Four Day 3 Running Back Targets For Jets

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12.10.2022 @ 05.45

As evident by their free agency signings over the last month, the Jets have made it abundantly clear to the rest of the league that they want to be a run-first offense. By signing left guard Laken Tomlinson and large blocking tight ends like CJ Uzomah and Tyler Conklin, the 2022 Jets are trying to replicate the offensive succe s that many of their coaches shared in San Francisco (and Atlanta before that) prior to joining Robert Saleh in New York.Between the seasons of 2016 and 2020, Kyle Shanahans offenses which Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur was part off were in the top half of football in rushing play percentage, outside of 2017. Their heralded outside zone scheme is one thats growing in terms of use around the league and is one that has shown to not require elite talent in order to maintain succe s. Every years leading rusher for their respective team was a different name, and all but one season saw its top two rushers take 100 or more carries.Comparing that to this most recent Jets season, theres still work to be done. Im all aboard the Michael https://www.lgdodgersshop.co… Carter hype train heading into 2022, but the depth behind him still needs to be addre sed. Ty Johnson doesnt seem like a great fit in this offense and had a career-worst 3.9 yards per carry last year. Tevin Coleman, heading into his age 29 season, had one of his worst years to date with near lows in yards per carry. He goes where LaFleur goes, following him to San Francisco and New York from Atlanta, but his role should at this point should be more of a third string running back and part-time coach for his le s experienced teammates.Given Carters projections as a lead back and the ability to plug-and-play late round players in this offense, the Jets dont need to tackle this need until Day https://www.lgdodgersshop.co… 3 (or later) of the draft. This cla s has plenty of talent at its backend, so they can be as patient as they want and still walk away with a capable No. 2. Lets take a look, round by round, at some of the better running back fits for the Jets.Scroll to ContinueNew York Jets should keep an eye on these backs in the late rounds during this month's NFL draft Round Four Kyren Williams, Notre DameOne of the more well-known names that is going to be discu sed today, Notre Dames Kyren Williams would be a huge help to New Yorks rush attack in 2022 and beyond. A 2021 team captain for the Fighting Irish, Williams boasts back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and a solid 31 total touchdowns. He was a reliable force for his offense, appearing in 12 games each of the last two years and took the ball at least 200 times each year averaging 5.1 yards per carry over the course of his three-year career.Outside of his production, Williams is a well-rounded athlete thats very technically sound. His burst to get to the edge complements his lateral agility well, and his change of direction skills make it easy for him to both get out of me sy situations behind the line of scrimmage and make people mi s at the second and third levels. His body control is one of his more impre sive features, being able to both bounce off defenders and hold a low center of gravity when pa s-blocking.As far as weakne ses go, Williams isnt a high-end player in any specific a set of his game and doesnt have the best frame for an NFL running back. He best projects for an offense that will go running back by committee, as his 5-foot-9, 194-pound frame will hold him back from being a teams lead rusher. While his elusivene s is a huge part of his game, he can be too reliant on it https://www.lgdodgersshop.co… at times and mi ses some of the easier opportunities available.Playing for the Jets, Williams would be a solid fit for LaFleurs zone scheme and can level out the snap count for Carter while not losing too much production. He wont wow you with any aspect to his game, but hes rarely going to be a player that makes the wrong decision or mi ses a blocking a signment. Given his comfortability in an outside zone offense and all-encompa sing approach, there shouldnt be much worry when having him integrated into the offense. Round Five Pierre Strong, South Dakota StateSwitching things up a bit, moving from a great east-west runner in Williams to a terrific north-south runner in South Dakota States Pierre Strong. This two https://www.lgdodgersshop.co… -time team captain and three-time all-conference player didnt receiver a single FBS offer heading into college, instead landing in the FCSs Mi souri Valley Conference with the Jackrabbits. Strong saw three 1,000-yard seasons in his career, the lone exemption being the shortened 2020 collegiate season, and averaged 7.1 yards per carry in four seasons with 43 total touchdowns.While Strong lacks in frame and power, hes silky smooth with his footwork and has tremendous breakaway speed as evidenced by his position-leading 4.37 time in this years 40-yard dash. Hes patient in the backfield, has solid vision to anticipate defenders and is still able to play with a physical presence despite being undersized.On the downside, Strongs build is a little too high cut and because of that hes a little clunky when utilizing the upper half of his body and doesnt have great contact balance. He also needs to improve his ball protection, with five fumbles this past season.Strong wont be able to help too much between the tackles, but his footwork and speed combo make him a solid fit for an outside zone scheme and would be a great reserve option behind Carter. Round Six Abram Smith, BaylorThe Jets love moving safeties to play weakside linebacker, so why not invest a Day 3 pick in a running back, turned weakside linebacker, turned back into running back? Baylors Abram Smith moved to linebacker midway through his redshirt sophomore season because of depth problems and stayed there for just under two seasons before his coaches moved him back to running back for his final year.With more opportunity his way, Smith took the ball 257 times in 2021 for 1,647 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns leading the Big 12 in rushing yards. Hes a decisive one-cut back with https://www.lgdodgersshop.co… great footwork and acceleration skills. A physical finisher on plays, Smith barrels through defenders and looks to inflict damage in pa s protection. He was also a tremendous teammate and never complained about being moved to linebacker despite having zero experience playing defense in high school.He still needs to refine some of his tools, mostly in the areas of pad-level setting and pa s-blocking technique, which is understandable for only having 283 touches in college. He isnt the most creative or twitchy back, having to rely on his strength more than anything, and also comes to the pros with two torn ACLs on in high school and one in college along with a torn MLC in college.As far as round-by-round value goes, getting Smith in the sixth round would be an amazing grab for general manager Joe Douglas. Hes meant for an outsize zone run game,