Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
what's the general consensus these days? Is there still such a thing as a true "Feature Back" in today's NFL? Or is it an anachronism, headed to the dustbin of history? Or is it somewhere in between, where the goalposts of what defines a feature back have been adjusted for the modern game where every backfield shares carries to some degree or another?
I think back to guys like Edge James, Marshall Faulk, Charlie Garner (all too briefly), Priest Holmes, Larry Johnson, Jamal Lewis, etc and then look around today's NFL, and I barely see a resemblance. One that comes to mind is Nick Chubb, who I believe could easily carry an offense. He could be a 25-30 touch "feature back", the centerpiece of an offense, and a guy who rarely comes off the field due to talent & skill sets. If it were 1988, Chubb would be the next great RB, putting up beastly numbers year after year, seemingly destined for HOF. Yet there's Kareem Hunt, ruining that for fantasy owners everywhere. Yet to the Browns, that's a perfect result. They keep their RBs fresher, healthier, and while game-script dependent, the teams get the production they want when they need it.
I am of the opinion that more and more teams philosophy shifts away from what we used to think of as a classic 3-down feature back. We may never see another LT2 type player. Barkley is about the only one I can think of who comes close to that centerpiece role. CMC as well, though I tend to view him as more of a receiver that runs than an elite RB who catches. I don't think his frame could handle a Walter Peyton or Frank Gore type pounding. CMC is more Charlie Garner / Roger Craig than he is Edge James. So he's an elite RB for FF purposes, but is he a feature back in the sense we used to define the role?
For fantasy purposes, this obviously impacts rookie RB value. We now talk about RBs taken in the 3rd round of the NFL draft as a team "spending a high draft investment" on them, when in the era of the true feature back, elite RBs commonly went in the 1st or early 2nd round of the NFL draft.
So which is true?
Is the feature back role alive & well, but not enough players fit the mold to fill it so teams use committees or (as with CMC) tailor their offense to suit their skills?
Or are teams shifting away from the role in general, so a "feature back" today merely describes a player who gets 65% of the backfield touches in what's become a more pass-happy league in general?
In rookie drafts, RBs are valued sky high on the potential of becoming "the next" (insert great player for that franchise here). I recall this with so many RBs in the past after Edge, or LT2 or JLewis or Faulk hung up the cleats, only to see disappointment after disappointment as those teams shifted to RBBC or however you want to describe the time-share. The discussion at hand was Jonathan Taylor with the Colts. I contend that for 2020 it's crowded with Hines & Mack in the mix, and even if Mack is gone in 2021, Hines 3rd down role limits Taylor's value. Yet Taylor commands a price as though he will be the man & have a 3-down role. And it should be noted that I concede Taylor may well ascend to that 3-down role & I could be completely wrong. Certainly wouldn't be the 1st time I've been wrong and it wouldn't be the last either. But If you're going to obtain one of these rookie backs, are you paying for "the next Edge James" or are you paying for what you believe Taylor will realistically become, given the mindset of today's NFL?
How about CEH? All the pieces seem to be falling into place for a feature role. Am I wrong to believe that Andy Reid just prefers to mix it up and will throw other bodies out there regardless?
So is "feature back" today what it was in the era of the centerpiece RB, or is feature back in the mind of the beholder? And how does that effect rookie value?
I'm just curious what the consensus of FBG-ers is on this subject. For a long time now I've de-emphasized having a top flight RB on my teams. For one, they get hurt a lot. For another, with PPR scoring systems I tend to have better teams as a result of this approach. I don't quite do "zero RB", but I do tend to get elite WRs & stack up on RB2-3 options, of which there seem to be more and more of every year.
Interested to hear what everything thinks. I hope this topic is interesting and/or useful.
I think back to guys like Edge James, Marshall Faulk, Charlie Garner (all too briefly), Priest Holmes, Larry Johnson, Jamal Lewis, etc and then look around today's NFL, and I barely see a resemblance. One that comes to mind is Nick Chubb, who I believe could easily carry an offense. He could be a 25-30 touch "feature back", the centerpiece of an offense, and a guy who rarely comes off the field due to talent & skill sets. If it were 1988, Chubb would be the next great RB, putting up beastly numbers year after year, seemingly destined for HOF. Yet there's Kareem Hunt, ruining that for fantasy owners everywhere. Yet to the Browns, that's a perfect result. They keep their RBs fresher, healthier, and while game-script dependent, the teams get the production they want when they need it.
I am of the opinion that more and more teams philosophy shifts away from what we used to think of as a classic 3-down feature back. We may never see another LT2 type player. Barkley is about the only one I can think of who comes close to that centerpiece role. CMC as well, though I tend to view him as more of a receiver that runs than an elite RB who catches. I don't think his frame could handle a Walter Peyton or Frank Gore type pounding. CMC is more Charlie Garner / Roger Craig than he is Edge James. So he's an elite RB for FF purposes, but is he a feature back in the sense we used to define the role?
For fantasy purposes, this obviously impacts rookie RB value. We now talk about RBs taken in the 3rd round of the NFL draft as a team "spending a high draft investment" on them, when in the era of the true feature back, elite RBs commonly went in the 1st or early 2nd round of the NFL draft.
So which is true?
Is the feature back role alive & well, but not enough players fit the mold to fill it so teams use committees or (as with CMC) tailor their offense to suit their skills?
Or are teams shifting away from the role in general, so a "feature back" today merely describes a player who gets 65% of the backfield touches in what's become a more pass-happy league in general?
In rookie drafts, RBs are valued sky high on the potential of becoming "the next" (insert great player for that franchise here). I recall this with so many RBs in the past after Edge, or LT2 or JLewis or Faulk hung up the cleats, only to see disappointment after disappointment as those teams shifted to RBBC or however you want to describe the time-share. The discussion at hand was Jonathan Taylor with the Colts. I contend that for 2020 it's crowded with Hines & Mack in the mix, and even if Mack is gone in 2021, Hines 3rd down role limits Taylor's value. Yet Taylor commands a price as though he will be the man & have a 3-down role. And it should be noted that I concede Taylor may well ascend to that 3-down role & I could be completely wrong. Certainly wouldn't be the 1st time I've been wrong and it wouldn't be the last either. But If you're going to obtain one of these rookie backs, are you paying for "the next Edge James" or are you paying for what you believe Taylor will realistically become, given the mindset of today's NFL?
How about CEH? All the pieces seem to be falling into place for a feature role. Am I wrong to believe that Andy Reid just prefers to mix it up and will throw other bodies out there regardless?
So is "feature back" today what it was in the era of the centerpiece RB, or is feature back in the mind of the beholder? And how does that effect rookie value?
I'm just curious what the consensus of FBG-ers is on this subject. For a long time now I've de-emphasized having a top flight RB on my teams. For one, they get hurt a lot. For another, with PPR scoring systems I tend to have better teams as a result of this approach. I don't quite do "zero RB", but I do tend to get elite WRs & stack up on RB2-3 options, of which there seem to be more and more of every year.
Interested to hear what everything thinks. I hope this topic is interesting and/or useful.
Last edited by a moderator: