Alfred Morris has been a sturdy, workhorse back for the Washington Redskins over the past three seasons, but a versatile rookie named Matt Jones could be poised to steal his shine.
Morris has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons in Washington, but he has often been removed on third downs in passing situations because he is not a good receiver out of the backfield. The threat Jones presents is that he's shown that ability in OTAs, even though he was not drafted to fulfill that role.
Gruden says Matt Jones has more versatility than they expected when they drafted him. Today he served as third down back.
— Mike Jones (@MikeJonesWaPo) May 26, 2015
If he was brought in to lessen Morris' workload, and will now also handle third downs, he could take a significant chunk of Morris' carries and drain his fantasy value. Picking Jones was curious from the outset. He was viewed as more of a bruiser in college, and Morris' attempts hadn't been more than 276 in either of the last two seasons.
Morris will likely remain the go-to back in short-yardage and goal-line situations. He has never struggled to score from close range, and has never had fewer than seven rushing touchdowns in a single season.
Jones registered 19 career receptions for 100 yards and one touchdown in three college seasons with the Florida Gators, and never topped 1,000 yards in a season. Jones maxed out in his third year with Florida with 817 yards and six touchdowns, chewing up 4.9 yards per rush. That kind of production does not foreshadow pushing out a productive veteran, and Redskins coach Jay Gruden was recently complimentary of Morris.
"That's what training camp is for and the preseason games, and Alfred is a darn good halfback, so in order to take carries off of him, you've got to show a lot," Gruden said.
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