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Team RB production

Measuring the best running back situations

With running backs, I like to look as much at teams as players. That is, while the talent of the individual is important, his situation plays a massive role in what kind of numbers he’ll put up.

Surrounding casts matter, and scheme matters. That is, how often will they be going to a running back, and will he have decent holes to run through.

With this in mind, it makes sense to look at the kind of stats that typically flow through each team. All of the teams played 17 games last year, and it makes some sense to look at how much production they got out of the running back position in that season.

Four teams got at least 600 points out of their running backs last year: Lions, Ravens, Rams, Bills. That’s using PPR scoring. When selecting running backs who are second-string players, I in general prefer to focus on players from these kind of teams. Blake Corum, Ray Davis. These are guys where there’s some proof of concept that they could really shine should Kyren Williams and James Cook miss time with injuries.

Isiah Pacheco is the new No. 2 back in Detroit. I’m not as excited about talking him up as a Jahmyr Gibbs insurance policy.

TEAM RUNNING BACK PRODUCTION (PPR)
TeamRunRecTotal
Detroit321.8321.8643.6
Baltimore319.6319.6639.2
LA Rams300.4300.4600.8
Buffalo300.0300.0600.0
Seattle296.8296.8593.6
Atlanta295.2295.2590.4
Indianapolis290.5290.5581.0
Chicago282.2282.2564.4
New England279.8279.8559.6
Dallas274.6274.6549.2
Miami262.6262.6525.2
Green Bay249.1249.1498.2
Washington246.9246.9493.8
San Francisco231.9231.9463.8
NY Giants230.7230.7461.4
Denver228.6228.6457.2
Jacksonville226.1226.1452.2
Pittsburgh222.4222.4444.8
Tampa Bay221.7221.7443.4
Philadelphia213.3213.3426.6
Carolina210.1210.1420.2
Minnesota209.1209.1418.2
Cincinnati198.8198.8397.6
LA Chargers194.0194.0388.0
Houston189.1189.1378.2
NY Jets184.3184.3368.6
Tennessee183.2183.2366.4
Kansas City178.7178.7357.4
Cleveland168.4168.4336.8
Arizona158.7158.7317.4
Las Vegas142.0142.0284.0
New Orleans141.6141.6283.2

As long as we’ve got the numbers out, let’s also look closer as the team numbers for rushing and passing.

For rushing, I notice that four of the top 6 teams from last year were teams that ranked 8th or lower when including other players. That can be attributed to the Lions, Rams, Seahawks and Falcons not getting much rushing from the quarterback position. They tended to rely more on their running backs when running the ball.

The Giants, on the other hand, ranked 5th in rushing in general but only 15th in terms of running the ball with running backs.

In the chart below, the “points” column shows production using 6 points for each rushing touchdown and 1 point for every 10 rushing yards.

RUSHING PRODUCTION (RB only)
RkTeamAttYardsAvgTDPtsAll Pos
1Detroit4071,9584.821321.88
2Baltimore3922,0565.219319.62
3LA Rams4132,0444.916300.412
4Buffalo4192,1005.015300.01
5Seattle4391,8884.318296.810
6Atlanta4392,0524.715295.213
7Indianapolis3731,7654.719290.53
8Chicago4001,9224.815282.24
9New England3711,7184.618279.86
10Dallas3831,7864.716274.611
11Miami3801,8464.913262.617
12Green Bay3861,5314.016249.114
13Washington3451,5694.515246.97
14San Francisco4051,5993.912231.921
15NY Giants3961,5874.012230.75
16Denver3541,5664.412228.615
17Jacksonville3731,5414.112226.19
18Pittsburgh3531,5644.411222.422
19Tampa Bay3981,4973.812221.720
20Philadelphia3641,5934.49213.316
21Carolina3911,6814.37210.125
22Minnesota3481,4914.310209.119
23Cincinnati3341,4484.39198.827
24LA Chargers3591,4604.18194.024
25Houston3991,5313.86189.126
26NY Jets3341,4834.46184.318
27Tennessee3281,4124.37183.230
28Kansas City3361,2473.79178.723
29Cleveland3531,2043.48168.428
30Arizona2921,2274.26158.731
31Las Vegas3071,1203.65142.032
32New Orleans3001,1163.75141.629

For those using PPR scoring, receiving production is key. You get not only the 6 points for touchdowns and 1 for every 10 receiving yards, but also an additional point for every catch.

Using PPR scoring, five of the worst six offenses for running backs are teams that folks generally are interested in – Rams, Seahawks, Eagles, Bears and Cowboys. (Washington was the worst team last year at using its running backs in the passing game.)

RECEIVING PRODUCTION (RB only)
RkTeamNoYardsAvgTDPtsAll Pos
1San Francisco1341,1628.79304.26
2Pittsburgh1148287.35226.817
3Detroit1018088.05211.83
4Atlanta939169.84208.623
5Miami876167.15178.625
6Denver876147.15178.48
7Arizona916457.13173.55
8Buffalo696649.66171.412
9Cincinnati875336.15170.34
10Cleveland956216.52169.129
11NY Giants786468.34166.622
12Tampa Bay785296.84154.918
13Las Vegas744586.25149.826
14Carolina725337.44149.324
15New England715818.23147.17
16Jacksonville564257.68146.59
17NY Jets666029.13144.232
18Tennessee784706.00125.027
19Indianapolis644857.62124.510
20Kansas City644256.63124.516
21LA Chargers633866.13119.611
22Green Bay644727.41117.220
23Baltimore554588.32112.828
24New Orleans684296.30110.913
25Houston543857.13110.514
26Minnesota613706.12110.031
27Dallas613085.03109.82
28Chicago524638.91104.315
29Philadelphia523827.32102.221
30Seattle534418.3097.119
31LA Rams443177.2393.71
32Washington423327.9075.230

—Ian Allan

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