Eagles schedule: Realistic expectations for Kenneth Gainwell in year two

Here are some preliminary guesses on Kenneth Gainwell’s 2022-2023 stat line.

We all love numbers. That’s why we obsess over Fantasy football, stare at the NFL Next Gen Stats engine for hours, and pay Pro Football Focus’ monthly asking price for access to their premium statistical data. You didn’t think we’d talk about Kenneth Gainwell’s expectations without predicting his stat line, did you?

In 2021, Kenny G racked up a 4.3 yards-per-carry average and a 7.7 yards-per-reception average on 68 rushing attempts and 33 receptions respectively. That led to 291 rushing yards, another 253 yards through the air, five rushing touchdowns, and one receiving TD.

With Isaac Seumalo returning and moving to the right guard position, Gainwell and his buddies at tailback will again be running behind the NFL’s best O-line. We’re going to bump Kenny’s YPC average up to 4.6 for that reason. As was the case last season, he’ll play the role of escape valve in the Eagles’ passing game, so keeping him around eight yards per touch as a receiver seems optimal.

One of the staples we expect to see in Philly’s attack will be as follows. Gainwell and Scott will wind up splitting time as Philadelphia’s third-down running backs. They’re both better blockers than Miles, and again, if Brooks makes the ascension to the 53-man roster, he’ll be asked to tote the rock often in third-and-short and goal-line situations.

Expect a few more touches by number 14. We’ll say five rushes per game and, maybe two to three receptions, resulting in the stat line below:

Kenneth Gainwell’s 2022-2023 stat line: 85 carries, 42 receptions, 400 yards rushing, 350 yards receiving, six-seven rushing touchdowns, three receiving touchdowns