Fantasy Football Draft Outlook: Dameon Pierce, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Cam Akers, Josh Jacobs (2024)

As advanced metrics become more innovative, the more difficult they are to track. Yards created being a prime example. But just because it is a difficult metric to track doesn’t mean we should stick to less significant stats. Yards after contact, for example, the closest living relative to yards created, is a common default in this area of analysis. The issue with yards after contact is that it can minimize the impact of smaller, more agile backs. Truck-sticking defenders all the way down the field is impressive, but isn’t the juke move to go untouched just as significant?

There are several ways a running back can gain “extra” yardage, so it’s only logical that we use several different metrics to measure a running back’s ability to create extra yards. There are different versions of yards created being tracked, and for this article, I’ll use SumerSports, which defines their metric as, “adjusting yards per carry based on situation and defensive pre-snap look.” Additionally, I will also utilize PFF’s elusiveness rating, which considers missed tackles forced and yards after contact per attempt. With all of this, we will zoom in on yards after contact to paint a full picture.

Here’s the full article on The Best & Worst Running Backs at Creating Yards. Let’s dive into a few notable names below.

Creating Yards in 2023 (Fantasy Football)

Bottom 10 RBs at Creating Yards

Bottom 10 RBs in Yards Created per SumerSports
Name	Yards Created
Miles Sanders	-0.83
Javonte Williams	-0.98
Rachaad White	-0.99
Clyde Edwards-Helaire	-1
Elijah Mitchell	-1.01
Dameon Pierce	-1.03
Ezekiel Elliott	-1.04
Jamaal Williams	-1.16
Dalvin Cook	-1.19
Cam Akers	-1.35

Bottom 10 RBs in Elusiveness Rating per PFF
Name	Elusiveness Rating
Gus Edwards	32.3
Josh Jacobs	32.2
Chase Edmonds	32.1
Matt Breida	30.6
Joshua Kelley	27.3
Jamaal Williams	23.6
Jeff Wilson Jr.	21.3
Latavius Murray	21
Darrell Henderson	11.4
Kareem Hunt	10.1

Bottom RBs in Yards After Contact per Attempt
Name	Attempts	Yards	YAC	YAC per Attempt
Josh Jacobs	233	805	547	2.35
Cam Akers	60	167	141	2.35
Tank Bigsby	50	132	117	2.34
Clyde Edwards-Helaire	70	223	161	2.3
Dameon Pierce	145	416	329	2.27
Jamaal Williams	106	306	239	2.25
Latavius Murray	79	300	177	2.24
Dalvin Cook	67	214	148	2.21
Matt Breida	55	151	121	2.2
Kareem Hunt	135	411	293	2.17

Following a career year in he 2022 season and a training camp holdout, Josh Jacobs may as well have sat this season out. His 2.35 yards after contact per attempt were tied for ninth-worst among running backs with 50 or more carries, and his elusiveness rating was also ninth-worst. His 13 games played were the fewest since his rookie season, and his 805 rushing yards and six touchdowns were both career lows, as was his 3.5 yards per carry. It’s not ideal going into free agency, but he can certainly bounce back in the right situation.

Cam Akers generated the worst yards created total, with -1.35 yards, and tied with Jacobs for the ninth-worst yards after contact per attempt, with 2.35. Akers also suffered his second torn Achilles and his career is likely in jeopardy.

Also on the list of running backs on the decline, Clyde Edwards-Helaire had the seventh-lowest yards created total and seventh-worst yards after contact per attempt. CEH will be a free agent after this season and soon our memories of him as a first round pick will fade away forever.

Admittedly, I was bullish on Dameon Pierce this season and had faith in the Texans’ offensive line to improve. It turned out that the offensive line isn’t to blame here. Pierce registered the fifth-worst yards created per attempt, with -1.03, and the sixth-worst yards after contact per attempt with 2.27. The second year back out of Florida played in 14 games, which was one more than he played in his rookie season, but he only started seven of them after being overtaken by Devin Singletary. Last season, Pierce accumulated 939 rushing yards and over 1,000 all-purpose yards. This season, those numbers tumbled to 416 and 101, respectively, and his yards per carry total slipped from 4.3 to 2.9 yards. As a fourth-round pick, the Texans have very little invested in Pierce. Singletary will be a free agent, but the Texans will likely look to bring him back and/or upgrade the room as a whole.