AFC South Watch: The Running Game
The running back position is a zero-sum game.
When they are good, the yards pile up quickly. When they are bad, everyone can see it.
A quality running game can open up the offensive playbook and encourage things like an effective play-action pass on second or third down.
It may not be as widely celebrated as it used to be, but a quality running back still matters in today’s NFL – particularly in the AFC South. Three of the NFL’s top six rushers in 2020 were in the division, and two of them were rookies.
With that being said, let’s look at each AFC South team’s projected running back depth chart for the 2021 NFL season.
Tennessee Titans
Derrick Henry is the unquestioned starter and leader at his position with the Titans, in the division and possibly the league. He is coming off of a season in which he ran for 2,027 yards (the fifth-best in league history) and 17 touchdowns. He also helped the Titans win the AFC South for the first time since 2008 when he ran for 250 yards on 34 attempts in the finale.
It remains to be seen whether Henry can become the NFL’s first two-time 2,000-yard rusher, but with the addition of a 17th game, he at least has opportunity time to get there. Outside of Henry the running back depth chart looks like this: Darrynton Evans, Brian Hill and Jeremy McNichols.
Evans was the Titans third-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft. He only appeared in five games as a rookie, but if he is healthy, there is a strong belief that he could be the Titans No. 2 guy in the backfield.
McNichols is a journeyman running back who played for the Titans in 2020. He recorded 204 rushing yards and a touchdown on 47 carries (all career-highs). He appeared in all 16 games for Tennessee as well.
Both face competition from Hill, a recently signed free agent who spent most of the past four seasons with Atlanta. He has more game experience than McNichols even though the two were selected six picks apart in the 2017 NFL Draft, and he has established himself as the type of dual-threat back who can give Henry a break (he had 465 rushing yards and 25 catches for 199 yards in 2020) that the Titans want Evans to be.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts arguably have the division’s deepest running back group with established veterans Jonathon Taylor, Nyheim Hines, Marlon Mack and Jordan Wilkins, along with three others.
Taylor is the projected starter for the 2021 NFL campaign. As a rookie in 2020, he finished third in the NFL with 1,169 yards. He also scored 11 touchdowns and averaged 5.0 yards per carry.
Mack returned to the Colts on a one-year deal after an injury limited him one game last season. He was a 1,000-yard rusher in 2019 and was just short of that mark in 2018 (908 yards).
Hines is a versatile option who has almost as many receptions (170) as he does rushing attempts (226) through his first three NFL seasons. Meanwhile, Wilkins is a consistent and reliable role player who has averaged just shy of 5.0 yards per carry and has caught 79.5 percent of the passes thrown to him in his three seasons.
Jacksonville Jaguars
In stark opposition to last season, when its nine rushing touchdowns tied for the fewest in the league, Jacksonville boasts an intriguing backfield group led by James Robinson, Carlos Hyde and rookie Travis Etienne.
Robinson is the only returner of the three. He set a record for the most scrimmage yards by an undrafted rookie during with 1,414 in 2020. Of that total, 1,070 came on rushes, which tied for fifth in the NFL.
Etienne and Hyde are offseason additions. Hyde, a second-round pick by San Francisco in 2014, is now with his sixth team in five seasons. He was a 1,000-yard rusher with Houston in 2019 and topped 900 yards two other times. Etienne was Jacksonville’s second first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft (25th overall) and looks to be the multi-dimensional, change-of-pace option Jacksonville lacked last season.
Outside of those three, the Jagaurs have four other running backs on the roster who will try to catch the attention of first-year coach Urban Meyer and his staff.
Houston Texas
It’ll be running back by committee in Houston this season.
The depth chart reads David Johnson, Mark Ingram, Phillip Lindsay, Buddy Howell, Scottie Phillips and Dontrell Hilliard. If it was 2018, the top end of Houston’s running back rotation would be lethal. However, it’s not, and the results this season may be more of a mixed bag than what the Texans are expecting.
Between Johnson, Ingram and Lindsay the Texans have the ability to diversify their attack. Johnson managed only 12 games last season but produced 1,005 yards from scrimmage. He is far from what he was offensively five seasons ago with Arizona, but he is a veteran presence who has pass-catching ability out of the backfield.
Ingram and Lindsay provide skill sets that complement one another and could become a unique one-two punch. Ingram is more of the bruising back type. He wants to be the workhorse who runs between the tackles. Lindsay is a fleet-footed speedster, who is a threat to get outside and make guys miss.
Outside of the Texans’ top three, Howell, Phillips and Hillard will all be fighting for a spot with the Texans, another team with a new head coach.
