Oh, look at this… JK Dobbins, back at practice? John Harbaugh saying he’s 100% healthy? Oh. Wow. Would you look at that? He’s back, he’s going to get a large workload, and he’s being severely underdrafted in the 5th round right now.
Dobbins has a chance to shine now that he's a year removed from his ACL+ injury, and now that he's less likely to have an even share with Gus Edwards with a new OC. I'm expecting Dobbins to take a big jump forward this year. There has been chatter about his new OC using him more in the receiving game, too, which would be welcome.
I think there's a narrative that Gus Edwards will be a part of the rotation the same way he has before, and I think that's the main difference we'll see: the backfield will feature Dobbins this year after the change in OC. If I had to give you my pick for this year's Josh Jacobs, it's Dobbins - I think there's a good chance he sees 250+ carries this year, even on a more balanced offense. And if he gets that type of opportunity, the underrated talent can take over.
In his 2020 rookie season, he averaged 6 yards/carry and ranked 7th among 47 qualifying RBs in yards after contact/attempt. He was 2nd only to Nick Chubb in percentage of runs going over 15+ yards. Despite not being at full strength last year, he ranked 3rd in that category. He's finally at full strength again with a great offensive line, and a new OC should recognize that he should be THE guy in that backfield. Please take advantage of his low ADP.