In 2019, the Jets ranked fourth in the NFL behind the Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots in terms of running back spending by cap dollars. New York allocated over $10 million to five different backs.
Now, with Le’Veon Bell’s at the top of the depth chart, New York ranks only second to Los Angeles in spending by cap dollars at the position. Gang Green will be searching for a backup to its All-Pro back, as Ty Montgomery was ineffective in limited use and Bilal Powell is getting up there in age.
Jalin Moore, an undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State, Josh Adams, Trenton Cannon and Kenneth Dixon still remain on the roster, but none of them have proven they can be a legitimate option behind Bell. The Jets need experience there, and free agency is the best place to find it.
With that said, here are five backup running backs the Jets should target in free agency.
Jordan Howard
When healthy, Jordan Howard was the perfect complement to Eagles rookie Miles Sanders.
Joe Douglas was part of the Chicago Bears personnel department that took Howard in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Douglas was then with the Philadelphia front office that sent a sixth-round pick to Chicago for Howard. If nothing else, the connections to Howard are there.
Howard appeared in 10 games and recorded 525 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns in 2019. He missed six games after suffering a shoulder injury in Week 9.
Howard is by no means flashy and won’t get any premier offers to be a team’s No. 1 back, but he’s proven to be a perfect complementary piece. He would pair excellently with Le’Veon Bell. The problem the Jets face is if Howard is willing to see a decrease in snaps due to Bell’s workhorse nature. That remains to be seen, but the Jets should definitely attempt to court Howard in free agency regardless.
Corey Clement
Clement is another pending free agent running back who played a pivotal role in delivering the first Lombardi Trophy to the City of Brotherly Love.
Clement enters free agency as a restricted free agent, meaning the Eagles could tender him at the lowest possible level. Still, that doesn’t prevent the Jets from making an offer that would force Philadelphia’s hand.
Clement had to share a backfield with both Melvin Gordon and James White at the University of Wisconsin, so sharing a backfield with Le’Veon Bell and presumably, another young back, shouldn’t be problematic.
After a magical rookie season that included 100 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown in Super Bowl LII, the rookie magic for Clement has begun to wear off. His past two seasons have been cut short due to a knee and shoulder injury. In 2019, he played sparingly and was mainly a fixture on special teams until he hurt his shoulder and was placed on injured reserve in October.
Injuries haven’t been kind to Clement; they go back to his junior year of collegiate football when he had sports hernia surgery. Regardless, Clement would be a low-risk, high-reward type move, projecting as the player that Ty Montgomery couldn’t be in 2019.
DeAndre Washington
Sharing a backfield hasn’t been difficult for DeAndre Washington. He was often the running back called upon when injuries plagued Raiders starting backs like Doug Martin, Marshawn Lynch and Josh Jacobs.
While Washington wasn’t a Jon Gruden profile back, he was still effective as a complementary option in the backfield. In 2019, Washington recorded 108 carries for 387 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to go along with 36 receptions for 292 receiving yards.
Washington is a productive running back who was able to also have an impact on the ground and through the air in Kliff Kingsbury’s wide-open attack at Texas Tech. Short and compact, Washington could also be a kick returning option for Gang Green.
C.J. Prosise
C.J. Prosise’s once-promising Seahawks career has been snake bitten by injuries.
While health remains a concern, it wouldn’t be unwise for the Jets to take a gamble on Prosise. New York doesn’t exactly need a clean bill of health from the former Notre Dame product; it justs need him to be the low-risk, high-reward reclamation project that he projects to be.
In 2019, Prosise played in nine games, recording 72 rushing yards and a touchdown along with 10 receptions for 76 yards. In Week 16, he suffered a broken arm, which ended his season. Prosise’s rookie season ended with a fractured scapula. In 2017, he was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. The following season, Prosise played in five games before being placed on injured reserve with abdomen, groin and hip-flexor injuries.
The injuries are a legitimate concern, but when healthy, he’s a legitimate addition to a backfield looking for a talented two-way option behind Le’Veon Bell.
Kenjon Barner
Kenjon Barner is another free agent back that has an Eagles connection.
Barner had three different stops in Carolina, two stays in Philadelphia and a cup of coffee with the Patriots and Chargers before landing on his feet with Atlanta in 2019.
Barner had just four rushing attempts for 28 yards last season, adding six catches for 22 yards out of the backfield. For his career, he has 100 career rushing attempts for 416 yards and 10 touchdowns. However, for the majority of his career, he’s primarily served as a kick returner. Just this past season, he returned a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown in a Week 11 win over the Panthers, which earned him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
If kick returning is all Barner brings to the table, he still presents himself as a legitimate body in the Jets’ potential backfield.
Want to read about more potential free agent targets for the Jets? We’ll be breaking them down position by position as we approach free agency:
Right Tackles | Right Guards | Center | Left Tackles | Left Guards
