In 2015, Bilal Powell vastly outperformed teammate Chris Ivory on the ground. Per our Net Expected Points metric, Powell was adding zero expected points (these are real points, not fantasy points) with every carry, which was actually better than the -0.03 league average. Ivory, on the other hand, had a Rushing NEP per rush of -0.07 behind the exact same offensive line.
Ivory had the better fantasy season thanks to volume, but even with Ivory in the picture, Powell was still able to secure five top-24 running back performances (PPR) while also scoring a top-seven running back week in three of his final four games (excluding Week 17).
That's because Powell can catch the football. The problem -- and a reason his average draft cost has slipped to RB39 on FantasyFootballCalculator.com -- is that new teammate Matt Forte can, too.
But here's the deal: Jets' beat writers are already talking about how the backfield will be split, with a slight edge going to Forte. And if you look at the contracts that both backs signed this offseason, they're nearly identical, meaning there's no reason for the team to favor one or the other due to finances.
If Powell is indeed going to be the 1B in this backfield, that means Forte's potential run is limited. And it also means that Powell, who has fresher legs (402 career carries) than Forte (2,035), could see a lot more action than his current cost indicates.