Jacksonville Jaguars: T.J. Yeldon Proving His Worth

Sep 20, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars running back T.J. Yeldon (24) celebrates after diving to the one yard line in the first quarter against the Miami Dolphins at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports

Last April, there were quite a few people questioning the Jacksonville Jaguars decision on drafting running back T.J. Yeldon atop the second round.

For one, the Jaguars had Denard Robinson, and just paid Toby Gerhart a good bit of money the offseason prior. Second, the team had more pressing needs at the time than running back. And finally, was Yeldon really the second best running back in the draft behind Todd Gurley of the Rams and Melvin Gordon of the Chargers? David Johnson and Tevin Coleman were just as highly rated and they didn’t go until the third round.

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Only two weeks in and you don’t see many people doubting the Jaguars decision to take the Alabama product. His 121 yards on 37 carries for a 3.3 average is anything but impressive, but that doesn’t tell you much of anything.

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In week 1, against a good Carolina Panthers defense, Yeldon carried the rock 12 times for 51 yards, good enough for a 4.3 yards per carry average. In week 2, the Jaguars and Yeldon faced a much stiffer test, Ndamukong Suh and the Miami Dolphins.

Yeldon would receive a heavy workload by running for 70 yards on 25 carries for a 2.8 average. Yeldon had a touchdown early on in the first quarter, but it was waived off after instant replay saw his knee touching the ground at the one yard line.

The Dolphins gave up over 161 yards to the Washington Redskins in Week 1. Stopping the run was key in order for Miami to come away with a win. This was evident as Yeldon was frequently stopped behind the line of scrimmage. However, Yeldon didn’t shy away from the challenge and earned every yard he got.

The Jaguars and Yeldon ran the ball a lot against the Fins. More than they did against the Panthers. Vito Stellino of jacksonville.com said, “Yeldon only ran three times on first down against Carolina, but he had 11 first-down runs against Miami. Though a lot of his runs didn’t go anywhere, the Jaguars kept giving Yeldon the ball.”

Eventually, the Jaguars commitment to run, combined with the Dolphins focus on stopping it, allowed Blake Bortles to have a stellar game. Bortles threw for 273 yards and two touchdowns in his best game since taking over last season.

Stellino said, ” The Jaguars made the Dolphins respect the run so they couldn’t tee off on Bortles, and he wasn’t sacked once after he was sacked four or more times eight games in a row.”

Yeldon is primed and ready to receive a larger workload for the Jaguars telling Stellino, “If I have to, I feel like I can do it.’’

After the Jaguars beat the Dolphins, Yeldon received some positive encouragement from Suh. “He told me to keep balling and doing my thing,’’ Yeldon said (via Stellino).

Not many rookie running backs make for effective blockers early on. But Yeldon stifled pass rushers and even paved the way on numerous Blake Bortles first down runs.

One of the knocks on Yeldon coming out of Alabama was his inability to hold on to the football. Yeldon dropped the ball 10 times during his career at Alabama, but so far, with over 40 touches in two weeks, Yeldon hasn’t lost the ball once.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been blessed at the running back position during their 21 years of existence. Maurice Jones-Drew ran for over 8,000 yards and scored 79 touchdowns in the teal and black, and Fred Taylor amassed over 11,000 yards and 70 touchdowns to his name. Yeldon is drawing a lot of comparisons to Fred Taylor. Yeldon’s quick twitch, style, and cuts, all remind the team of the former great. Both Taylor and Yeldon have similar bodies. Taylor was 6’1” and 228 pounds, while Yeldon is 6’2” and 226 pounds.

There’s a long way to go before Yeldon achieves anything quite like Jones-Drew and Taylor, but two weeks in, it looks like he is well on his way.

Next: NFL: Offensive Player of the Year Candidates (After Week 2)

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