X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

Coaching Matters: NFC East Play-Calling Impact On RB

Eli Grabanski analyzes offensive play-calling tendencies of NFC East coaches and breaks down the fantasy football impact for running backs in 2020.

In fantasy football, many of us 'experts' in the field try to take as much data into account before making a conclusion on players. That includes looking at things like game tape, the team's offensive line, or their primary playcaller's historical tendencies to utilize a certain position. After much research, I've developed a broad knowledge of how each team's playcaller historically has utilized their running backs.

Today we will look at the NFC East. This division had a lot of coaching movement this offseason, with the Cowboys, Giants, and Washington Football Team hiring new coaching staffs. The Eagles were the only coaching staff to remain intact, with head coach Doug Pederson maintaining playcalling duties. The New York Giants hired former New England Patriots special teams coordinator Joe Judge to be their new head coach and conducted an inter-divisional search for their new offensive coordinator who is now Jason Garrett, the former Dallas Cowboys head coach.

Washington hired the defensive-minded Ron Rivera to be their new head coach, and he's giving Scott Turner, the son of former coach Norv Turner, an opportunity to call plays for the team. And the Cowboys hired offensive-minded and former Packers coach Mike McCarthy to be their new head coach, but they plan on having Kellen Moore retain playcalling duties after his success last season.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

New York Giants

Primary Playcaller: Jason Garrett

Since 2007, Jason Garrett had been a key member of the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff, but this past offseason the Cowboys decided it was time to cut ties with him. He was not without a job for long as the Cowboys' rival, the New York Giants, jumped in and hired Jason Garrett to be the offensive coordinator of the team. Considering new head coach Joe Judge doesn't have an offensive background in coaching (it's special teams), Garrett is going to be the key guy in how the New York Giants offense is run.

Everyone knows Saquon Barkley is the best weapon on the Giants, so he'll likely be the centerpiece of Jason Garrett's offense. But it's important to get a good idea of how Garrett has historically used his running backs in the past, so we can have a better idea of how he might use them in the future. Here's how Jason Garrett has historically used his running backs in the ground game:

So, as you can see, Jason Garrett features his running backs pretty heavily in the ground game with his running back room averaging 23.63 carries per game and his RB1 getting 15.30 of those. Adjusted for a 16 game season, this means that his average starting running back gets 245 carries per year and the rest of the room gets about 133. But we all know that Saquon Barkley is not your average starting running back, so this workload on the ground should be viewed as a floor for him if he plays a full season.

Another important aspect to pay attention to regarding running backs is how frequently they are utilized in the passing game. Here's a little look at how Jason Garrett has historically used his running backs in the passing game:

Overall, Jason Garrett's track record suggests that Saquon Barkley and the rest of the running back room will either get similar or even a slight decrease of usage in the passing game from former coach Pat Shurmur's offensive system.

Playcaller Net Impact on RB: Neutral - Jason Garrett has been involved with both elite rushing attacks and poor rushing attacks in the past. Overall, it will likely result in a slight increase in rush attempts and a slight decrease in receiving opportunities for the running backs in comparison to last year.

 

Dallas Cowboys

Primary Playcaller: Kellen Moore

The Dallas Cowboys finally decided to move on from head coach Jason Garrett this offseason. While they hired offensive-minded head coach Mike McCarthy, the team has stated that last year's play-caller, Kellen Moore, would retain playcalling duties for the 2020 season. Here's how the Cowboys' offensive coordinator used his running backs in the ground game:

It's hard to have a lot of tangible takeaways from just one season of coaching, but overall this is a good sign that Ezekiel Elliott's usage should be pretty frequent on the ground again in 2020, as long as he's healthy.

Here's how Kellen Moore used his running backs in the passing game:

Playcaller Net Impact on RB: Positive - Kellen Moore gave Ezekiel Elliott 78% of the workload last year, and it's likely he gives Elliott a similar workload in 2020. 387 carries and 91 targets for the RB room is quite a bit, and there were plenty of scoring opportunities as Kellen Moore directed one of the best offenses in the league. While it remains to be seen if he can duplicate the success in his second year as an offensive playcaller, the initial signs are extremely positive.

Secondary Playcaller: Mike McCarthy

Even though it's unlikely that Mike McCarthy calls plays this year given the COVID-19 landscape, it's a good idea to look at his track record just in case he needs to call plays in 2020. Here's a little look at how Cowboys' head coach Mike McCarthy has historically used his running backs on the ground:

For the most part, Mike McCarthy has never been a huge proponent of giving his running backs a huge workload. Setting the pace for a 16-game season, his RB room historically averages around 339 carries with his lead back only averaging about 225 carries. He has had a few great RB seasons in the past here and there with backs like Ricky Williams and Eddie Lacy, but overall, his willingness to ignore the ground game is concerning.

However, besides the ground game, in the modern-day of football, it's very important to consider how a coach uses their running backs in the passing game. Here's a look at how the new head coach, Mike McCarthy, has historically used his RB room in the passing game:

Overall, there is some cause for alarm with McCarthy's use of running backs in the passing game as well. In 19 years of coaching, only in four of those years has his RB room cracked 100 targets. If McCarthy ever takes playcalling duties from Kellen Moore, Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard's running back production would take a hit.

Playcaller Net Impact on RBNegativeIt's good that Mike McCarthy isn't the primary playcaller for the Dallas Cowboys, otherwise we'd likely see Ezekiel Elliott's production dip from high-end RB1 to low-end RB1. While he was a solid head coach hire in general, with regards to utilizing his running backs, McCarthy is a downgrade from Jason Garrett. He utilizes his backs less in both the ground game and the passing game.

 

Washington Football Team

Primary Playcaller: Scott Turner

Scott Turner is one of the least experienced offensive coordinators in the league, with only four games under his belt as an offensive coordinator. So, it's hard to make any reasonable conclusions about how he's gonna use his running backs in Washington. But for fun, here's a little look at how he used Christian McCaffrey last year on the ground for the Carolina Panthers:

It's difficult to come to any conclusions on Scott Turner's tendencies to use his running backs in the ground game after only four games. But in those four contests, he was willing to abandon the run, giving his running backs only 14.75 carries per game. Extrapolated over a full 16-game season, that would lead to a pathetic 236 carries for his entire running back room (208 for his lead back). While this should hopefully improve when he gets a full offseason to prepare his own playbook, this is a trend to keep an eye on, as the Washington Football Team is not going to be much better than the Carolina Panthers were last year.

But, while the ground game suffered during Scott Turner's four games as a playcaller, his running backs received plenty of pass-catching opportunities. Let's take a look at how he utilized Mr. McCaffrey and the rest of the Panthers RB crew through the air last year:

It's easy to throw the ball to your running back when you have Christian McCaffrey back there, but the amount that Turner threw to McCaffrey and the rest of his running back room was ridiculous in those four games, doubling the league average among playcallers. While we shouldn't draw too many conclusions from this sample, it shows that Turner will force-feed the ball to his best playmakers.

Playcaller Net Impact on RB: Inconclusive - Scott Turner's coaching sample size is way too small to make any conclusions, with only four games as an interim playcaller using his father's playbook. If you extrapolated this data, Antonio Gibson might be an interesting player to target, but for now, it's probably smarter to completely ignore this data until Turner gets another season or two under his belt.

 

Philadelphia Eagles

Primary Playcaller: Doug Pederson

Doug Pederson is one of the best offensive football minds in the game right now. He won a Super Bowl with his clever playcalling against the Patriots a few years ago and knows how to get his offense cooking, even when key playmakers are missing. Here's a little look at how he's used one of his skill positions, the running back position, in his career as an offensive coordinator or head coach:

As you can see, Doug Pederson's running back usage has historically been a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, he has given his RB room a fair number of carries. But on the other hand, a little under 50% of those carries went to his RB1. It's hard to know if that's because he's never had an RB1 worthy of receiving a significant workload other than Jamaal Charles in 2013, or if he generally believes in using multiple running backs in the ground game.

But, the ground game is about half of a running back's value. We have to take a good, hard look at a running back's ability in the passing game because opportunity in the passing game boosts the upside of a running back massively. Wonder how Doug Pederson uses his running backs in the passing game? Here's a little look below:

This is where you really get excited about the potential of Doug Pederson's lead back. In five of his seven seasons as an offensive coordinator or head coach, Doug Pederson's running back room has received over 100 targets. For comparison purposes, Pederson's running back room has had more 100+ target seasons in the past seven years than Mike McCarthy's running back room has had in his 19-year career.

If Miles Sanders can receive a bulk of these receiving opportunities again next year, it might not matter that he doesn't receive a workhorse workload (70% of running back room carries) in the ground game.

Playcaller Net Impact on RB: Slight negative in the ground game, positive in the passing game - Doug Pederson has only featured a bell-cow in the ground game once in seven years, which at first look makes it hard to trust him to use his lead back on the ground. But on the flip side, outside of Jamaal Charles, he's also never had a running back worthy of a significant workload on the ground and overall he gives his RB room a fair number of carries each game, so the potential is there if a back proves to be worthy.

In the passing game, Pederson's running backs get a lot of work and it is a net positive for any back. This bodes well for Miles Sanders since he showed his effectiveness as a pass-catcher last year as a rookie. Even in the worst-case scenario, which is Miles Sanders only receiving about half of the ground game workload, his pass-catching ability combined with Doug Pederson's tendency to throw to his backs makes him a decent RB2 at worst.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!

More Fantasy Football Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

CFB

Eric Singleton Jr. Questionable For Saturday
Braden Schneider

Limited in Training Camp
Lars Eller

Recovering From Abdominal Procedure
Nick Jensen

in Danger of Missing Start of Season
Brandon Montour

to Miss Two Weeks After Ankle Surgery
Gabriel Landeskog

a "Full Go" for the Season
Samuel Girard

Avalanche Hope to Have Samuel Girard Available for Start of Season
Mackenzie Blackwood

Out Week-to-Week
Alex Tuch

Day-to-Day With Undisclosed Injury
Jordan Greenway

to Sit Out Training Camp
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Considered Day-to-Day
Simon Edvinsson

to Miss a Couple of Weeks
Mikael Backlund

Signs Two-Year Extension
Connor Ingram

to Be Waived by Mammoth
Zach Hyman

Misses Start of Training Camp
Nick Paul

Out Until November
Kris Letang

Cleared for Training Camp
David Pastrnak

Out for Start of Training Camp
Matthew Tkachuk

Expected to Be Out Until December
NBA

Trevelin Queen Joins Chinese Team
Damian Lillard

Not Rushing His Return
Brooklyn Nets

Keon Johnson Waived by Nets
Justin Verlander

Plans to Pitch in 2026
Junior Caminero

Day-to-Day With Back Tightness
Will Smith

Won't Return When First Eligible
Tyler Soderstrom

Returns to A's Lineup
Tyler Warren

Sidelined on Wednesday with Toe Injury
Jaylen Waddle

Questionable for Week 3 Against Buffalo
Joe Burrow

Bengals Not Closing the Door on Joe Burrow Returning This Year
CFB

LaNorris Sellers to Play Against Missouri?
Kyle Tucker

Progress has "Plateaued"
Isaac Paredes

has "Outside Chance" to Return This Weekend
CFB

Kaidon Salter Expected To Start for Colorado on Saturday
Willson Contreras

Goes on 10-Day Injured List, Done for Season
Justin Fields

Ruled Out for Week 3 Due to Concussion
Jayden Reed

Out Indefinitely After Foot and Shoulder Surgery
Washington Commanders

Preston Smith Signs With Commanders
Trey Jemison III

Joins Knicks on Two-Way Contract
Kevin McCullar Jr.

Signs New Two-Way Deal With Knicks
Matt Ryan

Returns to Knicks on Exhibit 10 Contract
New York Knicks

Alex Len Signs Exhibit 9 Deal With Knicks
Nickeil Alexander-Walker

Expected to Take on Larger Offensive Role With Hawks
Thomas Sorber

Undergoes Surgery
Dominic Canzone

Has Five-Hit, Three-Homer Game Tuesday
Cal Raleigh

Sets Single-Season Home Run Record for a Switch-Hitter
Jayden Reed

Undergoes Clavicle and Foot Surgeries, Out for Foreseeable Future
Bo Bichette

to Miss Rest of Regular Season
Zach Neto

Placed on 10-Day Injured List With Hand Injury
Yordan Alvarez

Out on Tuesday, Dealing With "Significant" Ankle Sprain
Aaron Jones Sr.

Vikings Place Aaron Jones Sr. on Injured Reserve With Hamstring Injury
CFB

Diego Pavia Refutes Report of Seeking Seventh Collegiate Season
Christian Kirk

Expected to Return in Week 3
CFB

Diego Pavia Seeking Another Year of Eligibility
Tarik Skubal

on Track to Start Thursday
CFB

Kevorian Barnes Questionable Against SMU
Bo Bichette

has Short-Term Knee Injury, Could Return for Postseason
Tosan Evbuomwan

Joins Knicks
NBA

Kai Jones Links Up With EuroLeague Team
Bismack Biyombo

Returns to Spurs
Bones Hyland

Rejoins Timberwolves
Kobe Bufkin

Moves to Brooklyn
Trey Yesavage

Sets Franchise Strikeout Record On Monday
Yordan Alvarez

To Receive MRI For Sprained Left Ankle On Tuesday
Willson Contreras

Exits Early Monday With Right-Biceps Tightness
Yordan Alvarez

Exits With Ankle Sprain
Brock Bowers

Officially Active on Monday Night
Jauan Jennings

Day-to-Day With Ankle Injury
Logan O'Hoppe

Activated Off Seven-Day Injured List
CBJ

Denton Mateychuk Dealing With Groin Issue
Bo Horvat

Fine for Training Camp
Kirby Dach

on Track to Be Ready for Opening Night
Jose Altuve

Returns Against Rangers
J.J. McCarthy

Expected to Miss 2-4 Weeks With High-Ankle Sprain
J.J. McCarthy

Likely Out for Week 3 With High-Ankle Sprain
Jean Silva

Gets Finished For The First Time In His Career
Aaron Jones Sr.

Unlikely to Play in Week 3 Due to Hamstring Injury
Diego Lopes

Returns To The Win Column
Jayden Daniels

' Week 3 Status in Doubt
Rob Font

Outclassed In The Noche UFC 3 Co-Main Event
David Martinez

Wins His Second UFC Fight
Jared Gordon

Suffers Brutal TKO Loss At Noche UFC 3
Rafa Garcia

Wins Back-To-Back Fights
Brian Thomas Jr.

Dealing with Wrist Injury
Dustin Stoltzfus

Drops A Decision At Noche UFC 3
Kelvin Gastelum

Gets Back In The Win Column
Diego Ferreira

Suffers Second-Round TKO
Alexander Hernandez

Extends His Win Streak With A Brutal TKO
Quang Le

Suffers First-Round Knockout
Santiago Luna

Shines In His UFC Debut
Christopher Bell

Earns his First Bristol Cup Series Victory
Alex Bowman

Falls Short of Advancing Through Cup Series Playoffs
Chase Briscoe

Collects his Third Top-10 Finish at Bristol
Ryan Blaney

Strong Top-Five Bristol Performance Advances him to the Playoffs
Corey Heim

Earns his First Career Cup Series Top-10 Finish at Bristol
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Leads Greece to Bronze Medal
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Drops 28 Points in EuroBasket Finals
CFB

Indiana's Lee Beebe Jr. Out for Season with Knee Injury
Dennis Schröder

Dennis Schroder Named EuroBasket MVP
Bryce Eldridge

Giants to Promote Bryce Eldridge
Jaren Jackson Jr.

Progressing in Recovery
Jonathan Kuminga

Receives New Offer From Warriors
Kenneth Walker III

Bounces Back with Big Week 2 Performance
Bijan Robinson

Rushes for 143 Yards in Week 2
Justin Fields

Currently in Concussion Protocol
Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals Calling Around to Available Free-Agent Quarterbacks
Joe Burrow

to Undergo Surgery, Out at Least Three Months
Quentin Grimes

Still Not Close to a New Contract Agreement
Joel Embiid

"Looking Slender, Spry and in Positive Spirits"
Ty Gibbs

Has Arguably his Best Career Drive, but Only Finishes 10th
Chase Elliott

Despite Crashing Out at Bristol, Chase Elliott Advances to Round of 12
Austin Dillon

Misses Round of 12 After Extremely Mediocre Bristol Run
Shane Van Gisbergen

Shane van Gisbergen Fails to Advance to Round of 12
Josh Berry

Finishes Last in All Three Round of 16 Races to Fail to Advance
CFB

Ryan Williams Explodes In Return To Field
CFB

Drew Allar Plays Mediocre Game In Blowout Win
CFB

LaNorris Sellers Exits Game In Blowout Loss
CFB

DJ Lagway Tosses Five Interceptions In Loss
CFB

Garrett Nussmeier Plays Game Manager in Saturday's Win
CFB

CJ Carr Remains Poised In Narrow Loss
CFB

John Mateer Leads Oklahoma In Rout
CFB

Arch Manning Struggles Against UTEP
CFB

Jeremiah Smith Impresses In Win
CFB

Sam Leavitt Shines As Arizona State Rebounds From Week 2 Loss
Chris Buescher

May have Another Solid Run at Bristol
Kyle Busch

Should DFS Managers Roster Kyle Busch at Bristol?
Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Is Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Too Risky to Consider Rostering at Bristol?
Michael McDowell

Could be A Solid Value Option For Bristol DFS Lineups
Chase Elliott

Probably Won't Factor in for Bristol Win
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace Not as Strong at Bristol as Other Short Tracks
Alex Bowman

Needs to Win to Make Round of 12
Ross Chastain

has Never Led at Bristol but Has Been Pretty Consistent
Austin Dillon

Richmond Speed Unlikely to Carry Over to Bristol
Josh Berry

Might Run Well at Bristol, but Almost Certainly Won't Win to Advance
Justin Haley

Bristol One of Justin Haley's Few Recent Bright Spots
CFB

Austin Simmons Listed As Game-Time Decision Against Arkansas
CFB

Nico Iamaleava Struggles In Fourth Straight Loss
CFB

Antonio Williams Out Against Georgia Tech
CFB

CJ Bailey Flashes Again in Win Over Wake Forest
Jean Silva

A Favorite At Noche UFC 3

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP