There's been optimism about Jets fourth-round running back Michael Carter, and in some respects it's warranted; he's apparently shown well in camp. But it also seems very possible he'll be stuck in a messy committee this season, with Ty Johnson and Tevin Coleman; maybe even LaMical Perine. That's something that should give you pause before selecting Carter in drafts.
In thinking about this possible committee, it's a reminder that it's been quite a while since the Jets have had a really great fantasy running back. The early part of the century there were a couple of top-5 years out of Curtis Martin, and top-5 and top-10 seasons from Thomas Jones. But those days are gone.
Since 2010, New York hasn't had any top-10 running backs (PPR scoring). Shonn Greene snuck into the top 20 a couple of times, and Chris Ivory made it all the way up to 11th back in 2015. But just six top-20 players at the position in the last 11 years. Greene and Ivory are also the team's only 1,000-yard rushers in that time period.
Maybe Carter makes it into the top 20 or 25; that's a solid starter in typical leagues. But he's just one of several players in the backfield who will be vying to be that guy. And in those 11 years, New York has had a lot more of the kind of backs that are afterthoughts.
New York's best 30 running backs (ordered by rank in their specific season) since 2010 are shown below.
JETS RUNNING BACKS, 2010-2020 | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Att | Run | No | Rec | TD | PPR | Rk |
2015 | Chris Ivory | 247 | 1070 | 30 | 217 | 8 | 206.7 | 11 |
2010 | LaDainian Tomlinson | 219 | 914 | 52 | 368 | 6 | 216.2 | 15 |
2019 | LeVeon Bell | 245 | 789 | 66 | 461 | 4 | 217.0 | 16 |
2016 | Bilal Powell | 131 | 722 | 58 | 388 | 5 | 199.0 | 17 |
2012 | Shonn Greene | 276 | 1063 | 19 | 151 | 8 | 188.4 | 19 |
2011 | Shonn Greene | 253 | 1054 | 30 | 211 | 6 | 192.5 | 20 |
2016 | Matt Forte | 218 | 813 | 30 | 263 | 8 | 185.6 | 21 |
2014 | Chris Ivory | 198 | 821 | 18 | 123 | 7 | 154.4 | 24 |
2017 | Bilal Powell | 178 | 772 | 23 | 170 | 5 | 147.2 | 30 |
2015 | Bilal Powell | 70 | 313 | 47 | 388 | 3 | 135.1 | 34 |
2013 | Bilal Powell | 176 | 697 | 36 | 272 | 1 | 140.4 | 34 |
2018 | Isaiah Crowell | 143 | 685 | 21 | 152 | 6 | 140.7 | 35 |
2011 | LaDainian Tomlinson | 75 | 280 | 42 | 449 | 3 | 132.9 | 35 |
2014 | Chris Johnson | 155 | 663 | 24 | 151 | 2 | 117.4 | 39 |
2017 | Matt Forte | 103 | 381 | 37 | 293 | 3 | 122.4 | 42 |
2010 | Shonn Greene | 185 | 766 | 16 | 120 | 2 | 116.6 | 43 |
2012 | Bilal Powell | 110 | 437 | 17 | 140 | 4 | 98.7 | 44 |
2020 | Frank Gore | 187 | 653 | 16 | 89 | 2 | 102.2 | 46 |
2013 | Chris Ivory | 182 | 833 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 104.3 | 48 |
2018 | Elijah McGuire | 92 | 276 | 19 | 193 | 4 | 89.9 | 55 |
2017 | Elijah McGuire | 88 | 315 | 17 | 177 | 2 | 80.2 | 62 |
2018 | Bilal Powell | 80 | 343 | 11 | 110 | 1 | 62.3 | 73 |
2020 | LaMical Perine | 64 | 232 | 11 | 63 | 2 | 52.5 | 77 |
2011 | Joe McKnight | 43 | 134 | 13 | 139 | 1 | 46.3 | 78 |
2018 | Trenton Cannon | 38 | 113 | 17 | 144 | 1 | 48.7 | 80 |
2020 | Josh Adams | 29 | 157 | 6 | 29 | 2 | 36.6 | 85 |
2019 | Bilal Powell | 59 | 229 | 7 | 33 | 0 | 33.2 | 86 |
2019 | Ty Montgomery | 32 | 103 | 13 | 90 | 0 | 32.3 | 87 |
2014 | Bilal Powell | 33 | 141 | 11 | 92 | 1 | 40.3 | 88 |
2010 | Joe McKnight | 39 | 189 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 23.9 | 90 |
--Andy Richardson