James Robinson went from being an undrafted free agent to a 1000 yard rusher last season. And now, Carlos Hyde is reunited with his former college coach in Urban Meyer. Could this spell trouble for defenses?
James Robinson
James Robinson was known as the best running back in the FCS in 2019. However, this was not enough to get him selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. Now, he is arguably the best rookie running back from the 2020 NFL season.
Robinson rushed for 1070 yards last season, which was 5th among all running backs. He also showed his ability to make big plays. Robinson had 615 yards after contact and looked like he was shot out of a cannon whenever he broke through the line. Jacksonville Jaguar fans might see more of him in the passing game with Trevor Lawrence likely being the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Robinson had 344 receiving yards on 49 catches last season. Many of these catches were out of the backfield and with Lawrence’s great decision-making, he could be even more of a threat in this sense.
Carlos Hyde
In 2013, Carlos Hyde was a household name for many football fans. He had rushed for over 1521 yards and 15 touchdowns in his senior year as a part of Urban Meyer’s powerful offense. Hyde then spent four years with the 49ers after being drafted by them in the 2nd round. He has rushed for over 1000 yards once in his career, but that doesn’t show how useful Hyde can be. He has shown most of his usefulness in short-yardage situations. With James Robinson sitting at the age of only 22-years-old, Hyde could help take some of the workload off; A similar situation as the Ravens did with J.K. Dobbins and Mark Ingram.
Hyde has also played on the Jaguars before, which will definitely help him this season. Back in 2018, Hyde joined the Jaguars via trade. He appeared in eight games with two starts and had 58 carries for 189 yards and no touchdowns. He left the team the following offseason to join the Houston Texans. However, there are reasons to believe his second time around will be better. Over the last two years, the running back appeared in 24 games with 15 starts and racked up 326 yards for 1426 yards and ten touchdowns.