There’s an idea in the fantasy football community that running backs are poised to crumble the season after handling a particularly large workload. Some have pointed to 370 carries as the threshold, but others say 400 touches is the point of no return for the position.
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Recent examples of Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry collapsing due to injuries after particularly high-volume seasons have added fuel to this fire. The lifespan of highly productive running backs is certainly shorter than other positions, so perhaps squeezing multiple years' worth of usage into one single season accelerates the decline of running backs.
We’ll go ahead and roll with the 400-touch number because it truly is out of the ordinary. Workhorse running backs are less common than ever in the year 2021, but even then there’s only been an average of 6.8 running backs clear 300 touches in the regular season since 2010.
Elevating the touch count to 400 will also cover the overwhelming majority of 370 rush attempt cases — differentiating carries from receptions seems rather arbitrary. We’ll also include the playoffs in each year’s total considering, you know, hits hurt the same — if not more — in January as they do in September.
PFF data stretches back to 2006, so we will, too. Going back further threatens to take us into a different time medically. It’s tough to put much stock into how a running back bounced back from a large workload in the 1980s after Cam Akers just returned from a freaking Achilles injury in half a year.
The following table denotes all 21 backs with 400 touches since 2006 along with their PPR fantasy rank, as well as their following season’s games, touches and PPR rank.
| Year | Name | Team | Touches | PPR Rank | Next-Year's Games | Next-Year's Touches | Next-Year's PPR Rank |
| 2020 | Derrick Henry | Titans | 418 | 3 | 9 | 257 | 23 |
| 2019 | Derrick Henry | Titans | 409 | 5 | 17 | 418 | 3 |
| 2019 | Christian McCaffrey | Panthers | 403 | 1 | 3 | 76 | 54 |
| 2018 | Ezekiel Elliott | Cowboys | 433 | 5 | 16 | 355 | 3 |
| 2017 | Le'Veon Bell | Steelers | 431 | 2 | 0 (holdout) | 0 | N/A |
| 2016 | Le'Veon Bell | Steelers | 405 | 3 | 16 | 431 | 2 |
| 2014 | DeMarco Murray | Cowboys | 497 | 2 | 15 | 237 | 15 |
| 2013 | Marshawn Lynch | Seahawks | 403 | 5 | 19 | 385 | 4 |
| 2012 | Arian Foster | Texans | 460 | 3 | 8 | 143 | 46 |
| 2012 | Adrian Peterson | Vikings | 411 | 1 | 14 | 308 | 10 |
| 2012 | Ray Rice | Ravens | 410 | 4 | 15 | 272 | 22 |
| 2011 | Ray Rice | Ravens | 414 | 1 | 20 | 410 | 4 |
| 2010 | Rashard Mendenhall | Steelers | 412 | 11 | 15 | 246 | 22 |
| 2010 | Ray Rice | Ravens | 411 | 5 | 18 | 414 | 1 |
| 2009 | Chris Johnson | Titans | 407 | 1 | 16 | 360 | 7 |
| 2008 | Michael Turner | Falcons | 401 | 4 | 11 | 183 | 34 |
| 2007 | LaDainian Tomlinson | Chargers | 410 | 2 | 17 | 349 | 5 |
| 2006 | Larry Johnson | Chiefs | 475 | 3 | 8 | 188 | 36 |
| 2006 | Steven Jackson | Rams | 435 | 2 | 12 | 274 | 15 |
| 2006 | LaDainian Tomlinson | Chargers | 428 | 1 | 19 | 410 | 2 |
| 2006 | Tiki Barber | Giants | 413 | 6 | 0 (retired) | 0 | N/A |
Some Key Takeaways
Just five of the 19 applicable running backs failed to play at least 14 games
This doesn’t mean each and every player was as productive the following year, but this 26% rate of anything resembling a major injury, alone, seems like enough to fade the idea of a single-season workload cliff at the position.
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