Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera is creating a three-headed monster for the running game.
The offseason focus has been on passing with new quarterback Carson Wentz. The team spent a first-rounder on Jahan Dotson and second-year receiver Dyami Brown should grow downfield. Receiver Curtis Samuel is finally healthy. Meanwhile, Washington still has Terry McLaurin as one of the NFL’s top receivers.
The NFL is all about pass for show and run for dough, though. Without a reliable running game, teams sit back on the pass. Given Washington was often down double digits early in most games last season, it’s running game was neutralized.
But Rivera talked of his old days in Carolina with fondness over its runners. He sees Washington using a committee system like the Panthers.
“Some of the things that we did in Carolina we’re trying to emulate. You know, we had a good two-back system,” he said. “We had [DeAngelo] Williams and Jonathan Stewart, and we had Fozzy Whittaker as a change of pace, third down type of guy.
“Well, you look at what we have right now, you can say we have the same thing. So just feel that, you know, it's one of those things that you're going to go with, who's hot, who's rolling, you know, who's doing the good things. And then you're going to have to spell that guy. I mean, in this league today, you just can't have one primary back. You've got to have a plethora of them. And, we just feel it's a very good room right now.”
The Commanders drafted Alabama’s Brian Robinson in the third round to complement veteran Antonio Gibson while J.D. McKissic remains the third-down option. But, it won’t be surprising to see Robinson become the primary back.
Robinson is 6-feet-1, 225 pounds, but plays bigger. Freight train best described him blowing through defenses. He gained 1,343 yards with 14 touchdowns while averaging 5 yards last year at Alabama in his only season starting. The upside is he’s not already beaten down by a heavy workload. Washington spent the offseason seeing whether Robinson can also catch, but his inside running game is most needed. McKissic is the pass-catching runner and has look solid in offseason camps after missing six games with a neck injury.
Gibson has been respectable in two seasons, averaging 4 yards per carry last season with 1,037 yards. But, he scored only three touchdowns and too often averaged three yards per carry. He wasn’t a consistent inside runner, though that certainly can reflect a battered interior offensive line. Still, coaches believe less is more for Gibson so some carries will go to Robinson. And, if Gibson continues his penchant for poorly-timed fumbles, Robinson will emerge No. 1.
Unlike quarterbacks, NFL teams can thrive using job sharing at running back. If Washington’s enhanced passing game is to succeed, the running game must force defenses to respect it, too.