Whether it is due to safety issues or entertainment value, the NFL has seemed to try to all but phase out the running back position. At this point, unless you are a dynamic threat as a pass catcher, NFL teams are not investing high draft picks or big contracts in the position.
That doesn’t mean running backs can’t make an impact but fewer and fewer are even given the chance to with the kind of work loads we have seen in the past.
The Cleveland Browns have mostly been the exception with RB Nick Chubb really carrying the load of the offense since entering the league. In the two seasons that he played every game (2019 and 2022), Chubb averaged exactly 300 carries. Minor injuries limited his production in other seasons before being lost in Week 2 of the 2023 season with a major one.
Coming back from injury, it is unknown when Chubb will see the field for the Browns in 2024. The star back remains among the league leaders in longer rushing touchdowns despite missing most of last season which makes breaking down Cleveland’s depth chart at the position a little more difficult to start the year.
In their ranking of the running back position, it was a surprise to see ESPN’s survey of 80 NFL personnel (subscriber, $) having Chubb listed as the third overall back going into the season:
“He would be No. 1 for me if healthy,” an AFC executive said. “Even though I’m not sure how he’s going to look, he deserves to be high.”
“Even if he’s lacking some explosion in the short term, he still has instincts and good feet,” an AFC personnel evaluator said. “Hopefully that shines through and he gets his power back. He’s such a good player.”
Chubb was the top-ranked running back going into the 2023 season.
It is interesting that the survey has Chubb ranked over Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Taylor, Bijan Robinson and others who are considered top-backs and are healthy entering the season.
