Detroit Lions: Ameer Abdullah not the right target for running back change

We can expect changes to the Detroit Lions’ running back depth chart based in 2018 but Ameer Abdullah should not be the target for change.

Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn expressed confidence in his group of running backs leading up to he 2017 NFL Draft. That confidence proved foolish with the Lions’ running game struggling mightily last season. The running backs certainly don’t deserve all the blame but none proved solutions either. Quinn has promised change this time around.

The quintet of Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick, Zach Zenner, Dwayne Washington and Tion Green should not be expected to return. What remains to be seen is just how much change Quinn will seek and which back or backs he will look to replace.

One Lions running back who should not be a target for change, no matter how deep Quinn decides to cut, is Abdullah.

If Quinn is look primarily at talent, Abdullah beats out Zenner, Washington and Green.

If Quinn is looking at money, Abdullah beats out Riddick, who will have a 2018 cap number more than three-times higher than Abduallah.

There is just no reason to jettison Abdullah with lower hanging fruit available for Quinn to pick.

Making a cut so deep that four of the five don’t return is also not prudent. Even replacing one of the five with the return of a fullback to the roster leaves three spots still to fill. Signing a free agent would be fine, as would using a drafting a running back.

That still leaves one more spot to fill, which means either signing a second free agent (veteran or undrafted), who would likely be more expensive and/or less talented than Abdullah, or using a second draft pick on a running back. The Lions currently hold five picks in the 2018 NFL Draft and are not projected to pick up any additional when compensatory picks are announced in the coming weeks. Using two out of five picks on running backs does not seem palatable when the Lions could just hold on to Abdullah for another year.

For whatever reason, Abdullah has seemed to become a popular target with fans. Maybe it’s because the most was expected of him and he hasn’t lived up to the expectations since being drafted by the Lions in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Criticism is certainly warranted, but that doesn’t meant it makes sense to cut bait now.

Even in a year when Abdullah had a career-low yards per carry average and was (or wasn’t) benched, he still posted more carries than the other four running backs on the roster combined.

Next: Lions free agency predictions

Change is coming at running back and Abdullah may not have a future with the Lions beyond his current contract, but that doesn’t mean it make sense to bring the end now.

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