How Andy Reid’s RBs fare in their second season
Reid began his coaching tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999, and it didn’t take long before he got a new offensive toy. Brian Westbrook (whom has already been compared to Edwards-Helaire) was drafted by the organization in 2002.
During his rookie season Westbrook saw limited opportunities as Duce Staley was, at the time, the entrenched starting running back. Over his rookie season, Westbrook started only three games and recorded 46 rushing attempts. This resulted in 193 rushing yards. He also recorded 4.2 yards per attempt with 11 first downs. It’s known at this point that Reid loves to utilizes his backs in the passing game, and, subsequently, Westbrook tallied an impressive 9.6 yards per reception over his first year.
Westbrook’s second season allowed him far more opportunities as he started for eight games. During his 2003 season Westbrook carried the rock 117 times resulting in 613 yards. He also tallied up 7 touchdowns and 30 first downs. His yards per attempt also improved to 5.2 yards per attempt, while his 9.0 yards per reception remained high. A statistical improvement to say the least.
Though he plays for a less than desirable team at the moment, Chiefs fans are certainly familiar with running back LeSean McCoy, a member of the Chiefs’ roster last year. “Shady” was drafted by the Eagles in 2003. Over the course of his rookie year, McCoy earned four starts and toted the ball 155 times, earning 637 yards and 4 rushing touchdowns along the way. He recorded 4.1 yards per attempt as well as 29 first downs. He also earned himself 7.7 yards per reception.
The following year, McCoy proved to be the new RB1 in Philly, starting for the Eagles 13 times. Over the 2004 season he ran the ball 207 times which led to 1,080 yards along with 7 touchdowns and 46 first downs. His yards per reception remained about the same at 7.6, while his yards per carry improved to 5.2. Starting to notice a trend?
Chiefs’ fans know all too well about Kareem Hunt. Though a serious off the field incident and corresponding dishonesty with the Chiefs’ front office resulted in his departure from the team in only his second year, it still serves as a helpful guide to further observe what a running back’s first couple of seasons look like under Andy Reid.
In his rookie season with KC in 2017, Hunt absolutely lit it up. An injury to Spencer Ware before the start of the 2017 season allowed Hunt to take over the starting role, which resulted in him starting all 16 games. He was an absolute workhorse, running the rock 272 times for 1,327 yards and 8 rushing touchdowns. He also earned 63 first downs and boasted 4.9 yards per attempt in addition to 8.6 yards per reception.
Though Hunt’s sophomore season ultimately ended in his premature exit from the Chiefs, causing him to only start 11 games due to suspension, he continued to play ferociously. In addition to a decreased sample size it should also be pointed out that 2018 was Patrick Mahomes’ first season as the new starting quarterback. Considering Mahomes threw the ball 75 more times than previous Chiefs’ QB Alex Smith, it’s clear to see why Hunt’s numbers were impacted.
In 2018, Hunt rushed 181 times, allowing him to rack up 824 rushing yards along with 7 touchdowns. His 46 first downs accounted for an impressive 4.18 per game, an increase over his previous 3.94 per game in 2017. His yards per carry, 4.6 dropped slightly, though unsurprisingly his yards per reception rocketed up to a ridiculous 14.5. We can thank Patrick Mahomes for that one.