Ashton Jeanty would have finished with more yards in his preseason opener had he simply not played. He finished with 3 carries, and they resulted in minus-1 yard. Underwhelming.
The Seahawks, remarkably, also started a former Boise State running back. George Holani played alongside Jeanty in the 2022-23 seasons and got the better of him last year, carrying 7 times for 61 yards, including 19- and 24-yard gains.
But preseason is preseason. It’s always been of limited value, and it’s really declined in recent years, with more teams choosing to keep their starters out of harm’s way.
In the last six seasons, 11 rookie running backs finished with top-20 numbers (using PPR scoring). Only one of those running backs averaged 5-plus yards per carry in the preseason (Bijan Robinson, with 20 carries on 4 attempts). Three, meanwhile, averaged under 3.3 per attempt, most recently Jahmyr Gibbs. Gone are the days of high-value rookies logging 40-plus carries in August.
Maybe a modest preseason is enough to convince some to pick somebody like Josh Jacobs, Jonathan Taylor or Christian McCaffrey before Jeanty. That’s fair. But Jeanty is still definitely going early in drafts.
Below chart shows the 22 rookie running backs in the last 10 years who’ve finished with top-20 numbers. In the preseason, six averaged at least 5 yards per carry (and I’ve got those guys tagged). Another six averaged fewer than 4 yards per attempt. (Five didn’t play at all in August, with the COVID pandemic canceling games in 2020.) The final column shows where they ranked among running backs in their first season.
| PRESEASON RUSHING, TOP-20 RUNNING BACKS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rk |
| 2015 | David Johnson, Ari. | 17 | 64 | 3.8 | 0 | 7 |
| 2015 | Todd Gurley, St.L. | -- | -- | -- | -- | 9 |
| 2016 | Jordan Howard, Chi. | 36 | 173 | 4.8 | 1 | 10 |
| 2016 | • Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 7 | 48 | 6.9 | 0 | 2 |
| 2017 | Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 9 | 31 | 3.4 | 1 | 10 |
| 2017 | Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 18 | 79 | 4.4 | 0 | 4 |
| 2017 | • Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 17 | 87 | 5.1 | 1 | 9 |
| 2017 | • Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 9 | 96 | 10.7 | 1 | 3 |
| 2018 | Nick Chubb, Cle. | 45 | 140 | 3.1 | 2 | 17 |
| 2018 | • Phillip Lindsay, Den. | 13 | 70 | 5.4 | 0 | 13 |
| 2018 | • Saquon Barkley, NYG | 4 | 43 | 10.8 | 0 | 2 |
| 2019 | Miles Sanders, Phil. | 8 | 34 | 4.3 | 0 | 15 |
| 2020 | Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | -- | -- | -- | -- | 6 |
| 2020 | James Robinson, Jac. | -- | -- | -- | -- | 7 |
| 2020 | Antonio Gibson, Was. | -- | -- | -- | -- | 14 |
| 2020 | D'Andre Swift, Det. | -- | -- | -- | -- | 16 |
| 2021 | Najee Harris, Pitt. | 13 | 42 | 3.2 | 0 | 3 |
| 2021 | Javonte Williams, Den. | 12 | 49 | 4.1 | 0 | 17 |
| 2022 | Kenneth Walker, Sea. | 5 | 19 | 3.8 | 0 | 18 |
| 2023 | Jahmyr Gibbs, Det. | 6 | 19 | 3.2 | 0 | 10 |
| 2023 | • Bijan Robinson, Atl. | 4 | 20 | 5.0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2024 | Bucky Irving, T.B. | 18 | 80 | 4.4 | 1 | 15 |
—Ian Allan