PHOTO COURTESY OF BALTIMORE RAVENS

In the 2023 NFL offseason, a trending sentiment began to emerge: the running back is dead.

These feelings had been brewing for several years, but in 2023 they exploded into a national debate. Major media outlets such as the Associated Press (AP) and The New York Times declared that in a league that is becoming more and more pass-oriented, the quarterback is king and the running back is expendable.

“Running backs- despite their overall value, versatility and responsibilities- are getting left behind,” Rob Maadi said in an article for AP.

This sentiment was apparently shared by many NFL franchises. A common belief circulating in the NFL community is that once a running back turns 27, his production level begins to fall off. The Tennessee Titans were clearly a team that believed this when they allowed their star player Derrick Henry (who was pushing 30 at the time) to walk instead of giving him a new contract. 

In the 2023 season, Henry had the most rushing yards in the American Football Conference, and since his first year as a starter in 2018 he has held the league rushing title twice and even won Offensive Player of the Year in 2020. 

So why let him walk? 

Well the Titans hired a new coach that season, and did not want to pay Henry the money he would expect. So he signed with the Baltimore Ravens instead.

Henry was not a fan of running backs getting less valuable. 

“At this point, just take the RB position out the game then,” Henry said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The ones that want to be great and work as hard as they can to give their all to an organization, just seems like it don’t even matter. I’m with every RB that’s fighting to get what they deserve.”

Then-New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley voiced his agreement to this sentiment and was subsequently given the cold shoulder by his own organization.

Since he was drafted second overall by the Giants in 2018, Barkley was the face of a struggling organization. Barkley won just about every award a rookie player can get and made two Pro Bowl appearances. His only problem was injury. 

Barkley tore his ACL in 2020 and struggled to return in 2021. Barkley started to get better again in the following seasons, carrying the Giants to their first playoff appearance since 2016 in the 2022 season. 

The Giants then decided to make what could be their worst decision in a decade. They gave quarterback Daniel Jones, a quarterback who (outside of one decent season) had been struggling heavily, a $160 million deal. 

They gave Barkley the franchise tag to put off his contract until the next season. Jones played only six games, going 1-5 in those games. In the 2024 offseason, the Giants negotiations with Barkley fell through. 

Barkley said the Giants were disrespectful in their negotiations. 

“It felt like the only way the Giants wanted me (was) if I was able to go show my worth to someone,” Barkley said. “Like, I had to go prove that a team would want to pay me, so then, maybe, they (the Giants) would want to pay me.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ASSOCIATED PRESS

As it turned out, the Giants divisional rival, the Philadelphia Eagles did want to pay him. The Eagles offered Barkley a three-year, $37.5 million contract, with $26 million guaranteed.

Henry, Barkley and a plethora of other running backs have proven this season that the running back is still one of the most important positions in football. 

In his first season with the Baltimore Ravens, Henry rushed for 1,921 yards and scored 18 touchdowns. The Ravens went 12-5, won their division, and advanced to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Henry’s rush yardage was second in the NFL, only trailing one man: Saquon Barkley.

Barkley’s 2024 campaign was one for the ages. Behind an Eagles offensive line that consistently ranks as one of the best in the league, Barkley was able to demolish defenses as he carried the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance. 

Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards in 2024, only trailing Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record by 101 yards. Barkley also scored 25 touchdowns, including three in his first game as an Eagle. He is projected to finish in the top three in MVP voting.

Other running backs experienced a similar renaissance in 2024. RB Josh Jacobs was signed to the Green Bay Packers after the Las Vegas Raiders decided not to pay their best offensive player. Jacobs became the best player on a talented Packers offense, accumulating 1,329 rush yards and 16 touchdowns. 

RB J.K. Dobbins, a player more known for his bad knees and constant appearances on the injured reserve list, left the Baltimore Ravens for the Los Angeles Chargers. With the Chargers, Dobbins found an offensive scheme that fit his style better, and had his greatest season to date, starting 11 games and racking up 905 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Despite what the media outlets and the franchises have thought, the running back is far from obsolete. If anything, the running back is fully back, now more important than ever before.

Categories: Sports