Through 12 weeks, Doug Martin finds himself right in the mix for the NFL's rushing title. He has 1,038 yards, the second-most in the league behind Minnesota's Adrian Peterson. The two are the NFL's only runners to surpass the 1,000-yard mark so far this season.
Although he's No. 2 in total yards, Pro Football Focus has Martin graded as the league's best running back thus far. Martin has a total grade of +90.9, slightly better than Seattle's Marshawn Lynch, who is rated No. 2. Atlanta's Devonta Freeman, New York's Chris Ivory and Pittsburgh's DeAngelo Williams follow on the list, in that order.
Photos of Doug Martin's 97-yard performance against the Colts, which put him over 1,000 yards rushing on the season.
"What a comeback year it has been for Martin, who currently leads all RBs with a 3.5 yards per carry average after contact, an 84.7 elusive rating, and a 47.9 breakaway percentage," PFF's Eric Eager wrote. "His 5.1 yards per carry average is the highest amongst runners with at least 125 carries."
Because of his struggles catching passes out of the backfield and blocking, Peterson didn't land in the top 10 on PFF's list. Carolina's Jonathan Stewart, who has the third-most rushing yards of any back, is rated No. 6 by PFF.
Martin is averaging nearly 100 yards per game, picking up an average of 94 per contest. He is on pace to rush for 1,509 yards this season, which would be the second-most in a single season in team history. Martin already owns the No. 2 spot on that list, picking up 1,454 yards during his season season in 2012. He could set the franchise record with 1,545 this year.
