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On Tuesday Field Gulls own Mookie Alexander took a look at how the Seattle Seahawks might address the running back position over the course of the offseason. With that in mind, there are several attractive candidates for the team, both in free agency and the draft, with fans clamoring for their favorite names from both the draft and free agency. Whether it’s Derrick Henry, Melvin Gordon or Carlos Hyde as free agents, or Jonathon Taylor, Cam Akers or Zack Moss following their performances at the combine in Indianapolis last week.
In any case, with so many options to choose from, it’s likely that Mookie was right in that while the team will certainly address the position, hopefully they won’t overdo it. That said, with most fans recognizing that the team should be okay with Chris Carson as the starter, and with Rashaad Penny able to pick up some slack later in the season, here is a quick look at some of the free agent running backs using non-traditional statistics.
Non-standard statistics for free agent running backs
| Rusher | Median | Success | Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rusher | Median | Success | Mode |
| Derrick Henry | 3 | 40.3% | 2 |
| Carlos Hyde | 3 | 38.8% | 1 |
| Frank Gore | 3 | 29.1% | 2 |
| Melvin Gordon | 3 | 37.0% | 3 |
| Peyton Barber | 3 | 29.9% | 1 |
| Damien Williams | 3 | 35.1% | 3 |
| LeSean McCoy | 3 | 40.6% | 3 |
| Bilal Powell | 3 | 31.0% | 3 |
Obviously, one of the things that jumps out from that table is that all of the running backs in that list have a median carry length of three yards. Is that normal or is that randomness? To answer that, here’s a look at the median rush attempt for players with 50 or more rushing attempts during the 2019 season.
Median rushing gain for players with 50+ attempts in 2019
| Player Name | Median Rush | Rush Attempts |
|---|---|---|
| Player Name | Median Rush | Rush Attempts |
| Lamar Jackson | 5 | 114 |
| Kyler Murray | 5 | 53 |
| Aaron Jones | 4 | 236 |
| Raheem Mostert | 4 | 137 |
| Bo Scarbrough | 4 | 89 |
| Tony Pollard | 4 | 86 |
| Jordan Wilkins | 4 | 51 |
| Dion Lewis | 3.5 | 54 |
| Derrick Henry | 3 | 303 |
| Ezekiel Elliott | 3 | 301 |
| Nick Chubb | 3 | 298 |
| Christian McCaffrey | 3 | 286 |
| Chris Carson | 3 | 278 |
| Joe Mixon | 3 | 278 |
| Leonard Fournette | 3 | 265 |
| Dalvin Cook | 3 | 250 |
| Marlon Mack | 3 | 247 |
| Sony Michel | 3 | 247 |
| Carlos Hyde | 3 | 245 |
| Le'Veon Bell | 3 | 244 |
| David Montgomery | 3 | 242 |
| Josh Jacobs | 3 | 241 |
| Phillip Linsay | 3 | 224 |
| Todd Gurley | 3 | 223 |
| Saquon Barkley | 3 | 217 |
| Adrian Peterson | 3 | 211 |
| Devonta Freeman | 3 | 184 |
| Miles Sanders | 3 | 178 |
| Ron Jones | 3 | 172 |
| Alvin Kamara | 3 | 171 |
| Kenyan Drake | 3 | 169 |
| Frank Gore | 3 | 165 |
| Melvin Gordon | 3 | 162 |
| Peyton Barber | 3 | 154 |
| Devin Singletary | 3 | 149 |
| Latavius Murray | 3 | 146 |
| Gus Edwards | 3 | 133 |
| Austin Ekeler | 3 | 132 |
| Royce Freeman | 3 | 131 |
| Matt Breida | 3 | 123 |
| Jordan Howard | 3 | 119 |
| James Conner | 3 | 115 |
| DeAndre Washington | 3 | 114 |
| Kerryon Johnson | 3 | 114 |
| Damien Williams | 3 | 111 |
| LeSean McCoy | 3 | 101 |
| Alexander Mattison | 3 | 100 |
| Benny Snell | 3 | 79 |
| James White | 3 | 66 |
| Rex Burkhead | 3 | 65 |
| Rashaad Penny | 3 | 65 |
| Tarik Cohen | 3 | 63 |
| Ty Johnson | 3 | 63 |
| Chase Edmonds | 3 | 60 |
| Boston Scott | 3 | 59 |
| Bilal Powell | 3 | 58 |
| Justice Hill | 3 | 58 |
| Mark Walton | 3 | 53 |
| Nyheim Hines | 3 | 52 |
| Brian Hill | 2.5 | 78 |
| Tevin Coleman | 2 | 137 |
| Kalen Ballage | 2 | 73 |
| Malcolm Brown | 2 | 68 |
| Jaylen Samuels | 2 | 66 |
| Giovani Bernard | 2 | 53 |
| Patrick Laird | 1 | 60 |
So, with that in mind and free agency just two weeks away, the question becomes how large of a contract Henry or Gordon will command, when there may be better values available.