Alfred Morris is the man in Washington's backfield, but he comes off a down season, and we know he won't be on the field in passing situations and on third downs. That makes third-rounder Matt Jones a player to keep in mind in the late-round, handcuff running back stages of fantasy drafts.
Jones is a bigger (6-1, 235) back out of Florida, and he didn't post big numbers in college. He's kind of a straight-ahead back. But unlike Morris, he has good hands and could be a factor in the passing game. After losing Roy Helu in free agency, Washington has an opening there.
“The thing about Matt is you think of him as a big power-type back, but really Matt has done some things out in space that have been very, very impressive – making moves on the second level, getting to the second level,” says Jay Gruden. “In the passing game, running some option routes on linebackers. He has done some good things. He has got natural hands, so we’ve been very impressed him.”
Jones is one of a number of running backs selected in the third round who could be factors in 2015. The Cardinals selected David Johnson, the Browns took Duke Johnson, and the Falcons drafted Tevin Coleman. Of the four, Coleman has the clearest path to a starting job, but you never know.
Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon and T.J. Yeldon will (and should be) the first running backs selected in drafts; Ameer Abdullah will likely also go before those above-mentioned backs (maybe not Coleman). But one or two of the third-rounders will come into some value during the season.
The 40 other third-round running backs drafted since 2000, sorted by rushing yards their rookie seasons, are presented below.
| THIRD-ROUND RUNNING BACKS, 2000-2014 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Pick | Player | Team | Att | Yards | TDs | |
| 2008 | 89 | Steve Slaton | Texans | 268 | 1282 | 10 | |
| 2008 | 64 | Kevin Smith | Lions | 238 | 976 | 8 | |
| 2011 | 71 | DeMarco Murray | Cowboys | 164 | 897 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 75 | Tre Mason | Rams | 179 | 765 | 5 | |
| 2014 | 94 | Terrance West | Browns | 171 | 673 | 5 | |
| 2006 | 79 | Jerious Norwood | Falcons | 99 | 633 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 65 | Frank Gore | 49ers | 127 | 608 | 3 | |
| 2001 | 65 | James Jackson | Browns | 195 | 554 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 65 | Shonn Greene | Jets | 108 | 540 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 96 | Jerick McKinnon | Vikings | 113 | 538 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 84 | Bernard Pierce | Ravens | 108 | 532 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 80 | Kevan Barlow | 49ers | 125 | 512 | 5 | |
| 2000 | 63 | Travis Prentice | Browns | 173 | 512 | 8 | |
| 2011 | 73 | Stevan Ridley | Patriots | 87 | 441 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 76 | J.R. Redmond | Patriots | 125 | 406 | 3 | |
| 2008 | 73 | Jamaal Charles | Kansas City | 67 | 357 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 67 | Ronnie Hillman | Broncos | 85 | 330 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 85 | Travis Minor | Dolphins | 59 | 281 | 4 | |
| 2005 | 77 | Ryan Moats | Eagles | 55 | 278 | 3 | |
| 2013 | 96 | Knile Davis | Kansas City | 70 | 242 | 5 | |
| 2002 | 84 | Lamar Gordon | Rams | 65 | 228 | 3 | |
| 2009 | 74 | Glen Coffee | 49ers | 83 | 226 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 93 | Chris Brown | Titans | 56 | 221 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 96 | Justin Fargas | Raiders | 40 | 203 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 91 | Brian Westbrook | Eagles | 46 | 193 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 69 | Charles Sims | Buccaneers | 66 | 185 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 73 | Vernand Morency | Texans | 46 | 184 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 71 | Lorenzo Booker | Dolphins | 28 | 125 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 69 | Jacob Hester | Chargers | 19 | 95 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 93 | Garrett Wolfe | Bears | 31 | 85 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 97 | Dri Archer | Steelers | 10 | 40 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 77 | Musa Smith | Ravens | 9 | 31 | 2 | |
| 2006 | 74 | Brian Calhoun | Lions | 7 | 19 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 90 | Tony Hunt | Eagles | 10 | 16 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 96 | Alex Green | Packers | 3 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 82 | Heath Evans | Seahawks | 2 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 85 | B.J. Askew | Jets | 2 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 101 | Maurice Clarett | Broncos | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 81 | Rueben Droughns | Lions | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 88 | Doug Chapman | Vikings | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
--Andy Richardson

