Running back (RB) Red Zone Stats

2016 Red Zone Rushing Season Touches Stats

Inside 20 Inside 10
Player Tm Att Yds TD %Rush Att Yds TD %Rush
LeGarrette BlountNWE681741669%42671568%
David JohnsonARI531211474%33601381%
Devonta FreemanATL50129960%2737859%
Melvin GordonSDG50931073%27261079%
Jeremy HillCIN44118857%2446760%
DeMarco MurrayTEN4088856%2631767%
Jonathan StewartCAR4094954%2024954%
Ezekiel ElliottDAL391431264%2250960%
LeSean McCoyBUF381391145%2458841%
Latavius MurrayOAK381001167%25461178%
Matt AsiataMIN3671655%2634674%
Mark IngramNOR36135542%1538334%
Ryan MathewsPHI3592846%2555856%
Todd GurleyLAR3369577%1916579%
Robert KelleyWAS3277552%1426448%
Jay AjayiMIA3173656%1522554%
Matt ForteNYJ31101651%1626555%
Jordan HowardCHI3187669%1626662%
Carlos HydeSFO31106650%1332543%
Lamar MillerHOU3159551%1516548%
Le'Veon BellPIT30105765%1446764%
Frank GoreIND2977445%1946453%
Isaiah CrowellCLE2846661%1835664%
Terrance WestBAL2873565%917456%
Spencer WareKAN2757341%1833345%
Tim HightowerNOR2653430%1623436%
Devontae BookerDEN2553439%1110337%
C.J. AndersonDEN2339436%1117437%
Doug MartinTAM2328340%120348%
Tevin ColemanATL2163625%1127524%
Derrick HenryTEN2195530%1133428%
Christine Michael2TM21355 11225
Jerick McKinnonMIN2049231%710120%
Bilal PowellNYJ1952231%713124%
Thomas RawlsSEA1821230%818224%
Robert TurbinIND1847728%1439739%
Matt JonesWAS1757327%67221%
Cam NewtonCAR1734523%1021527%
Darren SprolesPHI1776122%717116%
Tyrod TaylorBUF1627419%116219%
Alfred BlueHOU1532025%1012032%
Mike GillisleeBUF1543718%1132719%
Rashad JenningsNYG1528336%1013340%
Charcandrick WestKAN1532123%913123%
Jacquizz RodgersTAM1426224%55220%
Giovani BernardCIN1330217%518213%
Rex BurkheadCIN1349217%713218%
Chris IvoryJAX1319342%1111365%
Zach ZennerDET1324435%810436%
Dion LewisNWE1237012%710011%
Ty MontgomeryGNB1232321%610322%
Aaron RodgersGNB1267321%623222%
Alex SmithKAN1251518%69215%
Tom BradyNWE108010%8-2013%
Eddie LacyGNB1018018%610022%
T.J. YeldonJAX1034132%25112%
Shaun DraughnSFO912415%64420%
Jeremy LangfordCHI917420%815431%
Marcus MariotaTEN962213%2615%
Paul PerkinsNYG935021%2408%
Dak PrescottDAL936615%936624%
Aaron RipkowskiGNB916216%46215%
Ryan TannehillMIA931116%30111%
Damien WilliamsMIA914316%61221%
DeAngelo WilliamsPIT927420%410318%
Drew BreesNOR81129%4529%
Kenneth FarrowSDG825012%3109%
Chris JohnsonARI830111%2515%
Carson WentzPHI816210%3527%
Peyton BarberTAM719012%2408%
Josh FergusonIND7-1011%0000%
Justin Forsett3TM771 471
Duke JohnsonCLE716115%48114%
Colin KaepernickSFO732211%2817%
John KuhnNOR7948%4649%
Theo RiddickDET79019%511023%
Wendell SmallwoodPHI72119%3617%
James StarksGNB7-2013%3-8011%
Mike TolbertCAR714010%45011%
Shane VereenNYG724117%513120%
Jonathan WilliamsBUF71718%5619%
Blake BortlesJAX67219%31218%
Kirk CousinsWAS624410%48314%
Kenneth DixonBAL626214%21113%
Blaine GabbertSFO621210%2227%
DuJuan HarrisSFO61010%52017%
Akeem HuntHOU613110%310110%
Andrew LuckIND64429%1003%
Eli ManningNYG6-4014%5-5020%
C.J. ProsiseSEA612010%56015%


2016 Red Zone Receiving Season Target Stats

Inside 20 Inside 10
Player Tm Tgt Rec Ctch% TD %Tgt Tgt Rec Ctch% TD %Tgt
Devonta FreemanATL171271%218%5480%111%
DeMarco MurrayTEN161275%323%6467%323%
Theo RiddickDET141179%517%6467%319%
David JohnsonARI13862%316%5360%313%
Darren SprolesPHI13646%115%2150%19%
Tevin ColemanATL11873%212%44100%29%
Bilal PowellNYJ11982%116%22100%17%
Travaris CadetNOR10660%49%6350%212%
Mark IngramNOR1010100%39%55100%310%
Ty MontgomeryGNB10550%010%3133%06%
Todd GurleyLAR9667%017%00 00%
Terrance WestBAL9667%112%3133%112%
Le'Veon BellPIT8563%212%4250%214%
Melvin GordonSDG8563%28%2150%16%
T.J. YeldonJAX8675%112%2150%09%
Jordan HowardCHI7229%010%200%07%
Dexter McClusterSDG7457%07%11100%03%
LeSean McCoyBUF7686%113%3267%116%
Chris ThompsonWAS7571%29%22100%16%
James WhiteNWE7457%410%3267%29%
Damien WilliamsMIA77100%314%22100%111%
Giovani BernardCIN6583%09%2150%07%
Devontae BookerDEN6350%09%00 00%
Isaiah CrowellCLE6583%011%2150%011%
Frank GoreIND6583%49%4375%211%
Tim HightowerNOR6350%06%200%04%
Carlos HydeSFO6583%313%11100%110%
Duke JohnsonCLE6233%011%300%017%
Kyle JuszczykBAL6467%08%2150%08%
John KuhnNOR6583%16%22100%14%
Lamar MillerHOU6583%19%00 00%
Charcandrick WestKAN6467%28%3267%29%
Jay AjayiMIA5360%010%100%06%
Jerick McKinnonMIN55100%27%22100%17%
Latavius MurrayOAK5360%06%2150%05%
Jalen RichardOAK5480%26%11100%12%
Robert TurbinIND5240%17%3267%18%


Running Back Red Zone Target Notes

LeGarrette Blount finishes off the season with 68 red-zone (RZ) carries, 15 more than anyone else. Blount dominated for the Patriots this year, and had by far the best season of his career with 16 RZ touchdowns. It's tough to believe that will sustain itself over the next few years, but it certainly worked in 2016. Despite suffering an injury in Week 17, David Johnson is second in the NFL in RZ carries with 53. Johnson, Melvin Gordon and Devonta Freeman are the only running backs to get over 50 in 2016. Despite only getting 21 rushing attempts inside the RZ, Falcons running back Tevin Coleman had six rushing touchdowns, combine that with Freeman's 9, and you have 15 RZ rushing touchdowns for Falcons running backs. Despite having 29 less carries than Blount, Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was only 31 yards behind Blount in rushing yards in the RZ. Amazing efficiency on his part.

Red Zone Rushing 2015 Touches Stats

Inside 20 Yard Line Inside 10 Yard Line
Name Team Att Yards TD Rush % Att Yards TD Rush %
Devonta Freeman ATL 47 114 10 62% 24 44 9 65%
Jonathan Stewart CAR 46 126 6 44% 18 27 5 39%
DeAngelo Williams PIT 46 135 11 67% 28 51 11 70%
Adrian Peterson MIN 45 95 7 63% 24 28 7 67%
Doug Martin TB 41 86 6 63% 19 28 5 68%
Chris Ivory NYJ 38 93 6 62% 21 14 5 75%
Jeremy Hill CIN 36 78 10 43% 24 49 10 52%
Frank Gore IND 35 61 5 58% 15 15 4 63%
Latavius Murray OAK 33 66 5 70% 21 29 5 84%
LeGarrette Blount NE 32 67 5 49% 16 24 5 49%
Mark Ingram NOR 31 92 6 43% 13 32 5 33%
Giovani Bernard CIN 30 142 2 36% 13 23 0 28%
Matt Forte CHI 30 101 4 51% 18 34 4 55%
Chris Johnson ARI 30 45 2 49% 14 17 2 44%
Isaiah Crowell CLE 29 74 4 54% 14 12 2 78%
Cam Newton CAR 29 72 10 28% 18 27 9 39%
Todd Gurley RAM 28 102 9 68% 14 29 7 64%
DeMarco Murray PHI 28 62 5 50% 16 21 4 52%
Ronnie Hillman DEN 26 62 5 51% 16 7 3 67%
Darren McFadden DAL 26 81 3 67% 14 25 3 67%
Alfred Morris WAS 25 51 1 41% 9 9 1 33%
Matt Jones WAS 23 33 2 38% 11 0 2 41%
Charcandrick West KC 22 57 3 41% 11 28 3 38%
T.J. Yeldon JAX 22 63 1 43% 9 15 1 33%
David Johnson ARI 21 52 7 34% 12 14 5 38%
Javorius Allen BAL 20 37 1 42% 11 9 1 50%
Alfred Blue HOU 20 51 1 36% 10 20 1 46%
Tim Hightower NOR 20 61 4 28% 11 13 4 28%
Rashad Jennings NYG 20 47 2 43% 10 12 2 46%
Eddie Lacy GNB 20 33 3 47% 9 14 3 43%
LeSean McCoy BUF 20 56 1 31% 9 17 1 38%
Marshawn Lynch SEA 19 20 3 28% 12 6 3 40%
Lamar Miller MIA 19 57 6 44% 11 14 5 55%
Tyrod Taylor BUF 19 77 3 30% 7 17 2 29%
Danny Woodhead SDG 19 34 3 50% 9 8 3 64%
C.J. Anderson DEN 18 49 2 35% 4 3 1 17%
Antonio Andrews TEN 18 31 3 42% 10 15 3 40%
Joique Bell DET 17 47 4 41% 10 4 4 53%
Carlos Hyde SFO 17 52 3 37% 4 -10 1 21%
Jeremy Langford CHI 17 48 6 29% 12 26 6 36%
Mike Tolbert CAR 17 47 1 16% 9 12 1 20%
Justin Forsett BAL 16 42 2 33% 4 -1 1 18%
Ryan Mathews PHI 16 48 5 29% 10 17 5 32%
Thomas Rawls SEA 16 45 3 24% 9 13 3 30%
Le'Veon Bell PIT 14 41 3 20% 6 6 2 15%
Tevin Coleman ATL 14 39 1 18% 7 3 1 19%
Charles Sims TB 14 41 0 22% 2 -1 0 7%
Denard Robinson JAX 13 39 1 26% 8 8 1 30%
Andy Dalton CIN 12 25 3 15% 7 18 3 15%
James Starks GNB 12 32 1 28% 6 11 1 29%
Spencer Ware KC 12 36 6 22% 9 20 5 31%
Ameer Abdullah DET 11 58 1 26% 2 4 0 11%
Melvin Gordon SDG 11 27 0 29% 4 4 0 29%
Karlos Williams BUF 11 22 4 17% 4 9 3 17%
Jay Ajayi MIA 10 34 1 23% 6 10 0 30%
Duke Johnson CLE 10 9 0 19% 2 -5 0 11%
Dion Lewis NE 10 51 2 15% 5 25 2 15%
Darren Sproles PHI 10 31 3 18% 5 10 3 16%
Terron Ward ATL 10 24 1 13% 4 10 1 11%
Andre Williams NYG 10 1 1 21% 7 -3 1 32%
Russell Wilson SEA 10 57 1 15% 2 8 1 7%
Teddy Bridgewater MIN 9 48 3 13% 4 16 2 11%
Ryan Fitzpatrick NYJ 9 48 2 15% 4 16 1 14%
Arian Foster HOU 9 22 1 16% 2 2 1 9%
Jonas Gray 2TM 9 23 0 3 5 0
DuJuan Harris 2TM 9 18 0 2 1 0
Jerick McKinnon MIN 9 29 1 13% 4 5 1 11%
Khiry Robinson NOR 9 29 4 13% 6 12 4 15%
Jameis Winston TB 9 34 6 14% 7 20 5 25%
Ahmad Bradshaw IND 8 2 0 13% 4 0 0 17%
Ka'Deem Carey CHI 8 13 2 14% 2 5 2 6%
Jamaal Charles KC 8 30 3 15% 5 22 3 17%
Joseph Randle DAL 8 7 3 21% 4 3 3 19%
Shane Vereen NYG 8 16 0 17% 2 0 0 9%
Cameron Artis-Payne CAR 7 18 1 7% 1 -2 0 2%
Brandon Bolden NE 7 6 0 11% 4 3 0 12%
Blake Bortles JAX 7 22 2 14% 4 3 2 15%
Bryce Brown SEA 7 15 1 10% 2 1 1 7%
Kirk Cousins WAS 7 25 5 12% 5 11 4 19%
Mike Davis SFO 7 7 0 15% 5 6 0 26%
Shaun Draughn 2TM 7 11 1 3 1 1
Toby Gerhart JAX 7 5 0 14% 5 1 0 19%
Jonathan Grimes HOU 7 15 1 13% 3 6 1 14%
Bilal Powell NYJ 7 24 1 12% 0 0 0 0%
Josh Robinson IND 7 19 0 12% 3 4 0 13%
Aaron Rodgers GNB 7 46 1 16% 4 11 0 19%
Bishop Sankey TEN 7 24 1 16% 3 4 1 12%
Terrance West 2TM 7 8 0 3 2 0
Matt Asiata MIN 6 14 0 8% 2 2 0 6%
Tom Brady NE 6 18 3 9% 3 3 3 9%
Donald Brown SDG 6 3 1 16% 1 1 1 7%
Andrew Luck IND 6 28 0 10% 1 -1 0 4%
Johnny Manziel CLE 6 29 0 11% 0 0 0 0%
Jamize Olawale OAK 6 39 1 13% 1 3 0 4%
Chris Polk HOU 6 18 1 11% 2 1 1 9%
Alex Smith KC 6 32 2 11% 1 3 1 3%
Matthew Stafford DET 6 3 1 14% 3 3 1 16%
Robert Turbin 2TM 6 13 1 4 11 1
Fozzy Whittaker CAR 6 38 1 6% 0 0 0 0%
Orleans Darkwa NYG 5 22 1 11% 2 0 0 9%
Anthony Dixon BUF 5 7 1 8% 2 2 1 8%
Josh McCown CLE 5 25 1 9% 0 0 0 0%
Brock Osweiler DEN 5 17 1 10% 3 9 1 13%
Theo Riddick DET 5 20 0 12% 2 7 0 11%
C.J. Spiller NOR 5 21 0 7% 3 5 0 8%
Stepfan Taylor ARI 5 6 0 8% 1 0 0 3%
James White NE 5 6 2 8% 4 5 2 12%
Drew Brees NOR 4 -4 1 6% 3 -3 1 8%
Derek Carr OAK 4 18 0 9% 1 1 0 4%
David Cobb TEN 4 5 1 9% 2 5 1 8%
Jay Cutler CHI 4 9 1 7% 1 4 1 3%
Joe Flacco BAL 4 5 3 8% 3 3 3 14%
Mike Gillislee BUF 4 11 1 6% 0 0 0 0%
John Kuhn GNB 4 12 2 9% 2 6 2 10%
Eli Manning NYG 4 -3 0 9% 1 0 0 5%
EJ Manuel BUF 4 10 1 6% 2 4 1 8%
Marcus Mariota TEN 4 0 0 9% 3 -5 0 12%
Tre Mason RAM 4 3 1 10% 3 1 1 14%
Ben Roethlisberger PIT 4 13 0 6% 2 -2 0 5%
Matt Ryan ATL 4 9 0 5% 1 0 0 3%
Tavon Austin RAM 3 23 3 7% 2 7 2 9%
Benny Cunningham RAM 3 5 0 7% 1 0 0 5%
Nick Foles RAM 3 10 1 7% 2 0 1 9%
Jalston Fowler TEN 3 6 1 7% 3 6 1 12%
Matt Hasselbeck IND 3 3 0 5% 1 -2 0 4%
Jarryd Hayne SFO 3 9 0 7% 2 1 0 11%
Akeem Hunt HOU 3 15 0 5% 1 0 0 5%
Joey Iosefa NE 3 2 0 5% 0 0 0 0%
Fred Jackson SEA 3 7 0 5% 0 0 0 0%
Will Johnson PIT 3 1 1 4% 3 1 1 8%
Christine Michael SEA 3 12 0 5% 1 0 0 3%
Matt Moore MIA 3 -2 0 7% 0 0 0 0%
Carson Palmer ARI 3 15 1 5% 3 15 1 9%
Marcel Reece OAK 3 3 0 6% 2 2 0 8%
Stevan Ridley NYJ 3 4 0 5% 1 2 0 4%
Mohamed Sanu CIN 3 12 1 4% 2 8 1 4%
Zac Stacy NYJ 3 6 1 5% 2 4 1 7%
Chris Thompson WAS 3 1 0 5% 2 -2 0 7%
T.J. Yates HOU 3 -5 0 5% 0 0 0 0%

Running Back Red Zone Receiving 2015 Target Stats

Inside 20 Yard Line Inside 10 Yard Line
Name Team Targets Rec Ctch% TD Tgt% Targets Rec Ctch% TD Tgt%
David Johnson ARI 13 6 46% 2 13% 3 0 0% 0 7%
Theo Riddick DET 13 10 76% 2 18% 4 3 75% 2 11%
Shane Vereen NYG 11 8 73% 4 13% 5 4 80% 4 14%
Javorius Allen BAL 10 6 60% 1 13% 1 0 0% 0 3%
Matt Forte CHI 10 6 60% 2 14% 7 3 43% 2 20%
Charles Sims TB 10 6 60% 2 14% 0 0 0 0%
James Starks GB 10 7 70% 2 10% 1 1 100% 1 2%
Charcandrick West KC 9 2 22% 0 13% 2 0 0% 0 11%
James White NE 9 6 67% 2 9% 5 4 80% 2 12%
Duke Johnson CLE 8 6 75% 1 9% 1 0 0% 0 3%
Jeremy Langford CHI 7 3 43% 0 10% 4 2 50% 0 11%
Vance McDonald SF 7 4 57% 3 11% 3 2 67% 2 14%
Bilal Powell NYJ 7 4 57% 1 9% 0 0 0 0%
Denard Robinson JAX 7 4 57% 0 8% 1 1 100% 0 2%
Mike Tolbert CAR 7 6 86% 3 9% 3 3 100% 2 10%
C.J. Anderson DEN 6 6 100% 0 7% 0 0 0 0%
Jonathan Grimes HOU 6 5 83% 1 8% 1 0 0% 0 4%
Ronnie Hillman DEN 6 2 33% 0 7% 1 0 0% 0 4%
Fred Jackson SEA 6 5 83% 2 10% 2 2 100% 2 7%
Ameer Abdullah DET 5 4 80% 1 7% 1 1 100% 0 3%
Shaun Draughn SF 5 3 0 1 1 100% 0
Justin Forsett BAL 5 4 80% 0 7% 2 2 100% 0 7%
Mark Ingram NO 5 4 80% 0 7% 0 0 0 0%
Chris Ivory NYJ 5 5 100% 1 7% 2 2 100% 1 6%
Dion Lewis NE 5 3 60% 2 5% 0 0 0 0%
Doug Martin TB 5 3 60% 1 7% 1 1 100% 0 3%
Darren Sproles PHI 5 2 40% 0 9% 1 0 0% 0 5%
DeAngelo Williams PIT 5 2 40% 0 6% 3 1 33% 0 8%
Le'Veon Bell PIT 4 3 75% 0 5% 1 0 0% 0 3%
Jamaal Charles KC 4 4 100% 1 6% 3 3 100% 1 16%
Benny Cunningham RAM 4 1 25% 0 11% 0 0 0 0%
Andre Ellington ARI 4 1 25% 0 4% 1 0 0% 0 2%
Arian Foster HOU 4 2 50% 2 5% 1 1 100% 1 4%
Frank Gore IND 4 2 50% 1 5% 2 1 50% 1 7%
Clay Harbor JAX 4 2 50% 1 4% 1 1 100% 1 2%
Jeremy Hill CIN 4 3 75% 1 6% 1 1 100% 0 4%


Running Back Red Zone Target Notes

Volume, volume, volume — this is what you are looking for with red zone running backs. Sure, on occasion a running back will bust out a 40+ yard touchdown, but a majority of the touchdown damage is coming inside the 20. Jeremy Hill was an interesting suspect for fantasy purposes, and made the most of his red zone touches. He only rushed for a 3.6 YPC and 794 yards. Yuck. However, he finished with 11 touchdowns on the season, and 10 of them came inside the red zone. He saw 10% more touches Giovani Bernard. These battles between backs are crucial for finding out touchdown potential. Touchdown vultures are starting to become a thing of the past, but some do still lurk in the shadows. Breaking down red zone volume will help you find them and gain an edge.

Pass-catching backs are also a threat in the red zones, and we can take a look at Danny Woodhead for example. He led the San Diego Chargers in red zone targets (18%), which was 22% of the total. He had six touchdowns inside the 20, and despite not being a bulky red zone machine, he was in an offense that only had one true red zone presence. Shane Vereen was another one, who finished behind Odell Beckham Jr. in red zone targets. Pass-catching backs do serve plenty of value, and are great targets to pair up with quarterbacks for upside. Woodhead led the league in red zone targets for running backs, and this year he won't be quite a surprise.

Red zone touchdowns are the bulk of the scoring for running backs, and the volume of touches is the most important when breaking everything down. Keep in mind how backs are used, and where to look for their volume in certain categories. A back like Devonta Freeman was a double threat in the red zone with 49 red zone carries, and 10 touchdowns. He also was behind Julio Jones in red zone targets, with 20% of the share. Committees can change from year-to-year, so staying on top of this data will keep you on top of the competition.


Red Zone Links