While it was a bit of a confusing selection at the time, Detroit Lions fans should fall in love with new fifth-round pick, running back Jason Huntley.
When it comes to winning football game in the NFL in 2020, three-down running backs are a thing of the past. Backs like Todd Gurley and David Johnson light up the stat sheet and help win fantasy football championships for a few seasons, but the wear-and-tear on their bodies make their second contracts look ugly after a year or so.
This is why the majority of NFL teams have shifted to go running back by committee, accumulating talented picks using late round draft picks or signing undrafted free agents (UDFA). Damian Williams and Raheem Mostert, the starting running backs in in Super Bowl LIV, didn’t see their names called in their respective drafts.
The Detroit Lions will be incorporating a running back by committee system this season and drafted to fit that strategy accordingly, choosing D’Andre Swift of Georgia in the second round before selecting Jason Huntley out of New Mexico State in the fifth round.
Swift and fellow second round pick Kerryon Johnson will likely take up the majority of the snaps on first and second down, and UDFA Bo Scarborough will at least be used sparingly at the goal line. But when the Lions inevitably have to step back and throw on third down, that will be Huntley’s time to shine.
Huntley should remind Lions fans of Theo Riddick, who in his hay day was seen as one of the best pass-catching tailbacks in the NFL. Only three running backs in college football last season managed to accumulate 1,000+ rushing yards while also catching 40 passes: LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire, ASU’s Eno Benjamin, and Huntley.
When Huntley wasn’t making defenders miss after catching passes, he was posting an impressive 6.9 yards per carry, a mark that was second best in all of college football, per Pro Football Focus. The most impressive stat of all regarding Huntley may be his innate ability to break tackles. Take a look at this chart, outlining the advanced stat Adjusted Broken Tackle Rate …
Lions 5th-round pick Jason Huntley posted the highest Adjusted Broken Tackle Rate in the 2020 draft class pic.twitter.com/jBfkob6wb9
— CFB Film Room (@CFBFilmRoom) April 25, 2020
This essentially means that compared to the average college running back facing the same opponents that Huntley faced, he would have nearly double as many broken tackles to them.
That kind of agility and ability to rack up yards after the catch make Huntley a wise pick for the Detroit Lions, as he will like likely play the role that J.D. McKissic played in the offense last season. That means getting him going on creative routes, a few jet sweeps, and on advanced screens to net huge chunks of yardage.
At his floor, Huntley will at the very least be able to kicks for the Lions, putting the jobs of running backs Ty Johnson and Jamal Agnew in jeopardy. Judging from this highlight against Arizona, Huntley was practicing social distancing before it was recommended by health officials.
Social distancing done right.@thejasonhuntley to the 🏠🔥 pic.twitter.com/W1otTX5j1j
— New Mexico State Football (@NMStateFootball) April 21, 2020
At his ceiling, Huntley could be produce or surpass Riddick’s production and become the X-factor in the Lions passing game that makes them an elite offense, which could make up for the defensive mistakes that seems to plague Detroit each of the last few seasons.