Rachaad White has a groin injury, and I think it’s time we all start looking more closely at Sean Tucker. He’s a good back, and he’s now a Bucky Irving injury away from relevancy.
White almost certainly won’t be back for Week 1, and I’m not sure that he’ll ever work his way back above Tucker on the depth chart.
Tucker is a good player. He had that big game at New Orleans last year, and he still looks like the same guy. He had an impressive 23-yard run down the sideline last night. (I think they might have elevated him above White anyway).
Tucker averaged 6.2 yards per attempt last year, the best in the league among running backs with at least 50 attempts. In the 32-team era, I see only 13 running backs with at least 50 carries, but fewer than 100, who averaged at least 6 yards per carry – guys who did really well with limited opportunities.
| LIGHTLY USED BACKS AVERAGING 6 PER ATTEMPT | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Yr | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 2011 | Darren Sproles, N.O. | 7 | 87 | 603 | 6.9 | 2 |
| 2014 | Joseph Randle, Dall. | 2 | 51 | 343 | 6.7 | 3 |
| 2006 | Jerious Norwood, Atl. | 1 | 99 | 633 | 6.4 | 2 |
| 2010 | Derrick Ward, Hou. | 7 | 50 | 315 | 6.3 | 4 |
| 2006 | Michael Turner, S.D. | 3 | 80 | 502 | 6.3 | 2 |
| 2021 | Dontrell Hilliard, Ten. | 4 | 56 | 350 | 6.3 | 2 |
| 2005 | Michael Pittman, T.B. | 8 | 70 | 436 | 6.2 | 1 |
| 2024 | Sean Tucker, T.B. | 2 | 50 | 308 | 6.2 | 2 |
| 2008 | Kevin Faulk, N.E. | 10 | 83 | 507 | 6.1 | 3 |
| 2022 | Rashaad Penny, Sea. | 5 | 57 | 346 | 6.1 | 2 |
| 2004 | Jesse Chatman, S.D. | 3 | 65 | 392 | 6.0 | 3 |
| 2019 | Jordan Wilkins, Ind. | 2 | 51 | 307 | 6.0 | 2 |
| 2018 | C.J. Anderson, 2TM | 6 | 67 | 403 | 6.0 | 2 |
The question, of course, isn’t how guys did last year. It’s how are they going to do going forward.
Below see the rundown off all backs in the 32-team era (since 2002) who averaged at least 5.5 per carry. We can then look at those backs in their next season – seeing which ones hit and which ones missed.
There are 33 such backs. I see an even third (11) who averaged under 4 yards per carry, not approaching their previous averages. I’ve got those misses tagged with black dots.
I see eight (almost a quarter) who moved up into finishing with top-30 stats in PPR scoring. I’ve got them in bold.
Numbers aside, I like Tucker. Makes a lot of sense in the last couple of rounds as a lottery ticket pick.
| PROMISING BACKS (the next year) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | G | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | PPR |
| 2003 | • Dorsey Levens, NYG | 11 | 0 | 68 | 197 | 2.9 | 3 | 76 |
| 2004 | Najeh Davenport, G.B. | 11 | 1 | 71 | 359 | 5.1 | 2 | 72 |
| 2005 | Mewelde Moore, Min. | 16 | 8 | 155 | 662 | 4.3 | 1 | 26 |
| 2006 | Michael Pittman, T.B. | 16 | 3 | 50 | 245 | 4.9 | 1 | 42 |
| 2006 | Michael Turner, S.D. | 13 | 0 | 80 | 502 | 6.3 | 2 | 58 |
| 2007 | Jerious Norwood, Atl. | 15 | 2 | 103 | 613 | 6.0 | 1 | 42 |
| 2007 | Michael Turner, S.D. | 16 | 0 | 71 | 316 | 4.5 | 1 | 80 |
| 2009 | Kevin Faulk, N.E. | 15 | 7 | 62 | 335 | 5.4 | 2 | 42 |
| 2009 | Leon Washington, NYJ | 7 | 0 | 72 | 331 | 4.6 | 0 | 71 |
| 2010 | Reggie Bush, N.O. | 8 | 6 | 36 | 150 | 4.2 | 0 | 59 |
| 2011 | Danny Woodhead, N.E. | 15 | 4 | 77 | 351 | 4.6 | 1 | 56 |
| 2011 | • Derrick Ward, Hou. | 12 | 1 | 45 | 154 | 3.4 | 2 | 92 |
| 2012 | Darren Sproles, N.O. | 13 | 6 | 48 | 244 | 5.1 | 1 | 13 |
| 2012 | • Evan Royster, Was. | 16 | 0 | 23 | 88 | 3.8 | 2 | 74 |
| 2013 | Justin Forsett, Jac. | 9 | 0 | 6 | 31 | 5.2 | 0 | 100 |
| 2014 | • James Starks, G.B. | 16 | 0 | 85 | 333 | 3.9 | 2 | 58 |
| 2015 | • Darren Sproles, Phil. | 16 | 4 | 83 | 317 | 3.8 | 3 | 26 |
| 2015 | Joseph Randle, Dall. | 6 | 6 | 76 | 315 | 4.1 | 4 | 69 |
| 2016 | Spencer Ware, K.C. | 14 | 14 | 214 | 921 | 4.3 | 3 | 16 |
| 2017 | Jalen Richard, Oak. | 16 | 1 | 56 | 275 | 4.9 | 1 | 53 |
| 2017 | • Ty Montgomery, G.B. | 8 | 5 | 71 | 273 | 3.9 | 3 | 54 |
| 2018 | Aaron Jones, G.B. | 12 | 8 | 133 | 728 | 5.5 | 8 | 24 |
| 2019 | Jordan Wilkins, Ind. | 14 | 1 | 51 | 307 | 6.0 | 2 | 70 |
| 2019 | • C.J. Anderson, Det. | 2 | 0 | 16 | 43 | 2.7 | 0 | 130 |
| 2020 | • Jordan Wilkins, Ind. | 15 | 0 | 84 | 308 | 3.7 | 1 | 70 |
| 2020 | • Rashaad Penny, Sea. | 3 | 0 | 11 | 34 | 3.1 | 0 | 143 |
| 2021 | Sony Michel, LAR | 17 | 7 | 208 | 845 | 4.1 | 4 | 31 |
| 2022 | Dontrell Hilliard, Ten. | 12 | 1 | 22 | 145 | 6.6 | 0 | 59 |
| 2023 | Breece Hall, NYJ | 17 | 16 | 223 | 994 | 4.5 | 5 | 2 |
| 2023 | James Cook, Buff. | 17 | 13 | 237 | 1122 | 4.7 | 2 | 11 |
| 2023 | D'Andre Swift, Phil. | 16 | 15 | 229 | 1049 | 4.6 | 5 | 20 |
| 2023 | • J.K. Dobbins, Balt. | 1 | 1 | 8 | 22 | 2.8 | 1 | 110 |
| 2023 | • Rashaad Penny, Phil. | 3 | 0 | 11 | 33 | 3.0 | 0 | 125 |
—Ian Allan