It’s usually against the odds to bet on undersized RBs.
A few guys who stand out in this category are Austin Ekeler, Aaron Jones, and Devonta Freeman in his prime.
Michael Carter might be the next up.
He’s not the most amazing dynasty asset, because the odds don’t work in his favor, but he can potentially give you a couple of solid seasons like the guys I mentioned above.
Among all RBs with 100+ carries this season, Carter was 5th in yards after contact/attempt. He was 3rd in the nation among RBs with 150+ carries in his last year of college in this sticky stat, right behind Javonte Williams. It carried over, and he was right above Javonte in 2021.
He was 2nd in PFF’s elusive rating, which ranked only behind Nick Chubb and right ahead of Javonte Williams. It makes sense, because he ranked only behind Javonte Williams in missed tackles forced/rush.
He was 8th among RBs with 40+ targets in yards/route run, continuing his receiving production he had in college. He was 5th in the nation among RBs with 30+ targets in his last year of college.
Carter led the Jets with 25 red zone carries and 9 carries inside the 5 yard line, so that shows the willingness of using a small back where it counts.
In his last full game, Carter played on 73% of snaps, got almost all of the short yardage work, and was the primary passing down back.
Tevin Coleman will likely be gone, leaving Carter and Ty Johnson for now.
We’ll see if the Jets choose to add a complement to Carter. From a pure football perspective, it makes sense to add a bigger back to create a solid 1-2 punch. If they don’t add anyone of significance, Carter can be a potential discount RB1 in 2022 drafts.
The Jets offense has improved, and it’s likely they take a bigger step forward in 2022.