NFL, Next Gen Stats reveal 10 most explosive runners list for 2022 season

NFL writer Nick Snook revealed his list of the top 10 most explosive runners in the league this week, using data compiled from the 2022 season.

Snook’s evaluation only takes into account players with a minimum of 100 carries and using Next Gen Stats, he was able to sort out the players with the highest total and greatest percentage of explosive runs last season.

An explosive play is typically one that gains more than 10 yards, but the NFL writer also looked at how fast the players were going while doing it, sorting out runs that averaged over 15 mph.

This year, Next Gen Stats debuted a new metric – the explosive score. The explosive score takes into account each player’s top speed, average speed, number of big plays and more to produce a composite score on a scale of 0-100. Snook’s list relies heavily on the new Next Gen explosive score.

These were the 10 most explosive runners in the NFL last season.

NFL’s most explosive runners in 2022

1. Justin Fields, QB, Chicago Bears

Bears quarterback Justin Fields is undoubtedly one of the most athletic players in the NFL today and his explosive score confirms that. He scored a 98 for the 2022 season and had the most runs at 15 mph or more with 89. Nearly 21% of his runs went for 10 or more yards last year. Fields follows Jalen Hurts who was the 2021 most-explosive player.

2. Kenneth Walker III, RB, Seattle Seahawks

Despite missing a small portion of the season, Kenneth Walker was still No. 3 in the NFL with his explosive score of 90 for 2022. It was his top speed of 22.09 mph that put him over the edge for the No. 2 spot on the list. He reached 20 mph four times last season while rushing for more than 1,000 yards as a rookie.

3. Travis Etienne, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Travis Etienne came roaring into his first official season with the Jaguars after missing his rookie year due to injury. He posted over 1,000 yards rushing and tied for the second-most runs at 20-plus mph with six.

4. Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens

Due to injury, Lamar Jackson was just 13 runs over the 100-carry mark to make the cut and he was still able to do so despite a smaller sample size than his cohorts. He ate up yards and scored an 88 in explosiveness. He rushed for more than 10 yards on 27.7% of his carries and ran over 15 mph on nearly 37% of his runs.

5. Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys

Tony Pollard split carries with Ezekiel Elliott in 2022 and still made the list, which is a big reason why he’s franchise tagged for 2023 and Elliott is a free agent. He scored an 87 with 31 rushes over 10 yards and 43 runs that reached speeds over 15 mph.

6. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns
7. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
8. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee
9. Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
10. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings

Missed the cut

Although Snook’s list only looked at the top-10 most explosive players in the NFL last year, he also included the players that weren’t far behind.

Those players were Jalen Hurts, Josh Jacobs, Aaron Jones, Daniel Jones, Miles Sanders and Jeff Wilson.