7 Backup Running Backs Who Might Be Better Than the Starter

Shane Vereen, New York Giants

In fairness, Shane Vereen got a boost because of the New England offense. They ranked fourth in Adjusted NEP per play last year (0.13). The Giants (0.04) ranked 16th.

The Patriots were also significantly better at running the football than the Giants were last year. New England's Adjusted Rushing NEP per play (0.04) ranked sixth in the league. New York's (-0.03) ranked 18th.

Still, Vereen mustered a Rushing NEP of -3.08 on 96 carries, a -0.03 clip. No Giants running back saw at least 10 carries and maintained a positive Rushing NEP, either, but Rashad Jennings did average a per-play Rushing NEP of 0.00 by losing just 0.51 points on 167 rushes.

Andre Williams was pretty bad, losing 17.73 points on his 216 carries.

Jennings has a reputation for being a good pass catcher, but on 30 catches, he mustered a Reception NEP of just 3.73. Among the 46 backs to see at least 30 targets (Jennings had 41), that mark ranked 42nd. Vereen's 32.69 Reception NEP ranked fifth, though he did see 78 targets.

Vereen was still ninth in per-target Reception NEP (0.42), though. Jennings (0.09) and Williams (0.18) ranked 42nd and 36th, respectively.