I’ve talked a lot about my love for “the big guy” doing stuff in football, whether it’s an O-lineman running in a touchdown or a defensive lineman intercepting a pass and trying to run towards the end zone for a pick six. But what if everyone on the team was a big guy. Today i’ll be analyzing how the sim might react to players that are much heavier then they should be (and much heavier than they’re probably allowed to be in the sim), and i will be basing this analysis off of real world players. So let’s begin
Quarterback:
One of the most important positions in the league, and one that rarely has heavy players. On one hand, it should be the best for a heavy player (assuming you’re not a mobile qb), because you can just stand still for the most part. On the other hand however, compared with other positions, QB’s don’t really get subbed out when they’re tired, which might definitely hurt the play of someone out of shape or heavy. Not to mention any sort of drop back, scramble, designed QB run, play action, or really any other play involving motion of the QB will fire the quarterback out even further. The heaviest QB i could find was Jared Lorenzen, also known as (and these are all legitimate nicknames he was given, i swear i’m not making these up): BBQ (big beautiful quarterback), Battleship Lorenzen, He Ate Me, Hefty Lefty (he was left handed), J-Load, Quarter(got)back, the abominable throwman, The Round Mound of Touchdown, The Pillsbury Throwboy (my favorite), and Mobile, Agile, Hostile, and Hungry (those last four (mobile, agile, hostile, and hungry) are all one nickname by the way)). At 285 pounds, he is one of the heaviest, if not the heaviest, quarterback to ever play a game. Only issue with using him for analysis is he never actually started a game, as he served as a backup to Eli Manning for most of his time in the NFL and played about 7 snaps in the regular season. There’s not much to learn from him, other than that heavy QB’s are good at QB sneaks. The best example for a heavy starter QB would be JaMarcus Russel, also known as one of the largest busts of all time. A first round pick by the Oakland Raiders, Russel was a quarterback whose weight fluctuated
consistently, reaching a max of 280 pounds at one point. His nicknames weren’t as great as Jared Lorenzen’s, but JaBust/JaBustus is pretty funny. He had a 52.1% completion percentage, a TD to INT ratio worse than Jameis Winston (though Jameis threw more picks than him, Winston threw more touchdowns than interceptions, something JaMarcus cannot claim). Not to mention a passer rating of 65.2 and more fumbles than touchdowns scored. Okay sorry, back to the topic at hand. The issue here is that Russel also had crappy decision making, so it’s hard to know how much weight actually affected his play. However, assuming it did, that’s not a good sign for trying to be a heavy QB. Okay, onto analysis of what plays would be improved vs. hurt by such a high weight:
Improved plays: QB sneaks
It’s almost like having another fullback in the backfield. You need 1 yard, he’ll get you 3. You need 5 yards, he’ll get you 3. In all seriousness though, QB sneaks are probably the only thing improved by having a heavy QB, because he can get that tough yardage up the middle in that situation.
Hurt: Everything else
Literally everything else would be hurt by being a heavy QB. If the pocket collapses, good luck trying to escape a sack. Brady would look more elegant running. You’re forced to be immobile, which puts pressure on your O-line and makes their life much harder. Long passes are out for that reason. Any QB run outside of a QB sneak would go awfully, because the quarterback is slow and heavy and can barely run as it is. Even normal or quick passes would get messed up, as throwing requires quick motion in the hips and arms, motion that would be made more complicated and harder to do the more obese they get. Even handoffs would be affected by it, because in certain types of runs, the QB would be placed right in front of the runningback as they hand the ball off, something not usually a problem with a thinner quarterback, but if you’re wide enough the runningback might run into you or spend precious seconds running around you. Endurance as well would be an issue, as if you’re that large as a quarterback, you’re probably at least a bit out of shape, which is not good for a player who’s meant to be on the field for every offensive snap.
All in all, a heavy QB is an awful idea, and it’s hard to imagine a heavy quarterback being better than a lighter one in basically every situation outside of maybe a quarterback sneak.
Runningback:
Anyone who knows me or has read anything by me knows my love for big running backs. The idea of just running into contact, needing 3 guys to get taken down, just all around my favorite thing. But is bigger better in this situation? It’s hard to imagine a huge hefty runningback being used consistently, as they would get tired so much easier. But heavy doesn’t always mean out of shape, especially in a position where some players thrive as bigger bruising backs. In fact, some of the best running backs were extremely heavy, including Jamal Lewis (240 lb), Derrick Henry (245 pounds), and one of my favorite players of all time, Jerome Bettis (252 lb) (honorable mentions of heavy running backs is Eddy Lacy (250 lb), Pete Johnson (252 lb), and Leon Hart (257 lb)). The heaviest runningback of all time was Wes Ours at an astounding 300 pounds, but he had no NFL carries and only one reception, so we aren’t really going to be analyzing him. Let’s take a look at the three guys we listed before. Jerome Bettis, nicknamed “the bus” for his ability to carry would be tacklers on his back “like a bus” was a six time pro bowler, two time first team All-Pro, hall of famer who is currently eighth on the list of NFL rushing yards leaders. He was known for being able to close out games by being able to score consistently in the red zone, and later on in his career became used mostly in short yardage or goal line situations. He also had the best stat line of all time, playing a game where he got 5 carries for 1 yard and 3 touchdowns. Analyzing his sort of performance, heavy running backs are best used in such short yardage situations. However, the ability of a power back to gain yardage is underrated when it comes to long yardage situations as well. If you give a man this heavy the chance to speed up, it’s going to be hard to take them down. A first down run that picks up four yards mag not make the highlight reel, but it’s useful for teams to have a consistent runner who can get that sort of yardage. While power backs have big play ability, their main benefit is their consistency that no matter what, they will gain positive yardage, as opposed to a lighter back that may be easier to tackle behind the line of scrimmage. While elusive backs might be better when it comes to breaking off big runs, they’re much less consistent about avoiding getting tackled behind the line of scrimmage. There’s just some things that power backs can do that you can’t trust any other player to do, such as being able to gain ground by running it straight up the gut. Also, the ability to put fear in the defense and make them feel as though one guy won’t be enough to tackle them is one of the biggest and best parts of being a power back. It’s a benefit that you can especially see from a player like Derrick Henry, who is well known for breaking off huge runs and stiff arming defensive backs who try to make plays. But let’s assume maybe this hypothetical large running back isn’t an all time great like Jerome Bettis or Derrick Henry. Maybe he’s a more average player. For an example of a more average runningback, we’ll look at Ron Dayne. Ron Dayne (250 lb) was a 1st round pick in the 2000 draft by the New York Giants where he teamed up with Tiki Barber to create a tandem known as “Thunder and Lightning”. He was an okay player, but weirdly enough, never much of a goal line back, as he scored 28 touchdowns in all in seven seasons, about 4 a year. He was never a widely used back, and was more of a change of pace back who could move the chains. He averaged a respectable 3.8 yards a carry. If we go off of Ron Dayne, power backs might not be the best goal line backs, and after analysis it’s understandable why. With great power backs, you can trust them to gain yardage, and therefore you can just run them up the middle for the score. with average power backs however, that’s not as much a guarantee. Power backs also can’t really run to the outside the same way a faster back can, something that’s useful when all the defenders are stacked in the middle. With elusive backs, they can run inside or outside, whereas power backs might not be great at running outside. Based on this analysis, I’d say the most useful way to use an extremely heavy runningback would be to use them in tandem with a more elusive back, so you can switch off and maybe have both in the field to keep the defense guessing. Endurance might be an issue for heavy running backs as well, which is another reason it’s good to have a speed back to balance them out and make sure they don’t get too tired.
Plays improved: inside runs, short yardage situations, goal-line runs (depending), runs into stacked boxes
The main point of inside runs is just to gain yardage. With outside runs you’re hoping for a big play to spring loose or maybe at least a first down. Inside runs are just to make sure you gain yardage so it’ll be second and 4 instead of second and 10. Power backs are best in this situation, as they specialize in being able to break through tackles and power through multiple defenders to gain that yardage. Elusive running backs also can’t really be run into a stacked box, as it’s hard enough for them to break one tackle, so expecting them to power through multiple is unlikely. With power backs however, they have the strength to push through tacklers to get to the end zone, and while they may not exactly break a tackle, they’ll get yardage in a situation where other running backs won’t. That’s why they’re used in short yardage situations as well, because they can get consistent yardage. Even if it isn’t much yardage, it would be enough to get a first down. With goal line runs, it depends on A. position of the defenders, B. Speed and agility of the back, and 3. whether the defense is expecting a run or a pass. If the defense is spread out along the end zone, whether to prepare for an outside run or maybe a pass, then it’s a much better situation for a power back, as running it up the middle is much easier there. If they’re all stuffed in the middle, then that’ll be much harder for a power back if they’re running it up the middle, as every defender is there waiting for the run. If the running back is speedy, however, it scares the defense into player a more spread out formation because they know the back has the ability to do an outside run if necessary, and while they still may not be as fast as a speed back, it’s definitely something that the defense would be afraid of if the back is fast. As well, a defense expecting the pass would be easier to run against as well, as they might not be prepared to have multiple for the run, which means it’s more likely either the power back gets into the end zone untackled or they break through a tackle from a player less prepared to make tackles, such as a defensive back.
Plays hurt: outside runs
To be honest there isn’t much that’s actually hurt by having a powerback. Sure, they may not be too speedy, but they can make up for it with their power. If there’s one thing I can think of that would be particularly hurt by a heavy running back, it would be outside runs. While running backs are dependent on speed, with most runs strength replacing that speed works just fine. However, that can’t really be done with outside runs. Outside runs are dependent on getting to the outside and going around the defensive line and past the defensive backs before they can make a play or push you out of bounds. It doesn’t matter how much strength you have of you don’t have the speed to get to the outside quickly, and that’s not really something many heavy running backs can do, especially those as heavy as the ones we are looking at.
All in all, I like the idea of a heavy running back. They may be slower, but they are powerful enough to make up for the speed. Of any position to have large heavy guys outside of maybe someone on the offensive line or defensive line, it’s this one. I give this my stamp of approval
Fullback:
Whether it is someone who intended on being a fullback, a running back who happens to be able to block, or just a backup tight end, fullbacks are a small but important part of every team. This position is dependent on heavy players, so having heavier players is extremely important. This one might be a little shorter because a lot of fullback stuff is covered in the runningback portion, so I might just focus on the blocking part of a fullback. So first, let’s look at some players for reference. The first player to look at Craig Hayward. Heyward’s weight bounced around a bit from 250 to 340, so there’s no one weight to give. Craig Hayward was an insanely good fullback with a big head and a bigger body. He was known for being as large as, if not larger than, the defenders who tried to stop him. He was an insanely good blocker and a great runner as well. We can use the analysis of him at two seperate points. One during his best years as a blocker and one during his best years as a runner. The reason for looking at two different points is it can show you how to properly use a great running fullback vs a great blocking fullback. It’s hard to figure out exactly what could be considered his “best year” as a blocker, the best bet would be his first year in 1988 with the New Orleans Saints. This was when he was at his beignets weight, around 340. Despite only playing 11 games, he was on the field for a ridiculous amount of snaps, especially insane considering it was he was a rookie and a fullback. Because he was on the field so often, he ran the ball somewhat consistently as well, for a great 4.8 yards per attempt (though his stats were boosted heavily by a 73 yard run). Despite this consistency and yards per attempt, he only had one touchdown, presumably because he was a better blocker, so he blocked for the runningback instead. So the question here is, when you have a fullback that’s proficient in running but better in blocking, what do you do. And the answer is to use him almost as a backup rb and starting fullback. What i mean by this is most teams have a backup running back they put in every once in a while to move the chains. A fullback like the one described earlier could be used that way, while remaining as a fullback for the other plays. Besides, considering how large of a man he is, I doubt the fullback could handle being any sort of starting running back given the endurance issues a 340 pound man would have. It is automatically assumed that it would be smart to give a gigantic fullback the ball in a goal line situation because it seems like they are sure to pick up yardage, but considering the size and talent at fullback, it might be smarter to just let him block for the running back. Let me explain. So first of all, a 340 pound fullback is a gigantic man. Imagine the running lanes this absolutely huge man could create, especially one with the speed of Craig Hayward. Second of all, if you have a gigantic fullback with a smaller runningback behind him, it might be hard for defenders to get around the fullback to the runningback, allowing for an easy touchdown. Finally, if there’s any play being run at the goal line with this huge giant at fullback, defenders are gonna stack in the middle to make sure the fullback can’t do anything if he runs. In general, fullbacks rarely have the time to look for jokes to run through like a running back can. They just kinda run down the middle into this clashing of traffic and pick up what they can get. With a normal fullback run being against such a mess of players, imagine a goal line run, especially with a fullback that maybe isn’t as good at running as he is at blocking. Besides, in general you wanna play your studs where they play best, and a blocking fullback plays best when they block. Now, to analyze a fullback that maybe runs a bit more, let us look at his 1995 season with the Atlanta Falcons. That season was the only time he cracked 1000 yards and 200+ carries. Make no mistake however, he was still a fullback even when he specialized in rushing, and this in noticeable in how his longest run that season was only 31 yards and his longest reception that season was 25 yards. Fullbacks rarely have big play potential, especially when most fullback runs are just straight up the gut runs for gaining short yardage and nothing more. He was used fairly often as a runningback, similar to how i suggested using a fullback as a backup runningback at times, and he did well in his position as runningback, gaining an average of 4.6 yards per run. He still was not great as a receiver, which does limit his usage out of the backfield. There isn’t too much to say about this, as we already went over a lot of this when talking about running backs. However, it is useful to have two running backs in the backfield and almost try to swap things up and make the defense have to guess who’s gonna run with the ball and who will block. Now, let’s assume maybe your fullback isn’t someone who’s primarily a fullback, or someone that maybe isn’t as great of a fullback as Craig Hayward. The best example of a heavy mediocre fullback is Tommy Bohanon. Tommy Bohanon (250 pounds) is a free agent fullback best known for his time on the jets. It’s unlikely you’ve heard of him, as it’s hard to have name recognition as a fullback even when you’re a good one, and he definitely was not a good one (mediocre at best. It’s honestly extremely interesting how he performed on the field. During run blocks, he was always able to get into the correct position, but he sucked when it came to actually blocking after getting into the correct position. It’s definitely a little bit like the potential is there, he just can’t make the blocks he needs to. However, he actually wasn’t half bad when it came to pass blocking. He wasn’t that great and couldn’t stop more explosive pass rushers, but he was okay and could pick up on blitzes. This makes me think that his weight definitely affected him, possibly because he’s a big guy, so those players that don’t usually rush the passer aren’t sure how to get around him efficiently, whereas good pass rushers can easily get around him. He’s not great as a runner, and he can’t do powerful runs like most fullbacks. Really his main redeeming (with redeeming being used loosely) qualities are pass blocking (possibly because that doesn’t take as much vision or anything like that) and receiving . His comfort level when it comes to receiving makes me think that maybe he is more of a catching tight end sort of player that got moved to the fullback position, because he’s actually not bad when it comes to receiving the ball. All in all, not a great fullback though. If we use him as an irl example of a mediocre heavy fullback, this tells us that in all you should use him sparingly, and I wouldn’t go out of your way just to put him on the field. It’s a scenario where you’re not expecting him to make a play, you’re just hoping he does his job. He’s not bad on the field on passing downs though, so that might be the best times to use a heavy fullback. Heavy fullbacks won’t have any large amount of speed, so maybe in general using them in running situation won’t be a great idea, as they won’t be able to run ahead of the running back fast enough to make a block, so using them in a situation where they either just run to the side as a safety valve or get to not have to move too much to protect the qb might be the best option.
Plays improved if the fullback is bad/not originally a fullback: anything requiring the fullback to block for the qb
The less a huge and heavy fullback has move the better, so letting them just sit behind the line of scrimmage waiting for defenders seems to be the best usage
Plays improved if the fullback is good: everything else
It is extremely necessary for the fullback to be large as heavy in order to make sure there’s power behind their running and power in their blocks. Assuming the fullback is good at these things, added weight should just improve what they’re already good at.
Plays hurt if the fullback sucks: running plays, blocking for the runner:
Is the fullback isn’t fast enough to make blocks for the runner, he’s basically useless in those situations. As well, if he doesn’t have enough power in his step to gain momentum, he’ll fail when it comes to running the ball.
Plays hurt if the fullback is good: N/A
Fullbacks being heavy is a necessity, and if the fullback is good at his job, added weight should only improve his play.
All in all, weight is a good thing for a fullback to have. However, it can hurt the play of fullbacks who maybe aren’t good at their job and make them even worse. However, in general, if you have a fullback, you want them to be heavy.
Quarterback:
One of the most important positions in the league, and one that rarely has heavy players. On one hand, it should be the best for a heavy player (assuming you’re not a mobile qb), because you can just stand still for the most part. On the other hand however, compared with other positions, QB’s don’t really get subbed out when they’re tired, which might definitely hurt the play of someone out of shape or heavy. Not to mention any sort of drop back, scramble, designed QB run, play action, or really any other play involving motion of the QB will fire the quarterback out even further. The heaviest QB i could find was Jared Lorenzen, also known as (and these are all legitimate nicknames he was given, i swear i’m not making these up): BBQ (big beautiful quarterback), Battleship Lorenzen, He Ate Me, Hefty Lefty (he was left handed), J-Load, Quarter(got)back, the abominable throwman, The Round Mound of Touchdown, The Pillsbury Throwboy (my favorite), and Mobile, Agile, Hostile, and Hungry (those last four (mobile, agile, hostile, and hungry) are all one nickname by the way)). At 285 pounds, he is one of the heaviest, if not the heaviest, quarterback to ever play a game. Only issue with using him for analysis is he never actually started a game, as he served as a backup to Eli Manning for most of his time in the NFL and played about 7 snaps in the regular season. There’s not much to learn from him, other than that heavy QB’s are good at QB sneaks. The best example for a heavy starter QB would be JaMarcus Russel, also known as one of the largest busts of all time. A first round pick by the Oakland Raiders, Russel was a quarterback whose weight fluctuated
consistently, reaching a max of 280 pounds at one point. His nicknames weren’t as great as Jared Lorenzen’s, but JaBust/JaBustus is pretty funny. He had a 52.1% completion percentage, a TD to INT ratio worse than Jameis Winston (though Jameis threw more picks than him, Winston threw more touchdowns than interceptions, something JaMarcus cannot claim). Not to mention a passer rating of 65.2 and more fumbles than touchdowns scored. Okay sorry, back to the topic at hand. The issue here is that Russel also had crappy decision making, so it’s hard to know how much weight actually affected his play. However, assuming it did, that’s not a good sign for trying to be a heavy QB. Okay, onto analysis of what plays would be improved vs. hurt by such a high weight:
Improved plays: QB sneaks
It’s almost like having another fullback in the backfield. You need 1 yard, he’ll get you 3. You need 5 yards, he’ll get you 3. In all seriousness though, QB sneaks are probably the only thing improved by having a heavy QB, because he can get that tough yardage up the middle in that situation.
Hurt: Everything else
Literally everything else would be hurt by being a heavy QB. If the pocket collapses, good luck trying to escape a sack. Brady would look more elegant running. You’re forced to be immobile, which puts pressure on your O-line and makes their life much harder. Long passes are out for that reason. Any QB run outside of a QB sneak would go awfully, because the quarterback is slow and heavy and can barely run as it is. Even normal or quick passes would get messed up, as throwing requires quick motion in the hips and arms, motion that would be made more complicated and harder to do the more obese they get. Even handoffs would be affected by it, because in certain types of runs, the QB would be placed right in front of the runningback as they hand the ball off, something not usually a problem with a thinner quarterback, but if you’re wide enough the runningback might run into you or spend precious seconds running around you. Endurance as well would be an issue, as if you’re that large as a quarterback, you’re probably at least a bit out of shape, which is not good for a player who’s meant to be on the field for every offensive snap.
All in all, a heavy QB is an awful idea, and it’s hard to imagine a heavy quarterback being better than a lighter one in basically every situation outside of maybe a quarterback sneak.
Runningback:
Anyone who knows me or has read anything by me knows my love for big running backs. The idea of just running into contact, needing 3 guys to get taken down, just all around my favorite thing. But is bigger better in this situation? It’s hard to imagine a huge hefty runningback being used consistently, as they would get tired so much easier. But heavy doesn’t always mean out of shape, especially in a position where some players thrive as bigger bruising backs. In fact, some of the best running backs were extremely heavy, including Jamal Lewis (240 lb), Derrick Henry (245 pounds), and one of my favorite players of all time, Jerome Bettis (252 lb) (honorable mentions of heavy running backs is Eddy Lacy (250 lb), Pete Johnson (252 lb), and Leon Hart (257 lb)). The heaviest runningback of all time was Wes Ours at an astounding 300 pounds, but he had no NFL carries and only one reception, so we aren’t really going to be analyzing him. Let’s take a look at the three guys we listed before. Jerome Bettis, nicknamed “the bus” for his ability to carry would be tacklers on his back “like a bus” was a six time pro bowler, two time first team All-Pro, hall of famer who is currently eighth on the list of NFL rushing yards leaders. He was known for being able to close out games by being able to score consistently in the red zone, and later on in his career became used mostly in short yardage or goal line situations. He also had the best stat line of all time, playing a game where he got 5 carries for 1 yard and 3 touchdowns. Analyzing his sort of performance, heavy running backs are best used in such short yardage situations. However, the ability of a power back to gain yardage is underrated when it comes to long yardage situations as well. If you give a man this heavy the chance to speed up, it’s going to be hard to take them down. A first down run that picks up four yards mag not make the highlight reel, but it’s useful for teams to have a consistent runner who can get that sort of yardage. While power backs have big play ability, their main benefit is their consistency that no matter what, they will gain positive yardage, as opposed to a lighter back that may be easier to tackle behind the line of scrimmage. While elusive backs might be better when it comes to breaking off big runs, they’re much less consistent about avoiding getting tackled behind the line of scrimmage. There’s just some things that power backs can do that you can’t trust any other player to do, such as being able to gain ground by running it straight up the gut. Also, the ability to put fear in the defense and make them feel as though one guy won’t be enough to tackle them is one of the biggest and best parts of being a power back. It’s a benefit that you can especially see from a player like Derrick Henry, who is well known for breaking off huge runs and stiff arming defensive backs who try to make plays. But let’s assume maybe this hypothetical large running back isn’t an all time great like Jerome Bettis or Derrick Henry. Maybe he’s a more average player. For an example of a more average runningback, we’ll look at Ron Dayne. Ron Dayne (250 lb) was a 1st round pick in the 2000 draft by the New York Giants where he teamed up with Tiki Barber to create a tandem known as “Thunder and Lightning”. He was an okay player, but weirdly enough, never much of a goal line back, as he scored 28 touchdowns in all in seven seasons, about 4 a year. He was never a widely used back, and was more of a change of pace back who could move the chains. He averaged a respectable 3.8 yards a carry. If we go off of Ron Dayne, power backs might not be the best goal line backs, and after analysis it’s understandable why. With great power backs, you can trust them to gain yardage, and therefore you can just run them up the middle for the score. with average power backs however, that’s not as much a guarantee. Power backs also can’t really run to the outside the same way a faster back can, something that’s useful when all the defenders are stacked in the middle. With elusive backs, they can run inside or outside, whereas power backs might not be great at running outside. Based on this analysis, I’d say the most useful way to use an extremely heavy runningback would be to use them in tandem with a more elusive back, so you can switch off and maybe have both in the field to keep the defense guessing. Endurance might be an issue for heavy running backs as well, which is another reason it’s good to have a speed back to balance them out and make sure they don’t get too tired.
Plays improved: inside runs, short yardage situations, goal-line runs (depending), runs into stacked boxes
The main point of inside runs is just to gain yardage. With outside runs you’re hoping for a big play to spring loose or maybe at least a first down. Inside runs are just to make sure you gain yardage so it’ll be second and 4 instead of second and 10. Power backs are best in this situation, as they specialize in being able to break through tackles and power through multiple defenders to gain that yardage. Elusive running backs also can’t really be run into a stacked box, as it’s hard enough for them to break one tackle, so expecting them to power through multiple is unlikely. With power backs however, they have the strength to push through tacklers to get to the end zone, and while they may not exactly break a tackle, they’ll get yardage in a situation where other running backs won’t. That’s why they’re used in short yardage situations as well, because they can get consistent yardage. Even if it isn’t much yardage, it would be enough to get a first down. With goal line runs, it depends on A. position of the defenders, B. Speed and agility of the back, and 3. whether the defense is expecting a run or a pass. If the defense is spread out along the end zone, whether to prepare for an outside run or maybe a pass, then it’s a much better situation for a power back, as running it up the middle is much easier there. If they’re all stuffed in the middle, then that’ll be much harder for a power back if they’re running it up the middle, as every defender is there waiting for the run. If the running back is speedy, however, it scares the defense into player a more spread out formation because they know the back has the ability to do an outside run if necessary, and while they still may not be as fast as a speed back, it’s definitely something that the defense would be afraid of if the back is fast. As well, a defense expecting the pass would be easier to run against as well, as they might not be prepared to have multiple for the run, which means it’s more likely either the power back gets into the end zone untackled or they break through a tackle from a player less prepared to make tackles, such as a defensive back.
Plays hurt: outside runs
To be honest there isn’t much that’s actually hurt by having a powerback. Sure, they may not be too speedy, but they can make up for it with their power. If there’s one thing I can think of that would be particularly hurt by a heavy running back, it would be outside runs. While running backs are dependent on speed, with most runs strength replacing that speed works just fine. However, that can’t really be done with outside runs. Outside runs are dependent on getting to the outside and going around the defensive line and past the defensive backs before they can make a play or push you out of bounds. It doesn’t matter how much strength you have of you don’t have the speed to get to the outside quickly, and that’s not really something many heavy running backs can do, especially those as heavy as the ones we are looking at.
All in all, I like the idea of a heavy running back. They may be slower, but they are powerful enough to make up for the speed. Of any position to have large heavy guys outside of maybe someone on the offensive line or defensive line, it’s this one. I give this my stamp of approval
Fullback:
Whether it is someone who intended on being a fullback, a running back who happens to be able to block, or just a backup tight end, fullbacks are a small but important part of every team. This position is dependent on heavy players, so having heavier players is extremely important. This one might be a little shorter because a lot of fullback stuff is covered in the runningback portion, so I might just focus on the blocking part of a fullback. So first, let’s look at some players for reference. The first player to look at Craig Hayward. Heyward’s weight bounced around a bit from 250 to 340, so there’s no one weight to give. Craig Hayward was an insanely good fullback with a big head and a bigger body. He was known for being as large as, if not larger than, the defenders who tried to stop him. He was an insanely good blocker and a great runner as well. We can use the analysis of him at two seperate points. One during his best years as a blocker and one during his best years as a runner. The reason for looking at two different points is it can show you how to properly use a great running fullback vs a great blocking fullback. It’s hard to figure out exactly what could be considered his “best year” as a blocker, the best bet would be his first year in 1988 with the New Orleans Saints. This was when he was at his beignets weight, around 340. Despite only playing 11 games, he was on the field for a ridiculous amount of snaps, especially insane considering it was he was a rookie and a fullback. Because he was on the field so often, he ran the ball somewhat consistently as well, for a great 4.8 yards per attempt (though his stats were boosted heavily by a 73 yard run). Despite this consistency and yards per attempt, he only had one touchdown, presumably because he was a better blocker, so he blocked for the runningback instead. So the question here is, when you have a fullback that’s proficient in running but better in blocking, what do you do. And the answer is to use him almost as a backup rb and starting fullback. What i mean by this is most teams have a backup running back they put in every once in a while to move the chains. A fullback like the one described earlier could be used that way, while remaining as a fullback for the other plays. Besides, considering how large of a man he is, I doubt the fullback could handle being any sort of starting running back given the endurance issues a 340 pound man would have. It is automatically assumed that it would be smart to give a gigantic fullback the ball in a goal line situation because it seems like they are sure to pick up yardage, but considering the size and talent at fullback, it might be smarter to just let him block for the running back. Let me explain. So first of all, a 340 pound fullback is a gigantic man. Imagine the running lanes this absolutely huge man could create, especially one with the speed of Craig Hayward. Second of all, if you have a gigantic fullback with a smaller runningback behind him, it might be hard for defenders to get around the fullback to the runningback, allowing for an easy touchdown. Finally, if there’s any play being run at the goal line with this huge giant at fullback, defenders are gonna stack in the middle to make sure the fullback can’t do anything if he runs. In general, fullbacks rarely have the time to look for jokes to run through like a running back can. They just kinda run down the middle into this clashing of traffic and pick up what they can get. With a normal fullback run being against such a mess of players, imagine a goal line run, especially with a fullback that maybe isn’t as good at running as he is at blocking. Besides, in general you wanna play your studs where they play best, and a blocking fullback plays best when they block. Now, to analyze a fullback that maybe runs a bit more, let us look at his 1995 season with the Atlanta Falcons. That season was the only time he cracked 1000 yards and 200+ carries. Make no mistake however, he was still a fullback even when he specialized in rushing, and this in noticeable in how his longest run that season was only 31 yards and his longest reception that season was 25 yards. Fullbacks rarely have big play potential, especially when most fullback runs are just straight up the gut runs for gaining short yardage and nothing more. He was used fairly often as a runningback, similar to how i suggested using a fullback as a backup runningback at times, and he did well in his position as runningback, gaining an average of 4.6 yards per run. He still was not great as a receiver, which does limit his usage out of the backfield. There isn’t too much to say about this, as we already went over a lot of this when talking about running backs. However, it is useful to have two running backs in the backfield and almost try to swap things up and make the defense have to guess who’s gonna run with the ball and who will block. Now, let’s assume maybe your fullback isn’t someone who’s primarily a fullback, or someone that maybe isn’t as great of a fullback as Craig Hayward. The best example of a heavy mediocre fullback is Tommy Bohanon. Tommy Bohanon (250 pounds) is a free agent fullback best known for his time on the jets. It’s unlikely you’ve heard of him, as it’s hard to have name recognition as a fullback even when you’re a good one, and he definitely was not a good one (mediocre at best. It’s honestly extremely interesting how he performed on the field. During run blocks, he was always able to get into the correct position, but he sucked when it came to actually blocking after getting into the correct position. It’s definitely a little bit like the potential is there, he just can’t make the blocks he needs to. However, he actually wasn’t half bad when it came to pass blocking. He wasn’t that great and couldn’t stop more explosive pass rushers, but he was okay and could pick up on blitzes. This makes me think that his weight definitely affected him, possibly because he’s a big guy, so those players that don’t usually rush the passer aren’t sure how to get around him efficiently, whereas good pass rushers can easily get around him. He’s not great as a runner, and he can’t do powerful runs like most fullbacks. Really his main redeeming (with redeeming being used loosely) qualities are pass blocking (possibly because that doesn’t take as much vision or anything like that) and receiving . His comfort level when it comes to receiving makes me think that maybe he is more of a catching tight end sort of player that got moved to the fullback position, because he’s actually not bad when it comes to receiving the ball. All in all, not a great fullback though. If we use him as an irl example of a mediocre heavy fullback, this tells us that in all you should use him sparingly, and I wouldn’t go out of your way just to put him on the field. It’s a scenario where you’re not expecting him to make a play, you’re just hoping he does his job. He’s not bad on the field on passing downs though, so that might be the best times to use a heavy fullback. Heavy fullbacks won’t have any large amount of speed, so maybe in general using them in running situation won’t be a great idea, as they won’t be able to run ahead of the running back fast enough to make a block, so using them in a situation where they either just run to the side as a safety valve or get to not have to move too much to protect the qb might be the best option.
Plays improved if the fullback is bad/not originally a fullback: anything requiring the fullback to block for the qb
The less a huge and heavy fullback has move the better, so letting them just sit behind the line of scrimmage waiting for defenders seems to be the best usage
Plays improved if the fullback is good: everything else
It is extremely necessary for the fullback to be large as heavy in order to make sure there’s power behind their running and power in their blocks. Assuming the fullback is good at these things, added weight should just improve what they’re already good at.
Plays hurt if the fullback sucks: running plays, blocking for the runner:
Is the fullback isn’t fast enough to make blocks for the runner, he’s basically useless in those situations. As well, if he doesn’t have enough power in his step to gain momentum, he’ll fail when it comes to running the ball.
Plays hurt if the fullback is good: N/A
Fullbacks being heavy is a necessity, and if the fullback is good at his job, added weight should only improve his play.
All in all, weight is a good thing for a fullback to have. However, it can hurt the play of fullbacks who maybe aren’t good at their job and make them even worse. However, in general, if you have a fullback, you want them to be heavy.
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