Asking for a friend. Why is it, exactly, that the Cardinals don’t want to use Emari Demercado? It seems like when they put him on the field, good things happen.
Most recently, Demercado exploded through a hole at Seattle and ripped off a 55-yard gain. But the Cardinals in that game instead relied mainly on Bam Knight, who picked up only 28 yards on 10 carries. Demercado at Seattle had only 3 other rushing attempts.
The previous week, Demercado had a 19-yard run. And back in Tennessee, there was that ill-fated 71-yard gallop to the 1-inch line.
Demercado last year had only 24 carries, but they included 41- and 53-yard gains. And in his rookie season, his limited work included a 49-yard touchdown. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t even drafted.
Over the past three years, there are 77 running backs who’ve carried the ball at least 100 yards. Demercado has averaged over a yard more per carry than all of them.
I would like to see what Demercado could do with a more substantial work load.
| YARDS PER CARRY SINCE 2023 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | Team |
| Emari Demercado | 108 | 740 | 6.85 | 3 | ARI |
| De'Von Achane | 449 | 2487 | 5.54 | 19 | MIA |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | 560 | 3050 | 5.45 | 34 | DET |
| Derrick Henry | 753 | 3792 | 5.04 | 34 | BAL,TEN |
| Samaje Perine | 105 | 528 | 5.03 | 3 | CIN,DEN,KAN |
| Jonathan Taylor | 661 | 3311 | 5.01 | 33 | IND |
| James Cook | 610 | 3051 | 5.00 | 25 | BUF |
| Bucky Irving | 278 | 1359 | 4.89 | 8 | TAM |
| Jordan Mason | 295 | 1439 | 4.88 | 10 | MIN,SF |
| Saquon Barkley | 719 | 3486 | 4.85 | 23 | NYG,PHI |
| Emanuel Wilson | 158 | 765 | 4.84 | 4 | GB |
| J.K. Dobbins | 356 | 1699 | 4.77 | 14 | BAL,DEN,LAC |
| Jaleel McLaughlin | 190 | 906 | 4.77 | 2 | DEN |
| Bijan Robinson | 653 | 3111 | 4.76 | 20 | ATL |
| Justice Hill | 149 | 708 | 4.75 | 6 | BAL |
| Chris Rodriguez | 131 | 620 | 4.73 | 7 | WAS |
| Rico Dowdle | 473 | 2228 | 4.71 | 9 | CAR,DAL |
| James Conner | 476 | 2229 | 4.68 | 16 | ARI |
| Jaylen Warren | 382 | 1769 | 4.63 | 7 | PIT |
| Aaron Jones | 433 | 1980 | 4.57 | 8 | GB,MIN |
| Christian McCaffrey | 502 | 2287 | 4.56 | 18 | SF |
| Kyren Williams | 690 | 3102 | 4.50 | 31 | LAR |
| Jacory Croskey-Merritt | 105 | 470 | 4.48 | 4 | WAS |
| Breece Hall | 570 | 2534 | 4.45 | 12 | NYJ |
| David Montgomery | 508 | 2256 | 4.44 | 30 | DET |
| Raheem Mostert | 311 | 1374 | 4.42 | 20 | LVR,MIA |
| Khalil Herbert | 168 | 741 | 4.41 | 3 | CHI,CIN,NYJ |
| Jerome Ford | 330 | 1452 | 4.40 | 7 | CLE |
| Tank Bigsby | 233 | 1025 | 4.40 | 9 | JAX,PHI |
| Antonio Gibson | 210 | 909 | 4.33 | 3 | NE,WAS |
| Isiah Pacheco | 366 | 1574 | 4.30 | 9 | KAN |
| D'Andre Swift | 595 | 2552 | 4.29 | 15 | CHI,PHI |
| Tyjae Spears | 214 | 917 | 4.29 | 7 | TEN |
| Brian Robinson Jr. | 414 | 1770 | 4.28 | 15 | SF,WAS |
| Tyrone Tracy Jr. | 256 | 1087 | 4.25 | 6 | NYG |
| Chuba Hubbard | 575 | 2410 | 4.19 | 16 | CAR |
| Kimani Vidal | 134 | 559 | 4.17 | 2 | LAC |
| Chase Brown | 381 | 1589 | 4.17 | 9 | CIN |
| Kenneth GaiNEll | 211 | 874 | 4.14 | 6 | PHI,PIT |
| Blake Corum | 125 | 514 | 4.11 | 1 | LAR |
| Kenneth Walker III | 492 | 2017 | 4.10 | 18 | SEA |
| Joe Mixon | 502 | 2050 | 4.08 | 20 | CIN,HOU |
| Ty Chandler | 158 | 643 | 4.07 | 3 | MIN |
| Michael Carter | 103 | 419 | 4.07 | 2 | ARI,NYJ |
| Tony Pollard | 631 | 2564 | 4.06 | 13 | DAL,TEN |
| Cam Skattebo | 101 | 410 | 4.06 | 5 | NYG |
| Javonte Williams | 495 | 2003 | 4.05 | 15 | DAL,DEN |
| Zack Moss | 257 | 1036 | 4.03 | 7 | CIN,IND |
| Travis Etienne | 552 | 2222 | 4.03 | 16 | JAX |
| Tyler Allgeier | 397 | 1597 | 4.02 | 13 | ATL |
| Najee Harris | 533 | 2139 | 4.01 | 14 | LAC,PIT |
| Quinshon Judkins | 140 | 561 | 4.01 | 5 | CLE |
| Nick Chubb | 226 | 904 | 4.00 | 5 | CLE,HOU |
| Zach Charbonnet | 337 | 1344 | 3.99 | 15 | SEA |
| Devin Singletary | 373 | 1482 | 3.97 | 8 | HOU,NYG |
| Josh Jacobs | 675 | 2668 | 3.95 | 31 | GB,LVR |
| Gus Edwards | 299 | 1175 | 3.93 | 17 | BAL,LAC |
| Alvin Kamara | 536 | 2104 | 3.93 | 12 | NO |
| Kendre Miller | 127 | 497 | 3.91 | 3 | NO |
| Austin Ekeler | 270 | 1038 | 3.84 | 9 | LAC,WAS |
| Rachaad White | 503 | 1928 | 3.83 | 13 | TAM |
| Ashton Jeanty | 143 | 547 | 3.83 | 4 | LVR |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | 446 | 1699 | 3.81 | 14 | NE |
| Dameon Pierce | 195 | 735 | 3.77 | 4 | HOU |
| Joshua Kelley | 108 | 407 | 3.77 | 2 | LAC,TEN |
| Roschon Johnson | 138 | 519 | 3.76 | 8 | CHI |
| Cam Akers | 169 | 630 | 3.73 | 4 | HOU,LAR,MIN |
| Braelon Allen | 110 | 410 | 3.73 | 3 | NYJ |
| Miles Sanders | 204 | 754 | 3.70 | 4 | CAR,DAL |
| Zamir White | 179 | 659 | 3.68 | 2 | LVR |
| D'Onta Foreman | 180 | 657 | 3.65 | 4 | CHI,CLE |
| Alexander Mattison | 312 | 1120 | 3.59 | 4 | LVR,MIN |
| Ray Davis | 137 | 486 | 3.55 | 3 | BUF |
| AJ Dillon | 190 | 673 | 3.54 | 2 | GB,PHI |
| Kareem Hunt | 408 | 1433 | 3.51 | 21 | CLE,KAN |
| Ezekiel Elliott | 258 | 868 | 3.36 | 6 | DAL,NE |
| Jamaal Williams | 154 | 470 | 3.05 | 2 | NO |
Statistics compiled using search tools at Pro-Football-Reference.com
—Ian Allan