What running backs in the NFL are the most explosive?
In 2019, 26 running backs accrued over 1,000 yards from scrimmage. Tailbacks implement various styles to churn up this yardage: some are downhill runners, others are slasher-type backs, and a few are hybrids of both styles.
As a disclaimer, this analysis does not necessarily illuminate the best running backs in the NFL. Instead, it will delve into those ball-carriers that gained large chunks of yardage on single plays and can, therefore, be interpreted as “explosive.”
The metric is offensive gains of 15 yards or more on single plays–via rush and pass reception–and that total number of gains is then divided by the player’s total number of touches.
A percentage is derived. A minimum of 150 touches is assigned to ensure that those who are getting the bulk of touches are duly recognized.
Some will be miffed and mortified that Christian McCaffrey is not among the top-five. In no way is his absence intended to be an insult. McCaffrey did, indeed, lead the NFL in explosive plays (those 15+ yards gains) with a total of 31 in 2019. But, he did so on a whopping 403 touches.
Had this list been a top 10 of explosive play merchants, McCaffrey would have placed eighth via his percentage to total touches. Interestingly, McCaffrey’s pass-targets alone were so plenteous that he had more balls thrown in his direction than, for instance, Odell Beckham or Courtland Sutton in 2019.
Alas, here are the most explosive running backs in the NFL heading into the upcoming season, ranked in ascending order.
5. Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
15+ Yard Gains in 2019: 26
Total Touches: 303
15+ Yard Gains to Touches Percentage: 8.6
These rankings entail a medley of quasi-downhill runners and slasher-type tailbacks. Dalvin Cook is a blend of both with a heavier emphasis on the slasher-style.
Cook amassed 26 gains of 15+ yards last season, and he is the only player on this list to do so evenly between the run and the pass. He had 13 explosive rushes and 13 explosive receptions. In many respects, he was the engine of the Minnesota Vikings offense.
Currently, he and Minnesota’s front office are locked in a contractual staredown. Cook, like most, wants more guaranteed money while the Vikings seem to have an incentive-laden contractual approach in mind. Sans injury concerns, Cook is a more-than-prolific tailback.
In the last decade, his 104.1 yards-from-scrimmage-per-game is the sixth-most in the NFL. And, that’s out of a pool of every single running back to touch a football from 2010-19.
Cook has also scored a touchdown in 55 percent of all career games that he has played. That notably outpaces fantasy god Christian McCaffrey who has scored in 50 percent of all games in his three-year career.
The consensus is that Dalvin Cook and the Vikings will likely meet in the middle on a longterm contract. But if he remains steadfast in his holdout, running backs Alexander Mattison and Mike Boone are poised to split the load of responsibility.
4. Miles Sanders, Philadelphia Eagles
15+ Yard Gains in 2019: 21
Total Touches: 229
15+ Yard Gains to Touches Percentage: 9.2
The Philadelphia Eagles have found their running back of the future in Miles Sanders, but they oddly didn’t seem to fully realize it in 2019.
Sure, he was utilized more than any other back on the team. Yet, at times, the team force-fed the ball to Jordan Howard and consequently created a running-back-by-committee scheme. Howard’s touches were not a detriment to the Eagles as they finished 11th in the NFL in rushing yards, although it’s quite evident that Sanders is the more dynamic playmaker.
And perhaps this was a reluctance to jump into a hasty marriage with a rookie tailback. Philadelphia spent a second-round draft pick on Sanders in the 2019 NFL Draft when they pried him away from Penn State University. It may also be that Sanders skill-set is more akin to a wide-receiver than that of a prototypical running back.
After all, 14 of Sanders’ gains of 15+ yards came via pass plays. If it is the case that he is truly a wide receiver hiding in plain sight with a running back’s jersey number, then the Eagles will have to improvise. Jordan Howard took his talents to Miami, and the next tailback on the depth chart is Boston Scott–who is a pass-catcher like Sanders.
Scott is no towering, bruiser-style back. In fact, he’s about the same height as Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe.
3. Devin Singletary, Buffalo Bills
15+ Yard Gains in 2019: 17
Total Touches: 180
15+ Yard Gains to Touches Percentage: 9.4
Rookie Devin Singletary is currently in the perfect system to flaunt and bolster his talents. Foremost, head coach Sean McDermott and the Buffalo Bills don’t prefer to throw the football all that much.
Since McDermott took over the team in 2017, the Bills have run the football in a volume sense the third-most of any team in the NFL. Only the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens have rushed the football more in the last three years.
For this reason, Singletary is going to get his touches while he develops. The Bills also have a quarterback that is maturing, and while doing so, is not the most accurate signal-caller in the business.
The cannon-armed Josh Allen ranks near the bottom of the league in completion percentage since taking over the huddle in Buffalo. What that means is: Singletary should get utilized via the short passing game while Allen strives to correct his accuracy issues.
By trade, Singletary is not an incredibly fast tailback, but his agility is paramount. In this analysis of explosive running backs, he has the heaviest lean toward explosive running plays (14) to receiving plays (3).
2. Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers
15+ Yard Gains in 2019: 28
Total Touches: 224
15+ Yard Gains to Touches Percentage: 12.5
Imagine the panic in former teammate Melvin Gordon’s loins when Austin Ekeler was dominating games in Gordon’s contractually-driven holdout last season. That fear was well-founded.
Ekeler was anointed as the Chargers’ RB1 last season while Melvin Gordon tried to ascertain a better contract. Ekeler won; Gordon lost. Ekeler is now the undisputed RB1 for the Los Angeles Chargers whereas Melvin Gordon will engage in running-back-by-committee gig with Phillip Lindsday and the Broncos.
And Ekeler’s promotion is much deserved. He was an unexpectedly explosive player, and the numbers reflect his big-play prowess. As a gross total, Ekeler’s 28 gains for 15+ yards were second only to Christian McCaffrey (who was the benefactor of copious touches). Bottom line is: when Philip Rivers gave Ekeler the pigskin, the defense got gashed.
A little known fact regarding the 2019 Chargers is that the team ranked seventh in offensive yards per game and was the eighth-best team in the league in yards allowed. Anthony Flynn’s team was an astutely balanced squad–that finished the with 5-11 record. Figure that one out.
The offensive prosperity can be contributed mightily to Ekeler’s emergence as a premiere tailback in the league. And, he did so while busting off explosive plays, most of them via pass (21).
1. Raheem Mostert, San Francisco 49ers
15+ Yard Gains in 2019: 19
Total Touches: 151
15+ Yard Gains to Touches Percentage: 12.6
Somebody get this man 300+ touches per season, please.
Raheem Mostert has played on five teams and five years, but has managed to finally find a seemingly permanent home with 49ers. It was overdue.
The 49ers are yet another team that enforce a committee-style rushing attack. For them, though, it works superbly. The team reached the Super Bowl last season, but fell hard in the fourth quarter of the match-up to The [Sports] World’s Richest Man, Patrick Mahomes (and the Chiefs).
Here’s the deal. When the 49ers hand the ball to Raheem Mostert, the proceeding seconds are high-octane spurts of goodness. Mostert is currently the fastest running back on San Francisco’s roster with Matt Breida jettisoned to the Dolphins.
The 4.3 40-yard dash speed of Mostert’s is deadly, and it’s evident when he breaks out of the backfield. Of his 19 explosive plays last season, 76 percent of them came via rush. So, Mostert is not one of these RB-WR hybrids like Alvin Kamara or Miles Sanders–he’s just a fast son of a gun.
With the aforementioned Matt Breida out of the picture, there is a reasonable chance Mostert can showcase his explosiveness more prominently in 2020. But you never how with head coach in Kyle Shanahan. He could surprise everyone and make oft-injured Jerick McKinnon the bell-cow. They’re unpredictable out there in The Bay.