MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 7/24)
Josh Gross
During the NFL season, we’re going to break down how different offenses are utilizing their running backs. As the year goes on, patterns begin to emerge that will allow us to anticipate and exploit mismatches between a defense and an offense that we’re targeting in fantasy football.
Bird’s Eye View
Red is left, gray is middle, blue is right.
I’ve noted just about every week that there were some teams that were actively avoiding rushing in certain directions. Those conclusions seem to have been small-sample anomalies … welcome to the NFL.
Here’s a look at the breakdown for all of the running backs with at least 40 rushes.
Rushing – Left
Derrick Henry continues to lap the field in most volume-based metrics. He’s seen 7 more rushes to the left than second-place Nick Chubb. Looking at this list reminds me how fragile the running back position can be. Christian McCaffrey is hopefully coming back from his injury. Joe Mixon and David Montgomery are both dealing with an injury. Dalvin Cook has missed time already this year. James Robinson isn’t seeing the same volume as the elite guys, but his YPC to the left is higher than most of the guys ahead of him at the moment.
Rushing – Right
The Browns have a solid running game, as evidenced by two of their running backs being featured prominently on this leaderboard. Having two running backs on the same team show up this highly on a list like this is a testament to the offensive line, the scheme, and the backs themselves.
Joe Mixon has been getting volume and has been efficient on runs out to the right. If he misses time, it will be interesting to see how Samaje Perine and Chris Evans fill in for him.
Rushing – Middle
I just … I can’t understand this one. Kamara is one of the most dynamic playmakers in the league. He needs to operate in space. Between this and the fact that he saw as many targets as I did last weekend, I’m not too sure what’s going on down in New Orleans. Most of the rest of this list makes intuitive sense, but I’m not sure how Kamara fits into this group.
