I notice that three players ran for 180-plus yards in August, and only one made his team’s 53-man roster – Jacob Saylors, who’ll likely be the 2nd-, 3rd- or 4th-string running back in Detroit. Teams don’t value the preseason like they used to.
The Cardinals had two of the 180-yard rushers, but they released Evan Hull (who’s been trying to gain a foothold in the league for years) and dished off Corey Kiner to the Patriots for a seventh-round pick. For now, Kiner is the third back in New England, playing special teams and backing up Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson.
Not that the preseason simply serves no purpose. In large part because of what he did on the field, Saylors (pictured) is on Detroit’s roster. He may open the season as their backup running back. (Isiah Pacheco is banged up, and Sione Vaki has a limited background at the position – he was mostly a defensive back in college). If Saylors gets a fill-in start for Jahmyr Gibbs, I’m interested.
And there was other movement on depth charts around the league. Malik Davis was able to beat out second-year backs Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah in Dallas. That may make him the No. 2 back behind Javonte Williams, but the Cowboys are also mulling Emari Demercado (claimed on waivers today).
Emmett Johnson appears to have secured the backup job in Kansas City. He’s similarly worthy of a stash roster spot, with it more likely than not that Kenneth Walker breaks down at some point.
But overall, the preseason tends to be pretty meaningless. The guys running for the most yards in August tend to be more likely to wind up on practice squads or simply out of the league.
Below are the top 5 rushers (among running backs) from each of the last six seasons. I’ve got them in descending order by rushing yards.
| PRESEASON RUSHING LEADERS (2021-) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Att | Yards | Avg | Lg | TD |
| 2023 | Emanuel Wilson (GB) | 38 | 223 | 5.9 | 80 | 2 |
| 2021 | Rhamondre Stevenson (NE) | 30 | 217 | 7.2 | 91 | 5 |
| 2026 | Evan Hull (ARZ) | 38 | 189 | 5.0 | 47 | 2 |
| 2021 | Mekhi Sargent (TEN) | 49 | 187 | 3.8 | 16 | 1 |
| 2026 | Jacob Saylors (DET) | 31 | 187 | 6.0 | 27 | 0 |
| 2026 | Corey Kiner (ARZ) | 39 | 180 | 4.6 | 16 | 2 |
| 2021 | J.J. Taylor (NE) | 23 | 179 | 7.8 | 21 | 1 |
| 2021 | Jamycal Hasty (SF) | 35 | 176 | 5.0 | 35 | 3 |
| 2023 | Julius Chestnut (TEN) | 29 | 174 | 6.0 | 55 | 1 |
| 2026 | Mike Washington (LV) | 23 | 168 | 7.3 | 53 | 0 |
| 2026 | Gregory Desrosiers (LAC) | 23 | 166 | 7.2 | 34 | 1 |
| 2021 | Nate McCrary (BLT) | 42 | 163 | 3.9 | 22 | 1 |
| 2022 | DeeJay Dallas (SEA) | 28 | 163 | 5.8 | 27 | 1 |
| 2022 | Jason Huntley (PHI) | 35 | 163 | 4.7 | 67 | 2 |
| 2024 | Frank Gore (BUF) | 33 | 163 | 4.9 | 17 | 1 |
| 2025 | D'Ernest Johnson (BLT) | 46 | 163 | 3.5 | 16 | 2 |
| 2024 | Emanuel Wilson (GB) | 37 | 160 | 4.3 | 23 | 1 |
| 2023 | Tank Bigsby (JAX) | 28 | 159 | 5.7 | 34 | 0 |
| 2024 | Velus Jones (CHI) | 25 | 158 | 6.3 | 39 | 2 |
| 2024 | Boston Scott (LAR) | 36 | 157 | 4.4 | 34 | 0 |
| 2022 | Brittain Brown (LV) | 34 | 152 | 4.5 | 36 | 2 |
| 2025 | Jacardia Wright (SEA) | 21 | 147 | 7.0 | 61 | 1 |
| 2023 | Elijah Dotson (LAC) | 18 | 146 | 8.1 | 40 | 2 |
| 2023 | Salvon Ahmed (MIA) | 16 | 142 | 8.9 | 65 | 0 |
| 2024 | Kenny McIntosh (SEA) | 17 | 142 | 8.4 | 56 | 1 |
| 2022 | Caleb Huntley (ATL) | 38 | 138 | 3.6 | 21 | 1 |
| 2025 | Zonovan Knight (ARZ) | 12 | 138 | 11.5 | 67 | 1 |
| 2025 | Rasheen Ali (BLT) | 37 | 135 | 3.6 | 19 | 2 |
| 2022 | Malik Davis (DAL) | 31 | 132 | 4.3 | 16 | 1 |
| 2025 | Ollie Gordon (MIA) | 26 | 126 | 4.8 | 21 | 1 |
If we take those same backs and look at what they did in the regular season, it doesn’t amount to much. Three snuck into the top 50 in leagues using PPR scoring. I see 5 TDs each for 2021 Rhamondre Stevenson, 2024 Emanuel Wilson and 2025 Bam Knight. Knight (with Arizona’s top 2 backs both getting hurt) was the only one of the backs on this list to start more than two games.
Of the 22 other running backs on this list, only Ollie Gordon finished with top-70 numbers (4 touchdowns, 199 rushing yards and 7 catches for 32 yards put him 68th among running backs last year).
Of the top 5 rushers this year, Mike Washington is the one that interests me the most. He looks like he could be pretty good should banged up Ashton Jeanty miss any games.
| PRESEASON RUSHING LEADERS IN REGULAR SEASON | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | G | Rushing | Receiving | PPR | Rk |
| 2021 | • Rhamondre Stevenson, N.E. | 12 | 133-606-5 | 14-123-0 | 116.9 | 47 |
| 2021 | Mekhi Sargent, 3 tm | 7 | 5-11-0 | 0-0-0 | 1.1 | 161 |
| 2021 | J.J. Taylor, N.E. | 5 | 19-37-2 | 4-8-0 | 20.5 | 111 |
| 2021 | Jamycal Hasty, S.F. | 11 | 16-68-1 | 23-157-0 | 51.5 | 77 |
| 2021 | Nate McCrary, Balt. | 1 | 1-(-1)-0 | 0-0-0 | -.1 | -- |
| 2022 | DeeJay Dallas, Sea. | 15 | 35-186-0 | 17-126-0 | 48.2 | 75 |
| 2022 | Jason Huntley (DNP) | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 | .0 | -- |
| 2022 | Brittain Brown (DNP) | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 | .0 | -- |
| 2022 | Caleb Huntley, Atl. | 12 | 76-366-1 | 2-3-0 | 44.9 | 79 |
| 2022 | Malik Davis, Dall. | 12 | 38-161-1 | 6-63-0 | 34.4 | 86 |
| 2023 | Emanuel Wilson, G.B. | 7 | 14-85-0 | 4-23-0 | 14.8 | 103 |
| 2023 | Julius Chestnut, Ten. | 3 | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 | .0 | 150 |
| 2023 | Tank Bigsby, Jac. | 17 | 50-132-2 | 1-6-0 | 26.8 | 87 |
| 2023 | Elijah Dotson, LAC | 4 | 4-6-0 | 2-13-0 | 3.9 | 130 |
| 2023 | Salvon Ahmed, Mia. | 8 | 22-61-1 | 16-88-1 | 42.9 | 73 |
| 2024 | Frank Gore (DNP) | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 | .0 | -- |
| 2024 | • Emanuel Wilson, G.B. | 17 | 103-502-4 | 11-48-1 | 96.0 | 48 |
| 2024 | Velus Jones (DNP) | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 | .0 | -- |
| 2024 | Boston Scott (DNP) | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 | .0 | -- |
| 2024 | Kenny McIntosh, Sea. | 17 | 31-172-0 | 3-22-0 | 22.4 | 98 |
| 2025 | D'Ernest Johnson, 2 tm | 8 | 14-25-0 | 0-0-0 | 2.5 | 128 |
| 2025 | Jacardia Wright, Sea. | 1 | 5-20-0 | 0-0-0 | 2.0 | 131 |
| 2025 | • Zonovan Knight, Ari. | 12 | 82-269-4 | 22-160-1 | 94.9 | 49 |
| 2025 | Rasheen Ali, Balt. | 15 | 7-24-0 | 9-68-1 | 24.2 | 90 |
| 2025 | Ollie Gordon, Mia. | 17 | 70-199-3 | 7-32-1 | 54.1 | 68 |
—Ian Allan

