Joy Taylor Makes Her Thoughts Clear On RBs Importance To NFL Teams

The market for running backs in the NFL has taken a hit recently, with stars such as Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, and Jonathan Taylor waiting to get new contracts that will pay them what they feel they’re worth.

More and more people feel that running backs are now disposable and that if a team has a good offensive line, then all it needs is a running back that produces at a replacement player level.

But analyst Joy Taylor pushed back on that narrative and pointed out that star running backs are anything but replaceable.

“This idea that these top running backs are just completely replaceable is to me a bit of a myth” — @JoyTaylorTalks pic.twitter.com/OxswYfKUtX

— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) July 31, 2023

Taylor’s production was down in 2022 as he dealt with an ankle injury, but in 2021 he led the NFL with 1,811 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns.

Barkley, the New York Giants’ only viable threat on offense, ran for 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, and if they were to lose him next offseason, they would be in a world of trouble.

Jacobs, meanwhile, had a banner 2022 for the Las Vegas Raiders, posting 1,653 rushing yards and 2,053 total yards from scrimmage, leading everyone in both categories.

Analytics experts may claim that running backs don’t impact wins or losses much, but when a team has a star at that position, he has the ability to single-handedly break a game open and instantly change its complexion with one or two big yardage plays.

Star running backs also open up the passing game for their teammates while taking plenty of pressure off quarterbacks.

There seems to be a movement among running backs to do something in order to get paid what they deserve, and eventually, something will have to give.

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