I have some interest in Chris Thompson. Not as a headliner, but if we’re playing in a PPR format, he makes sense with a late-round pick as a depth option at running back.
Thompson previously played with Washington. He’s in Jacksonville now, re-united with Jay Gruden. And I expect Gruden will utilize him as their primary back on third downs and in obvious passing situations. And with Jacksonville looking very likely to be one of the worst few teams in the league, it’s a team that should be trailing often, with lots of dumpoff balls in the second halves of games.
When Thompson was playing for Gruden in Washington, he was effective in that role. In his last 25 games for Gruden, he caught 105 passes for 1,046 yards and 5 TDs. He was less notable as a runner, running for only 539 yards and 2 TDs in those games – that’s 22 rushing yards per game.
I’m not talking about killer production. Thompson in those last 25 games under Gruden scored only 7 TDs. But he averaged 63 total yards in those weeks, which is just over what you need for 1,000 total yards in a season. For those who skimp at the running back position, stockpiling talent in other areas, Thompson is a late-round back who looks like he can at least chip in a few catches and yards when you’re looking for a warm body to plug in.
Gruden has long had confidence in Thompson. In those 25 games, Thompson was on the field for just over half of their offensive plays (52 percent).
Leonard Fournette caught 76 passes last year, but I don’t think he’s actually a very good pass catcher. I expect they’ll dial his role back, letting him concentrate on what he’s good at – banging between the tackles. Anybody selecting Fournette with the expectation he’ll catch 50-plus passes, I think will be disappointed. I think it will be Thompson as the man back on those passing downs now.
| CHRIS THOMPSON UNDER GRUDEN | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opp | Score | Run | Rec | T Yds | Snap% |
| 2017 | Phi. | L 17-30 | 3-4-0 | 4-52-1 | 56 | 48% |
| 2017 | at LAR | W 27-20 | 3-77-2 | 3-29-0 | 106 | 41% |
| 2017 | Oak. | W 27-10 | 8-38-0 | 6-150-1 | 188 | 41% |
| 2017 | at K.C. | L 20-29 | 6-23-0 | 1-4-0 | 27 | 52% |
| 2017 | S.F. | W 26-24 | 16-33-0 | 4-105-0 | 138 | 61% |
| 2017 | at Phi. | L 24-34 | 7-38-0 | 5-26-1 | 64 | 58% |
| 2017 | Dall. | L 19-33 | 4-18-0 | 8-76-0 | 94 | 80% |
| 2017 | at Sea. | W 17-14 | 4-20-0 | 4-11-0 | 31 | 52% |
| 2017 | Min. | L 30-38 | 9-26-0 | 3-41-0 | 67 | 60% |
| 2017 | at N.O. | L 31-34 | 4-17-0 | 1-16-1 | 33 | 26% |
| 2018 | at Ariz. | W 24-6 | 5-65-0 | 6-63-1 | 128 | 42% |
| 2018 | Ind. | L 9-21 | 4-1-0 | 13-92-0 | 93 | 68% |
| 2018 | G.B. | W 31-17 | 6-17-0 | 1-0-0 | 17 | 41% |
| 2018 | at N.O. | L 19-43 | 8-17-0 | 6-45-0 | 62 | 66% |
| 2018 | at NYG | W 20-13 | 3-13-0 | 2-9-0 | 22 | 38% |
| 2018 | at Phi. | L 13-28 | 3-3-0 | 3-18-0 | 21 | 64% |
| 2018 | NYG | L 16-40 | 3-23-0 | 3-15-0 | 38 | 40% |
| 2018 | at Jac. | W 16-13 | 5-9-0 | 1-4-0 | 13 | 43% |
| 2018 | at Ten. | L 16-25 | 4-20-0 | 1-8-0 | 28 | 37% |
| 2018 | Phi. | L 0-24 | 2-10-0 | 5-14-0 | 24 | 67% |
| 2019 | at Phi. | L 27-32 | 3-10-0 | 7-68-0 | 78 | 64% |
| 2019 | Dall. | L 21-31 | 2-3-0 | 5-48-0 | 51 | 46% |
| 2019 | Chi. | L 15-31 | 7-29-0 | 4-79-0 | 108 | 52% |
| 2019 | at NYG | L 3-24 | 4-4-0 | 4-56-0 | 60 | 53% |
| 2019 | N.E. | L 7-33 | 4-21-0 | 5-17-0 | 38 | 55% |
—Ian Allan