So we can consider Ray Rice a receiver too then right? He crossed the 700 yard mark in receiving twice something Reggie Bush only did once in New Orleans. In fact, during their tenures side by side Ray Rice has more receiving yardage then Reggie Bush. 2,714 to 2,142.
Buck Allen himself could potentially eclipse 500 yards receieving, and has been an impact player in the passing game. I think the Ravens have proved that they can have RBs out of the backfield that can make an impact in the passing game.
As far as Darren Sproles goes, that's nothing new for him. He was an impact player in the passing game out of the backfield in San Diego as well. All New Orleans did was feature him more in the passing game with more targets and receptions.
If we're also going to use Kamara as an arguement for this, then would you legit say that he can split out wide and beat top flight CBs? Of course not because that's not how the Saints feature Kamara. Kamara is being featured more as a passing threat who beats LBs and safeties. You're never going to see Kamara run a deep post, corner or hitch route. If Kamara is a receiver then why isn't he asked to run the full route tree that a receiver is asked to run? Also, pretty sure once Ingram hits FA, then Kamara is going to be their feature back in the same sense that Ray Rice was for us.
A guy like Kamara, Bell, Johnson, Sproles, or Bush reason why they're on the field catching passes out the backfield or in the slot is to be matched up against a linebacker. That's their bread and butter. They're not going to be asked to run the WR route tree against NFL CBs, that's never expected of them because they don't have much of a chance of success in that aspect. A RB is in the backfield and splits out in the slot to expose their match up against an LB, not a CB.
