RADIO
Sometimes fantasy GMs focus too much on raw, counting stats for running backs. How many yards did they rush for? How many touchdowns did they score? Perhaps, taking it one step further, they end up looking at some "manufactured" numbers such as yards per carry, yards after contact, etc... But there is something more that correlates to running back performance that is often overlooked: the strength of the offensive line they play under.
It is definitely hard to assess how much impact any OL has on running back performance on a play-by-play basis, but at the end of the year, it's easy to look at season-long data and make a strong correlation between the strength of offensive lines and the production that comes from the backfield. While quarterbacks and wide receivers are also affected by how good the OL that protects them or gives them time to work their routes is, the biggest impact any good or bad OL causes is on running backs.
Today, I will hand you a few top-tier OLs (per Lineups.com ranks) and the rushers that will benefit from playing under them. Let's get to it!
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Baltimore Ravens (No. 5 OL)
J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Mike Davis
Whatever the hell happened to the Ravens before the start of last season was a very shady and obscure thing. All first-tier members of their backfield got molly-vanished from the depth chart because of injuries and none of Dobbins and Edwards could even appear in a single Baltimore snap. That sucked. But that's also now fixed (or should) with both players expected to feature healthy in 2022 and the kinda-good addition of Mike Davis to back them up in the event of another rush (no pun intended) of injuries.
The most interesting thing about the comeback of Dobbins and Edwards is not only that they have always looked promising (they have) but also that the Ravens have gone from having a meh-OL (21st-best) in 2021 to a massively upgraded unit in 2022 with a top-five OL entering next season. Uh oh, the improvement--which, by the way, is the largest (+16) among all NFL franchises from last season to the next.
The Ravens snatched the best center in the last draft (Tyler Linderbaum) and will have Kevin Zeitler playing for the second year as a Raven, which is no joke either. Everything looks to be in place and very well set up going forward, and if the OL boost wasn't reason enough to chase this backfield, well, then maybe a certain scrambling QB doing it in Baltimore these days and taking the eyes of the D off his backfield mates might do it for you? It certainly will for me.
Green Bay Packers (No. 9 OL)
Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon, Kylin Hill
The Packers backfield looks phenomenal out of context, but things get even better when looked at from the widest possible angle. Green Bay (somehow) found a way to improve on the trenches going from having the 14th-best OL to the ninth-best entering next season and thus a legit top-10 unit in front of QB Aaron Rodgers and the members of the backfield.
On top of that, Green Bay is coming off an offseason in which the Pack lost WR1 Davante Adams and WR3 Marquez Valdes-Scantling, re-inked reigning MVP and QB Aaron Rodgers, and did pretty much... nothing (?) to fix their offensive woes when it comes to pass-catchers. Only Sammy Watkins and rookie Christian Watson were added to the receiving corps while Robert Tonyan keeps recovering from a season-ending injury sustained last season.
The backfield has stayed put and that's probably the best thing Green Bay could hope for, even more considering how things went at other positions. Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon are a ridiculously productive pair while keeping things uncannily balanced on the field. While Jamaal Williams was the Robin to Jones' Batman until he left for Detroit, Dillon became the bonafide RB2 of the Pack last season and I don't think Green Bay regrets handing him a heavy role at all. Dillon rushed the ball 187 times to Jones' 171 (albeit on two more games played) and also got 37 targets catching 34 (!) of them; all in all, it was an RB23 season for Dillon averaging 10.9 FPPG in PPR leagues to go with Jones' RB12 finish at 15.3 FPPG.
Miami Dolphins (No. 17 OL)
Chase Edmonds, Raheem Mostert, Sony Michel
Looking at the Dolphins' depth chart entering the 2022 season and comparing it to the one featured in 2021 is a true out-of-mind experience. They have changed pretty much everything about it with the exception of their quarterback and even though it doesn't show in fantasy-league DCs, that also means they've bolstered the offensive line. Miami, in fact, has the second-highest bump-up in the OL ranks as they've got a 15-position bump going from absolute worst (32nd) to a middle-of-the-pack 17th position. Not bad.
That's mostly because of the additions of Terron Armstead and Connor Williams while not truly losing legit performers (perhaps other than Jesse Davis). The OL might or might have not impacted the rushing numbers of the Fins last season, but it definitely didn't help at all. Only Myles Gaskin got more than 330 yards rushing the ball on the ground, and Tua himself could only get 128 yards on 42 carries.
The Dolphins are going to boast a rather improved line while having a fully healthy Tua (at least when Week 1 kicks off) along with an entirely revamped backfield now featuring former Cardinal Chase Edmonds, injury-returnee Raheem Mostert, and Super Bowl champ Sony Michel. When you bring three guys to your team while retaining your last RB1, and the latter goes all the way down to the RB4 slot in the pecking order, you know you have improved. Pair that with the bolstered OL and you have a very nice backfield to chase (though keep in mind that all of those three might eat from each other's opportunities, lowering the individual production they put up).
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