The Saints don’t play until Monday night, but I might move Tony Jones up on my board anyway. More and more, I’m getting the feeling he might wind up being their second running back.
Latavius Murray is supposed to have that job, but he’s a 31-year-old who costs over $3 million. The Saints could save about $2.2 million by releasing him. They’ve also got Devonta Freeman, but I don’t think he’s their guy either.
Why not Tony Jones Jr.? He played really well in their first preseason game, running for 82 yards on 7 carries while consistently breaking tackles. He also caught all 5 of the passes thrown his way.
On the field, Murray and Freeman didn’t bring much to the table at Baltimore. Freeman carried 6 times for 6 yards. Murray carried 5 times for 6 yards. And all three backs, oddly, lost fumbles.
Jones is cheaper, and he looks like an NFL player to me. He’s not fast, but he’s a 224-pounder who can break tackles.
If I’m drafting today, I’m thinking hard about selecting Jones with a late-round pick. If he plays well in their game Monday night, his value will increase significantly. If Jones ends up getting cut or being a lightly used reserve, you would have the ability to replace him with a waiver player in a few weeks.
Alvin Kamara is the lead running back in this offense, but they won’t want to run him into the ground (especially with him being a key part of their passing game). Kamara has never run for 1,000 yards in a season (at either the pro or college level). They’ll need a second running back, and Jones could be that guy.
Looking at just running backs (setting aside guys like Taysom Hill), the Saints last year ran for 1,735 yards, with a league-high 20 TD runs.
| RUSHING PRODUCTION BY RUNNING BACKS (2020) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
| Tennessee | 463 | 2,389 | 5.2 | 18 |
| Cleveland | 432 | 2,126 | 4.9 | 18 |
| Minnesota | 432 | 2,110 | 4.9 | 19 |
| Green Bay | 381 | 1,926 | 5.1 | 13 |
| Baltimore | 363 | 1,886 | 5.2 | 17 |
| Indianapolis | 409 | 1,883 | 4.6 | 15 |
| New Orleans | 370 | 1,735 | 4.7 | 20 |
| San Francisco | 396 | 1,708 | 4.3 | 17 |
| Denver | 372 | 1,669 | 4.5 | 10 |
| LA Rams | 384 | 1,668 | 4.3 | 12 |
| New England | 341 | 1,645 | 4.8 | 8 |
| Las Vegas | 397 | 1,629 | 4.1 | 16 |
| LA Chargers | 391 | 1,527 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Tampa Bay | 325 | 1,485 | 4.6 | 13 |
| Dallas | 352 | 1,438 | 4.1 | 10 |
| Atlanta | 366 | 1,425 | 3.9 | 11 |
| Washington | 349 | 1,418 | 4.1 | 16 |
| Chicago | 334 | 1,410 | 4.2 | 10 |
| Arizona | 338 | 1,405 | 4.2 | 11 |
| NY Jets | 356 | 1,383 | 3.9 | 7 |
| Seattle | 317 | 1,380 | 4.4 | 13 |
| Miami | 354 | 1,380 | 3.9 | 10 |
| Philadelphia | 278 | 1,350 | 4.9 | 8 |
| Kansas City | 316 | 1,336 | 4.2 | 8 |
| Detroit | 323 | 1,311 | 4.1 | 17 |
| Cincinnati | 332 | 1,302 | 3.9 | 9 |
| Buffalo | 290 | 1,301 | 4.5 | 8 |
| NY Giants | 310 | 1,256 | 4.1 | 10 |
| Jacksonville | 281 | 1,240 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Pittsburgh | 322 | 1,230 | 3.8 | 10 |
| Carolina | 293 | 1,134 | 3.9 | 12 |
| Houston | 252 | 1,018 | 4.0 | 7 |
—Ian Allan