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Factoid

Third-down backs

Pass-catching running backs and veteran pocket passers

Is Giovani Bernard a sneaky candidate to be one of the five best pass-catching backs in the league? He’s a capable, smart veteran, and he’s on the same roster as one of the Jedi quarterbacks. History indicates that the best pass-catching running backs tend to be paired with those kind of quarterbacks.

It’s an idea we were kicking around on the podcast, and I wanted to play around with the numbers some. I wanted to look at third-down backs, and then look at who was throwing to them.

Below see the 33 running backs in the last 10 years who’ve caught at least 70 passes. And in the final column, you’ll see the player who was the primary quarterback on that team.

Of the 33, the majority were piloted by immobile veteran quarterbacks. Granted, this is a subjective exercise, but I see only 8 quarterbacks who don’t fit that profile (and I’ve got them in bold). Some may be surprised to see Cam Newton (twice) and Dak Prescott in bold, and that can be debated. I included them because so much of Newton’s success has been built off him having the threat to run. With Prescott, he’s now emerged as a high-level passer, but I thought he was more of a run-pass guy back at that point in his career.

Three others can be debated, and I’ve got black dots by their names. Joe Flacco back in 2011 was near the start of his career and just emerging. And Jay Cutler (twice) has some mobility and never really reach the in-the-pocket-badass level.

For 21 of the 33 quarterbacks, they’re definitely pocket-passer veterans, with just a slight asterisk on 2013 Alex Smith (he could move at that time).

As for Bernard, I’m not crazy about him at this point. The Bucs have a ton of other pass-catching talent, and Bruce Arians is a fan of seeing the ball pushed downfield. While Tom Brady is arguably the best player in the history of the game, I’m not confident he’ll be checking a bunch of balls down to Bernard. (And at this early stage, I’m not yet 100 percent certain Bernard will even be that third-down back).

RUNNING BACKS WITH 70-PLUS CATCHES (last 10 yrs)
YearPlayerRecYdsTDQuarterback
2019Christian McCaffrey, Car.1161,0054Kyle Allen
2018Christian McCaffrey, Car.1078676Cam Newton
2014Matt Forte, Chi.1028084• Jay Cutler
2019Austin Ekeler, LAC929938Philip Rivers
2018Saquon Barkley, NYG917214Eli Manning
2018James White, N.E.877517Tom Brady
2011Darren Sproles, N.O.867107Drew Brees
2017LeVeon Bell, Pitt.856552Ben Roethlisberger
2020Alvin Kamara, N.O.837565Drew Brees
2014LeVeon Bell, Pitt.838543Ben Roethlisberger
2019Alvin Kamara, N.O.815331Drew Brees
2018Alvin Kamara, N.O.817094Drew Brees
2017Alvin Kamara, N.O.818265Drew Brees
2015Danny Woodhead, S.D.807556Philip Rivers
2015Theo Riddick, Det.806973Matthew Stafford
2016David Johnson, Ariz.808794Carson Palmer
2020J.D. McKissic, Was.805892Alex Smith
2017Christian McCaffrey, Car.806515Cam Newton
2019Tarik Cohen, Chi.794563Mitchell Trubisky
2013Pierre Thomas, N.O.775133Drew Brees
2018Ezekiel Elliott, Dall.775673Dak Prescott
2013Danny Woodhead, S.D.766056Philip Rivers
2011Ray Rice, Balt.767043• Joe Flacco
2019Leonard Fournette, Jac.765220Gardner Minshew
2012Darren Sproles, N.O.756677Drew Brees
2016LeVeon Bell, Pitt.756162Ben Roethlisberger
2013Matt Forte, Chi.745943• Jay Cutler
2017Duke Johnson, Cle.746933DeShone Kizer
2015Devonta Freeman, Atl.735783Matt Ryan
2019James White, N.E.726455Tom Brady
2013Darren Sproles, N.O.716042Drew Brees
2018Tarik Cohen, Chi.717255Mitchell Trubisky
2013Jamaal Charles, K.C.706937Alex Smith

—Ian Allan

Fantasy Index