Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen will both be 30 at the end of the season. And that makes me confident we’ve already seen the best of these guys as runners.
With quarterbacks, experience has value. These superstars are smarter, more efficient quarterbacks now than they were early in their careers. They’ve been around the block.
But both have been helped along thus far by their running ability, and that part of their game is definitely in decline.
Consider the chart below. It shows the most productive rushing seasons by quarterbacks in this century (using 6 for TDs and 1 for 10 yards). Both Allen and Jackson are on this list seven times.
But only three of these 50 quarterbacks were in their 30s – 31-year-old Cam Newton (who played poorly but bulled for 12 TDs for the Patriots in 2020) and 30-year-olds Michael Vick and Taysom Hill.
While I’m not opposed to selecting either Allen or Jackson, I don’t consider it likely for either to come close to the best numbers of their careers. That rushing production can be a real ignitor for fantasy value, and the old rule of thumb is to never catch a falling knife.
| BEST RUNNING QUARTERBACKS (since 2000) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Age | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Pts |
| 2019 | • Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 22 | 176 | 1,206 | 6.9 | 7 | 162.6 |
| 2022 | Justin Fields, Chi. | 23 | 160 | 1,143 | 7.1 | 8 | 162.3 |
| 2011 | Cam Newton, Car. | 22 | 126 | 706 | 5.6 | 14 | 154.6 |
| 2022 | Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 24 | 165 | 760 | 4.6 | 13 | 154.0 |
| 2023 | Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 25 | 157 | 605 | 3.9 | 15 | 150.5 |
| 2020 | Kyler Murray, Ari. | 23 | 133 | 819 | 6.2 | 11 | 147.9 |
| 2024 | Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 26 | 150 | 630 | 4.2 | 14 | 147.0 |
| 2020 | • Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 23 | 159 | 1,005 | 6.3 | 7 | 142.5 |
| 2023 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 27 | 111 | 524 | 4.7 | 15 | 142.4 |
| 2025 | • Josh Allen, Buff. | 29 | 112 | 579 | 5.2 | 14 | 141.9 |
| 2021 | Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 23 | 139 | 784 | 5.6 | 10 | 138.4 |
| 2020 | Cam Newton, N.E. | 31 | 137 | 592 | 4.3 | 12 | 131.2 |
| 2002 | Michael Vick, Atl. | 22 | 113 | 777 | 6.9 | 8 | 125.7 |
| 2024 | Jayden Daniels, Was. | 24 | 148 | 891 | 6.0 | 6 | 125.1 |
| 2024 | • Josh Allen, Buff. | 28 | 102 | 531 | 5.2 | 12 | 125.1 |
| 2015 | Cam Newton, Car. | 26 | 132 | 636 | 4.8 | 10 | 123.6 |
| 2012 | Robert Griffin, Was. | 22 | 120 | 815 | 6.8 | 7 | 123.5 |
| 2012 | Cam Newton, Car. | 23 | 127 | 741 | 5.8 | 8 | 122.1 |
| 2010 | Michael Vick, Phil. | 30 | 100 | 676 | 6.8 | 9 | 121.6 |
| 2002 | Daunte Culpepper, Min. | 25 | 106 | 609 | 5.8 | 10 | 120.9 |
| 2014 | Russell Wilson, Sea. | 26 | 118 | 849 | 7.2 | 6 | 120.9 |
| 2022 | • Josh Allen, Buff. | 26 | 124 | 762 | 6.1 | 7 | 118.2 |
| 2006 | Michael Vick, Atl. | 26 | 123 | 1,039 | 8.5 | 2 | 115.9 |
| 2024 | • Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 27 | 139 | 915 | 6.6 | 4 | 115.5 |
| 2022 | Daniel Jones, NYG | 25 | 120 | 708 | 5.9 | 7 | 112.8 |
| 2021 | • Josh Allen, Buff. | 25 | 122 | 763 | 6.3 | 6 | 112.3 |
| 2023 | • Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 26 | 148 | 821 | 5.6 | 5 | 112.1 |
| 2017 | Cam Newton, Car. | 28 | 139 | 754 | 5.4 | 6 | 111.4 |
| 2018 | • Josh Allen, Buff. | 22 | 89 | 631 | 7.1 | 8 | 111.1 |
| 2004 | Michael Vick, Atl. | 24 | 120 | 902 | 7.5 | 3 | 108.2 |
| 2019 | • Josh Allen, Buff. | 23 | 109 | 510 | 4.7 | 9 | 105.0 |
| 2025 | Jaxson Dart, NYG | 22 | 86 | 487 | 5.7 | 9 | 102.7 |
| 2011 | Tim Tebow, Den. | 24 | 122 | 660 | 5.4 | 6 | 102.0 |
| 2018 | • Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 21 | 147 | 695 | 4.7 | 5 | 99.5 |
| 2000 | Donovan McNabb, Phil. | 24 | 86 | 629 | 7.3 | 6 | 98.9 |
| 2006 | Vince Young, Ten. | 23 | 83 | 552 | 6.7 | 7 | 97.2 |
| 2005 | Michael Vick, Atl. | 25 | 102 | 597 | 5.9 | 6 | 95.7 |
| 2013 | Cam Newton, Car. | 24 | 111 | 585 | 5.3 | 6 | 94.5 |
| 2022 | • Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 25 | 112 | 764 | 6.8 | 3 | 94.4 |
| 2016 | Tyrod Taylor, Buff. | 27 | 95 | 580 | 6.1 | 6 | 94.0 |
| 2020 | Taysom Hill, N.O. | 30 | 87 | 457 | 5.3 | 8 | 93.7 |
| 2025 | Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 27 | 105 | 421 | 4.0 | 8 | 90.1 |
| 2020 | • Josh Allen, Buff. | 24 | 102 | 421 | 4.1 | 8 | 90.1 |
| 2025 | Trevor Lawrence, Jac. | 26 | 82 | 359 | 4.4 | 9 | 89.9 |
| 2023 | Justin Fields, Chi. | 24 | 124 | 657 | 5.3 | 4 | 89.7 |
| 2000 | Daunte Culpepper, Min. | 23 | 89 | 470 | 5.3 | 7 | 89.0 |
| 2021 | • Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 24 | 133 | 767 | 5.8 | 2 | 88.7 |
| 2024 | Kyler Murray, Ari. | 27 | 78 | 572 | 7.3 | 5 | 87.2 |
| 2024 | Anthony Richardson, Ind. | 22 | 86 | 499 | 5.8 | 6 | 85.9 |
| 2000 | Kordell Stewart, Pitt. | 28 | 78 | 436 | 5.6 | 7 | 85.6 |
—Ian Allan
