The Decline of the NFL Fullback

For me, I strongly believe that the NFL Fullback is an endangered species – it’s bordering on being phased out completely. With Reagan Mauia’s recent arrest, I thought a closer inspection of our fullback position was in order. With that in mind, I set off to do some research on this position, to try and determine what impact, if any, cutting Mauia would have on our team. I’m not saying we will – or even should – cut him, but I did want to see where that would leave us, from a team standpoint. To do this, I’d like to look at the position historically, as it stands today, and, as it relates to our team, how Parcells has used the position.

The Fullback Position Historically

• “Blue Collar” – I would make the argument that the fullback position, next to perhaps inside linebacker, is considered the most blue collar position to play. The job is not glamorous – your duty, as fullback, is to line up and smash someone in the mouth. It’s a tough job, but the best fullbacks simply shut up and did their job. Perhaps the best example of this is in Chicago, long considered a blue collar town, who have had a long line of lunch pail players, including Brad Muster, Matt Suhey, Roland Harper, and Brian Piccalo. I miss players like that, especially in the age of the Prima Donna.

• Hall of Famers – There are a total of just six players listed as a fullback in the NFL Hall of Fame. These numbers include Jim Brown, who I would argue, was actually a feature back in the NFL. If we include Brown, 83% of these men (five out of six) played in the early era of the NFL, from 1946 – 1967. In other words, the fullback position is one that has really been in decline since that time frame.

• Larry Csonka – The lone exception to this rule is a man that we’re all familiar with, Larry Csonka. Csonka is unique in that he was a multi purpose back. If you asked him to block, he would block. If you asked him to catch the pigskin, he could go out and do that. If you asked him to run some poor soul over for a TD, well Csonka would make that happen. In a lot of ways, he was the last of the great, multi-use fullbacks. Csonka was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1987.

The Fullback Position Today

Decline in Usage - As it stands today, there are a total of 40 on active rosters today. Only 11 teams carry more than 1 fullback on their roster, and there are 2 teams (Seattle and Buffalo), that have a minimum of 3 on their roster. A handful of teams don’t even have a fullback listed on their roster. I believe this illustrates that the fullback position is essentially an endangered species, as teams have moved away from using the position.

Average Draft Position - It seems as though there has been a steady drop in both the total number of fullbacks drafted, and also in the round the position is taken first. To that end, I decided to do some draft research on fullbacks by looking at the last 20 years of drafts. First rounders are bolded, significant picks are listed in parenthesis.

• 1988 - None
• 1989 - None
• 1990 – Round 2, 2 total.
• 1991 – Round 1, 3 total. (Jarrod Bunch)
• 1992 – Round 1, 5 total. (Tommy Vardell)
• 1993 - None
• 1994 – Round 1, 2 total. (William Floyd) Bar None is significant in the fact that he was the last FB taken in the first round. He probably would have had a better career, if not for injuries. He was the most recent fullback drafted in the First Round.
• 1995 – Round 6, 1 total.
• 1996 – Round 2, 5 total. (Mike Alstott) Alstott probably has the best case for Hall of Fame induction, as he was a 4 time All Pro for the Bucs. Like Csonka before him, Alstott was asked to do a multitude of tasks. He will generate Hall of Fame consideration. Should be interesting to see if he is enshrined or not.
• 1997 – None.
• 1998 – None.
• 1999 – Round 2, 6 total. (Rob Konrad) Konrad would go on to infuriate Dolphins fans for the next 5 years.
• 2000 – Round 4, 3 total.
• 2001 – None.
• 2002 – Round 3, 3 total. (Najeh Davenport)
• 2003 – Round 3, 7 total. (B.J. Askew)
• 2004 – Round 5, 1 total.
• 2005 – None.
• 2006 – Round 5, 2 total.
• 2007 – Round 4, 7 total. (Regan Mauia) Thus far, Mauia has proven he can run through walls, just not through defenses.

Specialists – As the game of football has evolved, the fullback position has actually devolved, as the men who play this position are no longer asked to be multi-skill players, but instead have been converted into one-dimensional “specialists.” I hear sports announcers talking about a run-blocking “specialist,” a short-yardage “specialist,” or a pass-catching “specialist” and I just cringe. Here’s examples of all of the above:

• “The Pass Catcher” – A great example of the prototypical “Pass Catcher” is/was Larry Centers. Undersized at 6’0 and 225 pounds, Centers would fill a niche for Arizona, and then later Washington, Buffalo, and New England. In two seasons (1995 and 1996), Centers would catch 200 passes, 9 touchdowns, and amass over 1700 yards receiving. Those numbers are on par with numbers that elite tight ends (Gonzales, Gates, Witten, Winslow, etc.) are putting up today.

• “The Run Blocker” – Adrian Murrell. Warrick Dunn. Eddie George. Corey Dillon. LaDainian Tomlinson. All have had 1000 yard rushing seasons thanks to Lorenzo Neal, considered the standard-bearer among lead blockers. Neal, impressively, has lead running backs to 1000 yard seasons for 11 consecutive seasons. Most recently Neal has been in San Diego, where he has been paving the way for LT.

• “The Short Yardage Back” – A perfect modern example of the short yardage back is Najeh Davenport in Pittsburg. Davenport has never been known as a feature back, but more of a bruiser. Still, in 2007, he converted his runs into first downs an impressive 34.6% of the time. Of players with at least 100 carries, only Kenton Keith was more efficient. (Interesting side note: Our own Ronnie Brown was third, with an impressive 32.8% average)

I’m not an expert, but if I were to have a team, it would make sense, to me anyway, to have this position be all inclusive – I would much rather have one player that could perform both tasks equally well, during all of the situations. Csonka was better than all of these guys – not because he was a better receiver than Centers, a better blocker than Neal, or a better converter than Davenport – but because he could do all three equally well. The fullback as a jack-of-all trades is not seen in today’s game.

Parcells and the Position

A good rule of thumb for us to gauge how our team may go with the position is to look at how Bill Parcells has utilized the position in his 25+ year tenure as a coach in the NFL. Granted, Dan Henning is our Offensive Coordinator and has always been known more as an H-Back guy. That said I still believe Parcells will be putting his thumbprints – for better or worse – into all areas of the team, including the fullback position. Let’s take a look at what the FB has accomplished under Parcells.

• New York Giants – In 1983 Parcells broke into coaching starting underrated FB Rob Carpenter. Carpenter would start for Parcells from 1983 to 1985, before Maurice Carthon would take over duties. Carthon would hold the position from 1986 to 1990, the end of Parcell’s tenure in New York. While both were solid “blue collar” players, neither were elected to Pro Bowl.

• New England Patriots – Kevin Turner would be asked to man the position through 1993 and 1994. Turner would give way to Sam Gash in 1995. Gash enjoyed moderate success paving the way for Curtis Martin in 1995 and 1996, before being replaced by Keith Byars, a player who I’ve always liked.

• New York Jets – It’s interesting to note that Parcells, as coach of the Jets from 1997 – 1999, would actually begin the streak of Lorenzo Neal, using him at FB in 1997. After letting Neal go, Parcells would turn to the now-ancient Keith Byars in 1998, before finally using Richie Anderson in 1999.

• Dallas Cowboys – Returning to coaching, Parcells would again tap a familiar face to lead the way at FB, using Richie Anderson 2003. Not completely satisfied with Anderson, Parcells would turn to Darian Barnes in 2004, before abandoning the position in 2005.

Much like as the position appears to have fallen out of favor in the NFL, it appears that Bill Parcells no longer holds the position in high regard. While he has used a few standouts at the position (Carpenter, Carthon, Byars, Anderson), overall Parcell’s usage of the fullback has decreased as time has passed on. This decline echoes what has been seen through the rest of the NFL.

The Future of the Fullback Position

At the end of the day, I don’t see a significant loss in value for our franchise if our current FB were to be cut. Look at the facts: There has not been an NFL FB elected to the Hall of Fame in over 20 years. The position itself is in decline, as teams have drafted fewer and fewer players in the early rounds. In the age of specialization, lead blockers are easily replaceable. As it relates specifically to our team, there's several other factors to consider. With Dan Hennig coming on board, and the potential for the team to utilize an H-Back. Over the course of the last few years, Parcells himself has show increasing disdain for the position. These factors, as they relate to our team specifically, illustrate the declining interest in the position. It is my belief that the position of fullback is even more precarious then ever before. In other words, if I were Reagan Mauia, I’d be extremely cautious over my job security – it appears his position may be an endangered species.

 

I agree that the position is in decline (hence the title), and as a fan I'm disappointed to see the position go away. It's just my opinion - but as we've seen the proliferation of the spread offense in the NFL, we've seen the fullback position slowly squeezed out.

I would expect us to target a TE or H-Back in the draft because Beck needs a safety valve to succeed. I'd prefer a TE in the Draft (a great target would be Brad Cottam), but if we go the H-Back route I'm really hoping we hold out and draft someone like Jacob Hester in the later rounds. Drafting an H-Back will allow Maiua (provided he's still on the team) to focus on blocking assignments and short-yardage situations.