We can all take a deep breath. The major moves of offseason free agency, trades, the expansion draft and the Season 2 rookie draft are over. There are two new teams, now with full rosters, and even the old teams are looking quite different than before. Being a running back myself, about to play in my first season on my first team, I thought it'd be fun to take a look at the landscape of running backs in the NSFL. Old, new, starters, backups, surrounding team. With that said, let's kick it off!
Baltimore Hawks
Starter: Darlane Farlane
2nd: Levon Novel
The Hawks last year rolled with Marcus Robinson as their starter and Levon Novel as the back up. Neither of which made a huge impact in the league with low averages, but Robinson did hit 813 yards and Novel notched 6 rushing scores. In the draft, they picked up Darlane Farlane at 36th overall - a great pickup for a very active player and already one of the fastest players in the league, and the second best running back in the class. Apparently, Marcus Robinson is looking to change positions, so that will shake things up. Levon Novel has fallen off in activity, so the rookie Farlane will fill the starting slot, with Novel backing him up. Novel still fills a decent backup role and adds value with his ability to score in close range. Look for big things from Farlane, he is a game changer and elevates the backfield with his tremendous upside. Apart from the backs, the Hawks drafted five offensive linemen, which will make a huge impact on the offensive production, both in passing and running the ball. They even added some other offensive weapons at WR and TE, so the Hawks are looking at a great year to turn it around. All of these additions will only benefit Farlane in the starting role, and I think we will see a big running year for Baltimore.
Backfield Grade: B
Colorado Yeti
Starter: Boss Tweed
2nd: Kieran O'Connell
Colorado sports a fairly underwhelming running attack, despite the fact that they feed their RBs a LOT. Among the three last year, they had about 400 attempts, but didn't even get to 4 yards per carry as a group. None of them broke the 600 yard mark either. Though, they did add 10 rushing TDs, led by O'Connell with 6 for himself. They have the best quarterback in the league in Noble, so as he continues to develop, more room will open up for the runners. Tiernan moved to LB, taking away a bit from their depth, but Tweed is looking to make a statement in the starting spot. Also, the Yeti added some linemen in the draft, which is always good. Look to see these running backs continue to be fed and wear down defenses - and I'm predicting their collective YPC will bump up to around 4.2 this year, with O'Connell and Tweed reaching 1,400 yards between the two of them.
Backfield Grade: C+
Philadelphia Liberty
Starter: Omar Wright
2nd: Ryan Jensen
Omar Wright is a stud and the Liberty are lucky to have him to start off their franchise. He came from a brutal combination of him and Leroy Jenkins on the Otters, in one of the most effective running offenses in the league. Even while sharing the ball, Wright reached 1,000 yards rushing, while toting an incredible 4.6 average and 3 rushing scores. He has homerun ability with his lighting-fast speed - his longest run of the year was 80 yards, which was the longest run of any running back in Season 1 (the second closest was only 38 yards). While the 2nd RB is an inactive, they added four new OL in the draft, along with the best rookie receiver Fox North and some good Tight Ends. They don't have depth, but Wright is good enough to carry the load in the run game. He will easily eclipse 1,000 yards this year.
Backfield Grade: A-
Yellowknife Wraiths
Starter: Bubba Nuck
2nd: Domantas Sabonis
3rd: Eric Kennedy
Bubba Nuck is the best running back in this league. End of story. There's no arguing it. He was the MVP of Season 1, led the league in rushing, and was tied in 1st for rushing TDs. On top of that, they added two solid rookie running backs to compliment Nuck. Kennedy has been a little quiet lately, but could still play a role, while Sabonis shows promise as a young backup. Look for Nuck to keep his hold on the rushing crown.
Backfield Grade: A+
Arizona Outlaws
Starter: Reg Mackworthy
2nd: Teez Tobin
The Outlaws won the championship, so they have that to defend coming into next season. Reg Mackworthy is a solid running back and shared the load with Durden last season, but come this season, he will be without Durden as a running mate. They each broke 600 yards apiece with good averages, so we'll find out if Mackworthy can progress into a 1,000 yard back on his own. They added Tobin in the draft, but he was pretty low in the RBs rankings as far as I could tell. Perhaps he will turn out to be a good backup.
Backfield Grade: B-
Las Vegas Legion
Starter: Ardie Savea
2nd: Kyle Cobb
3rd: Jack Stats
The Legion are going to give a rookie the reigns at starting RB after losing Bowers Jr. to the Otters. UPDATE: They JUST got Ardie Savea, the best all around back in the draft and one of the most active rookies in the league. It's been rumored that Savea may change positions, but for now I have him as the starter. Kyle Cobb was seen as the 3rd best back going into the draft, so it's a great young pick up. Jack Stats is 3rd on this list, who didn't have great numbers, but can add value and depth. With the addition of Savea, this is a really good and young, but unproven backfield for a new expansion team. Let's see how it turns out for them.
Backfield Grade: B-
Orange County Otters
Starter: Leroy Jenkins
2nd: Vick Bowers Jr.
The Otters had arguably the best rushing attack in the league last year with basically two 1,000 rushers - an insane stat. They lost one of the dynamic duo, but still have Leroy Jenkins, who had 995 yards, 4TD and a 4.6 YPC. He's a beast and will continue to be. And to replace Omar Wright, they picked up the 2nd highest rusher of last year in Vick Bowers Jr. A truly incredible 1-2 punch. While they didn't have a huge draft pull, they picked good players where it counted. Added key pieces to the line and while they drafted Ardie Savea, they just lost him to the Legion. Still, they're looking to repeat last year's full on assault -- and then some. If I could rate them above an A+, I would.
Backfield Grade: A+
San Jose Sabercats
Starter: Jack Durden
2nd: Denzel Diaz
3rd: John Goose
Last year, Durden paired with Mackworthy on the Outlaws to gain 1,200 together rushing and even ended the season with a championship. Now, he's coming to a team that needs a turn around season. He'll lead the backfield and hopefully improve on last year's numbers, to prove he can be a true number one back. Denzel Diaz and John Goose are both good rookie acquisitions at RB, and I'm thinking Diaz and Durden can combine for around 1,200 like Durden did with Mackworthy last year. Not a crazy backfield, but a good starting point for the future, and one that could develop into a solid foundation.
Backfield Grade: B-
Going into S2, it's going to be interesting to see what happens in the rushing word. Will Nuck keep the top spot, or will someone else nab the rushing crown? Or will a newcomer disrupt the leading backs and make a name for himself? It'll be fun to watch everything play out.
That's it for my grades on the NSFL backfields! Let me know your guys thoughts and also tell me if I messed anything up as far as depth charts, rosters, stats, etc. I'll probably post some kind of stat assessment of RBs after the Preseason as well to follow this up. If you guys have predictions for rushing in Season 2, post it in the comments
Baltimore Hawks
Starter: Darlane Farlane
2nd: Levon Novel
The Hawks last year rolled with Marcus Robinson as their starter and Levon Novel as the back up. Neither of which made a huge impact in the league with low averages, but Robinson did hit 813 yards and Novel notched 6 rushing scores. In the draft, they picked up Darlane Farlane at 36th overall - a great pickup for a very active player and already one of the fastest players in the league, and the second best running back in the class. Apparently, Marcus Robinson is looking to change positions, so that will shake things up. Levon Novel has fallen off in activity, so the rookie Farlane will fill the starting slot, with Novel backing him up. Novel still fills a decent backup role and adds value with his ability to score in close range. Look for big things from Farlane, he is a game changer and elevates the backfield with his tremendous upside. Apart from the backs, the Hawks drafted five offensive linemen, which will make a huge impact on the offensive production, both in passing and running the ball. They even added some other offensive weapons at WR and TE, so the Hawks are looking at a great year to turn it around. All of these additions will only benefit Farlane in the starting role, and I think we will see a big running year for Baltimore.
Backfield Grade: B
Colorado Yeti
Starter: Boss Tweed
2nd: Kieran O'Connell
Colorado sports a fairly underwhelming running attack, despite the fact that they feed their RBs a LOT. Among the three last year, they had about 400 attempts, but didn't even get to 4 yards per carry as a group. None of them broke the 600 yard mark either. Though, they did add 10 rushing TDs, led by O'Connell with 6 for himself. They have the best quarterback in the league in Noble, so as he continues to develop, more room will open up for the runners. Tiernan moved to LB, taking away a bit from their depth, but Tweed is looking to make a statement in the starting spot. Also, the Yeti added some linemen in the draft, which is always good. Look to see these running backs continue to be fed and wear down defenses - and I'm predicting their collective YPC will bump up to around 4.2 this year, with O'Connell and Tweed reaching 1,400 yards between the two of them.
Backfield Grade: C+
Philadelphia Liberty
Starter: Omar Wright
2nd: Ryan Jensen
Omar Wright is a stud and the Liberty are lucky to have him to start off their franchise. He came from a brutal combination of him and Leroy Jenkins on the Otters, in one of the most effective running offenses in the league. Even while sharing the ball, Wright reached 1,000 yards rushing, while toting an incredible 4.6 average and 3 rushing scores. He has homerun ability with his lighting-fast speed - his longest run of the year was 80 yards, which was the longest run of any running back in Season 1 (the second closest was only 38 yards). While the 2nd RB is an inactive, they added four new OL in the draft, along with the best rookie receiver Fox North and some good Tight Ends. They don't have depth, but Wright is good enough to carry the load in the run game. He will easily eclipse 1,000 yards this year.
Backfield Grade: A-
Yellowknife Wraiths
Starter: Bubba Nuck
2nd: Domantas Sabonis
3rd: Eric Kennedy
Bubba Nuck is the best running back in this league. End of story. There's no arguing it. He was the MVP of Season 1, led the league in rushing, and was tied in 1st for rushing TDs. On top of that, they added two solid rookie running backs to compliment Nuck. Kennedy has been a little quiet lately, but could still play a role, while Sabonis shows promise as a young backup. Look for Nuck to keep his hold on the rushing crown.
Backfield Grade: A+
Arizona Outlaws
Starter: Reg Mackworthy
2nd: Teez Tobin
The Outlaws won the championship, so they have that to defend coming into next season. Reg Mackworthy is a solid running back and shared the load with Durden last season, but come this season, he will be without Durden as a running mate. They each broke 600 yards apiece with good averages, so we'll find out if Mackworthy can progress into a 1,000 yard back on his own. They added Tobin in the draft, but he was pretty low in the RBs rankings as far as I could tell. Perhaps he will turn out to be a good backup.
Backfield Grade: B-
Las Vegas Legion
Starter: Ardie Savea
2nd: Kyle Cobb
3rd: Jack Stats
The Legion are going to give a rookie the reigns at starting RB after losing Bowers Jr. to the Otters. UPDATE: They JUST got Ardie Savea, the best all around back in the draft and one of the most active rookies in the league. It's been rumored that Savea may change positions, but for now I have him as the starter. Kyle Cobb was seen as the 3rd best back going into the draft, so it's a great young pick up. Jack Stats is 3rd on this list, who didn't have great numbers, but can add value and depth. With the addition of Savea, this is a really good and young, but unproven backfield for a new expansion team. Let's see how it turns out for them.
Backfield Grade: B-
Orange County Otters
Starter: Leroy Jenkins
2nd: Vick Bowers Jr.
The Otters had arguably the best rushing attack in the league last year with basically two 1,000 rushers - an insane stat. They lost one of the dynamic duo, but still have Leroy Jenkins, who had 995 yards, 4TD and a 4.6 YPC. He's a beast and will continue to be. And to replace Omar Wright, they picked up the 2nd highest rusher of last year in Vick Bowers Jr. A truly incredible 1-2 punch. While they didn't have a huge draft pull, they picked good players where it counted. Added key pieces to the line and while they drafted Ardie Savea, they just lost him to the Legion. Still, they're looking to repeat last year's full on assault -- and then some. If I could rate them above an A+, I would.
Backfield Grade: A+
San Jose Sabercats
Starter: Jack Durden
2nd: Denzel Diaz
3rd: John Goose
Last year, Durden paired with Mackworthy on the Outlaws to gain 1,200 together rushing and even ended the season with a championship. Now, he's coming to a team that needs a turn around season. He'll lead the backfield and hopefully improve on last year's numbers, to prove he can be a true number one back. Denzel Diaz and John Goose are both good rookie acquisitions at RB, and I'm thinking Diaz and Durden can combine for around 1,200 like Durden did with Mackworthy last year. Not a crazy backfield, but a good starting point for the future, and one that could develop into a solid foundation.
Backfield Grade: B-
Going into S2, it's going to be interesting to see what happens in the rushing word. Will Nuck keep the top spot, or will someone else nab the rushing crown? Or will a newcomer disrupt the leading backs and make a name for himself? It'll be fun to watch everything play out.
That's it for my grades on the NSFL backfields! Let me know your guys thoughts and also tell me if I messed anything up as far as depth charts, rosters, stats, etc. I'll probably post some kind of stat assessment of RBs after the Preseason as well to follow this up. If you guys have predictions for rushing in Season 2, post it in the comments
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