Why running backs are so important to Washington’s offense

Soon after free agency began, it offered McKissic a two-year, $3.27 million contract. The back had other options, but his agent pointed out new offensive coordinator Scott Turner ran the system that made the Carolina Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey the league’s highest-paid running back at a time when the position’s value is in decline. McKissic thought his versatility reflected McCaffrey’s, so he signed the contract “pretty fast.”

Days later, he met with Turner. The coach explained how he wanted to use running backs, which play a key role in the Air Coryell offense. McKissic left the meeting excited, and three weeks later the team drafted Antonio Gibson, a bigger back with a receiver’s background, a player the team compared to McCaffrey. The plan was coming together.

Washington’s approach at the position embodies a shift around the league. Teams aren’t throwing to running backs any more than they used to — those numbers have remained steady since the late 1970s — but the backs themselves are changing. They are transforming from players with specific, siloed roles, such as bell cow or third-down back, into more complete hybrids. McCaffrey and the New Orleans Saints’ Alvin Kamara are two of the league’s best backs because they run between the tackles and beat coverage in the pass game and generate explosive plays in space. They personify the modern NFL’s march toward positionless football.

Flexibility is crucial to Washington’s new offense, which is predicated on attacking downfield, forcing defenders to play deep and often opening holes underneath for the backs. Norv Turner, Scott’s father, succeeded with McCaffrey in Carolina, and Scott is following a similar blueprint with McKissic and Gibson. From 2014 to 2019, Washington was tied for 22nd in running back targets; this year, it’s tied for fourth (75).

This shift, as well as the roster’s youth, led to the preseason release of Adrian Peterson. The more traditional back will get his shot at Washington on Sunday in Detroit, where he shares reps with rookie D’Andre Swift. This week, the Lions’ Matt Patricia became the latest opposing coach to praise the versatility of McKissic and Gibson, and he noted they’re not supplemental threats, as most tandems once were, but individual weapons.

Washington puts “them both out on the field at the same time, and it gives the defense a lot of problems,” Patricia said. “It’s two really good players you got to handle.”

The outsize importance of running backs in this offense starts at the scheme’s origins — San Diego State, early 1960s — and can be traced to today. The position, in the words of Norv Turner, “is the history of the offense.”

The system was born of necessity. The Aztecs were then in Division II, and Coach Don Coryell struggled to recruit against bigger schools in Southern California. He noticed lots of local teams were pass-heavy, which meant a deep pool of quarterbacks and pass-catchers. He wanted to throw “the hell out of the ball,” so he built a scheme around vertical passing and power running. He used all five eligible receivers to find holes in the defense and told the quarterback to take what he was given, deep ball or check-down. By the late 1960s, the Aztecs had gone undefeated three times in four years.

In 1973, the St. Louis Cardinals hired the offensive mastermind, the Sean McVay of his day. In Year 3, hybrid running back Terry Metcalf set an NFL record with 2,462 all-purpose yards. Later, Coryell’s system rose to fame with the San Diego Chargers’ star-studded cast, including versatile halfback Chuck Muncie. In the following years, Air Coryell powered dynasties and highlighted some of the game’s best backs, including Emmitt Smith, Marshall Faulk and LaDainian Tomlinson.

So far, the most extreme example of versatility in the system is McCaffrey. Usually, Norv Turner said, he would catch 60 to 70 passes per year, but his singular talent, his superlative conditioning and the youth of the offense were “a perfect storm.” In 2018 and 2019, McCaffrey averaged 111.5 catches on various routes from various alignments, a symbol of how backs have evolved with the modern passing game.

“Players are so good at catching the ball now,” Norv Turner said. “They catch at a young age, and they just get so good at coming out of the backfield that it’s a great matchup with linebackers.”

In Washington, running backs coach Randy Jordan adapted to the scheme this offseason. His players’ expanded roles meant teaching more routes, how to recognize coverages and leverages, and how to stay in tune with the quarterback. Jordan told his backs, “Be available in the system so you can turn those check-downs into first downs.”

This is essential. In this system, the quarterback’s first reads are usually downfield. This means the back often must make gains on check-downs or out of the flat. Washington’s offense has relied on the approach this year because injured wide receivers, an inconsistent offensive line and instability under center meant it couldn’t throw deep as often as it would like. The shorter looks — screens, options, crossers, check-downs — are high-percentage looks with potential because Gibson and McKissic are explosive. They’ve been one of the most efficient units in the league with 8.14 yards after the catch per reception.

But the converted receivers, like the offense, are still growing. On the field, Gibson watches McKissic, a similar player who is a few years ahead. McKissic is quick to point out he’s learning the position’s nuances — this year he’s focused on patience and protection — but he helps. They both like how, for the first time in their careers, they don’t feel limited. They run powers, screens, routes — almost anything.

This will help the offense be harder to defend. When they’re both in the game, one of them plays F-back, a position that basically can do anything. The defense must choose between sub packages; if it opts to go light, Washington can run, and if it goes heavy, Washington can pass. Then, as the offense develops, McKissic and Gibson can run a larger array of routes, including perhaps some that McCaffrey ran, such as a seam or a choice route. Turner can dip further into the plays based on running back routes.

But the offense needs more pieces. It relies on versatility and depth from wide receivers, tight ends and the line, too. Coach Ron Rivera has said it will take until next season for the offense to approach its potential. There are occasional glimpses of where it’s headed, such as last week against the New York Giants, but at this point the big gains don’t matter as much as what sets them up.

One play late in the fourth quarter was a good example. Washington was at midfield, driving for the lead. Quarterback Alex Smith surveyed the coverage and motioned McKissic out of the backfield. Smith glanced deep and checked down to McKissic, who caught it four yards from the line of scrimmage but split two defenders to burst forward for an 11-yard gain. The clip wouldn’t make highlight shows, and it wouldn’t matter after a turnover. But it showed how running backs can keep this offense on schedule.