Over the past 15-20 years, the running back position has become viewed as more of an interchangeable piece as opposed to a primary building block for a team or an offense. That is largely due to how team-dependent the production can be for most players, and how short the average career is for the position.
While there might be a lot of truth to those arguments, there are still some teams that are going to have to lean on their running back for a significant portion of their offense this season.
Let’s take a look at three of them.
The Raiders took Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft in the hopes that he could be an immediate workhorse for Pete Carroll’s offense. But due to bad quarterback play, worse offensive line play, and a general lack of playmakers elsewhere on the offense, his rookie season was a little rocky at times, while the Raiders ended up moving on from Carroll after just one season.
It’s a new look for the entire Raiders organization this season, with new head coach Klint Kubiak ushering in the Fernando Mendoza era at quarterback.
While Mendoza has huge upside, there are going to be rough patches for him this season as a rookie. Especially given the lack of elite talent at the wide receiver position.
The Raiders offensive line should be vastly improved this season with the addition of star center Tyler Linderbaum and the return of Jackson Powers-Johnson. Powers-Johnson’s 2025 season was cut short due to injury, and his return will not only bring back a rising young star on the line, but the arrival of Linderbaum allows him to move back to guard.
An improved line, a rookie quarterback, and a new offensive system could make Jeanty a focal point and security blanket for the Raiders’ offense.
The Dolphins completely gutted and overhauled a significant part of their offense this offseason, bringing in quarterback Malik Willis and parting ways with wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
The one key holdover from last year’s team is Achane, and he might be the only significant playmaking threat on the new-look offense.
And first-year head coach Jeff Hafley seems to fully understand that.
During an appearance on the Rich Eisen show this preseason, Hafley claimed he told Achane to be in elite shape and that there are some games he could touch the football as much as 40 or 45 times.
Was that an exaggeration? Maybe.
But if he gets even close to that, it’s the type of workload we used to see when running back value was at its peak in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Achane is clearly Miami’s best playmaker, and is coming off a Pro Bowl 2025 season that saw him accumulate 1,838 yards from scrimmage and 12 total touchdowns. He has topped the 1,400-yard-from-scrimmage mark in each of the past two seasons and has scored 12 touchdowns each year. He is one of the best dual-purpose backs in the league, and Miami is going to need a lot from him to stay competitive.
Expect him to run the ball, catch the ball, and probably lead the Dolphins in both categories.
Was it the best value and the best use of a top-three pick for a bad Cardinals team to use the No. 3 overall pick on a running back?
That is certainly up for debate.
But was Love the best talent and arguably the best player in the draft? Yes.
So in that sense, there is a big positive to it, even if it is rather unheard of in the modern NFL for a running back to go that high.
There is also a good chance that Love is going to be put to work incredibly fast given how thin the Arizona offense is outside of tight end Trey McBride.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is the top wide receiver option, but his career has been a substantial disappointment so far, and there isn’t much after him. Add in the lack of a top-tier quarterback and a bad defense that is going to need to be protected with a ball-control offense, and that is the perfect recipe for Love to get a lot of touches right away.
