Henry Roldán
Little by little, the ground game has been taking more prominence within the NFL offense thanks to the use of the number of statistics that exist today. That’s why at JefeBet we bring you an analysis of the best running backs that will play in the 2022 campaign and how they will influence the performance of their respective teams.
Best NFL Running Backs 2022
10.- Christian McCaffrey – Carolina Panthers
| Rushing Attempts | Yards at Rushing | Total Yards | TD |
| 59 | 225 | 374 | 2 |
Christian McCaffrey is so far from the top spots simply because we don’t know if he can physically measure up.
The Panthers’ running back is one of the best in the league while healthy, he and proved it in 2019 by finishing as the leader in yards outside the line of scrimmage (2,392) after rushing for more than 1,000 on the ground and adding more than 1,000 through the air. He is the offensive soul of Carolina, but in the last two years he has only seen action in 10 duels.
9.- Najee Harris – Pittsburgh Steelers
| Rushing Attempts | Yards at Rushing | Total Yards | TD |
| 307 | 1200 | 1647 | 10 |
In the Steelers’ first season without Ben Roethlisberger in nearly two decades, Najee Harris’ ground game will surely be more important than ever.
The sophomore left a pleasant impression in his rookie campaign by not adding any fumbles after 381 touches. In addition to rushing for 1,200 yards, the first-round pick totaled 467 more through the air, something that earned him a call to the Pro-Bowl.
8.- Austin Ekeler – Los Angeles Chargers
| Rushing Attempts | Yards at Rushing | Total Yards | TD |
| 206 | 911 | 1558 | 20 |
While Austin Ekeler’s play may go under the table a bit due to Justin Herbert’s potent aerial offense on the Chargers, the running back, who is going into his sixth season in the league, allows the young quarterback to have a more than secure outlet thanks to Ekeler’s ability to catch the ball.
Not for nothing in 2021 did he finish as the leader in touchdowns outside the line of scrimmage by totaling 12 on the ground and eight through the air.
7.- Joe Mixon – Cincinnati Bengals
| Rushing Attempts | Yards at Rushing | Total Yards | TD |
| 292 | 1205 | 1519 | 16 |
Joe Mixon’s ground performance was one of the best among NFL running backs last season and was key to the Bengals reaching the Super Bowl.
But, the most impressive part of all this is that he did it with the worst offensive line in the league, so by 2022, with plenty of reinforcements in that area of the offense, Mixon is expected to add much more than the 1,205 yards and 13 touchdowns that earned him a Super Bowl berth.
6.- Ezekiel Elliott – Dallas Cowboys
| Rushing Attempts | Yards at Rushing | Total Yards | TD |
| 237 | 1002 | 1287 | 12 |
After a start to his career that promised impressive records, Ezekiel Elliott’s performance has been on the decline in recent seasons.
However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Cowboys running back remains among the league’s best not only because he continues to rush for more than 1,000 yards, but his aerial game is elite and his blocking ability to help the quarterback could rank him as the number one running back.
5.- Alvin Kamara – New Orleans Saints
| Rushing Attempts | Yards at Rushing | Total Yards | TD |
| 240 | 898 | 1337 | 9 |
We do not know if Alvin Kamara will start the season active due to a lawsuit against him for a fight he had in Las Vegas. This could land him a six-game suspension from the NFL and a headache for the Saints.
In the meantime, there is no doubt that he is one of the best runners on the circuit because of the versatility of his game. Not for nothing last year did 24.6% of New Orleans’ yards gained outside the line of scrimmage come thanks to the 2017 Offensive Rookie of the Year and five-time Pro-Bowler.
4.- Dalvin Cook – Minnesota Vikings
| Rushing Attempts | Yards at Rushing | Total Yards | TD |
| 249 | 1159 | 1383 | 6 |
Over the past three seasons, Dalvin Cook has been one of the most explosive running backs in the entire NFL by topping at least 1,000 yards on the ground and 1,300 yards off the line of scrimmage. He is a key man in the Vikings’ offense because of the headache he gives opponents.
His speed with the ball is incredible, and his ability to slip after catching a pass is among the best in the league.
3.- Nick Chubb – Cleveland Browns
| Rushing Attempts | Yards at Rushing | Total Yards | TD |
| 228 | 1259 | 1433 | 9 |
Without Deshaun Watson for at least the first six weeks of action, there is no doubt that the Browns’ offense will run through the hands of Nick Chubb, one of the NFL’s most consistent running backs in recent seasons.
Chubb averaged 5.3 yards per carry last year and for the third consecutive year finished over 1,000 yards on the ground, remembering that in his first year in the league he finished with 996. In 58 games, he has 36 TDs on the ground and has already been called to three Pro Bowls.
2.- Jonathan Taylor – Indianapolis Colts
| Rushing Attempts | Yards at Rushing | Total Yards | TD |
| 332 | 1811 | 2171 | 20 |
In just his second season in the NFL Jonathan Taylor shredded all opposing defenses with his great ground game. To some extent, he could have been considered number one on our list, but the question remains whether he can repeat that spectacular performance in 2022 and lead his team to the postseason with the presence of Matt Ryan as the new quarterback.
The Colts running back finished as the leader in carries (332), yards on the ground (1,811), touchdowns on the ground (18), average yards per game (106.5), yards off the line of scrimmage (2,171) and touchdowns off the line of scrimmage (20). Simply spectacular.
1.- Derrick Henry – Tennessee Titans
| Rushing Attempts | Yards at Rushing | Total Yards | TD |
| 219 | 937 | 1091 | 10 |
Unfortunately, in 2021 we could only see Derrick Henry in eight regular round games due to an injury that kept him out until the postseason. However, the Titans running back is now healthy and undoubtedly has to be number one on our list because of the dominance he has in the game thanks to his speed and physical prowess.
Despite missing nine games, Henry finished with 937 yards on the ground last year. Yes, you read that right, in only half of the campaign he has almost reached 1,000, and he has already said on several occasions that he is fully recovered.
