There is one position that Washington has not addressed so far in its free agency exploits: fullback.
Throughout this offseason, the team’s most significant weaknesses have been explored and some have been addressed, with free agents who fit into Ron Rivera’s system. But after a series of low-risk, high-reward signings, fullback remains unfilled.
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The running back room is now runneth over with capable backs because Washington added J.D. McKissic and Peyton Barber to incumbents Adrian Peterson, Derrius Guice and Bryce Love. Rivera is an old-school, defensive-minded coach who wants to have a strong running game. So, having a plethora of capable running backs isn’t reinventing the wheel or a new concept.
The Athletic’s Mark Bullock explained why the team now has so many running backs and how first-year offensive coordinator Scott Turner can use them within his system. Bullock also broke down the importance of Turner having two capable tight ends to employ his’ “12” personnel packages.
When reviewing the previous rosters for Rivera and the Turners (Scott and his father, Norv Turner) it’s a scheme that uses a fullback often. Occasionally, they used two. Rivera’s Panthers were one of 21 teams employing fullbacks last season.
How potentially important is the fullback? One overlooked play last football season came on the final touchdown of Super Bowl LIV when the Kansas City Chiefs needed to come up with a first down to protect their 24-20 lead on San Francisco with a little more than 1:20 left. On 2nd and 6, Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman made a key block to spring running back Damien Williams for a 38-yard touchdown to seal the game. Andy Reid traded for Sherman before his first season as Kansas City’s head coach in 2013. Rivera came up through the Reid coaching tree, having spent five seasons with Reid in Philadelphia as the Eagles’ linebackers coach.
Under Jay Gruden, who ran more of a West Coast offensive system, there were no fullbacks on the roster. The team would employ a tight end or, more often, outside linebacker Ryan Anderson would jog onto the field and handle the responsibilities.
When Bill Callahan took over as interim coach, he utilized a ground-and-pound game similar to what Rivera used in Carolina, and Callahan quickly went out and picked up fullback Michael Burton to maximize the new approach. Knowing how much Rivera and Scott Turner like using fullbacks, there was thought Burton had a better chance of sticking around.
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But he signed with the New Orleans Saints after free agency began. And with Derek Watt, one of the top available fullbacks on the market, signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, there currently aren’t many options out there.
But looking at previous teams under Rivera and Scott Turner, it’s possible the team will bring in a fullback by picking up an undrafted free agent afterward. Historically, that’s what both coaches have done more often than not.
In his first season as head coach in Carolina, Rivera brought in Richie Brockel, who had gone undrafted in 2010 and joined the Chargers in Rivera’s final season there as defensive coordinator. Brockel played in 11 games for the Panthers in 2011, then appeared in every single game the following two seasons and four his final year with the team in 2014.
Mike Tolbert signed with the Panthers in 2012; Tolbert and Rivera crossed paths over three seasons in San Diego. The former undrafted fullback stayed in Carolina until he was released in February 2017. Two months later, the Panthers drafted Alexander Armah in the sixth round, and he’s coming off back-to-back seasons where he appeared in every game.
The Turners weren’t much different. During their season together in 2013 with the Cleveland Browns, with Norv Turner serving as offensive coordinator and Scott coaching the wide receivers, MarQueis Gray was the team’s fullback/blocking tight end. In 2014, the Turners went to Minnesota, with Norv Turner again serving as OC and Scott Turner coaching quarterbacks. They inherited fullback Jerome Felton, who’d played nine games for the Panthers in 2011 before going to Minnesota in 2012. Felton played in all 16 games for the Turners in Minnesota, with three starts.
Zach Line made an appearance in one game that same year, and in the next two seasons, played in 31 games with nine starts for the Vikings. In Norv and Scott Turner’s final season (2016) with the Vikings, the team brought up practice squad fullback C.J. Ham to the active roster in late December.
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Given his familiarity with Turner’s offense and having blocked for Peterson before, Line would have made sense in Washington. But he retired in January, and if he hadn’t, it’s more than likely the Saints would’ve re-signed the 29-year-old, who played seven seasons in the NFL.
“I didn’t notice a fullback as much this year as years past,” Bullock explained. “There’s certainly room for a fullback with receiving ability. Turner has shown willingness and desire for position flexibility and having a fullback they can move around like the (San Francisco) 49ers do would appeal. … They do occasionally move a tight end to an H-Back spot that a fullback would typically fill for run scheme purposes.”
For a full breakdown of how teams used their fullbacks in 2019, Football Outsiders logged every offensive snap involving a fullback in their chart below. While Armah wasn’t listed in Football Outsiders’ chart for 2019, he participated in 134 of the Panthers offensive snaps last season or 12 percent of the team’s in 2019, which was right at the median for teams that used a fullback last season, after coming in for 11 percent (115 snaps) of the team’s plays the year before.
2019 Fullback Snap Count
|
Player
|
Team
|
Team Record
|
Off Snaps
|
Off Snap Pct ▴
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SF
|
13-3
|
396
|
36.50%
|
|
|
MIN
|
10-6
|
359
|
34.70%
|
|
|
BAL
|
14-2
|
348
|
30.90%
|
|
|
NO
|
13-3
|
221
|
20.40%
|
|
|
OAK
|
7-9
|
209
|
20.20%
|
|
|
ATL
|
7-9
|
197
|
16.60%
|
|
|
BUF
|
10-6
|
174
|
15.90%
|
|
|
GB
|
13-3
|
172
|
15.60%
|
|
|
DEN
|
7-9
|
132
|
12.90%
|
|
|
DET
|
3-12
|
127
|
11.50%
|
|
|
LAC
|
5-11
|
122
|
11.40%
|
|
|
DAL
|
8-8
|
118
|
10.50%
|
|
|
KC
|
12-4
|
97
|
9.20%
|
|
|
MIA
|
5-11
|
84
|
7.70%
|
|
|
WAS
|
3-13
|
68
|
7.10%
|
|
|
TEN
|
9-7
|
68
|
6.70%
|
|
|
NE
|
12-4
|
72
|
6.20%
|
|
|
NE
|
12-4
|
59
|
5.10%
|
|
|
PIT
|
8-8
|
35
|
3.40%
|
|
|
SEA
|
11-5
|
29
|
2.60%
|
|
|
NO
|
13-3
|
17
|
1.60%
|
|
|
HOU
|
10-6
|
13
|
1.20%
|
There's no one available out there as good as the 49ers' four-time Pro Bowl fullback, Kyle Juszczyk. But Bullock said that especially with Peterson, and the addition of Barber, the team might want a fullback for its run schemes.
Roosevelt Nix, formerly of the Steelers, is an interesting option considering he's done far more in the passing game — 12 receptions on 17 targets for 69 yards and a touchdown — than he has on the ground (four carries, four yards and one score) in five seasons. The 28-year old earned a trip to the Pro Bowl in 2017 and is coming off his first season when he played fewer than 10 games. But whether he gets a look or the team decides to wait until the draft, don’t be surprised to see fullback added to the roster in the near future.
(Photo of Kyle Juszczyk: John David Mercer / USA Today)