Ian Allan
Rushing production by wide receivers is on the rise. They’re being used more as runners, and they’re picking up more yards.
Part of this is due to the personnel in the league right now. Guys like DeSean Jackson, Josh Cribbs, Brad Smith and Percy Harvin are good with the ball in their hands.
And it’s also due to the copycat factor. Coaches see other teams having success with plays – end-arounds and Wildcat packages – and tend to put them into their own playbooks.
Below, see the league-wide rushing totals for wide receivers. Collectively, they went over 2,000 yards last season for just the 2nd time in the last 15 years. And wide receivers have scored 17 rushing TDs in the last two years, the highest two-year total in the last 15 years.
WIDE RECEIVER RUSHING PRODUCTION, 1995-2009
League-wide totals
Year Att Yds Avg TD
1995 210 1230 5.9 7
1996 185 1002 5.4 7
1997 123 723 5.9 0
1998 157 1043 6.6 4
1999 126 879 7.0 3
2000 214 1408 6.6 6
2001 231 1556 6.7 5
2002 343 2329 6.8 7
2003 321 1889 5.9 1
2004 260 1322 5.1 1
2005 238 1285 5.4 7
2006 250 1447 5.8 5
2007 203 873 4.3 4
2008 241 1643 6.8 10
2009 317 2102 6.6 7
When we're putting together our draft board for the 2010 season, therefore, we'll likely project that wide receivers will score about 7-8 touchdowns on rushing plays, and the average NFL team should run for about 60 yards. Players like Cribbs, Harvin, Smith and Jackson should run the ball enough to improve their fantasy value.
- Comments [0]
Readers' Comments
Add a Comment
Already a registered user? Please sign in to add comments.
To add comments, you must become a registered user of our site. To register, please click here.
