Detroit Lions: Running back options abound in free agency, draft
By Ash Thompson
The Detroit Lions were the worst team in the NFL running the football in 2017. Bob Quinn has said that the team will add a running back and he has options.
The Detroit Lions had the worst running game in the NFL in 2017. They fired their offensive line coach Ron Prince after he failed to get the run game in order in two and a half seasons. The Lions are also hoping that improved health will go a long way toward fixing their blocking woes in 2018. That leaves one obvious problem left to fix: the Lions running back group is not very good.
Going into 2017 there was optimism. Ameer Abdullah had missed most of the 2016 season with a foot injury, and Theo Riddick had continued his slow improvement as a runner. Zach Zenner had flashed some ability before being pulled off the field in the team’s playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Dwayne Washington had shown the ability to break any carry for a big gain if the blocking could get him across the line of scrimmage. Unfortunately, the team started playing games.
Ameer Abdullah was clearly slowed by his injury. He was tentative, to begin with, and the blocking in front of him gave him no reason to be confident. He was benched near the end of the season for ineffective play. Theo Riddick was half a yard less effective per carry in 2017 than 2016. There was only one game in 2017 in which he had five or more carries that he averaged more than four yards. There were five such games in which he averaged less than three.
Zach Zenner and Dwayne Washington were completely ineffective in their time on the field. Neither was able to effectively fill the short yardage back role. Washington averaged 2.2 yards per carry, Zenner averaged 1.9. both were completely ineffective. Undrafted rookie Tion Green led the team’s running backs with 3.9 yards per carry. Even he finished the season with just a 9 carry for 21-yard performance.
The Lions running back group is in flux. Bob Quinn has said that he will be adding to the group in the offseason. There is no question that he should add to the group, the questions are who he should add, and where they come from. The 2018 free agency class has a large number of quality running backs, but so does the draft.