NFL Running Backs Are Easily Replaceable | PFF

From the PFF NFL Podcast, PFF Senior Analyst Sam Monson and PFF Data Scientist Eric Eager discuss Eric's most recent article about running back value in the NFL.

[@Observeman24]

I wouldn’t say RB don’t matter they do but they’re easily replaceable and there are a CRAP TON of good/solid RBs that can play well with good offensive line play.

[@justinnnjet]

Agreed

[@youngjohn5076]

100 agreed. RB is probably the worst position to play in the NFL , get hit almost on every run play , short playing career, very replaceable . Just the natural of the game.

[@where.is.Anthony]

Depends what kind of RB u are L

[@willrich7209]

When leveon wouldn’t play I seen Conner come out with good games running but in the passing game u can tell Big Ben missed LeVeon Bell a lot

[@willrich7209]

Rodrell Green yeah they had their numbers but when LeVeon was on the field he was Bens security blanket especially out on the flat LeVeon to me was the biggest threat on that offense with what he does on run plays and after the catch

[@spooky_danks]

Leveons first year holding out in 2018 was the same year Ben led the league and set his own personal record with 5,200 passing yards. Idk what your talking about 😂

[@BlackOceanSociety]

I think a big part of what defines really good running backs from the rest of the pack is their ability to create space for themselves to get past the line of scrimmage and what they do after they get past their blockers. There are a lot of guys who are physically gifted enough to play within the scheme they are given and generate decent yardage but when you have a player who doesn't have a good scheme, good teammates and are expected to generate most of their teams yardage you can really tell who is on the upper echelon. The two names that came to mind first were Barry Sanders and OJ Simpson. Both were a huge portion of their terrible team's offenses and it was pretty damn obvious where the ball was going but they still managed to put up huge numbers.

[@morganfreeman6504]

Saquon on this season?

[@Mista4oewun4oe]

Don't know if i agree with that sentiment. Running backs easily replaceable ? Tell that to Barry Sanders one of the greatest I've ever seen play. The run opens up the pass. The play-action pass is ineffective without a good running game to back it up.

[@requiem9418]

This is not backed up by any empirical evidence. At best this is folklore

[@westondubs7495]

Besides beastmode apparently for the hawks

[@adleec1714]

LOL CJ Anderson had 3 good games and then came back to earth. He's not even close to 98% of Todd Gurley. This absurd hot take by PFF has devolved into cherry picking. If you look at the teams that have made the post season most of them had top 10 run games and many of them drafted their RB high. This is why PFF didn't mention their previous BS video about how the run game doesn't matter.

[@Dominik.S.]

C.J Anderson averages 4,5 yards per carry, Gurley averages 4,4 (career stats). Anderson also carried the mediocre 2015 Denver offense to a Superbowl win. Gurley is the better back but he will make 17 millions next year while Anderson is on a 1 year 790k contract

[@ChillConservative2k15]

Running backs who are bell cows (All purpose) are harder to replace, one dimensional grinders are extremely easy to replace.

[@2ReAL0317]

Todd Gurley’s rookie year? Saquon? Adrian Peterson going against 8-9 man boxes? QB is reliant on other positions more than anyone.

[@ababilashari9970]

Qbs can change plays, rbs cannot

[@gmoneymelogaming581]

They all fell off or in saquon’s instance will because they get tons of touches and don’t last long, by the time they’re five years in they are over the cliff or on the edge of it, so why would you give them a big extension? You just draft the next big running back the year before your current RB1’s contract is due or you do a multiple RB system and get creative.

[@thephenom4002]

The LA Lambs broke the bank on Gurley and it got them one of the most embarrassing losses in Super Bowl history and he was basically nonexistent in the post season, Dallas is on the verge of doing the same thing with Elliott he led the league in rushing twice and how many chips does Dallas have the 49ers had one of the best run games in the league with basically a UDFA and a bunch of backs who were special teams players I'm not saying backs aren't important but you don't foolishly break the bank on that position they're more vulnerable to injury than any other position

[@emiliorocha9826]

Dude had a great season and was a big part of why they were in the Super Bowl in the first place.

[@AlphaDwg]

It also got them to the super bowl dummy

[@bo_g4284]

Boy were you right about Dallas 😭😂😂

[@robesterd8132]

I don’t know how Zeke is still on the cowboys

[@robesterd8132]

@@AlphaDwg Because the back up came in and was just as good.

[@austinskaggs4184]

Taking a runningback in the first round is a dumb move. Paying a runningback more than $5 mil per year is also a dumb move. You can take a 7th round pick tailback and turn him into a productive piece, as long as the player has decent speed and decent vision to read the lanes. However, the most important factor in a runner’s success is the offensive line scheme.

[@corbinanderson6587]

It is a team game and obviously RB is heavily reliant on Oline (same as QBs, only the truly exceptional in both categories can produce well without a good Oline). The problem is there are a lot of decent RBs who can put up decent numbers, but if you are built to run heavy you need to maximize that potential and that requires the better than decent RBs.

[@ourvaluesarewhoweareinadem4093]

Look at Marshawn Lynch's early career with Buffalo. He sucked. Zone blocking saved his career.

[@Gametime41300]

Who are all these qbs that play well with shitty lines and receivers

[@maaliemaal1373]

Non elite running backs are replaceable!! Elite running backs are not relateable

[@maaliemaal1373]

**Are not replaceable

[@dankburrito4219]

@@maaliemaal1373 They can be, their point wasn't that you won't be better off with a Gurley or Zeke, but that there are other factors to make a runningback successful. Not just the back itself. You can have 2000 yards every season sure, but what happens when you lose half the line and can't get through a hole? Success of a runningback depends on the team, not the other way around.

[@anthonyarena487]

@@dankburrito4219 exactly. The Steelers had a top line. Would they like Bell back, sure, but Connor and than jalen samuels played very well behind that line. If you look at the stats they had a more productive running game this year, so technically Bell was pretty easily replaced

[@5801t]

@@dankburrito4219 Todd Gurley was trash with a 3.2 ypc his 2nd year , seemed like he lost vision and in reality had below average line and never really had good vision.

[@mritizwatitiz]

@@dankburrito4219 every position in football is dependent on other positions... what happen to the qb if the line doesn't block? what happen to the qb if the receivers don't get open or drop the ball? what happen to the wr if the pass isn't on target? what happen to dbs if the front 7 cant get a pass rush?

[@ChrisSmith-tu9bu]

EXACTLY!!

[@AaronMich90]

So same way Goff was trash?

[@zanebrant]

I feel like Marshawn Lynch circa 2012-2015 would be a good counterpoint to this argument

[@westondubs7495]

I’m saying

[@krizzlybaer5506]

Does 1 single player change this fact anyhow And how was lynch doing in buffalo?

[@heathhersom6579]

The stats might say that but what stats don't tell you is offenses become extremely predictable when you have running backs that are only good at one thing. For instance Derrick Henry isn't a every down back like a Todd Gurley. Teams see Henry they're instantly thinking run between the tackles or pass protection 90% of the time and they'll live with him catching a pass once every blue moon. With a guy like Gurley you don't know what the offense is going to do and thats why Sean McVay had such a high success rate on offense basically running one formation. 1 QB, 1 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 5 OL. I agree with the numbers if you're talking about having a RB by committee backfield with multi fascinate RBs but those don't grow on trees and chances of even having 2-3 of those guys in your backfield is slim to non and next to impossible to retain year after year.

[@TheDinomite360]

*The disrespect man, smh*

[@Gametime41300]

U can get 90 of the actor by not using matt damon yet we pay the shit out of actors this f'ing narrative wears me out

[@extr3mest]

Does anyone with premium stats know if the elite running backs at least tend to have more big plays by any significant amount? I don't know the data, but it feels like even if the big plays are sporadic, if an elite running back just has 1-2 more big plays a game that can be significant and worth some amount of money even if someone else could conceivably replace most of the average run plays, though the value probably still isn't what the players want.

[@RikkayDonkers19]

Always bringing up the Vikings.

[@Gametime41300]

Shit...chiefs def missed kareem hunt

[@PerezSportsOfficial]

WR s are too!

[@brendanshanahan3110]

Funny how they didn’t mention Saquon Barkley

[@dankburrito4219]

Yet.

[@ChrisSmith-tu9bu]

It doesn't matter who it is...the point is that you can give all your money like the Vikings did with AP or every single year there's a Kareem Hunt or Alvin Kamara or Chubb that's available cheap and at a late round in the draft

[@nebsterify]

Chris Smith i hear you, but wouldn’t you agree that all those players you named are first round talents that just got slept on. I think its extremely difficult to acquire that RB when you only invest late rounders.

[@ChrisSmith-tu9bu]

@@nebsterify Look at how interchangeable the Pats RBs have been though....the production difference from an average RB to an elite RB is so miniscule but the prices are a huge difference....I mean everyone loves Saquon but check his numbers compared to like Mark Henry, then compare one of the elite receivers to like an average on or QB or edge rusher or CB...those guys effect the game SO MUCH more profoundly than a RB, especially now considering how the rules have encouraged the NFL to be a passing league

[@nebsterify]

Chris Smith i know what you mean, but personally i hate the pats comparison bc they have tom and bel, and its kind of difficult to find another situation like that unless the Oline is one a monster level. Like the cowboys for example.

[@UpstateGardening]

Breakdown: OL play increases/decreases RB effectiveness

[@Cbreezy510]

Somebody clearly wasnt paying attention...

[@UpstateGardening]

@@Cbreezy510 It's okay. I'm sure you'll try harder next time

[@Cbreezy510]

@@UpstateGardening silly response. Try rewatching the video instead of making smart comments

[@UpstateGardening]

@@Cbreezy510 Since i made intelligent comments, there would be no reason to review the prescribed literature, now would it?

[@gboundrepublictv7564]

If you can't run the ball..you become one dimensional..that's football 101..if you don't have a great patient back that can catch and block you shit your roster with players that A GOOD RUNNING BACK can fix...you guys obviously never played a fuckin down 😄😄

[@mauricio6216]

Every Back today can put average or sólid running stats

[@Gametime41300]

Tell that to the rams, 90s cowboys, my niners teams that never got over Ricky waters

[@adomqadree5891]

Leonard fornette gone jags trash

[@baconlord_FGC]

The jags offense was trash with him

[@simonbaumgartle6357]

Both teams in the SB this year had spent a 1st rounder on a RB that was playing for them. That cant be said for a SB winning team for about a decade.

[@krizzlybaer5506]

Yeah what a dominant season by michel, pats were so far away from a super bowl last year now they got sony and they won... Nah dude they were already a complete team before, michel is a very good RB but it just doesnt add that much as we see and analyze season for season

[@simonbaumgartle6357]

@@krizzlybaer5506 when was the last time a team spent a 1st round pick on a WR and won a SB with them?

[@krizzlybaer5506]

@@simonbaumgartle6357 why WR? They are among the slowest to develop, but very valuable when succeed. Its almost always better picking best defense or oline player available, if you got your QB situation right. RB is of course win now, but how many 1st round rbs made it through the fifth year option

[@rkbelmont1138]

Gurley was nonexistent. Pats can win with or without Sony

[@daeganpatterson9630]

Pff new slogan “PFF, telling you how to play football, by guys who have never played football”

[@emiliorocha9826]

You know who else didn't play football? Bill Belichick.

[@daeganpatterson9630]

He played college football

[@BigPat216]

That has nothing to do with knowing football. Do you honestly think some of these meat heads know more football than guys who study countless hours of film?

[@Snakeye808]

The smartest minds about football are never former pros. Jim Harbaugh is currently the only exception to this rule.

[@PerezSportsOfficial]

you know they rely on people who know the game and go off the information they are givenby them

[@bojokowski]

Did these people ever play football?

[@maddcapper4548]

Well, if theyre so replaceable, why don't u 2 play running back...if its so easy!