J.K. Dobbins welcomed himself back to the NFL during the first two weeks of the season when he rushed for a combined 266 yards and two touchdowns against the Raiders and Panthers. Unfortunately, injuries began to pile up.
Offensive tackle Rashawn Slater missed the entire second half against the Steelers in Week Three after suffering a pectoral injury. It was evident that the offense was knocked off the tracks due to his absence as Dobbins ended up finishing that game with just 44 yards.
In that same game during the fourth quarter, rookie tackle Joe Alt got rolled up on and suffered a sprained MCL that forced him to miss the next game alongside Slater who was still nursing his pec injury. In that game, Dobbins rushed for a season-low 32 yards while averaging 2.3 yards per carry. Understandably, Dobbins fell out of favor amongst the season’s best backs due to the tough stretch (not all his fault obviously!) but thanks to a strong week against the Broncos, Dobbins is right back in the conversation.
In Maurice Jones-Drew’s latest rankings of the top-15 running backs in the NFL entering Week Seven, the former Jaguars legend has put Dobbins back in his list at No. 12 after falling out of the rankings entirely over the past few weeks.
“Dobbins bounced back after a few down weeks (and the bye) with a solid outing in the Chargers’ division win over Denver. He rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, marking the first time in Dobbins’ career that he had at least 18 carries in a game. Jim Harbaugh is staying true to his run-heavy approach and it’s working.”
Heading into Monday night’s clash with the Cardinals, Dobbins is currently ranked sixth in the NFL in rushing at 438 yards to go with three rushing scores. He hasn’t been used all that much in the passing game with just 12 receptions for 50 yards.
Among the league’s top-10 rushing leaders, Dobbins’ 5.4 yards per carry ranks third behind only Derrick Henry (5.9) and Chuba Hubbard (5.6). He’s also tied for third with four big-time runs (20+ yards) through Week Six.
This week on Monday Night Football, Dobbins will get a Cardinals defense that ranks 27th in the NFL in run defense. With another productive outing on the road, Dobbins would likely vault right back into the top 10, and maybe even higher, if he’s able to run wild in the desert.
