I like that teams are more willing to trade than they have been in the past. Let’s allow players in get in better situations. And we have a couple of those guys with deals at the deadline, with Khalil Herbert heading to Cincinnati and Mike Williams getting dealt to the Steelers.
The Herbert deal was so obvious, I was disappointed the possibility didn’t occur to me yesterday. The Bengals needed to add another back. They’ve got Chase Brown, who’s having a solid season, but Zack Moss is expected to miss the rest of the season with a neck injury. If Brown were to suffer an injury, it would essentially derail that offense.
Herbert, meanwhile, didn’t fit into Chicago’s plans, but he’s a capable back. When the previous coaching staff used him, he tended to come through.
In the last two seasons (2022-23), 49 running backs carried the ball at least 200 times. Herbert ranked No. 2 among those backs in yards per carry. He can run it just fine.
Herbert isn’t good on passing downs. The Bengals will have to polish up that area before they trust that he won’t get Joe Burrow killed. But he’s at least a guy who can tote the rock some, lightening Brown’s workload and being available to start, if necessary. They may use him some as a banger in goal-line situations.
| YARDS PER CARRY (2022-23) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| Jaylen Warren | 226 | 1,163 | 5.15 | 5 |
| Khalil Herbert | 261 | 1,342 | 5.14 | 6 |
| Nick Chubb | 330 | 1,695 | 5.14 | 12 |
| Christian McCaffrey | 516 | 2,598 | 5.03 | 22 |
| Aaron Jones | 355 | 1,777 | 5.01 | 4 |
| James Cook | 326 | 1,629 | 5.00 | 4 |
| Raheem Mostert | 390 | 1,903 | 4.88 | 21 |
| Kyren Williams | 263 | 1,283 | 4.88 | 12 |
| D'Andre Swift | 328 | 1,591 | 4.85 | 10 |
| Jeff Wilson | 217 | 1,048 | 4.83 | 5 |
| Breece Hall | 303 | 1,457 | 4.81 | 9 |
| Isiah Pacheco | 375 | 1,765 | 4.71 | 12 |
| James Conner | 391 | 1,822 | 4.66 | 14 |
| Bijan Robinson | 214 | 976 | 4.56 | 4 |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | 366 | 1,659 | 4.53 | 9 |
| Zack Moss | 276 | 1,250 | 4.53 | 6 |
| Tony Pollard | 445 | 2,012 | 4.52 | 15 |
| Jonathan Taylor | 361 | 1,602 | 4.44 | 11 |
| Miles Sanders | 388 | 1,701 | 4.38 | 12 |
| Travis Etienne | 487 | 2,133 | 4.38 | 16 |
| Kenneth Walker | 447 | 1,955 | 4.37 | 17 |
| Devin Singletary | 393 | 1,717 | 4.37 | 9 |
| Gus Edwards | 285 | 1,243 | 4.36 | 16 |
| Tyler Allgeier | 396 | 1,718 | 4.34 | 7 |
| David Montgomery | 420 | 1,816 | 4.32 | 18 |
| Derrick Henry | 629 | 2,705 | 4.30 | 25 |
| D'Onta Foreman | 312 | 1,339 | 4.29 | 9 |
| Josh Jacobs | 573 | 2,458 | 4.29 | 18 |
| Latavius Murray | 250 | 1,060 | 4.24 | 10 |
| Saquon Barkley | 542 | 2,274 | 4.20 | 16 |
| Dalvin Cook | 331 | 1,387 | 4.19 | 8 |
| Chuba Hubbard | 333 | 1,368 | 4.11 | 7 |
| Austin Ekeler | 383 | 1,543 | 4.03 | 18 |
| Brian Robinson | 383 | 1,530 | 3.99 | 7 |
| Joe Mixon | 467 | 1,848 | 3.96 | 16 |
| Alvin Kamara | 403 | 1,591 | 3.95 | 7 |
| Najee Harris | 527 | 2,069 | 3.93 | 15 |
| Jerome Ford | 212 | 825 | 3.89 | 4 |
| Alexander Mattison | 254 | 983 | 3.87 | 5 |
| Cam Akers | 248 | 953 | 3.84 | 9 |
| AJ Dillon | 364 | 1,383 | 3.80 | 9 |
| Antonio Gibson | 214 | 811 | 3.79 | 4 |
| Jamaal Williams | 368 | 1,372 | 3.73 | 18 |
| Dameon Pierce | 365 | 1,355 | 3.71 | 6 |
| Javonte Williams | 264 | 978 | 3.70 | 3 |
| Rachaad White | 401 | 1,471 | 3.67 | 7 |
| Ezekiel Elliott | 415 | 1,518 | 3.66 | 15 |
| Leonard Fournette | 201 | 708 | 3.52 | 3 |
| Kareem Hunt | 258 | 879 | 3.41 | 12 |
With Mike Williams, the Jets have Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams; they weren’t going to be throwing to him. I don’t expect he’ll have a big role with the Steelers, but I like that he’s been good at coming down with high throws on downfield routes. Russell Wilson is good at delivering those balls, and now they’ve got a second receiver who can create mismatches.
I’m not planning on rostering Williams, but he might chip in a couple of impact catches for Pittsburgh.
—Ian Allan