2017 College Market Share Report: Running Backs
From top to bottom, this year’s running back class is one of the most talented group of prospects to have entered the draft in a very long time. All seven rounds should feature running backs who are more than capable of breaking out during the course of their careers. Evaluating runners this year is going to be tricky with so many talented players stockpiled in this year’s class.
College production matters, and there’s more than one way to monitor a player’s productivity. Market share data is a very impactful tool because it measures how important a player’s output is to their team’s overall success. It’s hard for a player to become a high-end fantasy asset at the NFL level if the player wasn’t productive in college. By using market share data, we have another way we can analyze statistical output for college prospects.
Sometimes players fall through the cracks during the draft process, because they were a part of a “bad” offense. Market share data helps players who spent their careers in stagnant offensive systems get the notoriety they deserve for their achievements.
Receiving yards could be a major factor in a player’s market share percentage because the more involved a running back is in the passing game, the more ownership they have in the team’s overall production. Limited receiving production could cause some running backs to fall down the ranks because those players won’t have the receiving yardage to bolster their ownership in their team’s overall production.
Below are the links to the Market Share Reports from the previous two years:
This report is very helpful with prospect evaluation because it provides a quick snapshot of a player’s statistical output. The Market Share Report is a useful tool, but it isn’t meant to be your only tool. For best results, please use film analysis, athletic metrics and other statistics in conjunction with the Market Share Report when evaluating players.
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Rashaad Penny, RB San Diego State
Penny led the NCAA in rushing with 2,248 yards. He had 11 games with over 100 yards rushing and six games with over 200 yards rushing. He was also effective in the passing game, catching 19 passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns. Penny is a very talented prospect who will be a household name by the end of the draft season. I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes the most productive player out of this running back class.
Akrum Wadley, RB Iowa
Wadley rushed for 1,109 yards and ten touchdowns, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He also caught 28 passes for 353 yards and two touchdowns. His 34.13 percent market share was bolstered by his receiving production. Wadley’s use in the passing game will elevate his draft stock. His best game of the season came against Ohio State, when he rushed for 118 yards and caught three passes for 40 yards, totaling 158 total yards.
Ito Smith, RB Southern Mississippi
Here’s an under-the-radar prospect that you will need to keep on your watch list. Smith owned 32.77 percent of Southern Mississippi’s offense this year. He accumulated 1,413 rushing yards and caught 40 passes for 396 yards. He was also on last year’s Market Share Report, posting a 31.21 percent market share. If drafted into the right situation, he could be a potential breakout candidate at the NFL level.
Royce Freeman, RB Oregon
During the last few years, Freeman has been a popular option in devy leagues. Now we will get the opportunity to see what he can do at the NFL level. He has three 1,000-yard seasons on his career. This season, he rushed for 1,475 yards and 16 touchdowns and caught 14 passes for 164 yards. He’s going to be a very interesting prospect this year because he has the size to be a three-down back at the NFL level, but he also has the receiving chops to be effective in the passing game.
Larry Rose, RB New Mexico State
Rose is going to have his niche in the draft community as a late round prospect that could possibly carve out a role at the NFL level. This year he rushed for 939 yards and caught 55 passes for 522 yards. Rose is definitely a player to keep on your watch list.
Nick Chubb, RB Georgia
Before his knee injury, Chubb was once the most polarizing running back in college football. This year he managed to rush for 1,345 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also owned a 21.06 percent market share of Georgia’s offensive production while sharing the backfield with Sony Michel who was also a key contributor to Georgia’s offensive production. Chubb is one of the top backs in this class and will definitely be a first-round pick in rookie drafts.
Sony Michel, RB Georgia
Michel was a five-star recruit who played behind Nick Chubb and Todd Gurley during the majority of his career. This was the most productive season of his four-year collegiate career, rushing for 1,227 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s a very talented running back who has the potential to make an impact at the NFL level.
Bryce Love, RB Stanford
Love finished the season ranked second in the nation with 2,118 yards rushing. He had 12 100-yard games and two games with 200 yards or more. His best game came against Arizona State when he ran for 301 yards and three touchdowns.
Saquon Barkley, RB Penn State
Barkley is the gold standard in this running back class. He might be the most lucrative running back prospect of all time – at least since Adrian Peterson. Statistically, there aren’t many holes in his game. This year he rushed for 1,271 yards and 18 touchdowns and caught an outstanding 54 passes for 632 yards and three touchdowns. He is already a perennial asset in dynasty and is the frontrunner for the 1.01 pick in rookie drafts.
John Kelly, RB Tennessee
This season, Kelly rushed for 778 yards and nine touchdowns and caught 37 passes for 299 yards. He had three games with over 100 yards rushing. Kelly is an under-the-radar prospect who will generate some buzz during draft season.
Myles Gaskin, RB Washington
Gaskin has three straight 1,000-yard seasons. This year was his biggest, considering he rushed for 1,380 yards and 21 touchdowns. He had six games with over 100 yards rushing.
Josh Adams, RB Notre Dame
Adams is another solid running back in this draft class. This was the most productive season of his career, as he ran for 1,430 yards and nine touchdowns, and caught 13 passes for 101 yards. He has the size to be a three-down back at the next level.
Kerryon Johnson, RB Auburn
Johnson rushed for 1,391 yards and 18 touchdowns and caught 24 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns. He had eight games with over 100 yards rushing and his best game of the season came against Ole Miss when he rushed for 204 yards and three touchdowns.
Karan Higdon, RB Michigan
Higdon is returning to school for the 2018 season. He almost broke the 1,000-yard barrier, rushing for 994 yards and 11 touchdowns while also catching eight passes for 131 yards. Higdon was productive in a stagnant offense this year and is a player to keep on your watch list next year.
LJ Scott, RB Michigan State
Scott was a popular pickup in devy leagues about a year ago. He finished the season with a 20.96 percent market share of Michigan State’s offensive production after rushing for 898 yards and eight touchdowns.
Damien Harris, RB Alabama
Harris is one of the most underrated running back prospects in the nation. Even with him sharing the backfield with Bo Scarbrough, he still managed to own a 17.55 percent market share of the team’s offensive production. He had three games with over 100 yards rushing.
Benny Snell, RB Kentucky
Snell broke out last year as a freshman with a 20.68 percent market share of Kentucky’s offense. This year, he kicked his production up a notch by rushing for 1,333 yards and 19 touchdowns while catching ten passes for 72 yards. He’s a player to keep an eye on for next year’s draft.
David Montgomery, RB Iowa St.
He’s a very shifty runner who is a favorite amongst many devy league enthusiasts. This year he rushed for 1,146 yards and 11 touchdowns and caught 36 passes for 296 yards. Montgomery is a player to monitor next year.
Justice Hill, RB Oklahoma St.
Hill had a big season, rushing for 1,467 yards and 15 touchdowns while catching 31 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown. He’s a small shifty back with a lot burst.
Chris Evans, RB Michigan
Evans is Michigan’s all-purpose back. He’s very explosive and he excels at catching the ball out of the backfield. This year he rushed for 685 yards and six touchdowns and caught 16 passes for 157 yards and one touchdown.
Rodney Anderson, RB Oklahoma
Anderson blew up this season, rushing for 1,161 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also caught 17 passes for 281 yards and five touchdowns. He’s a very solid prospect and should only improve his stock in 2018.
Jonathan Taylor, RB Wisconsin
Taylor finished the season ranked third in the nation with 1,977 rushing yards. He also crossed the goal line 13 times this year. Taylor had ten games with over 100 yards rushing and three 200-yard games. He’s a solid prospect and it looks like he’s going to have a very productive collegiate career.
Cam Akers, RB Florida State
Akers is a “devy-dandy” since he’s considered one of the top young assets in college football. He was a five-star recruit out of high school and was one of the top running backs in his recruiting class. This year he rushed for 1,024 yards and seven touchdowns while catching 16 passes for 116 yards and one touchdown. He is going to have a very promising collegiate career.
J.K. Dobbins, RB Ohio State
Dobbins was one of the more effective skilled players on Ohio State’s roster this year, rushing for 1,403 yards for seven touchdowns and averaging 7.2 yards per carry. His best game came against Indiana when he rushed for 181 yards while catching two passes for 24 yards. Dobbins should develop into one of the top backs in the country.
Travis Etienne, RB Clemson
Etienne led the Tigers in rushing, with 766 yards and 13 touchdowns. He managed to own a 13.68 percent market share of the team’s offensive production while sharing the backfield with Tavien Feaster.
D’Andre Swift, RB Georgia
Swift owned an 11.81 percent market share of Georgia’s offensive production while being the third wheel in one the most talented backfields in the country. Touches come few and far between when you have to compete for snaps with Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, but Swift took advantage of all of his opportunities this year. Swift finished the season with 618 yards rushing and three touchdowns and caught 17 passes for 153 yards and one touchdown.
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