It’s been heavily documented that many believe Darren Sproles is the top free agent signing of this past offseason, and very few people could have ever predicted that coming in. Sproles was brought in to boost the return game, which he’s done, and fill in the role previously occupied by Reggie Bush. In that domain, he’s been everything the Saints hoped for and then some. The upgrade from Bush that the Saints have gotten out of Sproles is alarmingly obvious. His diminuitive size at 5’6″ has suprisingly been a big advantage as he’s uses his blockers well to shield him and his low center of gravity gives him superhuman agility. There are not many runners I’ve watched who are more decisive in their cuts.
Of course, for Sproles to fully reach his potential he needed to be plugged into a Sean Payton offense. Sproles has already totalled a career high for single season rushing yards, yards per carry, and receptions. He’s getting more touches than ever and he’s doing more with increased touches. What’s not to like?
Comparing him to Bush…
Sproles is on pace to finish with 96 receptions while Reggie never had more than 88 and he averaged just under 60 catches per season. Sproles is also on pace to rush for over 550 yards this season, and while Bush’s career high with the Saints was at 581, Sproles average of 6.8 per carry completely dwarf’s Bush’s average of 3.99 with the Saints. Sproles is also averaging 26.5 yards per kick return (something Bush never did) and 9.6 per punt return with a touchdown. Bush averaged 7.9 yards per return in his career on punts, and he only did better than Sproles’ average once in 5 seasons.
The thing about Sproles that’s so rewarding, is I don’t think the fans and/or the organization expected Sproles to come in and be a league superstar. The expectation was that he’d hopefully contribute as much as Reggie Bush did with more matuirty and less off the field distractions. When I asked about this pickup, I said it was a lateral move without all the Hollywood drama. Well, there has been no Hollywood drama, but calling that a lateral move in hindsight was a huge insult to Darren Sproles. I vastly underestimated his capabilities, and the Saints’ staff have admitted they did as well.
Sproles leads the NFL in yards per carry for running backs with 50 or more carries this season, he’s third in the NFL in receptions, and he leads the NFL in all-purpose yards. Based on those numbers alone I don’t see how you can argue that there’s been a free agent signing out there more instrumental to his team’s success.
Safe to say we’re glad #43 is in black and gold and there’s likely more left to look forward to in the coming season.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
