There was plenty of hype surrounding running back Joshua Kelley heading into the 2020 regular season after he was one of the training camp standouts.
Unfortunately, Kelley was unable to live up to the summer hype after his confidence deteriorated, following fumbles in back-to-back games early on, which then negatively impacted his special teams performance.
Now heading into Year 2, Kelley will be in a three-man battle for two spots behind Austin Ekeler alongside Justin Jackson and rookie Larry Rountree III.
If he earns a spot on the 53-man roster, Kelley not only wants to show he’s capable of having a bounce-back season, but assert himself as one of the top rushers.
“I want to rush for 1,000 yards, however that can be,” Kelley said. “I have a lot of high expectations for myself but I think I can reach them if I keep working and keep trusting the process.”
There’s no denying Kelley’s skillset and work ethic to produce in this league. He has the power to run through defenders, good change-of-direction, vision, burst, decent speed and passing game ability.
However, in front of a new coaching staff, Kelley must show an improvement on special teams in order to make the squad, along with an increase in confidence when running the ball.
Only time will tell if Kelley is able to meet his goal, let alone make the team, but one thing is certain and that is that he wants to have a huge impact on the team this upcoming season.
