What if all three guys exceed expectations and have a high level of success? Sure, it’s a good problem to have. But say they’re all very good. Who sits?

Who cares?

Tate #1 with Slaton on 3rds and Foster stepping in if anyone gets hurt.

At the start of the year, barring a surprising preseason, I would say it’ll be Foster as the #1….Slaton on 3rd down if he proves he’s healthy…..and Tate being worked in slowly….maybe not getting his big break until after the bye week.

Regardless of who starts, I expect to see a heavy dose of the 3-headed Monster in week , but that’s a topic for another time.

They have ideas. But those ideas are shaped on a lot of unknowns. As mentioned, Slaton’s neck injury progress; Tate coming off the bench to start the season; Foster’s limited yet successful production last season, are all big IFs. What if Foster gets the nod to start the season and he is lights out? What if Slaton excels, his neck is not an issue two games into the season and he doesn’t fumble? What if Foster is not who we hoped after two games? What if Tate gets a few carries and immediately is taking it to the house from long distance? Let’s face it, this whole thing is a “see what happens” scenario. But, it looks like there is some talent there, so it is a good situation.

I say for the first few preseason games, have foster run all first down plays, tate run all second down plays and slaton run all third down plays and see if anyone steps it up. That would be your starter. Yes I know this wouldn’t be the best idea as we have an awesome offense and might not see many third down plays (this is me dreaming about first downs in just two downs) but I think it works bc we all know what a healthy slaton can do. And if no one steps it up, I say let foster take most of the carries in week one with tate getting the goal line/ red zone work and slaton coming in for screens and short passes.

until week 3 Tate from then on

if anyone is comin to anyone around here! but I think we should hope for great seasons out of all three just so we can trade either Foster or Slaton to another team for a quality FS.

Do they still have Chris Brown on the roster to throw halfback passes?!?!?

Fuck it! just let foster play an entire preseason game and tate another and so on lol. sparing them a little with slaton. and we havent mentioned one word about poor jeramiah johnson or chris henry. i guess no one expects them to make the roster or even play at all in preseason. personally i dont want these guys to play in preseason cus i wanna watch tate foster and slaton because along with everyone else, i think they will surely be the guys!

Sooo… this is less a look at running back depth, and more an exercise in fantasy?

Isn’t the real question here what each of them brings to the table, known qualities, and what our realistic expectations are regarding their production? Logic and reason commands us to assume that for the time being: Foster starts, Slaton spells him, and Tate is worked into the system.

It’s flawed logic to assume Smithiak drafted Tate with a preconceived notion that he would start. According to that logic, Barwin should be starting opposite Mario. Tate was drafted with an eye toward enhancing the talent pool. After that it’s up to the production on the field to dictate what the depth chart looks like.

Blind speculation backed only by fantasy serves no purpose. Let’s talk about what each of them brings substantively:

Foster: Health, 1 year familiarity, production in a limited sample size
Slaton: Health and fumbling concerns, familiarity with the system, a mixed bag of production but the largest sample size
Tate: Talent, production at a lower level

Looking at that – my opinion is we can safely say that until preseason action, Foster is our starter, Slaton is #2, Tate is #3. I’m optimistic in thinking that the early season will see Slaton regain form and see split action with Foster, while Tate sees limited action. I think eventually you’ll see Slaton as the clear #1 with Tate behind him, and Foster in reserve. Production wise, I would be thrilled if we got "decent’ production out of all three in relation to their roles – considering what we had last year.

There’s depth at running back, but too many questions and not enough answers.

mainly since he is the last 100 yd rusher we’ve had. Slaton as 3rd down and as a pass catcher and let Tate work to prove himself.

j/k