Over the last two decades, with the increase in having multiple receivers on the field, and the decreasing value of running backs both in the draft and free agency, it’s now writ large that the NFL is a passing game, and that running backs don’t really matter.
The last season in which there were more 1,000-yard running backs than receivers was 2005 (23 running backs, 19 receivers), and the NFL is on pace for another one of those years.
The NFL’s rushing renaissance: how running backs reclaimed the narrative The NFL is said to be a passing league with running backs are no longer critical to success.
Most people already know that Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles and Derrick Henry of the Baltimore Ravens are re-jiggering the concept of running back value with their MVP-level seasons, but there’s an undercurrent of creative and effective run games throughout the league in 2024 that is showing up more and more in the metrics.
If you’re remotely familiar with the National Football League these days, you know what people say about both modern offenses and the value of running backs within them.
