Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

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RUNNING BACKS 2010

Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 3/26/2011

Running backs are ranked according to DYAR, or Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement. This gives the value of the performance on plays where this RB carried/caught the ball compared to replacement level, adjusted for situation and opponent and then translated into yardage. DYAR (and its cousin, YAR, which isn't adjusted based on opponent) is further explained here.

The next statistic given is DVOA, or Defense-adjusted Value Over Average. This number represents value, per play, over an average running back in the same game situations. The more positive the DVOA rating, the better the player's performance. Negative DVOA represents below-average offense. DVOA (and its cousin, VOA, which isn't adjusted based on opponent) is further explained here.

Effective Yards, listed in red, translate DVOA into a yards per attempt figure. This provides an easy comparison: in general, players with more Effective Yards than standard yards played better than standard stats would otherwise indicate, while players with fewer Effective Yards than standard yards played worse than standard stats would otherwise indicate. Effective Yards are not the best way to measure total value because they are more dependent on usage than DYAR.

The final statistic is Success Rate. This number represents the player's consistency, measured by successful running plays (the definition of success being different based on down and distance) divided by total running plays. A player with higher DVOA and a low success rate mixes long runs with downs getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage. A player with lower DVOA and a high success rate generally gets the yards needed, but doesn't often get more. Success Rate is further explained here. It is not adjusted for opponent.

The simple version: DYAR means a running back with more total value. DVOA means a running back with more value per play.

  • These numbers do not separate the performance of a running back from the performance of his offensive line. (You'll find numbers that try to do that on this page.) Be aware that one will affect the other.
  • All fumbles are considered equal, whether recovered by the offense or defense.
  • Because they primarily run from the backfield on option plays, Brad Smith and Josh Cribbs are rated for rushing as running backs rather than wide receivers.

RUSHING: Minimum 100 rushes, 46 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
J.Charles KC 389 1 411 1 33.9% 1 36.4% 231 1,466 1,418 5 3 56% 3
A.Foster HOU 377 2 372 2 18.0% 4 17.6% 325 1,617 1,832 16 3 52% 9
B.Green-Ellis NE 354 3 303 3 26.4% 2 21.3% 229 1,008 1,446 13 0 57% 2
M.Jones-Drew JAC 238 4 223 5 9.4% 9 8.4% 300 1,324 1,519 5 3 51% 10
A.Peterson MIN 229 5 225 4 10.6% 7 10.2% 284 1,295 1,399 12 2 45% 22
L.McCoy PHI 224 6 206 6 17.8% 5 15.9% 207 1,080 1,087 7 1 49% 14
B.Jacobs NYG 172 7 184 7 18.1% 3 20.2% 148 824 828 9 3 54% 6
P.Hillis CLE 152 8 152 9 5.0% 13 5.0% 270 1,178 1,211 11 8 53% 7
C.Ivory NO 133 9 164 8 12.9% 6 17.8% 137 717 751 5 4 59% 1
F.Jones DAL 124 10 116 14 8.2% 10 7.1% 184 790 835 1 1 50% 12
S.Greene NYJ 124 11 129 10 7.8% 11 8.5% 185 767 849 2 2 55% 4
A.Bradshaw NYG 121 12 98 19 2.5% 17 0.4% 275 1,243 1,142 8 7 46% 20
R.Rice BAL 115 13 128 11 0.8% 19 1.8% 307 1,220 1,241 5 0 46% 19
D.McFadden OAK 112 14 121 13 4.6% 14 5.6% 223 1,150 919 7 3 42% 37
L.Tomlinson NYJ 110 15 102 16 3.6% 16 2.8% 220 908 951 6 3 44% 29
M.Turner ATL 102 16 127 12 -1.4% 23 0.1% 334 1,371 1,417 12 2 46% 18
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
M.Bush OAK 101 17 108 15 6.5% 12 7.5% 157 631 741 8 0 45% 24
L.Blount TB 98 18 101 18 4.0% 15 4.3% 201 1,007 838 6 3 45% 23
J.Addai IND 92 19 102 17 9.6% 8 11.6% 116 495 582 4 2 54% 5
M.Forte CHI 87 20 70 22 0.4% 20 -1.2% 236 1,060 957 6 0 41% 38
F.Jackson BUF 81 21 74 21 0.2% 21 -0.6% 222 929 923 5 4 47% 17
R.Mendenhall PIT 77 22 81 20 -2.8% 26 -2.6% 324 1,279 1,284 13 2 44% 28
R.Mathews SD 64 23 70 23 1.9% 18 2.8% 158 678 633 7 4 46% 21
M.Tolbert SD 53 24 66 24 -1.9% 24 -0.3% 181 725 770 11 5 51% 11
T.Hightower ARI 46 25 51 25 -1.0% 22 0.0% 153 747 586 5 4 42% 36
R.Williams MIA 36 26 31 28 -2.8% 25 -3.6% 159 673 596 2 4 53% 8
R.Brown MIA 36 27 11 33 -4.2% 27 -7.3% 200 735 771 5 3 43% 35
K.Moreno DEN 31 28 45 26 -4.4% 28 -2.7% 183 777 711 5 4 43% 33
D.Brown IND 22 29 15 31 -4.8% 29 -5.9% 129 497 513 2 0 44% 27
R.Torain WAS 19 30 33 27 -5.6% 30 -3.6% 164 742 598 4 2 44% 30
C.Johnson TEN 18 31 19 30 -7.2% 33 -7.1% 316 1,365 1,101 11 2 39% 40
J.Forsett SEA 12 32 14 32 -6.2% 31 -5.8% 118 523 442 2 0 38% 41
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
W.McGahee BAL 6 33 -2 34 -7.1% 32 -9.0% 100 382 385 5 2 49% 13
F.Gore SF -2 34 28 29 -8.9% 34 -5.2% 203 853 711 3 3 48% 15
B.Jackson GB -9 35 -35 40 -9.9% 35 -13.2% 190 703 640 3 1 43% 34
M.Barber DAL -21 36 -20 38 -12.5% 38 -12.3% 113 374 433 4 0 48% 16
J.Stewart CAR -21 37 -11 36 -11.7% 36 -10.2% 178 769 548 2 4 36% 45
C.Wells ARI -25 38 -20 37 -13.8% 40 -12.7% 116 397 370 2 1 45% 25
M.Goodson CAR -25 39 -4 35 -14.9% 42 -9.5% 103 437 291 3 4 38% 42
S.Jackson STL -48 40 -23 39 -12.1% 37 -10.3% 330 1,241 1,075 6 1 40% 39
M.Lynch BUF -53 41 -38 41 -14.7% 41 -13.1% 201 737 654 6 2 44% 31
C.Benson CIN -61 42 -91 45 -13.1% 39 -15.3% 321 1,121 1,071 7 7 45% 26
J.Best DET -62 43 -73 43 -18.0% 44 -19.7% 171 557 463 4 1 37% 43
C.Williams TB -68 44 -70 42 -22.2% 45 -22.5% 125 437 322 2 1 36% 44
T.Jones KC -94 45 -86 44 -17.5% 43 -16.8% 246 903 749 6 3 43% 32
C.Taylor CHI -107 46 -113 46 -31.2% 46 -32.4% 112 267 234 3 0 36% 46

RUSHING, OTHERS: 20-99 rushes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
D.Woodhead NE 185 192 41.3% 43.2% 97 547 618 5 1
R.Jennings JAC 137 138 29.3% 29.8% 84 459 530 4 0
D.Ward HOU 112 97 39.1% 32.7% 51 312 385 4 1
B.Smith NYJ 77 84 45.5% 50.4% 38 299 247 1 1
B.Westbrook SF 75 95 17.3% 23.9% 76 337 376 4 0
B.Scott CIN 70 71 17.7% 18.0% 61 299 342 1 0
K.Williams WAS 62 42 14.8% 7.4% 65 261 327 3 0
M.Morris DET 52 43 4.7% 2.6% 90 336 417 5 1
J.Kuhn GB 43 33 1.3% -1.0% 84 279 448 4 1
C.Portis WAS 35 41 7.3% 9.9% 54 227 248 2 0
L.Polite MIA 34 35 14.0% 14.5% 26 62 185 1 0
J.McKnight NYJ 34 51 13.2% 24.4% 39 189 189 0 0
P.Thomas NO 34 23 0.7% -2.1% 82 269 368 2 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
J.James IND 27 25 4.3% 3.2% 46 112 223 6 0
J.Ringer TEN 25 27 5.1% 5.9% 51 239 199 2 0
I.Redman PIT 20 13 -1.3% -4.0% 53 241 270 0 2
T.Gerhart MIN 19 17 -2.8% -3.2% 81 322 299 1 1
L.Stephens-Howling ARI 19 20 9.0% 10.6% 24 118 122 1 0
L.McClain BAL 19 19 1.1% 1.5% 28 85 190 0 0
J.Starks GB 17 3 6.6% -5.9% 29 101 126 0 0
J.Snelling ATL 15 25 -4.5% -1.9% 87 325 340 2 1
M.Hart IND 14 20 -1.6% 2.3% 43 185 180 1 0
L.Washington SEA 12 4 1.0% -5.5% 27 100 128 1 0
T.Choice DAL 12 15 -4.9% -3.9% 66 243 295 3 0
D.Ware NYG 11 14 3.8% 7.4% 20 73 90 0 0
D.Rhodes IND 10 7 -2.4% -4.3% 37 172 152 0 1
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
S.Morris NE 7 4 -1.6% -4.9% 20 56 99 0 0
J.Battle KC 5 7 -4.1% -1.5% 20 50 97 1 0
D.Karim JAC 4 8 -5.6% -2.5% 35 160 120 0 1
K.Darby STL 3 10 -6.6% -1.1% 34 107 113 2 0
M.Reece OAK -2 4 -9.9% -5.8% 30 124 123 1 1
R.Bush NO -4 0 -11.1% -8.7% 36 150 117 0 0
L.Betts NO -5 -1 -10.6% -9.0% 45 148 168 2 1
C.J.Spiller BUF -6 -20 -10.5% -15.5% 74 288 236 0 2
J.Felton DET -7 -15 -15.5% -24.2% 22 76 72 0 1
F.Taylor NE -8 -13 -13.1% -15.7% 43 155 147 0 0
E.Graham TB -10 -9 -18.9% -18.6% 20 99 65 1 1
J.Hester SD -14 -12 -18.7% -17.2% 26 60 99 0 0
E.Buckley PHI -16 -18 -26.1% -28.3% 21 67 53 0 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
D.Sproles SD -16 -4 -17.4% -10.7% 50 270 132 0 1
A.Dixon SF -18 -9 -14.4% -11.6% 70 237 229 2 0
J.Jones NO -19 -26 -16.2% -19.1% 60 223 183 0 1
J.Cribbs CLE -20 -17 -31.0% -27.4% 20 67 44 0 1
K.Smith DET -22 -24 -25.9% -27.9% 35 131 73 0 1
L.Ball DEN -23 -20 -23.2% -21.4% 41 158 98 0 1
D.Williams CAR -24 -15 -16.2% -13.3% 87 369 231 1 1
D.Nance GB -31 -35 -28.6% -31.6% 36 95 83 0 0
J.Harrison CLE -35 -31 -21.1% -19.4% 71 330 187 1 2
M.Moore PIT -36 -35 -37.2% -36.3% 33 99 50 0 0
C.Buckhalter DEN -56 -65 -32.4% -36.0% 59 147 112 2 1
M.Bell CLE -68 -79 -44.0% -49.5% 47 101 55 0 1
L.Maroney DEN -85 -100 -62.2% -71.2% 36 74 -2 0 1

RECEIVING: Minimum 25 passes, 54 players ranked

  • Passes includes all passes to this receiver, complete and incomplete.
  • Catch Rate is the percentage of passes completed to this receiver.
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
A.Foster HOU 197 1 193 1 25.6% 12 24.9% 86 603 763 2 79% 0
L.McCoy PHI 179 2 176 3 20.0% 17 19.6% 90 577 743 2 87% 1
D.McFadden OAK 172 3 179 2 40.8% 4 43.1% 61 507 581 3 77% 1
D.Sproles SD 166 4 174 4 26.9% 11 28.7% 75 520 634 2 79% 0
D.Woodhead NE 156 5 147 6 56.3% 2 52.3% 44 379 482 1 77% 0
B.Jackson GB 156 6 147 7 42.0% 3 38.6% 50 342 523 1 86% 0
J.Charles KC 150 7 153 5 31.3% 8 32.2% 64 471 541 3 70% 1
P.Hillis CLE 138 8 134 10 18.9% 18 17.8% 77 477 589 2 79% 0
F.Jones DAL 138 9 131 11 35.4% 7 33.0% 53 460 485 1 92% 1
K.Moreno DEN 131 10 135 9 35.9% 6 37.4% 48 372 460 3 77% 0
R.Rice BAL 120 11 137 8 14.4% 21 18.3% 83 556 552 1 76% 0
M.Forte CHI 105 12 105 12 14.0% 22 14.1% 70 551 485 3 73% 3
M.Jones-Drew JAC 98 13 99 13 29.4% 9 30.0% 44 317 364 2 77% 0
M.Bush OAK 96 14 98 14 57.9% 1 59.1% 25 218 294 0 76% 0
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
A.Peterson MIN 93 15 89 16 20.0% 16 18.2% 50 341 385 1 72% 0
M.Reece OAK 85 16 88 17 22.3% 14 23.4% 43 333 344 3 58% 0
M.Tolbert SD 84 17 89 15 37.2% 5 40.3% 30 229 292 0 87% 0
C.Williams TB 72 18 66 21 6.3% 31 4.7% 64 355 404 1 72% 0
C.Buckhalter DEN 71 19 74 18 24.5% 13 26.0% 38 240 280 2 74% 0
A.Bradshaw NYG 71 20 69 20 10.6% 27 10.1% 59 316 353 0 81% 0
D.Brown IND 67 21 73 19 28.5% 10 32.1% 28 205 251 0 71% 0
J.Snelling ATL 60 22 59 24 9.0% 29 8.7% 51 303 311 3 86% 1
F.Gore SF 57 23 65 22 0.4% 34 2.4% 72 452 401 2 64% 1
P.Thomas NO 56 24 51 27 17.1% 19 14.3% 30 201 245 0 100% 0
J.Hester SD 53 25 60 23 20.2% 15 24.2% 26 145 222 1 85% 0
M.Moore PIT 53 26 51 26 17.0% 20 16.1% 31 205 227 0 84% 0
J.Best DET 52 27 41 32 -2.0% 38 -4.5% 80 487 422 2 73% 0
R.Brown MIA 45 28 45 29 5.1% 32 4.9% 42 242 264 0 79% 0
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
S.Jackson STL 45 29 47 28 -1.2% 36 -0.6% 61 374 338 0 75% 0
M.Morris DET 43 30 42 30 11.2% 26 10.7% 31 170 213 0 81% 0
B.Leonard CIN 41 31 41 31 12.4% 24 12.6% 26 137 197 1 77% 0
R.Jennings JAC 40 32 54 25 9.9% 28 17.8% 34 222 204 0 76% 0
C.J.Spiller BUF 39 33 41 33 12.5% 23 13.5% 30 157 188 1 80% 0
R.Torain WAS 39 34 36 34 12.3% 25 10.7% 27 125 187 2 67% 0
J.Forsett SEA 34 35 27 36 -0.2% 35 -2.8% 51 252 248 0 65% 0
C.Taylor CHI 30 36 28 35 8.1% 30 6.9% 26 139 159 0 77% 0
R.Bush NO 29 37 26 37 -1.5% 37 -2.8% 42 208 231 1 81% 0
M.Goodson CAR 25 38 25 38 -5.6% 42 -5.4% 57 310 267 0 70% 0
R.Mendenhall PIT 23 39 19 43 -2.3% 39 -4.5% 34 167 191 0 68% 0
B.Westbrook SF 22 40 22 40 2.6% 33 2.0% 25 153 143 1 68% 0
C.Benson CIN 22 41 25 39 -3.2% 41 -1.7% 37 178 195 1 76% 0
J.Addai IND 15 42 20 41 -2.9% 40 0.7% 26 124 132 0 73% 0
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
K.Williams WAS 15 43 20 42 -8.9% 46 -7.2% 58 309 245 2 67% 1
L.McClain BAL 11 44 13 44 -6.9% 43 -5.8% 26 134 136 0 81% 0
R.Williams MIA 10 45 12 45 -7.9% 45 -6.6% 30 141 134 1 63% 0
M.Lynch BUF 9 46 9 46 -7.6% 44 -7.9% 26 154 128 0 85% 2
M.Sellers WAS 6 47 8 48 -11.2% 47 -10.6% 40 224 184 0 50% 0
L.Tomlinson NYJ -2 48 8 47 -14.2% 48 -12.0% 79 366 312 0 66% 1
R.Mathews SD -8 49 -8 50 -19.4% 49 -19.0% 26 145 90 0 85% 1
L.Betts NO -11 50 -7 49 -20.4% 50 -18.2% 31 141 92 0 74% 0
T.Gerhart MIN -20 51 -19 51 -26.4% 51 -26.3% 29 168 71 0 72% 2
C.Johnson TEN -43 52 -31 52 -27.9% 52 -24.0% 57 245 128 1 77% 1
F.Jackson BUF -57 53 -66 53 -32.9% 53 -36.0% 54 215 96 2 57% 1
T.Hightower ARI -105 54 -108 54 -57.9% 54 -59.0% 42 136 -47 0 50% 1

RECEIVING, OTHERS: 10-24 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
I.Redman PIT 55 55 101.4% 101.2% 10 72 147 2 90% 0
K.Smith DET 50 48 39.0% 36.4% 16 123 172 0 69% 0
J.Kuhn GB 50 46 33.4% 29.5% 18 97 179 2 83% 0
O.Schmitt PHI 47 43 19.1% 16.3% 24 136 199 1 79% 0
E.Graham TB 36 36 18.4% 18.4% 19 130 154 1 84% 0
B.Green-Ellis NE 31 29 17.9% 15.6% 16 85 134 0 75% 0
J.Stewart CAR 30 29 25.0% 23.5% 14 103 119 1 57% 0
T.Jones KC 29 33 13.1% 16.7% 20 122 137 0 70% 0
S.Greene NYJ 27 26 4.4% 3.7% 24 120 162 0 67% 1
O.Mughelli ATL 27 33 17.2% 24.7% 18 126 118 1 72% 0
J.Harrison CLE 24 22 22.9% 18.7% 13 85 98 0 92% 0
C.Portis WAS 22 26 40.8% 50.0% 9 55 75 0 56% 0
L.Washington SEA 20 16 13.6% 7.8% 13 79 94 0 69% 0
K.Faulk NE 20 14 22.5% 13.0% 10 62 79 0 60% 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
L.Stephens-Howling ARI 18 19 0.2% 0.7% 22 106 132 0 68% 0
T.Sutton CAR 17 20 11.0% 14.8% 12 70 84 0 100% 0
P.Cobbs MIA 16 15 2.2% 1.0% 19 91 104 2 42% 0
A.Hall TEN 15 16 -0.4% 0.5% 20 100 113 0 75% 0
S.Morris NE 10 9 -0.6% -2.4% 12 77 78 0 58% 0
B.Scott CIN 9 10 -1.9% -0.3% 13 60 71 0 85% 0
D.Williams CAR 9 6 -2.3% -6.2% 13 61 71 0 85% 0
V.Leach HOU 8 8 -6.0% -5.7% 15 91 84 0 53% 0
H.Evans NO 7 8 -5.5% -3.9% 11 41 74 1 64% 0
K.Darby STL 5 5 -4.0% -5.6% 13 61 51 1 77% 0
D.Ward HOU 4 7 -6.4% -1.7% 11 61 48 0 64% 0
G.Jones JAC 3 3 -9.3% -9.9% 11 47 55 0 100% 0
M.Bell CLE 1 0 -12.2% -14.3% 10 66 41 0 70% 1
B.Jacobs NYG -1 -3 -15.8% -17.2% 13 59 51 0 54% 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
C.Gronkowski DAL -2 -5 -16.2% -20.2% 14 35 55 1 50% 0
T.Fiammetta CAR -2 2 -17.0% -10.8% 10 34 42 0 50% 0
J.Felton DET -2 -5 -16.5% -20.3% 15 54 56 0 53% 0
T.Choice DAL -6 -8 -19.3% -20.8% 22 114 67 0 77% 1
L.Polite MIA -11 -15 -25.2% -30.4% 17 61 45 0 71% 0
M.Turner ATL -11 -12 -24.4% -24.7% 20 85 54 0 60% 0
J.James IND -12 -10 -31.4% -28.8% 11 63 23 0 82% 1
A.Brown DET -13 -6 -28.9% -21.1% 13 45 35 0 62% 0
T.Castille KC -15 -14 -33.1% -31.6% 12 43 24 0 83% 0
W.McGahee BAL -27 -28 -42.5% -43.8% 17 55 12 1 82% 0
M.Barber DAL -27 -30 -48.1% -51.4% 15 49 1 0 73% 0
M.Robinson SEA -27 -29 -50.9% -53.2% 13 37 -4 0 62% 0
J.Wright ARI -30 -28 -46.5% -44.7% 16 42 4 0 50% 0
J.Jones NO -42 -42 -51.1% -51.5% 22 59 -6 0 77% 0