Washington Redskins: Who Should Get Bulk of Carries?

The Washington Redskins running back situation became even more cluttered thanks to Robert Kelley. Who should now take the lead in the backfield?

The Washington Redskins backfield created a pretty exciting situation for the team. With Matt Jones as the feature back, they had a bulldozer who was extremely dangerous on the second level. In Chris Thompson, they had a fantastic third down and receiving back, that is severely underrated and deadly.

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Now, there’s Robert Kelley, the unproven back who hits harder than you can hit him. He’s also got the perfect nickname (Fat Rob) and the same name as maybe the greatest R&B singer of all-time (R. Kelly).

With that trio, the Redskins seemed to have the perfect dynamic. Jones took the heavy bulk of the carries, Thompson came in on receiving downs, and Kelley got the mop-up duty. That didn’t last long however.

Soon, Thompson was becoming much more frequent on the field. Then Jones started to relapse into his fumbling ways. Finally, against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8, Kelley got the start due to a Jones injury. The rookie looked fantastic, scoring his first career rushing touchdown (he had a receiving touchdown in Week 7). He picked up that touchdown to go along with 87 yards on 21 carries.

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Now there’s a full-blown problem. Some would consider it a great problem to have. But looking at the 2015 season, Redskins fans might disagree. Last season, the Redskins had Jones, Thompson, and Alfred Morris. They tried to give all three carries and it ended up with Jones and Morris both having miserable seasons.

While splitting carries might work on occasion, a lot of running backs need to get into a rhythm. Taking them out for drives at a time isn’t helping them find a groove. If they don’t find that groove, they won’t be effective. That means that the Redskins need to figure out who the feature back is going to be. Now, this doesn’t mean the other backs won’t get fed. They will, however, be playing second-fiddle to someone.

Never play the political game when picking a starter. Jones is the sexy pick because he was an early-rounder, while Thompson is an oft-injured late-rounder and Kelley went undrafted. All of this leans towards the Redskins brass feeling that they might look stupid if Jones rides the bench.

For this team, though, you have to go with who’s the best fit. While Jones is known to have games where he looks absolutely unstoppable he has his problems. His vision isn’t great, he tends to not find the right hole, and that costs the team yards. Of course, there’s his fumbles as well. Thompson meanwhile, is fantastic, but might not be able to handle a full workload. He’s most effective coming out for screen plays, wheel routes, dump off passes, and the occasional run.

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That leaves Kelley. He went out in Week 8 and proved that he can play at a high level for a full game. That, coupled with his season and preseason numbers, should give the Redskins a reason to give him a shot. The beauty of it all: if Kelley doesn’t show up, they’ve got two other backs who will.

For now, Kelley should be the starter, no spot is safe however, so this could change at any time.