Fans did their best to digest the legalese and squawking this offseason. They returned en masse to track the hundreds of free agent moves and long, protracted contract negotiations played out in the media.
Four running backs have dominated the dollar-and-cents chatter since the NFL got back to work.
The two players who cashed huge checks, Chris Johnson and DeAngelo Williams, can't fall forward. Matt Forte and Fred Jackson are still chirping while posting massive numbers.
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Paid
Johnson carried the ball 24 times for 53 yards against Baltimore. He's averaged 2.3 yards per carry through two weeks, although his nine receptions offer some support to those in PPR leagues.
Williams has amassed just 22 touches in two weeks (72 total yards) while watching Cam Newton light up the sky. Teammate Jonathan Stewart has been a bigger threat in the passing game.
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Motivated
Forte has tallied 324 total yards (15 receptions for 207 yards and a receiving touchdown). He stands as the lone option in Mike Martz's offense.
Jackson is one of very few players to be leaned on enough to top the 100-yard mark in back-to-back receivers. He's amassed 257 total yards on 38 touches with two touchdowns thus far.
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Don't press the panic button on Johnson yet. He'll get his legs under him and start producing, perhaps as early as this week against Denver.
Williams' place is a little more concerning. OC Rob Chudzinski has yet to lean on his running game (Jeff Otah has been sidelined) while Cam Newton got tongues wagging with his aerial assault. That isn't likely to change in Week 3 against the Jaguars, a solid run defense that is chock-full of holes in the secondary.
Stay hungry.
