It was a crazy day in the running back market. Big names changing teams. Quality veteran starters being kicked to the curb. And at least one backup moving into what looks like a greatly expanded role. For those who have already started drafting, hope things went your way.
First you had D'Andre Swift, Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs signing big deals to swap teams. Those moves weren't terribly surprising. But some of the fallout, like veteran Aaron Jones being released, was. Devin Singletary, Austin Ekeler and Gus Edwards also signed with new teams. There were 29 running backs who scored at least 6 touchdowns last season. About a third of those players (9), so far, will be with new teams in 2024.
One of the more surprising developments happened overnight, with the Bengals signing Zack Moss (pictured) and releasing Joe Mixon. Mixon has seemingly been on the verge of being released for years, but it hasn't happened, and it wasn't among the expected developments from yesterday. But last year's 6th-best PPR back is now on the market, and there are some good, contending teams (Dallas? Baltimore?) in need of a starter. Of course, Mixon isn't alone, with another top-10 back from last year (Derrick Henry) on the market.
Moss looks like the biggest riser. Things never really worked out for him as part of a tandem in Buffalo. He scored 5 TDs in each of his first two seasons, creating hope he'd at some point take over backfield, but in his third wound up finishing the season in Indianapolis. Year four wound up being an up and down year, with Moss opening as a starter while the team waged a contract dispute with Jonathan Taylor, relegated to backup duties once Taylor returned, and then starting again when Taylor got injured.
But what he did with his opportunities was pretty good, and that was enough to earn him a two-year, $8 million contract from the Bengals. Debatable whether he's better than Mixon, but he's cheaper and a year and a half younger, which counts for a lot.
And Moss was pretty solid as a starter last year -- a top-10 back in PPR leagues. Better than Mixon, and all of the guys who changed teams yesterday, on a per-game basis.
Table shows per game numbers for all the running backs who had a starter-type workload for at least 8 games a year ago, sorted by PPR points. Clearly Shane Steichen and the Colts had a good thing going (Taylor shows up just ahead of Moss), but ample reason to think he'll be a nice addition for Cincinnati.
| RUNNING BACKS PER START, 2023 (8-PLUS) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | Run | No | Rec | Total | TD | PPR |
| Christian McCaffrey, S.F. | 16 | 91.2 | 4.2 | 35.3 | 126.4 | 1.3 | 24.7 |
| Kyren Williams, LAR | 11 | 99.3 | 2.9 | 18.5 | 117.8 | 1.2 | 22.0 |
| Raheem Mostert, Mia. | 15 | 67.5 | 1.7 | 11.7 | 79.1 | 1.4 | 18.0 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 13 | 53.4 | 5.8 | 35.8 | 89.2 | 0.5 | 17.9 |
| Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | 8 | 88.0 | 1.6 | 11.4 | 99.4 | 1.0 | 17.6 |
| DeVon Achane (C), Mia. | 11 | 72.7 | 2.5 | 17.9 | 90.6 | 1.0 | 17.5 |
| Breece Hall, NYJ | 17 | 58.5 | 4.5 | 34.8 | 93.2 | 0.5 | 17.1 |
| Zack Moss, Ind. | 8 | 69.8 | 2.9 | 20.5 | 90.3 | 0.8 | 16.7 |
| Travis Etienne, Jac. | 17 | 59.3 | 3.4 | 28.0 | 87.3 | 0.7 | 16.6 |
| Jahmyr Gibbs (C), Det. | 15 | 63.0 | 3.5 | 21.1 | 84.1 | 0.7 | 16.3 |
| Saquon Barkley, NYG | 14 | 68.7 | 2.9 | 20.0 | 88.7 | 0.7 | 16.2 |
| Rachaad White, T.B. | 17 | 58.2 | 3.8 | 32.3 | 90.5 | 0.5 | 16.0 |
| Bijan Robinson, Atl. | 16 | 60.8 | 3.6 | 30.4 | 91.3 | 0.5 | 15.8 |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 17 | 60.8 | 3.1 | 22.1 | 82.9 | 0.7 | 15.7 |
| James Conner, Ari. | 13 | 80.0 | 2.1 | 12.7 | 92.7 | 0.7 | 15.5 |
| Isiah Pacheco, K.C. | 14 | 66.8 | 3.1 | 17.4 | 84.2 | 0.6 | 15.4 |
| David Montgomery, Det. | 14 | 72.5 | 1.1 | 8.4 | 80.9 | 1.0 | 14.9 |
| Josh Jacobs, L.V. | 13 | 61.9 | 2.8 | 22.8 | 84.7 | 0.5 | 14.1 |
| Derrick Henry, Ten. | 17 | 68.6 | 1.6 | 12.6 | 81.2 | 0.7 | 14.0 |
| James Cook, Buff. | 17 | 66.0 | 2.6 | 26.2 | 92.2 | 0.4 | 13.9 |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 14 | 44.9 | 3.6 | 31.1 | 76.0 | 0.4 | 13.8 |
| Brian Robinson, Was. | 15 | 48.9 | 2.4 | 24.5 | 73.4 | 0.6 | 13.5 |
| Devin Singletary, Hou. | 10 | 71.5 | 2.3 | 15.1 | 86.6 | 0.4 | 13.4 |
| D'Andre Swift, Phil. | 15 | 69.7 | 2.5 | 14.3 | 84.0 | 0.4 | 13.3 |
| Kenneth Walker, Sea. | 15 | 60.3 | 1.9 | 17.3 | 77.6 | 0.6 | 13.3 |
| Tony Pollard, Dall. | 17 | 59.1 | 3.2 | 18.3 | 77.4 | 0.4 | 13.2 |
| Chuba Hubbard, Car. | 12 | 62.3 | 2.3 | 14.7 | 77.0 | 0.4 | 12.5 |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 11 | 59.6 | 2.7 | 21.2 | 80.8 | 0.3 | 12.4 |
| Jerome Ford, Cle. | 15 | 44.7 | 2.7 | 19.6 | 64.3 | 0.5 | 12.4 |
| Rhamondre Stevenson, N.E. | 12 | 51.6 | 3.2 | 19.8 | 71.4 | 0.3 | 12.3 |
| Jaylen Warren (C), Pitt. | 17 | 46.1 | 3.6 | 21.8 | 67.9 | 0.2 | 11.8 |
| Khalil Herbert (C), Chi. | 9 | 62.2 | 1.9 | 13.8 | 76.0 | 0.4 | 11.7 |
| Najee Harris, Pitt. | 17 | 60.9 | 1.7 | 10.0 | 70.9 | 0.5 | 11.6 |
| Javonte Williams, Den. | 16 | 48.4 | 2.9 | 14.3 | 62.6 | 0.4 | 11.3 |
| Gus Edwards, Balt. | 17 | 47.6 | 0.7 | 10.6 | 58.2 | 0.8 | 11.2 |
| D'Onta Foreman (C), Chi. | 8 | 51.1 | 1.1 | 8.6 | 59.8 | 0.6 | 10.9 |
| Alexander Mattison, Min. | 13 | 50.8 | 2.1 | 13.4 | 64.2 | 0.2 | 9.9 |
| Tyjae Spears (C), Ten. | 17 | 26.6 | 3.1 | 22.6 | 49.3 | 0.2 | 9.0 |
| Antonio Gibson (C), Was. | 14 | 15.7 | 3.0 | 26.2 | 41.9 | 0.1 | 8.1 |
| Kareem Hunt (C), Cle. | 15 | 27.4 | 1.0 | 5.6 | 33.0 | 0.6 | 7.9 |
| Ezekiel Elliott (C), N.E. | 12 | 35.8 | 2.0 | 12.8 | 48.6 | 0.2 | 7.9 |
| Tyler Allgeier (C), Atl. | 16 | 39.0 | 0.9 | 8.8 | 47.8 | 0.3 | 7.7 |
| Samaje Perine (C), Den. | 17 | 14.0 | 2.9 | 26.8 | 40.8 | 0.1 | 7.4 |
| AJ Dillon (C), G.B. | 9 | 31.1 | 1.7 | 15.3 | 46.4 | 0.1 | 7.0 |
| Justice Hill (C), Balt. | 16 | 24.2 | 1.8 | 12.9 | 37.1 | 0.3 | 7.0 |
| Roschon Johnson (C), Chi. | 15 | 23.5 | 2.3 | 13.9 | 37.4 | 0.1 | 6.8 |
| Jaleel McLaughlin (C), Den. | 15 | 27.0 | 2.0 | 11.1 | 38.1 | 0.1 | 6.6 |
| Kenneth Gainwell (C), Phil. | 14 | 17.7 | 1.9 | 11.6 | 29.4 | 0.2 | 5.8 |
| Zach Charbonnet (C), Sea. | 14 | 25.4 | 2.0 | 11.4 | 36.7 | 0.0 | 5.7 |
| Latavius Murray (C), Buff. | 16 | 18.8 | 1.1 | 7.4 | 26.2 | 0.3 | 5.2 |
| Miles Sanders (C), Car. | 11 | 22.0 | 1.1 | 6.6 | 28.6 | 0.0 | 4.0 |
The Bengals drafted Chase Brown in the fifth round a year ago, and he's now on the radar as a deep sleeper. Moss hasn't been the most durable player, missing time due to injury each season despite never playing full-time. Brown didn't play much the first half of the season but in the final six games got 42 carries and caught 11 passes and a touchdown, with his most notable play a 54-yard touchdown reception -- against the Colts, coincidentally enough.
But it will be Moss in the starting lineup, getting most of the carries and probably some of the receiving work with Joe Burrow and company. Worked out nicely for Mixon last season. I'll be interested in the newest Bengal.
--Andy Richardson