Jerome Ford Among Most Undervalued NFL Running Backs

January 22, 2024 12:34pm

With Cleveland Browns starting running back Nick Chubb suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 2, the Browns looked on their roster for help at the position and found three — Jerome Ford, Kareem Hunt and Pierre Strong, Jr. — to pick up the slack and lift the Browns to the NFL Playoffs for the first time since 2020.

With an eye on NFL Ohio sports betting next season, BetOhio.com utilized ProFootballReference.com to find the cap hit and rushing and receiving yards of every NFL running back during the 2023-24 NFL regular season. After doing the math of the dollar per point share for each player in the league, we were able to determine the 10 most value driven RBs from this season. Salary and yards were included for all teams the player was on during the season.

Here are the gems in the backfield:

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Most Undervalued Running Backs

Rank	Player Name	Cap Hit (2023-24)	Rushing, Receiving Yards (2023-24)	$ Per Rush, Receiving Yard*
1	Kyren Williams, LAR	$947,601	1,350	$702
2	Rachaad White, TB	$1,165,909	1,539	$757
3	Isiah Pacheco, KC	$889,777	1,174	$758
4	Jaylen Warren, PIT	$874,000	1,144	$764
5	Jerome Ford, CLE	$950,537	1,132	$840
6	James Cook, BUF	$1,325,468	1,567	$846
7	DeVon Achane, MIA	$905,293	997	$908
8	Chuba Hubbard, CAR	$1,118,294	1,135	$985
9	Brian Robinson Jr., WSH	$1,146,569	1,101	$1,041
10	Tyler Allgeier, ATL	$953,474	876	$1,088

* — Rounded to the nearest dollar.

Ohio betting apps list San Francisco as the Super Bowl favorite at +140. Baltimore is second at +200.

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Ford Climbs in Second Season

Ford, a second-year RB from Cincinnati, was quite the find for the Browns this year and is ranked No. 5 with a cap hit of less than a million dollars ($950,537). He earned $840 per rushing and receiving yard and proved to be worth every cent.

He had 204 carries for 813 yards rushing (4.0 yards avg.) with four touchdowns plus posted two 100-plus yard games. He also had 44 receptions for 319 yards (7.3 avg.) with five TDs. All in all, he had 248 touches for 1,132 total yards and nine TDs. Division foe Jaylen Warren of the Pittsburgh Steelers ranked fourth with 1,144 yards with a cap hit of $874,000.

For contrast, second-year running back Kyren Williams of Notre Dame and the L.A. Rams totaled 260 touches for 1,350 yards and 15 TDs (12 rush) for $702 per rushing and receiving yard with a salary cap hit of $947,601.

Cleveland (11-6) finished second in the AFC North this season behind AFC Championship finalist Baltimore and lost to the Houston Texans on the road, 45-14, in the AFC Wild Card game on Jan. 13. ESPN BET Ohio lists the Ravens as 3.5-point home favorites over Kansas City in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. The over/under is 44.5 total points.

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