The prototypical size for an NFL running back has generally been considered to be upwards of 6 feet tall and well past 200 pounds. When RBs fall short of these (somewhat arbitrary) thresholds, it can raise questions about their ability to handle the wear and tear of leading an NFL backfield. Still, RBs like Barry Sanders and Walter Payton were able to become two the greatest RBs of all time while standing at 5 feet 9 inches tall and toeing the 200-pound line.
Sanders and Payton played in an era when RB committees were far from the norm, and found themselves carrying almost the entirety of the load for their teams’ backfields. Over his 11-year career, Sanders only came up short of 300 carries twice: logging 280 in 15 games during his 1989 rookie season, and “only” carrying the ball 243 times in his 11 games in 1993. Payton fell short of 300 carries in three of his 13 seasons, but never failed to do so in any season in which he started more than 12 games.
Today’s NFL is a different game, with the role of a workhorse back being almost as uncommon now as committees were 30-to-40 years ago. Over the past five seasons there have only been an average of 2.4 RBs eclipsing 300 carries per season, with no RB reaching the mark in 2023. The chances of becoming a workhorse RB nowadays are even more unlikely for players whose size generally resigns them to change-of-pace roles. Add in suboptimal athletic testing and the odds of seeing them emerge grows even thinner.
Yet, here we are in 2024, and both Kyren Williams and Bucky Irving are defying all of the odds. Both stand at 5 feet 9 inches tall and hover around 200 pounds. While Williams is in his second season as the Rams’ lead back, Irving has been making his case over the past few weeks to join him. Week 13 may just be the performance puts Irving over the top, and there’s a chance he never looks back.
For an up-to-the-minute recap of the biggest storylines from the NFL week that was, come join Blair Andrews, Hasan Rahim, and I live at 9 p.m. ET every Sunday night on the RotoViz YouTube channel for the Fantasy Football Report.
As always, we will be using the Monday Review tool to look at all of this week’s action as we head into the Week 13 finale between the Browns and Broncos on Monday night.
