money 2 former Alabama running backs named top-10 best in the NFL
Alabama sends numerous players to the NFL every year. It seems as if each position has at least one Crimson Tide product at or near the top of their respective positional rankings.
One position Alabama has a strong hold on is running back. With six running backs active in the NFL, the Crimson Tide is well represented.
CBS Sports’ Patrik Walker recently listed the top 10 running backs heading into the 2021 NFL season, and two of those six aforementioned running backs made the list. Walker also added reasons as to why these two made the list.
9. Josh Jacobs – Raiders
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“A breakout rookie season for the Raiders put Jacobs on the radar for this list, but a bigger sample size was needed before listing him as one of the 10 best in the league at his position,” writes Walker. “One year later, he’s earned the right to be listed here, to say the least. Yes, the Raiders are having difficulties on offense, but it’s not because of the run game. Jacobs has been consistent in his ability to punch opposing defenses in the mouth on a weekly basis. Two years in, he already has two 1,000-yard seasons without the benefit of a dominant pass game to complement him (Darren Wallernotwithstanding) and to take pressure off of him a a snap-to-snap basis.
“All Jacobs did with that complication was pretend it didn’t exist, rushing for 2,215 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns in his first two years as a pro and he’d add an extra 404 receiving yards to his stat line in the process. Maybe the addition of Kenyan Drake shaves some of his numbers in 2021 and maybe not, likely the latter. The bottom line is Jacobs will get his reps and he’ll make the most of them when he does, as has been the case heading into Year 3. And with looming contract talks on the horizon, he has an added reason to continue elevating his game.”
1. Derrick Henry – Tennessee Titans
George Walker IV / Tennessean.com
“Yes, you can attribute some of the turnaround in Nashville to Ryan Tannehill. For the most part, however, it was Henry strapping the Titans on his back and bulldozing through opponents,” writes Walker. “When Tannehill couldn’t get things going, Henry took the ball and became a man possessed — especially when it mattered most. In the playoffs following the 2019 season, he rushed for an eye-popping 182 yards and 195 yards, respectively, in the upsets over the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens, on the road… and with both teams throwing the kitchen sink at him. He could only be stopped by the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, but the aforementioned playoff performances let everyone know his regular season was no fluke.
“And what a regular season it was, with Henry taking the NFL rushing title with a career-high 1,540 yards to go along with 16 rushing touchdowns, and those who believed he was simply a bowling ball found out he can navigate around the pins at will; as evidenced in the All-Pro adding another 321 receiving yards to his resume last season. Some wondered if he could replicate that success and, to be fair, he didn’t. Instead, he ran past those marks like they were standing still — rushing for a monstrous 2,027 yards with 17 rushing touchdowns while averaging an eye-popping 126.7 yards per game in the process.”
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