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Adrian Peterson may be the clear-cut No. 1 running back for the Washington Redskins going into 2019, but that does not mean there isn't a lot of competition in the Redskins' backfield.
Derrius Guice is coming back from a torn ACL, so he will join Chris Thompson in a battle for the No. 2 spot. In addition, Washington drafted Bryce Love back in April, and Samaje Perine is also in tow.
As a result, the Redskins' running backs have had to work a lot harder to establish their roles, and running backs coach Randy Jordan says the competition has had a positive effect:
“It’s upped our game, and those guys get a little bit upset when all of the sudden a guy gets a couple of reps and they’re looking at me like, ‘Coach, when is my turn?'” Jordan said, according to Kyle Melnick of the Redskins' official team website. “It makes it easy to coach when you’ve got a good room like that.”
Jordan also loves how determined each back is to prove themselves:
“You want those guys that are really, really excited and take that to heart, like, ‘Hey, I want to be the guy,’” Jordan said.
Of course, it's going to be tough for any of them to supplant Peterson right now, as the 34-year-old is coming off of a Renaissance season in which he totaled 1,042 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 4.2 yards per carry.
Still, in a league where teams regularly use multiple running backs, there should be ample playing time for a couple of other guys, and they will have to fight for it in training camp.
