Gainwell

Someone said it's not the touches that matter, it's what you do with them:



Oh, and PFR says Gainwell's broken tackle rate was #3 in the NFL while Dowdle was #39.

I'm taking Gainwell. Again.

 

If price was the same, I agree Gainwell seems to be the better bet. Seems to be more efficient. Younger. Less wear and tear. Team already knows him (although maybe MM knows Dowdle better).

But if Gainwell is something like $4MM / year and Dowdle is something like $2.5MM / year, than I'd be fine with Dowdle.

Especially because I think Gainwell isn't going to get the same usage he had last year gain in his career (kind of like Smith last year).

Ideally, Johnson can be the RB2 (and grow into an RB1). Then we wouldn't need to pay a UFA to be our RB2. But with no information on him, it's harder to count on him in that role...although RB is probably the easiest position to plug a guy in and get OK results. So I also wouldn't be upset going with Johnson and throw in a late pick and some UDFAs are RB to see who sticks.

Ultimately, none of these options are bad IMO.

 

Anyone who had a productive year last season, stays. Step 1

 

Gainwell is smaller than the RBs McCarthy had in Green Bay and Dallas.

That is not to say that McCarthy is going to prefer a bigger RB. I have no idea. Previous stops he usually made it work with what he had rather than getting a specific guy.

But, 2024 and 2025 don't really matter for this situation at all. Who cares what any RB did previously? It is going to be a totally different offense with a total different set of offensive priorities and preferences.

At least in theory....