Who will take charge of the Redskins' backfield in 2019?

Who will lead the Redskins backfield in 2019?

With the kick-off to the 2019 NFL regular season less than a week away, there’s one of many questions that still remain. Who will lead the Washington Redskins’ backfield this year? Will it be Derrius Guice, Adrian Peterson, Chris Thompson, Wendell Smallwood or a combination of all four? Let’s take a look at which running back has the best chances of being the most fantasy relevant in 2019.

We will briefly analyze each of Washington’s four backs on the 53-man roster to determine who will receive the lion’s share of the carries if there is one.

Wendell Smallwood

To begin, we will take a look at the newest member of the Redskins running crew in Wendell Smallwood. During his first three seasons in the NFL, Smallwood spent his time in a running back by committee system with Doug Pederson and the Philadelphia Eagles.

While in Philadelphia, he averaged 4.0 yards per tote on 211 carries and just five touchdowns. He also proved to be very effective catching passes out of the backfield as he had slightly over eight yards per reception for an additional two touchdowns.

Smallwood checks in at approximately five-foot-ten and 208 lbs, not making him a big back compared to the rest around the league. I expect Smallwood to once again get limited reps for Washington this year, just as he had with the Eagles for the past three seasons.

Chris Thompson

We now move on to the next running back on the Redskins’ depth chart in Chris Thompson. In 2018, Thompson struggled to stay healthy on the field as he missed six games with a rib contusion and a knee sprain as well.

Through all the injuries he battled through last year, Thompson was able to average just over four yards per carry on 43 rushing attempts.

Much like fellow teammate Wendell Smallwood, Thompson does a lot of his damage through the air as he has never had more than 360 rushing yards in a single season since entering the league in 2013.

Also, since 2015, which was when Thompson became an everyday starter for Washington, he has averaged a little over 340.0 yards per reception on 164 catches during those four years.

Checking in at five-foot-seven and 192 lbs, Thompson is not someone who the Redskins are going to want to rely on to handle the bulk of the team’s carries. Thompson is more built for speed and shiftiness, giving the Redskins an extra dimension to their interesting backfield this year. Expect Thompson to be more of a change of pace back to try to throw opposing defenses off for 2019.

Adrian Peterson

Next, we have the legend, Mr. All Day every day, Adrian Peterson. For years, Peterson was the unanimous number one overall pick in fantasy drafts during his heyday with the Minnesota Vikings. He single-handedly took a bad Vikings team on his back and carried them to the playoffs back in 2012, while almost breaking the single-season rushing record in the process as well.

Even though those days are long gone due to wear and tear and age, Peterson still served as a serviceable back for Washington in 2018. Last year, Peterson had the fifth-most carries (15.7/game) among all active running backs in the NFL.

He also was able to rush for over 1,000 yards as well, giving him the eighth-most total rushing yards in the league in 2018. Not bad for a guy who is 34 years old and well passed the height of his prime.

But the question remains, how much longer can AD keep it up? You could see he wasn’t as fast and explosive as he was in years past, and it’s only a matter of time before he decides to officially call it a quits before risking any serious injuries at this stage of his career.

Peterson will still serve as useful back, especially in goal-line situations this year, but his every-down usage may be scaled back because of the final player we still need to discuss on this list.

Derrius Guice

This man, of course, is Derrius Guice. The Redskins selected Guice in the second round of the 2018 draft with the intention of using him as their premier back. Unfortunately, Guice wound up tearing his ACL in the offseason last year, causing him to miss the entire 2018 regular season.

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During his days at LSU, Guice averaged about 6.5 yards per carry and 29 total rushing touchdowns as well between 2015-2017. Guice even displayed he can be a useful pass-catcher too, as he nearly averaged eight yards per catch in his three seasons at LSU.

Guice has yet to live up to the hype due to his recent injuries and setbacks in the offseason. Fortunately, he seems to be fine now and the Redskins appear poised to utilize him as the feature back.

Although he has yet to live up to the hype, Guice brings about the tremendous upside for fantasy. He’s currently being drafted as RB32 at the beginning of the seventh round of many fantasy drafts this year. He’s a big risk, but the rewards can be even greater if he can remain healthy and finally showcase his true potential on the field at the professional level this year.

Final Verdict

All four running backs on the Washington Redskins’ roster pose some unique traits that can make them be a useful asset in fantasy for 2019. Derrius Guice though appears to be the favorite to get the majority of the work heading into 2019 unless further developments begin to crop up.

It will be interesting to see how Guice fairs in his first season in the NFL. If you are someone who chooses to select Guice in your draft this year, then I advise you to take the next best option in Washington’s backfield which would be Adrian Peterson.

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