Roundtable: Emerging RB2s

Patrick Daugherty: Of all the backs to emerge since Week 1, who are you trusting the most going forward? Phrased differently, which basket do you believe has earned the eggs? Justin Forsett? Jerick McKinnon? Bishop Sankey? You can also include runners who could have returning starters wreck the fun, like Ronnie Hillman and Branden Oliver.

Rather unbelievably, I’d find myself having a lot of faith in Forsett. He’s almost emerged as a rich man’s Ahmad Bradshaw. Someone who in theory is supposed to change the pace, but has done so much more. In Forsett’s case it’s literally more than Bradshaw, as he’s getting more touches. Forsett’s 6.4 yards per carry leads the NFL, while only DeMarco Murray has as many 20-plus yard runs (six). His 3.8 catches per game are the icing on the cake of some very nice usage. With neither Bernard Pierce nor Lorenzo Taliaferro knocking down the door for a bigger role, I think Forsett can maintain his rather improbable value for the rest of the season.

Adam Levitan: I agree that Forsett is for real. The Ravens want their backs to gain yards after first contact and Forsett has handled himself reasonably well there for a "scatbcack" (17th in YAC per attempt out of PFF's 57 qualifying RBs). It also certainly helps that he spent the entire 2012 season with Gary Kubiak in Houston.

I'm curious about people's thoughts on Montee Ball. I'm not giving up on a guy I liked as a late-first round pick, but I think there's very real worry that he'll return from injury as part of a committee. He was averaging 3.12 YPC and I saw him get yelled at by Peyton Manning at least once. Much like Mohamed Sanu, I think Ronnie Hillman is an improved player. Not a great player, but one that is now capable. Yes, guys can get better as their time in NFL moves along.

Jeff Ratcliffe: It's tough not to like Forsett going forward. He's running with a sense of urgency that I he didn't display earlier in his career.

Hillman is a really intriguing player. I have to disagree with Adam here, because I hesitate to even call him capable. With Hillman, I see a player who lacks vision. Against the Jets he missed a few gaping holes, instead choosing inferior running lanes. He also has a history of running to contact in the second level. I don't think we can take much away from Hillman's performance last week. His numbers certainly benefited from the Broncos using Paul Cornick as a tackle-eligible extra blocker.

Raymond Summerlin: I know players can improve, but it is hard to trust Hillman. He has been in a position to take over a big role in the Broncos' offense several times in his career, and every time he has been passed up on the depth chart. Perhaps this time is different, but it is more likely Hillman fumbles three times in the next two weeks and cedes the starting duties to Ball whenever he returns.

I am hopeful about Jerick McKinnon. We knew he would be raw early on, and truthfully it would have been much better for the Vikings and McKinnon if he had not been thrust into the lineup this early in his career. The Adrian Peterson situation has made that ideal scenario impossible, though. The Vikings need McKinnon to be a big-time player if they have any hope of scoring points this season, and for that reason I expect Minnesota to keep feeding him the ball despite what will likely be a bumpy ride.

Mike Clay: I think Forsett has solidified his role in Baltimore, so there's probably not much to be said there. I've always liked him, but I admit I didn't see this coming. I think, in the past, he never got the chance he should've as a plus change-of-pace back. At 29, this is probably his last hurrah.

McKinnon, Sankey and Oliver are all very intriguing to me. Unfortunately, it appears all three are going to play elite ball in order to break away from their respective committees. Minnesota seems destined to keep giving Matt Asiata 10-plus touches. As if Dexter McCluster and Leon Washington weren't enough, Tennessee used Jackie Battle in place of Shonn Greene in Week 6. Ryan Mathews is due back in a few weeks and figures to steal plenty of early-down work from Oliver. I currently view all three young backs as back-end RB2s going forward, but each is talented enough to emerge into a borderline RB1 producer.

Ryan McDowell: I will agree with everyone regarding Forsett. He is for real and I don’t see his touches or production decreasing as the year rolls along. He’s turned into a must start on a weekly basis.

I’m also completely buying in on Oliver and I somewhat disagree with Mike. I think he’s already broken away from the committee. It’s clear they prefer him over Brown, who’s been terrible. The question will be Oliver versus Mathews, but it seems Mathews is not even close to returning. The better Oliver plays, the longer San Diego will feel comfortable resting Mathews.

Daugherty: Re: Hillman, you can look at Lamar Miller as someone who's fumbled chances at the No. 1 job, only to finally sort of find himself in his third year. But I definitely don't think he's going to run away with that job. I do think there's going to be a value-draining committee whenever Ball gets back. Denver pretty clearly wanted to avoid a committee, but I don't see how they'll conclude anything other than that's what's best for them once Ball is back.

I think Asiata will keep fading for McKinnon. My guess is Mike Zimmer's pledge to keep Asiata involved was sort of one last courtesy for M.A., and one last kick in the butt for J.M. I could definitely see Asiata being a thorn in the red zone, but I think J.M. is going to comfortably out-touch him going forward.