Todd Bowles likes what he sees in Thomas Rawls

With the unfortunate injury to Elijah McGuire, all eyes are on the other running backs to see if they can get the job done for the New York Jets. So far, head coach Todd Bowles likes what he sees in Thomas Rawls.

When news broke of the foot injury to running back Elijah McGuire, it was an unfortunate setback to a young and promising player. Luckily for the New York Jets, they stocked up on running backs this offseason preparing for situations just like this.

Besides McGuire, the Jets have quality talent ahead of him on the depth chart at running back. Ideally, Isaiah Crowell and Bilal Powell are figured to be the main starters in some kind of rotation. McGuire’s spot was mostly that of depth so if anything, for now, running back Thomas Rawls will get an increase in the number of reps he gets in training camp.

As is with every position on the roster, there will be competitions in every positional group to round out the depth chart. Rawls was fourth on the list at running back entering training camp and could now be in a position to earn a final roster spot if everything falls into place.

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Courtesy of the Media Relations Department of the Jets, here is what head coach Todd Bowles thinks about if Rawls could fill some of McGuire’s roles on offense:

Well, we will get the pads on. Obviously Rawls has been a heck of a player in Seattle and he came in the spring and he made an impression. He works hard, he has a great personality, he is very smart and he loves the game. Those are the types of players you like to coach. We just have to see him with the pads on and see how he progresses.

Hopefully, as training camp continues, Rawls proves he has what it takes to be a contributor on offense. Even though the Jets will launch their version of the West Coast offense, new offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates plans to also establish the ground game this upcoming season.

In order to keep opposing defenses guessing, the Jets will need to commit to the run and ensure that they can do damage either through the ground or air. A well-balanced offense will need at least three, maybe even four active running backs on the roster to make it efficient. It will be very interesting to see how Rawls performs over the next few months during Jets training camp.