The AFC West is living up to its billing as one of the toughest divisions in football through five weeks. Although the Oakland Raiders (2-3) have stumbled a bit after Derek Carr‘s injury and the Chargers (1-4) have been on the wrong end of some bad luck, the West still has plenty to boast. The Chiefs (5-0) are the last undefeated team in the NFL, and the Broncos (3-1) have a favorable matchup against the winless Giants in Week 6. Additionally, the division boasts three of the top four running backs in football, according to Pro Football Focus.
Kansas City rookie Kareem Hunt leads all NFL running backs, according to PFF’s ratings, with Los Angeles’ Melvin Gordon and Denver’s C.J. Anderson coming in third and fourth respectively.
Kareem Hunt is our top graded running back so farhttps://t.co/wHlCQtyNFC pic.twitter.com/lfACdlGvB9
— PFF (@PFF) October 15, 2017
Hunt is the NFL leader in rushing yards with 609. His 6.3 yards per attempt are second only to Baltimore’s Alex Collins (7.1); however, Hunt has carried the ball 60 more times than Collins.
Anderson’s 4.5 yards per carry are tied for 12th in the league, while his 82.5 yards per game are fourth. The fifth-year back has also shown the propensity for making big plays this season, with four runs of at least 20 yards. Only Hunt (seven) has more.
Gordon’s raw rushing numbers aren’t as impressive – only 3.7 yards per attempt and 54.6 yards per game. But PFF grades more than just box score stats. They also factor in measures like yards after contact, elusiveness, big-play percentages and receiving touches. Gordon, for example, has 27 targets in the passing game and three receiving touchdowns.