First of all, great fanpost. Well research and organized.

I’m not ecstatic about the ‘established talent’ we have at running back but I am very excited about the ‘unproven talent,’ if that makes any sense. I wouldn’t be completely opposed to bringing a veteran in as a backup plan but the contract would have to be right (short and cheap). Also I don’t see anyone on the list that is a significant upgrade over the talent we currently have. Also as little as this offense is going to run the ball (wouldn’t we all be surprised if they ranked higher than 15th in rushes per game), I don’t see much need in having an over the hill guy taking carries away from our talented youngters. As for the guys on the list:

Dunn: mild interest but he’s old as dirt and wouldn’t be more than 3rd down back
Green: if he could manage to stay healthy (which he hasn’t done since ‘06) he might be decent but hasn’t averaged better than 4.0 ypc since ‘04
Johnson: eh, big back who can’t catch the ball and has a career ypc of 3.9…I can’t imagine Beanie not being able to outperform him.
Duece: mild interest but I doubt he’s looking for a one year, small salary deal and it’s questionable that he could even pass a physical.
Foster: I actually liked him in Carolina but he’s nothing more than a marginal player (3.9 career ypc)
Perry: plenty of talent and zero production, I don’t know how he’s a upgrade over anyone, if he can stay healthy (which is rare for him).
Pittman: marginally productive at 33 but he was basically a goal line specialist at Denver last year
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One thing that really jumps out at me on this list is that 30-something RB’s with a decent resume five years ago can be found on nearly every street corner. I also think that if we really need to add a back during the season, some of these guys will still be avaliable. At this point in time, I don’t see how any of them is an upgrade over the group currently on the roster.

I’d rather sign him than anyone on this list

I don’t see where there is any room left for another RB. Last year we carried three on the active roster and I don’t see that changing this year, so as it stands we’ve got Wells, Hightower, and Wright (who I think will be an excellent addition as the third RB).

Granted, it’s a young and largely unproven group but I think our running game will show significant improvement this year. Of course, when you rank 32nd in rushing from the previous year improvement shouldn’t be too hard to achieve, but when I say significant improvement I’m thinking that our running game will mirror what we were able to achieve in the playoffs, and will make our passing game virtually unstoppable.

I’d like to see him comeback if he would do it for cheap.

I know it won’t happen, but he can still play!

I like what we have and I do see the offensive line run blocking a lot better this year. Our center had his shoulder repaired and says he feels a lot stronger and the cohesion of that group is right on.

Hightower is a good back but he will lose starting to Beanie. Beanie is quicker, bigger and I have a feeling he will dominate a bit more. I think Hightower will still be good for 3rd down and vulture status but we will see what happens in the end.