The running back position made a comeback in the draft this year. Not only Saquon Barkley, but six other running backs were chosen either late in the first round or in the second round. Is there a fantasy star in that group.
Seattle drafted Rashaad Penny with the 27th pick, and New England (the team that never drafts skill guys in the first round) went with Sony Michel with the next-to-last choice in the round.
Three running backs went early in the second: Nick Chubb (Cleveland, 35th), Ronald Jones (Tampa Bay, 38th), Kerryon Johnson (Detroit (43rd). And then Derrius Guice got picked 59th by Washington.
Leaving Barkley out of the discussion – he’s a different class of prospect – all six of these backs could potentially be good, but none of them are guaranteed to be the stat leader on their own teams. They’re making the step up to pro ball, and their not the can’t-miss guys like what you see at the top of the draft.
To get a general lay of the land, which could help some in setting general expectations, see the chart below. It shows other running backs in this century not chosen with top-20 picks, but at least chosen in the top 60 – guys who are good and coveted, but not the can’t-miss prospects like Adrian Peterson, Reggie Bush and whatnot.
I’ve listed numbers next to each guy, but those aren’t his rookie numbers. They are the numbers of the best fantasy season of his career. (So for right now, I’m looking more at long-term potential rather than gauge how these guys might fare this year.)
There are 57 running backs who meet the requirements (chosen in the top 60 but not the top 20). Of this group, 19 backs (exactly a third) at some point in their career finished a season with top-10 numbers. That’s standard scoring – 6 points for touchdowns and 1 point for every 10 run/rec yards.
Thirty of these 57 (over half) never had a top-20 season. Well, so far. Some of the guys here are still playing. I would expect Joe Mixon, Dalvin Cook and maybe Derrick Henry will have top-20 seasons. And I’m not ruling out a comeback by Tatum Bell.
If form holds with these current six, two of them at some point will post top-10 numbers. But probably half of them will never make it into the top 20.
Of the six, I sure liked the way Guice played at Louisiana State when he was healthy. He went over 250 yards three times in the last two games, and on a lot of his carries in those games, he looked like he might be a better runner than even Barkley – explosive, violent runner who created a lot of those yards on his own.
| BEST SEASONS BY SECOND-TIER RUNNING BACKS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Pk | Player | Run | Rec | Total | TD | Rk |
| 2008 | 24 | Chris Johnson, Tenn. | 2,006 | 503 | 2,509 | 16 | 1 |
| 2008 | 55 | Ray Rice, Balt. | 1,364 | 704 | 2,068 | 15 | 1 |
| 2006 | 27 | DeAngelo Williams, Car. | 1,515 | 121 | 1,636 | 20 | 1 |
| 2003 | 27 | Larry Johnson, K.C. | 1,750 | 343 | 2,093 | 21 | 2 |
| 2013 | 48 | LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 1,361 | 854 | 2,215 | 11 | 2 |
| 2009 | 53 | LeSean McCoy, Phil. | 1,309 | 315 | 1,624 | 20 | 2 |
| 2004 | 24 | Steven Jackson, St.L. | 1,528 | 806 | 2,334 | 16 | 3 |
| 2006 | 60 | Maurice Jones-Drew, Jac. | 1,391 | 374 | 1,765 | 16 | 3 |
| 2008 | 44 | Matt Forte, Chi. | 1,339 | 594 | 1,933 | 12 | 3 |
| 2012 | 31 | Doug Martin, T.B. | 1,454 | 472 | 1,926 | 12 | 3 |
| 2002 | 51 | Clinton Portis, Den. | 1,508 | 364 | 1,872 | 17 | 4 |
| 2006 | 30 | Joseph Addai, Ind. | 1,072 | 364 | 1,436 | 15 | 4 |
| 2001 | 23 | Deuce McAllister, N.O. | 1,388 | 352 | 1,740 | 16 | 6 |
| 2011 | 28 | Mark Ingram, N.O. | 1,124 | 416 | 1,540 | 12 | 6 |
| 2001 | 49 | LaMont Jordan, NYJ | 1,025 | 563 | 1,588 | 11 | 7 |
| 2008 | 23 | Rashard Mendenhall, Pitt. | 1,273 | 167 | 1,440 | 13 | 7 |
| 2001 | 58 | Travis Henry, Buff. | 1,438 | 309 | 1,747 | 14 | 8 |
| 2003 | 23 | Willis McGahee, Buff. | 1,128 | 169 | 1,297 | 13 | 9 |
| 2014 | 55 | Jeremy Hill, Cin. | 1,124 | 215 | 1,339 | 9 | 10 |
| 2002 | 56 | Ladell Betts, Wash. | 1,154 | 445 | 1,599 | 5 | 11 |
| 2014 | 57 | Carlos Hyde, S.F. | 938 | 350 | 1,288 | 8 | 11 |
| 2001 | 38 | Anthony Thomas, Chi. | 1,183 | 178 | 1,361 | 7 | 13 |
| 2001 | 27 | Michael Bennett, Minn. | 1,296 | 351 | 1,647 | 6 | 17 |
| 2009 | 31 | Beanie Wells, Ariz. | 1,047 | 52 | 1,099 | 10 | 17 |
| 2013 | 37 | Giovani Bernard, Cin. | 695 | 514 | 1,209 | 8 | 17 |
| 2006 | 45 | LenDale White, Tenn. | 773 | 16 | 789 | 15 | 19 |
| 2011 | 57 | Mikel Leshoure, Det. | 798 | 214 | 1,012 | 9 | 20 |
| 2004 | 43 | Julius Jones, Dall. | 993 | 218 | 1,211 | 5 | 21 |
| 2004 | 41 | Tatum Bell, Den. | 921 | 104 | 1,025 | 8 | 22 |
| 2004 | 30 | Kevin Jones, Det. | 689 | 520 | 1,209 | 8 | 23 |
| 2010 | 30 | Jahvid Best, Det. | 555 | 487 | 1,042 | 6 | 23 |
| 2002 | 34 | DeShaun Foster, Car. | 879 | 372 | 1,251 | 3 | 24 |
| 2008 | 22 | Felix Jones, Dall. | 800 | 450 | 1,250 | 2 | 26 |
| 2016 | 45 | Derrick Henry, Tenn. | 744 | 136 | 880 | 6 | 26 |
| 2010 | 58 | Ben Tate, Hou. | 942 | 98 | 1,040 | 4 | 28 |
| 2015 | 36 | T.J. Yeldon, Jac. | 740 | 279 | 1,019 | 3 | 28 |
| 2006 | 21 | Laurence Maroney, N.E. | 757 | 99 | 856 | 9 | 29 |
| 2009 | 27 | Donald Brown, Ind. | 537 | 214 | 751 | 8 | 29 |
| 2011 | 56 | Shane Vereen, N.E. | 391 | 447 | 838 | 5 | 29 |
| 2017 | 48 | Joe Mixon, Cin. | 626 | 287 | 913 | 4 | 32 |
| 2002 | 54 | Maurice Morris, Sea. | 628 | 213 | 841 | 5 | 33 |
| 2000 | 31 | Trung Canidate, St.L. | 441 | 154 | 595 | 6 | 35 |
| 2010 | 51 | Toby Gerhart, Minn. | 531 | 190 | 721 | 4 | 38 |
| 2015 | 54 | Ameer Abdullah, Det. | 552 | 162 | 714 | 5 | 39 |
| 2004 | 55 | Greg Jones, Jac. | 575 | 65 | 640 | 4 | 41 |
| 2013 | 58 | Montee Ball, Den. | 559 | 145 | 704 | 4 | 42 |
| 2014 | 54 | Bishop Sankey, Tenn. | 569 | 133 | 702 | 2 | 43 |
| 2012 | 32 | David Wilson, NYG | 358 | 34 | 392 | 6 | 45 |
| 2004 | 26 | Chris Perry, Cin. | 279 | 328 | 607 | 2 | 46 |
| 2005 | 44 | J.J. Arrington, Ariz. | 370 | 139 | 509 | 2 | 55 |
| 2017 | 41 | Dalvin Cook, Minn. | 354 | 90 | 444 | 2 | 65 |
| 2010 | 59 | Montario Hardesty, Clev. | 266 | 122 | 388 | 0 | 74 |
| 2007 | 50 | Chris Henry, Tenn. | 119 | 53 | 172 | 2 | 81 |
| 2011 | 38 | Ryan Williams, Ariz. | 164 | 44 | 208 | 0 | 97 |
| 2012 | 50 | Isaiah Pead, St.L. | 21 | 78 | 99 | 0 | --- |
| 2005 | 54 | Eric Shelton, Car. | 23 | 6 | 29 | 0 | --- |
| 2007 | 49 | Kenny Irons, Cin. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | --- |
—Ian Allan

