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Bengals running backs

Is there a place for Perine?

Toward the end of one of the Experts competitions last week, one participant accidentally had Adrian Peterson autodrafted for him. He asked me to switch that to Samaje Perine, which briefly gave me pause; I had to search my memory for where Perine was employed. He's in Cincinnati, and with Giovani Bernard gone, he looks like Joe Mixon's main backup. Not a bad last-round flier.

In fact, Perine finished up last year in Cincinnati's lineup, going for 136 total yards and 2 TDs against Houston in Week 16, then starting and carrying 9 times for 51 yards in the finale against Baltimore. It's not a large sample set, but Perine last season turned his 63 carries into 301 rushing yards, which is 4.8 yards per attempt. That was a top-15 number among running backs with that many carries last year. A lot better than what Mixon was able to manage prior to getting hurt (he was down at 3.6). Mixon's job is safe (Perine's been in the league for four years without carving out a sizable role since his rookie season, when he managed just 3.4 yards per attempt), but Perine looks like the favorite for No. 2 duties.

RUNNING BACK YARDS PER ATTEMPT, 2020
PlayerAttYdsAvgTDTgtRecYds
J.K. Dobbins1348056.092418120
Sony Michel794495.7197114
Nick Chubb19010675.6121816150
Aaron Jones20111045.596347355
Derrick Henry37820275.4173119114
Miles Sanders1648675.365228197
Ronald Jones1929785.174228165
Jonathan Taylor23211695.0113936299
Damien Harris1376915.027552
Gus Edwards1447235.06139129
Raheem Mostert1045215.021916156
Dalvin Cook31215575.0165444361
Alvin Kamara1879325.01610783756
Chris Carson1416814.854637287
Samaje Perine633014.83121166
Jeff Wilson1266004.872813133
David Johnson1476914.764633314
Antonio Gibson1707954.7114436247
Boston Scott803744.713625212
Brian Hill1004654.713025199
Wayne Gallman1476824.662721114
Chase Edmonds974484.616753402
Melvin Gordon2159864.694432158
Austin Ekeler1165304.616554403
D'Andre Swift1145214.685746357
Devontae Booker934234.63211784
Darrell Henderson1386244.552416159
Alexander Mattison964344.521513125
Latavius Murray1466564.542623176
James Robinson24010704.576049344
Clyde Edwards-Helaire1818034.445436297
Devin Singletary1566874.425038269
Carlos Hyde813564.44201693
David Montgomery24710704.386854438
Cam Akers1456254.321411123
Tony Pollard1014354.344028193
Zack Moss1124814.34181495
J.D. McKissic853654.3111080589
James Conner1697214.364335215
Nyheim Hines893804.337663482
Kareem Hunt1988414.365138304
Phillip Lindsay1185024.3114728
Ito Smith632684.31261775
Jamaal Williams1195054.223531236
Malcolm Brown1014194.253323162
Mark Ingram722994.228650
Myles Gaskin1425844.134741388
Rex Burkhead672744.133325192
Ezekiel Elliott2449794.067152338
Kenyan Drake2399554.0103125137
LeVeon Bell823284.022016138
Jerick McKinnon813193.954633253
Josh Jacobs27310653.9124533238
Mike Davis1656423.967059373
Adrian Peterson1566043.971812101
Leonard Fournette973673.864736233
Jordan Wilkins843083.711612105
Joe Mixon1194283.632621138
Frank Gore1876533.52191689
Todd Gurley1956783.593525164
Giovani Bernard1244163.435947355
Kalen Ballage913033.333729166
Benny Snell1113683.34141061
Joshua Kelley1113543.222323148
Duke Johnson772353.113528249

The other noteworthy element to Perine's game highlighted above is that he proved effective in the passing game. In his limited work he had 12 passes thrown his way, and he caught 11 of them, for 66 yards. With Bernard gone, those are some opportunities where he can spell Mixon on occasion, and it looks like he'll be able to handle them.

If we're scooping up backup running backs late in drafts, and we are, Perine is a player to keep in the back of your mind.

--Andy Richardson

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