The first week of the 2021 NFL season is prepared to begin on Thursday with the Dallas Cowboys traveling to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We finally have football to watch again as the Buccaneers will look to defend their title as Super Bowl champions. Even though the NFL has become a pass-oriented league, running the ball is still crucial to each team’s success.
It’s easy to assume that Christian McCaffrey, Dalvin Cook, Alvin Kamara, and Derrick Henry are going to have productive performances in Week 1. There are other running backs that are viewed as near guarantees to produce every week for their respective.
But ahead of the first weekend of action in the NFL this season, here are three running backs that could surprise some people in Week 1.
Ronald Jones, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
On Thursday night, all eyes will be on Tom Brady and the aerial attack of the Buccaneers versus the Cowboys. After all, Tampa Bay boasts arguably the best wide receiver trio in the NFL with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Antonio Brown, and Dallas has a suspect secondary taking the field. Despite the Buccaneers likely being able to air it out with ease on Thursday, they’ll be hoping for one of their running backs to step up.
While Leonard Fournette emerged as the go-to guy in Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl run last season, Ronald Jones is still the most talented running back in the backfield. Even with Giovani Bernard joining the backfield this offseason, I expect Jones to show that he’s the No. 1 back on the depth chart in Week 1 against the Cowboys. There’s a chance we see Jones scamper for 100+ yards if the Buccaneers can get out to an early lead on Thursday night.
Chase Edmonds, Arizona Cardinals
Early in the offseason, Kenyan Drake left the Arizona Cardinals in favor of the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency. Upon Drake’s departure, Chase Edmonds immediately became a player that would see an expanded role in the offense in 2021. However, the Cardinals would sign James Conner, putting a damper on everyone’s expectations for Edmonds. While some people are hesitant to believe in Edmonds due to Conner’s presence, I still believe Edmonds is the superior running back between the two.
What makes Edmonds the better back — besides his availability — is that he’s a better receiver than Conner was/is. The good news for Edmonds is that he gets a favorable matchup versus the Tennessee Titans in Week 1 in what could be a shootout. Getting 100+ yards from scrimmage and a couple of touchdowns is not out of the realm of possibility for Edmonds to kick off the NFL season.
Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos
Trusting rookie running backs can sometimes be hard to do, but the Denver Broncos continue to share the confidence they have in Javonte Williams. Williams is expected to begin the season as the backup to Melvin Gordon, but I don’t believe it will be long before Williams takes the starting job. With Teddy Bridgewater named as the starting quarterback, Vic Fangio clearly wants to play time-controlled offense while his defense keeps opposing offenses in check.
Denver is going to be running the ball often this season and that could begin in Week 1 as they could jump out to a decent lead versus the New York Giants, who have a turnover-prone quarterback in Daniel Jones. While Gordon fails to do much with his touches, Williams is going to make the most of his touches in Week 1 as he proceeds to become the starter for the Broncos this season.
