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Factoid

LeVeon Bell

Will Bell ring up enough goal-line carries?

The Jets gave LeVeon Bell a big contract. Now, can they be trusted to properly use him? It’s a lesser team, and their new coach, Adam Gase, tended to underuse running backs in Miami.

In each of the last two years, Gase’s offenses ranked last in rushing touchdowns – just 4 in 2017, and 7 TDs last year. Miami ranked 29th and 18th in rushing the last two years, but Gase tended to get pass happy around the end zone.

In each of the last two years, the Dolphins ranked last in rushing attempts when they were inside the 5. That’s both plays and percentage of plays. In 2017, Miami was inside the 5 for only 11 plays; it passed the ball on 8 of them. Last year the Dolphins were in that part of the field for 23 plays, with 16 passes and 7 runs.

In 32 games, that’s only 10 running plays (resulting in a total of 10 yards, with 3 TDs and a 2-point conversion). Since 2017, every other team has scored over 3 times as many rushing touchdowns inside the 5. And the Dolphins over the last two years ran the ball on a league-low 29 percent of their plays in that part of the field.

RUSHING INSIDE THE 5 (2017-2018)
TeamAttYdsAvgTD2Pt
New Orleans68791.16284
LA Rams57791.39261
New England5652.93250
Carolina51741.45211
Tennessee4738.81180
Kansas City46671.46211
Jacksonville45491.09180
San Francisco4517.38140
Baltimore44451.02161
Dallas44521.18171
Atlanta4225.60130
Pittsburgh42441.05220
Philadelphia4239.93116
Tampa Bay4139.95171
Cleveland3938.97183
Buffalo3811.29130
NY Giants38401.05112
Detroit3634.94140
Seattle3514.40100
Houston35451.29141
Minnesota35371.06141
Denver34381.12140
Indianapolis34401.18151
NY Jets34441.29151
Chicago33631.91181
Oakland32351.09120
Washington31321.03140
LA Chargers3126.84131
Cincinnati26301.15130
Green Bay26301.15130
Arizona19221.16110
Miami10101.0031

Bell is a great back. I hope Gase remembers to use him.

—Ian Allan

Fantasy Index