The value of the running back position has been a hot debate in recent seasons, but as NFL teams -- OK, some teams -- have stopped spending significant resources on the position, more and more backfield committees have formed. In recent seasons, we've seen an injection of impressive talent to the position, which has led to many offenses forming productive one-two punches.
Few would argue that the best of those duos is the Cleveland Browns' Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, though an MCL injury suffered by Chubb on Sunday has derailed the unit for at least a month or two. It's an unfortunate loss for 3-1 Cleveland, considering that the team's running back room paces the league in carries (126), rushing yards (729), scrimmage yards (803) and touchdowns (nine). Chubb and Hunt have been the catalysts, with both averaging over 5.4 yards per carry and ranking among the top three in yards after first contact among backs with more than 30 carries.
The recent success of the duo is hardly a surprise considering the damage each has done since entering the NFL. Since Chubb was drafted in 2018, he leads qualified backs with a 5.2 yards per carry, and his 2.3 average yards after contact is second behind only ... Hunt (2.6). Hunt just turned 25 years old, and Chubb is four months behind, so these two -- who are both signed through at least 2021 -- are well positioned to dominate the league together for years to come.
In the meantime, as Chubb hits injured reserve, Hunt will be joined by some combination of D'Ernest Johnson and Dontrell Hilliard, and he will likely take on a more sizable lead-back role. The Chubb-Hunt dominance is put on hold, and the injury means the Browns no longer field the top running back duo in the NFL.
So which team's tandem jumps to the top of the list? Here is my ranking of the top 10 duos in the NFL right now after Chubb's injury.
1. Minnesota Vikings: Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison
Key stat: Among running backs with at least 100 carries since the start of 2019, Cook and Mattison rank No. 9 (4.8) and No. 12 (4.6) in yards per carry, respectively.
We know Cook is one of the best in the business, having exploded into the "elite" conversation with 1,654 yards and 13 touchdowns on 303 touches in 14 games last season. And the 2017 second-round draft pick picked up where he left off, pacing all running backs with 424 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Cook can do it all, ranking in the top 10 among backs in both rushing and receiving yardage last season while also ranking atop the position in yards after the catch (11.3).
The name you might not know as well is Mattison. The 2019 Day 3 draft pick was phenomenal off the bench as a rookie, putting up 544 yards on 110 touches. He has forced his way into a larger piece of the pie this season and has turned 29 touches into 140 yards while playing 25% of the offensive snaps. Similar to Cleveland's duo, Cook (25 years old, signed through 2025) and Mattison (22, 2022) are both young and signed long term.
2. New Orleans Saints: Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray
Key stat: Kamara and Murray are among just 11 backs to have at least 700 scrimmage yards in each of the past three seasons.
If you haven't seen a Saints game this season, you might want to change that this weekend. Kamara is playing the best ball of his career, and that's saying something, considering he produced 4,476 yards and 34 touchdowns during his first three NFL seasons. He caught exactly 81 balls in each of his first three seasons, and he already has 30 catches (fourth in the NFL among all players, including wide receivers) for 321 yards (11th) and three TDs (sixth) this season.
As incredible as Kamara has been, he's barely leading his own team in rushing this season. Murray has 44 carries to Kamara's 50 and is on pace for his sixth consecutive season with 700-plus scrimmage yards. The 30-year-old has proved to be a solid complementary back on early downs, which allows the more dynamic Kamara to dominate in the passing game.
3. Baltimore Ravens: Mark Ingram II and J.K. Dobbins
Key stat: There are just 20 running backs with at least 20 touches this season to score multiple touchdowns and average at least 4.7 yards per touch (Ingram's average). Ingram and Dobbins are among them.
Following three injury-plagued and underwhelming seasons to open Ingram's NFL career, the "bust" label was being thrown around when discussing the 2011 first-round pick. He put that to rest pretty quickly. Since blooming into a feature back in 2014, Ingram's 4.8 yards per carry ranks first, and his 2.1 yards per carry after contact trails only Derrick Henry among 26 backs with more than 700 carries during the span. He doesn't get the recognition of many others, but Ingram has been one of the league's best backs of the past decade.
It's obviously too early to anoint Dobbins, but we also can't argue with his pedigree (2020 second-round pick) and early-career production (144 yards and two touchdowns on 21 touches). And, if you don't feel like Dobbins should qualify, Gus Edwards' 5.4 yards per carry leads the NFL (minimum 200 carries) since he entered the NFL in 2018.
Ingram is now 30 years old, and his best days are behind him, but he's still effective. And the future is bright in this backfield with Dobbins in the fold. (And that's all before we even mention quarterback Lamar Jackson, who broke Michael Vick's single-season rushing record at the position last season and leads Baltimore in rushing yards and carries through four games in 2020.)
4. Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard
Key stat: Mixon and Bernard represent the only one-two punch in which each back has 120-plus catches since 2017.
Since being drafted in the second round in 2017, Mixon ranks fourth among backs in carries (770), fourth in rushing yards (3,246) and fifth in scrimmage yards (4,204). All that despite working behind arguably the league's worst offensive line during the span. His Week 4 line of 25 carries for 151 yards and two scores (plus another 30 yards and a TD on six catches) showed just what he can do.
Mixon is one of the league's top featured rushers but hasn't done a ton as a pass-catcher (121 career receptions). One of the reasons for that is the presence of Bernard. Since he was drafted in 2013, Bernard ranks third among running backs in targets (401), fourth in receptions (307), third in receiving yards (2,610) and, believe it or not, 13th in scrimmage yards (5,920). Sure, he has been around longer than many of today's top backs, but volume and staying power are skill sets. In other words, good players stick around and get the rock.
5. Denver Broncos: Melvin Gordon III and Phillip Lindsay
Key stat: The Broncos' pairing is one of two in the NFL in which both running backs have at least 17 scrimmage touchdowns since the start of 2018 (Chubb and Hunt).
The Broncos found themselves a gem in 2018 when they signed Lindsay as an undrafted free agent. The Colorado product reached 1,000 rushing yards and seven touchdowns during each of his first two NFL seasons, averaging 4.9 yards per carry during the span (third best among 25 RBs with 300-plus carries during the span).
As if that wasn't enough backfield firepower, Denver signed Gordon during the 2020 offseason. Gordon spent five seasons as the feature back for the Chargers after he was drafted 15th overall in 2015. Despite 13 games missed because of injury, he ranked fourth in scrimmage yards and fifth in touchdowns among backs during that time. An asset as a volume rusher and as an effective receiver, he ranked in the top 10 in carries, rushing yards, receptions and receiving yards.
Lindsay has missed time with a toe injury this season, but Gordon has held down the fort (326 yards, four touchdowns), and these two are in their prime and under team control through at least 2021.
6. San Francisco 49ers: Raheem Mostert and Jerick McKinnon
Key stat: The 49ers are the only team with two running backs who have over 100 yards receiving this season.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has done an incredible job converting ex-backups into highly productive and super-efficient forces, so it's almost hard to know how much credit to give the backs. Still, we can't ignore the fact that the 49ers' backfield has ranked no lower than fifth in scrimmage yards in each of the past three seasons. That includes a 2020 campaign in which they sit third despite Mostert and Tevin Coleman missing extensive action.
The speedy Mostert went undrafted in 2015 and spent most of his first four seasons in the pros on special teams. Shanahan gave him a long look in 2019, and the results were 217 touches for 1,296 yards and 15 touchdowns in 19 games (including the playoffs). Believe it not, Mostert's career 6.1 yards per carry is highest in NFL history among backs with at least 150 carries.
McKinnon, meanwhile, spent the early portion of his career as a situational back in Minnesota before becoming one of the league's highest-paid backs when he signed with the 49ers in 2018. He missed the next two seasons because of injury but has impressed so far in 2020 with 295 yards and four touchdowns on 47 touches. Coleman and even Jeff Wilson Jr. should also be mentioned as talented depth, though we are obviously focusing on tandems today.
7. Green Bay Packers: Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams
Key stat: Jones and Williams join Gordon and Lindsey as the only tandem to be coming off back-to-back 100-plus-carry, 25-plus-catch seasons.
The Packers' backfield exploded for 2,363 scrimmage yards last season, and only the 49ers' matched its league-high 25 touchdowns. Results have been similar in 2020, as Packers backs lead the NFL with 839 scrimmage yards and nine touchdowns, while also sitting second with 559 rushing yards. Jones is, of course, the star, having flashed in a big way in a situational role during his first two NFL seasons before exploding for 1,558 scrimmage yards and a league-high 19 touchdowns in 2019. Jones' career 5.1 yards per carry trails only Chubb among 44 backs with 300-plus carries since he was drafted in 2017.
Williams is about as serviceable a complementary back as you'll find, having reached 460 rushing and 200 receiving yards during all three of his NFL seasons. The two 25-year-olds are headed to free agency next offseason, but 247-pound AJ Dillon, a 2020 second-round pick, is waiting in the wings.
8. Seattle Seahawks: Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde
Key stat: Both Carson and Hyde are gaining a first down or scoring a touchdown on more than 30% of their touches this season.
Since the start of the 2018 season, Carson has fewer carries (578) than only Ezekiel Elliott, Derrick Henry and Mixon. He has fewer rushing yards than only those three, Chubb and Christian McCaffrey. Carson has done a lot of the damage on his own, ranking in the top six among backs in yards after contact in 2018, 2019 and so far in 2020. Earlier in his career, the 2017 seventh-round pick had minimal impact in the passing game, but that changed last season when he caught 37 passes. He has stepped up his game even more in 2020 with 15 catches (fourth most among backs) in four games.
Hyde, meanwhile, enjoyed an impressive resurgence last season, ranking 12th in the league in rushing yards as Houston's feature back. The 29-year-old has racked up 19 touches in three games working alongside Carson in Seattle this season.
9. Houston Texans: David Johnson and Duke Johnson
Key stat: Johnson and Johnson each have a season of 650-plus receiving yards since 2016, making them the only current such duo in the NFL.
It's been a while since David Johnson has been at his best, but it's hard to forget him exploding onto the NFL scene with 2,118 scrimmage yards and 20 touchdowns with Arizona in 2016. He has struggled with injuries in recent seasons but is back as a feature back after he was essentially traded for DeAndre Hopkins during the offseason. Johnson has played a massive 80% of Houston's offensive snaps, handling 60 touches through Week 4.
Duke Johnson was a Day 3 pick in 2015, and though he inexplicably has never been given an opportunity to be a feature back (career-high 104 carries in 2015), he has been effective when called upon (4.4 yards per carry and 2.0 yards after contact per carry) and, more notably, has been one of the league's most productive pass-catching backs. Since he was drafted, Johnson ranks third among backs in targets (365), third in receptions (282) and second in receiving yards (2,601).
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Ronald Jones II and Leonard Fournette
Key stat: Jones and Fournette each have more than 70 rushing yards after first contact this season.
Tampa Bay wasn't shy about revamping its running back room during the offseason, but Jones has managed to fend off Fournette for 1A duties through the one-quarter mark of the season. The 2018 second-round pick struggled badly on 30 rookie-season touches but added weight during the offseason and has since been a productive back. Last season, he was above average in most efficiency categories en route to producing 1,033 scrimmage yards on 203 touches. He has been even more productive in 2020, ranking 12th among backs in rushing yards (253) while also handling the seventh-most targets (18).
Signed in August, Fournette is still being incorporated into the offense and missed Week 4 with an injury, but the early results have been good. He has produced 123 yards on 24 carries (5.1 yards per carry, and 3.0 per carry after contact) and 34 yards on eight targets. Aside from the occasional target for LeSean McCoy, Jones and Fournette figure to handle a majority of the 3-1 Buccaneers' backfield touches throughout the rest of the season.