The New York Jets brought in a lot of running back depth this offseason with the additions of Zac Stacy and Stevan Ridley. Bilal Powell is also still on the roster but despite that depth Chris Ivory is still the number one guy and Zach Braziller of the New York Post reports that Ivory is the "unquestioned starter" and should see more carries than anyone else.
Ivory is entering his third season with the Jets and even though he was the starter last year and very productive, he still didn't get too much work. Under Rex Ryan the Jets used many different running backs, including Chris Johnson last year, instead of having one bell cow back. It is entirely possible that the Jets can employ the same strategy this season under Todd Bowles but at the very least Ivory is expected to lead the backfield in carries.
Ivory is 27 years old and entering his sixth season in the NFL but up to this point he has averaged 4.7 yards per carry which is a great number. Despite his high yards per carry average Ivory's career high for rushing yards is 833 but that is due to the fact that he has never gotten more than 200 carries. Last season, when he shared the backfield with Johnson, he had 198 carries for 821 yards (4.1 yards per carry.)
Ivory has a nice combination of speed and strength that is usually necessary for an every down back which is why he will be used in that capacity most likely. Powell will likely be the change of pace back that is also used on third downs or passing downs while Stacy could see time and Ridley could factor in when he gets healthy. Ridley is currently on the PUP list and may have to start the season there which would force him to miss the first six games.
The one fault Ivory may have is his lack of productiveness in the passing game. Before last season Ivory only had five career receptions and although he had 18 a year ago he is not the type of running back that is usually in the game on passing downs. Ivory will likely see the bulk of the work in early down situations like usual but as long as he is not a productive pass catcher he will never see the amount of work as other starting running backs.
