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Jacksonville Jaguars: Only makes sense for T.J. Yeldon to be feature back

By Kevin Parvizi

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The consensus is that the Jacksonville Jaguars had one of the strongest drafts this year, and they drafted several recognizable names. Even though No. 3 overall pick Dante Fowler Jr. won’t be able to see the field in 2015, the Jaguars should still get plenty out of their rookie class in the first year with Rashad Greene, A.J. Cann, Michael Bennett, and T.J. Yeldon among the other big names set to contribute.

Yeldon, the Jaguars second-round pick, should easily have the biggest role among the rookies, as he looks slated to be the team’s feature back. Toby Gerhart can use the poor offensive line as an excuse for his incredibly disappointing first season in Jacksonville in 2014, but change-of-pace RB Denard Robinson‘s solid 4.3 yards per carry and impressively explosive rushing make it clear that the line isn’t a comprehensive excuse.

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ESPN NFL Nation’s Michael DiRocco believes Yeldon will win the starting job and be the Jaguars feature back in 2015, adding that the team is “counting on” the former Alabama star to “revitalize” a rushing attack that clearly did rookie quarterback Blake Bortles no favors last season.

I would be beyond shocked if the Jaguars don’t hand the feature back role to Yeldon, as it would take a catastrophic August performance on his part to lose out to Gerhart, though the former Minnesota Vikings backup could possibly win the job on the strength of his own rushing. The Jaguars didn’t spend a high second-round pick on Yeldon to have him toiling away behind a 28-year-old who averaged a horrific 3.2 yards per carry last season.

Gerhart can bounce back and was once a promising RB2 in Minnesota, but he’s ticketed for some carries in a backup role for the Jaguars. Yeldon showed clear feature back ability in college, and he absolutely deserved to be the third back off the board in this year’s draft. If it weren’t for the beastliness of Melvin Gordon and Todd Gurley, more people would be talking about Yeldon, who is a very consistent rusher with the ability to grind out tough yards inside or rip off chunks of yardage for an offense with outside runs.

Of course, while Yeldon will most likely be the feature back, he won’t hoard all of the carries in the Jaguars backfield. Perhaps Bernard Pierce can crack the roster and make an impact, though he’s never come close to replicating the promise he showed in 2012 and is coming off of two really poor seasons. It’s more likely that the Jaguars will make Yeldon the feature back, use Robinson strictly in a change-of-pace role, and then feed Gerhart some goal-line carries to prevent Yeldon from accruing too much wear-and-tear in his rookie year.

I like the idea of the Jacksonville Jaguars using Yeldon and Robinson as a 1-2 punch, because that’s a pretty explosive tandem. Robinson, who also had four touchdowns last season, isn’t durable or strong enough to hold up as a starter, but he looked downright electric with the ball in his hands at times. This is a guy who possesses some sick moves, though I do wonder how many less carries he’ll have in 2015 than his 135 rushes in 2014. Less is more in this case, as Robinson will be fresher and more efficient if given around 100 carries or less.

What I love the most about Yeldon as a rusher is the fact that he’s decisive and knows exactly how to find the hole and where to go with the ball. He’s arguably the most instinctive rusher out of all the rookies at the position, and that should make him an immediate success as a feature back. Yeldon’s a guy who could easily get 1,000 rushing yards in his rookie year and for the rest of his career, and it looks like the Jaguars are wisely willing to put him in a position to hit quadruple digits.

Dec 6, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back T.J. Yeldon (4) runs for yardage in the first quarter of their game against the Missouri Tigers in the 2014 SEC Championship at the Georgia Dome. Alabama beat Missouri 42-13. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

One of the stories of the offseason has been the Jaguars desire to give Bortles plenty of weapons in the passing game, which is why they went out and spent some of their cap space on star tight end Julius Thomas.

But for Bortles, the biggest boost will come from a significantly improved rushing attack spearheaded by T.J. Yeldon, barring a surprise in training camp, and supported by change-of-pace guy Robinson and the likely H-back Gerhart.

If the line fails, Yeldon might not have a stellar rookie season, but he’s a possible OROY candidate (Gordon looks like the favorite) on volume and expected consistency alone; I would be shocked if he averages less than 3.5 YPC a la Gerhart last year (or even less than 4.0 YPC).

The Jaguars drafted Yeldon with the 36th overall pick to ensure that their rushing game is working at a high level, and he has a good shot at hitting 300 touches this season.

Next: Jaguars 2015 NFL Draft Grades

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