As Brother Loco so aptly described, we are in the dead zone of the NFL season... and, we are all bored. So I thought maybe I could do a series of posts about the upcoming camp battles. We'll see if there's any interest. I'll start with an easy one, the Running Back room.
In the past, we have usually broken camp with 4 RBs and a FB, though we did cut to a bare 3 RBs one year. This was only an initial roster however, the 3 RB room was eventually expanded back to 4.
So, I will assume that we'll go with 4 and 1 again this year.
First up, the Ingold room. We only have one FB, and we use him in a lot of different ways, carrying the ball is not one of them. Our FB blocks, acts as an H-back, and occasionally splits out wide. For these reasons, Brooks, although of FB size, is not even remotely in this conversation. Ingold is a unique player and has no camp competition. If Ingold gets cut or becomes injured, we'll have no FB on the roster.
The RB room isn't much harder to decipher. Achane, Mostert, and Wright are absolute locks. The only real question here is "who gets the largest number of snaps?".
Wright will immediately be the best pass protector in this room; he's also a plus receiver with only one drop last year. If he's a quick study and learns the offense, I suspect he's the third-down option almost immediately. He's also heavier than Achane and Mostert and may see the short yardage snaps.
Achane should be our first down option. If teams play the pass, he'll have huge gaps to run through again. He's much younger than Mostert and will get first crack at the nominal starting job.
Mostert was amazing last year; most RBs are retired by the time they reach his age. Last year was the best of his career... but honestly, I think we can expect regression this year. I do think we can expect to see him touch the ball 5-10 times per game, and he may continue to get the red zone touches unless Wright supplants him here. He is moving into the back up part of his career.
The rest of our RBs are fighting for one job, a spot that might not exist. If the battle is close, the team might cut all of them and see who goes unclaimed... then resign whoever makes it through waivers when we move rehabbing players to short-term I.R. on the Monday following cut-down day. I seriously doubt that all three would be claimed by other teams. Waived RBs usually aren't.
Wilson probably has first call. He's a McD favourite and has been around awhile. He doesn't really have one area where he excels though, and that's a bad bet for a committee RB room. No real role.
Brooks, who a lot of the FH brothers like, really hasn't shown much. He's looked OKish in preseason, but for those who like him, I've gotta ask you this... "If the team really liked him, why would they move up to draft Wright?". I think he's a guy who could be cut and resigned to the PS. If we lose him... eh... he was a UDFA.
Then there's Ahmed. I suspect his one and only chance is if Achane or Mostert are injured. He brings nothing to the table... he's on a vet minimum salary with no bonus. He has one foot out of the NFL.
Feel free to tell me where I'm wrong, I'm used to that... I have a wife and 6 kids.
