Try to name every running back who has rushed for at least 500 yards in anuniform since 2016. There are 11 of them, which is more than any other team in the NFL. Go ahead and think. In the meantime, I’ll tell you why I wasted my time looking all of this up.
One thing this offseason has made clear: the rest of the NFL is catching up. The last few months could well go down as a watershed moment of sorts. Last we checked, three of the NFL’s top five active rushing leaders were languishing on the free-agent market without a contract. Two more of the game’s most recognizable names had failed to extend their contracts beyond a one-year franchise tag.Each of the five ranks among the NFL’s top 15 in total touches over the last seven seasons.
Right now, the market is what we have. It stinks to be a running back. It’s good to be a team looking to hire one. To a certain extent, that’s nothing new. It’s why Le’Veon Bell held out for a year. It’s why the Rams released Todd Gurley one year after he led them to a Super Bowl and finished third in Offensive Player of the Year voting. It’s why Gurley was out of the league one year later at the age of 27.
The Eagles have gotten exactly that: from Johnson, from Brandon Graham, from Fletcher Cox. All three are still on the roster more than a decade after they were drafted. Jalen Carter, this year’s top pick, has the potential to be that kind of player.