The Detroit Lions are suddenly deep at running back with the additions of Tatum Bell and T.J. Duckett. Tatum Bell has the speed to make the Lions’ offensive really explosive. He played in 13 games (all starts) for the Broncos last season and he carried the ball 233 times for 1,025 yards (4.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 24 passes for 115 yards (4.8 avg) with 0 TD grabs. The Lions will likely let Kevin Jones compete with Tatum Bell for the starting job but I have a feeling that Bell will win out. Bell has played in 42 games (14 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 481 times for 2,342 yards (4.4 ypc) with 13 TD runs and he has also caught 47 passes for 299 yards (6.4 avg) with ) TD grabs.
Kevin Jones missed the end of the 2006 season with a serious foot injury but he will return to battle Tatum Bell for the starting job. If healthy Jones will put up a good fight and he might beat Bell out. He played in 12 games (all starts) last season for the Lions and he carried the ball 181 times for 689 yards (3.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs and he caught 61 passes for 520 yards (8.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs. Jones has been a good running back for the Lions when he has been healthy so it would be foolish to count him out this season. Jones has played in 40 games (39 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 608 times for 2,486 yards (4.1 ypc) with 16 TD runs and he has caught 109 passes for 809 yards (7.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs.
T.J. Duckett will likely be the short yardage and goal line specialist for the Lions this season. He was used wrong in Washington last season and the results weren’t pretty. He played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Redskins last season and he carried the ball 38 times for 132 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he caught 2 passes for 16 yards (8.0 avg). Duckett has carved out a pretty good niche in his NFL career as a #2 running back and it will be interesting to see how much work the Lions give him in 2007. Duckett has played in 65 games (13 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 590 times for 2,307 yards (3.9 ypc) with 33 TD runs and he has caught 31 passes for 249 yards (8.0 avg) with 0 TD grabs.
Brian Calhoun missed most of rookie year last season after injuring his knee badly but he has looked really good in practice so far this season. He played in 7 games (0 starts) last season and he carried the ball 7 times for 19 yards (2.7 ypc) with 0 TD runs and he caught 2 passes for 20 yards (10.0 avg).
Aveion Cason will have a hard time making the team but he was productive when the Lions have him a chance last season. He played in 6 games (2 starts) for the Lions last season and he carried the ball 24 times for 94 yards (3.9 ypc) with 0 TD runs and he caught 5 passes for 26 yards (5.2 avg). He also got a chance to return some kicks as he returned 4 kickoffs for 110 yards (27.5 avg). Cason has been nothing more than a backup thus far in his career and he will likely continue that trend this season. He has now played in 37 games (5 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 111 times for 517 yards (4.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs and he has caught 46 passes for 499 yards (10.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs. He also has returned 31 kickoffs for 670 yards (21.6 avg) with 0 TD returns.
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