The Running Back Carousel: Update

If you are a regular reader you may remember an article I wrote two months ago examining the NFL teams that were still in need of a starting running back. So now that the free agency dust has settled and the draft is over, how did this teams pan out? Here is a look at the current running back situations in Buffalo, Green Bay, and Tennessee.

Green Bay: The Packers lost perrenial starter Ahman Green to the Houston Texans in free agency and started the offseason with Vernand Morency at the top of their running back depth chart. After the draft and the remainder of free agency, the somewhat worrisome news is that Morency is still projected to be the opening day starter. The Packers had likely hoped that Lynch would fall to them in the draft, but after the Vikings took Adrian Peterson with the #7 pick Lynch's value rose out of the Packer's draft range. Green Bay did draft two running backs, Brandon Jackson of Nebraska in the 2nd round and DeShawn Wynn of Florida in the 7th round. Jackson is a strong runner and a good receiver, but is unproven after being the starter at Nebraska for only one season. Wynn is a quick runner but is a bit on the large side, tipping the scales at over 230 pounds. The Packers will likely work Jackson into the running back rotation with Morency this season, as Jackson will provide stronger inside running than Morency.

Tennessee: The Titans lost Travis Henry to the Broncos in free agency leaving the team with only LenDale White at running back. After White reported to the Titans offseason program weighing upwards of 260 pounds it appears that the team has lost any faith they still had left in him. The Titans took Chris Henry of Arizona in the 2nd roud of the draft and have since signed free agent Chris Brown, who had lost the Titan's starting job to Travis Henry last season. Brown and Chris Henry will likely compete for the starting job during training camp, and the competition should be fairly wide open. Brown has a 1,000 yard season on his resume but at the scouting combine Henry exhibited great speed for a 230 pound back, posting a 4.4 second 40 yard time.

Buffalo: The Bills have the clearest running back situation of any of the three teams on this list, having drafted Marshawn Lynch in the first round to replace the departed Willis McGahee. Lynch will start right away in Buffalo, and six year veteran Anthony Thomas will be the backup and will likely get around the 107 carries he had last year for the Bills. Lynch is a powerful runner and also a good receiver, and the Bills hope that Lynch can be the dual threat that they had hoped that McGahee would have been coming out of Miami. The presence of Thomas will provide Lynch the opportunity to ease into the starting role in his rookie year without taking on a full twenty carry a game workload


Regardless of how these three situations sort themselves out this season and beyond, one name will loom large in evaluating all three of these team's decisions: Michael Turner. The Charger's backup running back was a restricted free agent, and could have been signed for 1st and 3rd round picks. Turner is widely regarded as a future star, and his performance in the coming years will be weighed against the 1st and 3rd round picks of the aforementioned teams. While the Bills after drafting Lynch will likely stand by their choice, will Michael Griffin and Paul Williams be better than Turner for the Titans? Will Justin Harrell and James Jones be better for the Packers? The guess here is that the answer to both of those questions will be no.