It will be a committee backfield in Baltimore. They’ve got Terrance West and Kenneth Dixon coming back, and they’ve signed Danny Woodhead. (They got some other guys who could chip in at times as well).
Woodhead’s role is the most secure. He’ll be a change-of-pace and third-down back.
With West, he should be the starter-type back for the first month of the season. Dixon has to sit out the first four games after violating the league’s policies against performance enhancing drugs. But I think I still like Dixon better.
Dixon is the niftier, more elusive back. He averaged more yards per carry in all but one of the final nine games last year. And he’s the better receiver (a disaster in the passing game last year, but a really good pass catcher at Louisiana Tech – I think they’ll get him turned around).
With West, he’s 10 pounds heavier, so maybe they try to use him as their main goal-line runner. There was some of that last year. But I’m not sure that even that holds.
Looking at the short-yardage performance figures from last year, Dixon was better. The team used him 11 times when it was looking for either 1 or 2 yards to keep a drive alive or at the goal line. Dixon was successful on all but one of those carries, making him statistically the most effective short-yardage runner in the entire league (among players with at least 10 attempts).
West, on the other hand, wasn’t good on his short-yardage plays, converting only 7 of 13.
With that suspension hanging over him, I don’t know that Dixon will even be drafted in most fantasy leagues. It depends in part on how things transpire in the preseason, I suppose. But I think he looks really appealing as a late-round choice. Might even be sitting on the waiver wire, there for the taking in the middle of September.
| SHORT-YARDAGE RUSHING | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Good | Att | Pct |
| Kenneth Dixon, Balt. | 10 | 11 | 90.9% |
| Cam Newton, Car. | 16 | 19 | 84.2% |
| Mike Gillislee, Buff. | 16 | 19 | 84.2% |
| John Kuhn, N.O. | 10 | 12 | 83.3% |
| Matt Jones, Wash. | 9 | 11 | 81.8% |
| Robert Turbin, Ind. | 12 | 15 | 80.0% |
| Matt Forte, NYJ | 10 | 13 | 76.9% |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 12 | 16 | 75.0% |
| Carlos Hyde, S.F. | 11 | 15 | 73.3% |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | 11 | 15 | 73.3% |
| Ezekiel Elliot, Dall. | 20 | 28 | 71.4% |
| Jonathan Stewart, Car. | 14 | 20 | 70.0% |
| David Johnson, Ariz. | 24 | 35 | 68.6% |
| DeMarco Murray, Tenn. | 19 | 28 | 67.9% |
| Melvin Gordon, S.D. | 18 | 27 | 66.7% |
| Isaiah Crowell, Clev. | 10 | 15 | 66.7% |
| Latavius Murray, Oak. | 18 | 28 | 64.3% |
| Rashad Jennings, NYG | 9 | 14 | 64.3% |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | 14 | 22 | 63.6% |
| Lamar Miller, Hou. | 10 | 16 | 62.5% |
| LeGarrette Blount, N.E. | 20 | 33 | 60.6% |
| Derrick Henry, Tenn. | 6 | 10 | 60.0% |
| Robert Kelley, Wash. | 7 | 12 | 58.3% |
| Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 12 | 21 | 57.1% |
| Todd Gurley, L.A. | 13 | 23 | 56.5% |
| Bilal Powell, NYJ | 9 | 16 | 56.3% |
| Spencer Ware, K.C. | 14 | 25 | 56.0% |
| Terrance West, Balt. | 7 | 13 | 53.8% |
| Tim Hightower, N.O. | 7 | 13 | 53.8% |
| Ryan Mathews, Phil. | 9 | 17 | 52.9% |
| Christine Michael, Sea.-G.B. | 8 | 16 | 50.0% |
| Zach Zenner, Det. | 5 | 10 | 50.0% |
| Jeremy Hill, Cin. | 10 | 22 | 45.5% |
| C.J. Anderson, Den. | 5 | 11 | 45.5% |
| Matt Asiata, Minn. | 11 | 26 | 42.3% |
| Doug Martin, T.B. | 5 | 13 | 38.5% |
| Frank Gore, Ind. | 5 | 13 | 38.5% |
| Devontae Booker, Den. | 5 | 15 | 33.3% |
—Ian Allan