Age of the “Slasher” Tailback
Written by: Michael Barnaud
A trend has begun in the NFL. Relative unknowns whose style fits the modern league better than most one-cut running backs from years past quietly replaced big-name tailbacks that saw their productivity decline. Derrick Henry has hidden this development as the premier running back in the NFL—for the time being. The media attention on the 6’4 refrigerator that runs like a gazelle has taken light off of the fact these downhill runners have been overshadowed and in some cases, outright replaced by their shorter, shiftier counterparts. We saw this trend play out on not one, not two, but three teams this past year with Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler in Los Angeles, David Johnson and Kenyan Drake in Arizona, and Sony Michel with James White in New England. Each is an interesting case study as anecdotes indicative of a wider a trend I only expect to continue in a league where versatility is increasingly paramount at the tailback position. Before I discuss each of these cases, let me illustrate the difference between these two breeds of tailback.
One-cut tailbacks include the likes of Gordon, Henry, Johnson and James Connor out of Pittsburgh. These are hard-cast players who can be highly effective under the right circumstances. Those “circumstances” include a solid offensive line that wins or stalemates the line of scrimmage consistently and the offensive coordinator with the presence-of-mind to use their running style effectively. Simply put, “Place them behind the quarterback in Single-Back or I-Formation and run zone, lead or power schemes all day.” They are true “bell-cow” backs that can tote the rock 20-30 times a game and wear a defense out. The success of the Tennessee Titans proves that formula can still be effective. The problem with these tailbacks is the phrase “under the right circumstances”; they require a great deal of outside help to succeed. The other major downside is these players are rarely dynamic. They (usually) can’t help in the passing game as receivers and are not effective at running out of the shotgun since this style of running is more about quickness and agility than it is charging downhill behind your pads. Shotgun running is about change of direction, something these big body backs can’t often do well.
“Slasher” tailbacks, as I like to call them, are the antithesis. Backs who fit this category include Ekeler, Christian McCaffrey, Kenyan Drake, James White and Saquon Barkley. These backs possess skills that make them independent from the success or failure of the offensive line. In fact, their abilities are sometimes enhanced as result of it. Bad offensive line play means quarterbacks need a safety valve, a solid “check down” tailback which is why we see the success of so many versatile running backs with the agility to move side-to-side and the soft hands to be effective receivers. As runners, they have the ability to make quick cuts and find daylight where none seems visible. They can be used as downhill runners but they must be managed and their touches limited since they lack the size to take the beating of a true “bell cow” back. Barkly and McCaffrey I regard as the gold standard in this category because of their explosive play capability. Each has proven they can take it the distance from anywhere on the field but all of these tailbacks fall into this mold of runner and they are becoming more common in the NFL, replacing many old fashioned workhorses.
As I mentioned in the introduction, I saw this replacement occur on three separate teams in 2019.
Melvin Gordon was the first victim on the list. He began 2019 regarded as one of the better tailbacks in the NFL, holding out for a better contract from the Chargers. He should have demanded a trade while his value was still high but instead he ended his holdout partway into the season and by the end of it, his stock had plummeted. The circumstances, if Gordon had the self-awareness to see them, dictated from the start this was the proper course of action. The Chargers’ offensive line was a mess from the beginning and the Bolts’ shotgun-happy offense didn’t fit his style as a runner. With a geezer quarterback incapable of running out of harm’s way, a receiving tailback is needed. Insert Austin Ekeler, an undrafted product out of Western Colorado who found himself the starting tailback due to Gordon’s holdout and he took advantage. Ekeler had been utilized before, but Gordon’s absence allowed him a spotlight role for a brief period. His shifty but tough running style, and elite receiving ability proved him the right man for the job and the Chargers rewarded him with a $24.5 million dollar contract a few days ago. That contract likely means Gordon’s days as a Charger are numbered and had he been more self-aware and gotten out when I said he should, he would be a much richer man wherever he is going.
The second victim of this “switcheroo” was none other than David Johnson who has never quite recaptured his rookie season form. That year under Bruce Arians, as many will recall, the Cardinals used Johnson out of “Ace” personnel (Two Tight Ends) under center with a lot of inside zone run game. As outlined before, this is the best utilization of Johnson’s frame and abilities. Arians is long gone now, coaching in Tampa Bay and this past offseason, the Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury in a clear attempt to “Out Sean McVay the Rams”. The hire was a Hail Mary for a general manager backed into a corner but it seems to have worked out in the short- term; it’s too bad the same can’t be said for Johnson. He got injured early in 2019 and spent much of the season on the mend but his absence prompted the Cardinals to sign little-known Kenyan Drake away from Miami and he was an instant success in the Cardinals’ shotgun offense. With Kyler Murray as the signal caller and an air raid coach at the helm, it is probably not that surprising that the writing has been on the wall for Johnson since Kingsbury arrived in Phoenix. If those details didn’t do it, Drake’s explosion on the scene did. The shifty Drake took over the starting tailback spot and never looked back.
It is worth noting that Johnson does possess good receiving skills for a running back, breaking the mold of the stereotypical bell-cow back I outlined earlier. Those noteworthy qualities however, don’t change the fact his running style does not fit the offense Kingsbury runs.
This situation is worth watching in the coming weeks as Drake has not re- signed and the Cardinals have not said what their plans are with Johnson but I know if I was Kingsbury, I would get the running back who produced in my scheme; and it sure as hell wasn’t Johnson.
The last situation I will touch on is the sophomore slump Sony Michel suffered and the quietly great player James White re-emerged. Michel was the second-best tailback on his team and didn’t know it until he lost tight end Rob Gronkowski and fullback Dean Devlin. Here again, we saw what happens when a tailback that requires great blocking is forced to live without it. The loss of those two key blockers meant Michel had fewer holes to run through and his finesse running style did not respond well. This situation I regard as an outlier in that I don’t really think of Michel as a good back in any real way. He is not a bell cow with home-run ability, nor can he break tackles or earn extra yards after contact and he can’t catch shit in a diaper. The Patriots tried repeatedly to use him as a receiver but gave up after they tired of seeing him drop passes. His inability to perform any of these tasks well makes him hard to nail down except to say that he isn’t very effective without great blocking. The retirement of “Gronk” and the injury to Devlin exposed Michel, but didn’t affect White because he fits the mold of the new-age running back in the NFL. White, like all the utility backs I have mentioned, never relied on any outside player for his success. This development led to Michel’s playing time dwindling as the season went on and it got to a point that Rex Burkhead and White were the only tailbacks the Patriots really used. In any case, the story was the same: one-trick pony back replaced by unknown but versatile playmaker.
Why will this trend continue? I think it comes down to a path of least resistance. Too much has to go right for a team to use bell cow backs like Gordon, and not nearly that much is essential for the success of “slashers” like Ekeler. Derrick Henry has had major success but has possibly the best run-blocking line in the league paving the way. How might he do if he had to deal with Gordon’s situation in Los Angeles? Even if we grant that Henry has it made in Tennessee, how many teams can recreate that power personnel top to bottom? The new landscape of the league is making it harder and harder to build and maintain great offensive lines. Even the Colts are finding it hard to keep theirs’. This development will force teams to use the Swiss army knife guys like Ekeler, Drake and similar backs who do not require great offensive line play to succeed. The one-cut backs will find fewer and fewer places to play that possess the two criteria they need:
1. An offensive run scheme that uses them properly
2. The surrounding personnel that makes it possible for them to succeed
I do not believe players like Henry and Gordon will disappear entirely from the NFL; there will always be a place for guys like that. In the short term however, they may find themselves less valuable…and less wealthy.
