However, his role as a receiver was an underrated part of his campaign as well, and he managed to add 722 receiving yards to his season total with five touchdowns through the air to boot.

Behind Ekeler, third-year back Joshua Kelley found modest success as a runner in 13 appearances, tallying 287 yards and two touchdowns. Though he only made one start on the season, Kelley carved out a legitimate role for himself in the Chargers’ offense and should prove to be valuable depth at the position moving forward.

Three other running backs carried the ball for Los Angeles as well, though they weren’t nearly as productive. Veteran Sony Michel, rookie Isaiah Spiller, and second-year back Larry Rountree combined for 166 yards on 67 carries over the course of the year, good for an average of just 2.2 yards per carry. None were able to find the end zone in 2022.

The last piece of the puzzle in the Chargers’ backfield is fullback Zander Horvath, who makes his money as a lead blocker. Though he isn’t often thought of as a key piece to Brandon Staley’s offensive attack, Horvath has proven to be an asset in the running game.

Los Angeles shouldn’t be too concerned about adding another running back in the offseason, though if they want to pursue depth at the position they may decide to take a flier on a late-round draft prospect. Their less-than-ideal situation relative to the salary cap will make it difficult to justify spending more than a minimal amount of money at the position and should serve to cement Ekeler’s role as the team’s lead back ahead of the 2023 season.

Ravens 2022 season-in-review: Running backs

We analyze the 2022 season of the Ravens’ running backs

Five running backs and the Baltimore Ravens’ lone fullback handled the ball in the team’s backfield in 2022, totaling just over 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns between them. Still, none of the Ravens’ rushers were able to out-produce quarterback Lamar Jackson on the ground, with the exception of Kenyan Drake, who managed to score one more touchdown that the MVP signal caller.

Under then-offensive coordinator Greg Roman’s direction the Ravens’ offense was expected to feature one of the NFL’s best running games in 2022, and they did just that, finishing second in total yards and third in yards per attempt. However, Jackson accounted for almost 30 percent of Baltimore’s total rushing output in just 12 games, and seemed to be the team’s most viable option on the ground until his injury late in the season.

Third-year running back J.K. Dobbins put in some good work for the Ravens in the eight games he appeared in, rushing for an impressive 520 yards, but he only found the end zone twice. Likewise, fan-favorite back Gus Edwards managed to gain 433 yards on the ground in nine contests, but only managed to hit pay-dirt three times.

Justice Hill, the Ravens’ fourth-year speedster, played in the most games of any of the team’s backs with 15 appearances but was relegated to a limited role, only producing 262 yards and failing to score a touchdown in the 2022 campaign despite showing solid skills.

Veteran running back Mike Davis and fullback Patrick Ricard were the only other non-receivers or quarterbacks to carry the rock for Baltimore this season, and gained 34 yards on 15 carries between them. Neither scored a touchdown.

Clearly, the team values the running game, and showed flashes in that department over the course of the year. Dobbins seems to be their best bet to lead the team on the ground from the running back position as they seek to pursue a Super Bowl title next season, but they have other qualified options such as Edwards.

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