Highest Paid Running Backs in the league... Guess who is #1

[Wolfcop]

55 minutes ago, shaqattaq said:

It is odd to have two RBs on the list considering all that I've heard about Brady's offense being pass heavy. Of course CMC is another receiver. Not sure about Davis' hands.

Good point. I noticed that too.

[ForJimmy]

He is the top RB in the league/safety net for our QB/current face of the franchise. Yeah he is worth it...

[kungfoodude]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

To be fair, calling McCaffrey "just a runningback" is kind of like saying that Julius Peppers was "just a defensive end".

It's like back when the Browns had Eric Metcalf at his peak. He was way more than what his official position would have told you.

That sounds good to say but running backs still don't factor into wins and losses like they did during the Metcalf era. Look at Pittsburgh who had the "NFL's best running back" but went from him, to the 2nd string, to the 3rd string. They didn't have a big drop off and they still won games. Lose their QB? Different story.

Versatile or not, he is just a running back. That's why the Saints are talking about potentially trading Kamara if they can't get him at a good price. The Saints will win largely with or without Kamara, although winning is far easier when you have a CMC or a Kamara. But that offense in NO didn't grind to a halt when he was out with injury. They went 7-2 when he started, 4-1 when he played but didn't start and 2-0 when he didn't play at all. 

Elliott was a beast for Dallas. They went 8-8. CMC was a beast for us. We went 5-11. RB's don't carry teams in the modern NFL.

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, kungfoodude said:

That sounds good to say but running backs still don't factor into wins and losses like they did during the Metcalf era. Look at Pittsburgh who had the "NFL's best running back" but went from him, to the 2nd string, to the 3rd string. They didn't have a big drop off and they still won games. Lose their QB? Different story.

Versatile or not, he is just a running back. That's why the Saints are talking about potentially trading Kamara if they can't get him at a good price. The Saints will win largely with or without Kamara, although winning is far easier when you have a CMC or a Kamara. But that offense in NO didn't grind to a halt when he was out with injury. They went 7-2 when he started, 4-1 when he played but didn't start and 2-0 when he didn't play at all. 

Elliott was a beast for Dallas. They went 8-8. CMC was a beast for us. We went 5-11. RB's don't carry teams in the modern NFL.

I'm always careful about judging by current trends because things change a lot in the NFL (ask Ricky Manning).

Throw in that if Joe Brady is even half as good as people expect him to be, his having McCaffrey as a weapon could be something special.

We'll see.

[rippadonn]

8 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

That sounds good to say but running backs still don't factor into wins and losses like they did during the Metcalf era. Look at Pittsburgh who had the "NFL's best running back" but went from him, to the 2nd string, to the 3rd string. They didn't have a big drop off and they still won games. Lose their QB? Different story.

Versatile or not, he is just a running back. That's why the Saints are talking about potentially trading Kamara if they can't get him at a good price. The Saints will win largely with or without Kamara, although winning is far easier when you have a CMC or a Kamara. But that offense in NO didn't grind to a halt when he was out with injury. They went 7-2 when he started, 4-1 when he played but didn't start and 2-0 when he didn't play at all. 

Elliott was a beast for Dallas. They went 8-8. CMC was a beast for us. We went 5-11. RB's don't carry teams in the modern NFL.

I totally get it. IF CMC had to sit, then what? It's the QB that's most important and we took a step back.

 

[kungfoodude]

2 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

I'm always careful about judging by current trends because things change a lot in the NFL (ask Ricky Manning).

Throw in that if Joe Brady is even half as good as people expect him to be, his having McCaffrey as a weapon could be something special.

We'll see.

The pass heavy trend hasn't really let up for over a decade. You might be able to look at something like the Titans last year and Derrick Henry but ultimately they were just a 9-7 team that ended up bounced in the Conference game. If elite running backs won games, you wouldn't be seeing this trend of these guys taking these massive contracts and then struggling. It isn't just a couple of cases, it's almost all of them. 

It's great to have a weapon like CMC, it's not great to have cap tied up into a running back for the length of time that we do. It especially hurts with the likely cap retraction in 2021. If the NFL takes a long time to financially recover from 2020, then it will amplify those sort of decisions. I shudder to think about some of the contracts we are just getting out from under and what it would have been like to have those hitting during this economic downturn.

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, kungfoodude said:

The pass heavy trend hasn't really let up for over a decade. You might be able to look at something like the Titans last year and Derrick Henry but ultimately they were just a 9-7 team that ended up bounced in the Conference game. If elite running backs won games, you wouldn't be seeing this trend of these guys taking these massive contracts and then struggling. It isn't just a couple of cases, it's almost all of them. 

It's great to have a weapon like CMC, it's not great to have cap tied up into a running back for the length of time that we do. It especially hurts with the likely cap retraction in 2021. If the NFL takes a long time to financially recover from 2020, then it will amplify those sort of decisions. I shudder to think about some of the contracts we are just getting out from under and what it would have been like to have those hitting during this economic downturn.

To be fair, the trend of guys taking huge contracts and then falling off isn't limited to runningbacks.

For example, how many members of the hundred million dollar quarterback club have Super Bowl rings?

[kungfoodude]

1 minute ago, rippadonn said:

I totally get it. IF CMC had to sit, then what? It's the QB that's most important and we took a step back.

 

Very likely so. Time will tell.

I look at the Thompson and CMC signings in the same way, I like the players but I don't think the level of financial investment is warranted for the future of the team. I think Thompson will play fine but not equal the price tag. I think CMC will play very well but ultimately not equal the price tag. 

It's not really about the players, it's about are smart investments in the modern NFL. Non-pass rush OLB's and RB's aren't players to make big investments in. It's just another in a long line of questionable Hurney decisions when it comes to contracts. 

[Shocker]

That list could easily be used as a fantasy guide.  Having the top guy in virtually every fantasy draft is so satisfying 

[kungfoodude]

1 minute ago, Mr. Scot said:

To be fair, the trend of guys taking huge contracts and then falling off isn't limited to runningbacks.

For example, how many members of the hundred million dollar quarterback club have Super Bowl rings?

It isn't really even falling off in all cases. Some of them just don't go to the same situations that allowed them to succeed and even more just had the typical decline that you expect for a high mileage RB(something which all Panther fans should be very, very concerned about). 

As for the QB's, here is the last ten Super Bowl winning(and losing) QB's and their cap number for that season(players in italics are on their rookie contracts):

2019 - Patrick Mahomes(31st), Jimmy Garoppolo(15th)

2018 - Tom Brady(11th), Jared Goff(26th)

2017 - Nick Foles(47th), Tom Brady(20th)

2016 - Tom Brady(18th), Matt Ryan(3rd)

2015 - Peyton Manning(6th), Cam Newton(15th)

2014 - Tom Brady(12th), Russell Wilson(53rd)

2013 - Russell Wilson(53rd), Peyton Manning(3rd)

2012 - Joe Flacco(16th), Colin Kaepernick(41st)

2011 - Eli Manning(5th), Tom Brady(8th)

2010 - Aaron Rodgers(21st), Ben Roethlisberger(14th)

 

So there have been more guys on rookie deals(6) than guys in the top ten of QB's for the year they won(5). Food for thought.

[Khyber53]

Here's the thing. He won't be the highest paid running back next season. Chances are he won't be the highest paid running back by the end of this season. 

Elliott, Kamara, Bell, etc... will all be seeking better money. Hurney set a benchmark with the CMC contract and now other teams with hot running backs have to meet or exceed that. 

Better to pay him this amount now than try and balance him out with a top end MLB, DE, QB, WR or DB. Right now, we've got some space for this kind of thing, even with dead money problems. Pay the man now while he's young and capable and before we have to put him on the books with other elite players.

[kungfoodude]

4 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

Here's the thing. He won't be the highest paid running back next season. Chances are he won't be the highest paid running back by the end of this season. 

Elliott, Kamara, Bell, etc... will all be seeking better money. Hurney set a benchmark with the CMC contract and now other teams with hot running backs have to meet or exceed that. 

Better to pay him this amount now than try and balance him out with a top end MLB, DE, QB, WR or DB. Right now, we've got some space for this kind of thing, even with dead money problems. Pay the man now while he's young and capable and before we have to put him on the books with other elite players.

Elliott and Bell already have gotten their big contracts. No one* is going to pay them more than they are getting now. Kamara MAY end up getting more but I doubt it because he is coming into an offseason in which the cap is expected to retract. The only other real threat to break that in the next few years is probably Saquon Barkley. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Maybe Bill O'Brien.

[Mr. Scot]

2 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

It isn't really even falling off in all cases. Some of them just don't go to the same situations that allowed them to succeed and even more just had the typical decline that you expect for a high mileage RB(something which all Panther fans should be very, very concerned about). 

As for the QB's, here is the last ten Super Bowl winning(and losing) QB's and their cap number for that season(players in italics are on their rookie contracts):

2019 - Patrick Mahomes(31st), Jimmy Garoppolo(15th)

2018 - Tom Brady(11th), Jared Goff(26th)

2017 - Nick Foles(47th), Tom Brady(20th)

2016 - Tom Brady(18th), Matt Ryan(3rd)

2015 - Peyton Manning(6th), Cam Newton(15th)

2014 - Tom Brady(12th), Russell Wilson(53rd)

2013 - Russell Wilson(53rd), Peyton Manning(3rd)

2012 - Joe Flacco(16th), Colin Kaepernick(41st)

2011 - Eli Manning(5th), Tom Brady(8th)

2010 - Aaron Rodgers(21st), Ben Roethlisberger(14th)

So there have been more guys on rookie deals(6) than guys in the top ten of QB's for the year they won(5). Food for thought.

There are definitely more quarterbacks whose big payday came after winning a ring then there are guys whose big payday came first.

[kungfoodude]

2 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

There are definitely more quarterbacks whose big payday came after winning a ring then there are guys whose big payday came first.

And three QB's who aren't/weren't considered NFL elite QB's won rings, as well. I guess maybe we do have some hope, in that case. 

I'd rather take the 30% shot of getting a guy on a rookie deal. 2021 draft could be our golden ticket.....