Agree TJ appears to be more versatile than Dex - at least circa 2017 - and was fine as a backup to Adams. But he just seems like a short-yardage banger, based on what we’ve seen. That’s fine as a backup to Adams, and has its place in our offense going forward. But three yards and a cloud of dust is limiting in an RB1. Dex has way more upside, not just for home runs but for eight-yard chunk plays too.
Best case, IMO, is Dex picking up pass pro enough to win a majority of carries, with TJ also contributing a lot of snaps. Either Jahmir or, hopefully, CJ, round things out in the third spot.
I agree for the record. The best thing for this offense is if Dex answers all of the questions that have seemingly been holding him back, because he's a big play waiting to happen with his wiggle, burst, and wayyyyy better top speed than TJ Jr.
I was just trying to relay what/why the experts all pencil in TJ Jr as the next man up rather than Dex.
My question is if the starting QB has anything to do with who's on the field at RB... if Wimbush wins the job and somehow learns to run a TRUE zone-read, he and Dex would be a nightmare for defenses with their combined burst and ability to abuse whoever the unblocked man is. Also factor in that Wimbush is probably in the shotgun nearly 100% of the time, and those stretch runs fit Dex better than TJ Jr.
On the flip side, TJ Jr might fit better into a backfield lead by Ian Book, because even though Book is mobile, they would be doing a lot more play-action/rollout that would take advantage of TJ's skill set, especially if they are under-center and running downhill as a base, like in 2011 and parts of '10 and '12.