No running backs were selected in the first round last year, and that might happen again. Teams are valuing that position differently than they have in the past.
For fantasy purposes, that makes it more likely that when a running back goes over 1,000 yards, it will be more likely to be some off-the-radar type guy selected in the second or third round.
The same players, after all, are being drafted. The running backs being selected in the second round today would have been first-round picks in the ‘80s.
And the concept of a late-round pick going over 1,000 yards in his first year isn’t new. In the last 20 years, 31 running backs have run for more than 1,000 yards in his first year. Less than half of those guys (15) were selected in the first round.
I’ve got those guys in bold.
| 1,000-YARD RUSHERS, LAST 20 YEARS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Pick | Player | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 2012 | 173 | Alfred Morris, Wash. | 335 | 1613 | 4.8 | 13 |
| 1999 | 4 | Edgerrin James, Ind. | 369 | 1553 | 4.2 | 17 |
| 2002 | 51 | Clinton Portis, Den. | 273 | 1508 | 5.5 | 17 |
| 1995 | 74 | Curtis Martin, N.E. | 368 | 1487 | 4.0 | 15 |
| 2000 | 189 | Mike Anderson, Den. | 297 | 1487 | 5.0 | 15 |
| 2012 | 31 | Doug Martin, T.B. | 319 | 1454 | 4.6 | 11 |
| 1996 | 14 | Eddie George, Tenn. | 335 | 1368 | 4.1 | 8 |
| 2000 | 5 | Jamal Lewis, Balt. | 309 | 1364 | 4.4 | 6 |
| 2007 | 7 | Adrian Peterson, Minn. | 238 | 1341 | 5.6 | 13 |
| 1994 | 2 | Marshall Faulk, Ind. | 314 | 1282 | 4.1 | 12 |
| 2008 | 89 | Steve Slaton, Hou. | 268 | 1282 | 4.8 | 10 |
| 2008 | 44 | Matt Forte, Chi. | 316 | 1238 | 3.9 | 12 |
| 2001 | 5 | LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D. | 339 | 1236 | 3.6 | 10 |
| 2008 | 24 | Chris Johnson, Tenn. | 251 | 1228 | 4.9 | 10 |
| 1998 | 9 | Fred Taylor, Jac. | 264 | 1223 | 4.6 | 17 |
| 2001 | 38 | Anthony Thomas, Chi. | 278 | 1183 | 4.3 | 7 |
| 2005 | 5 | Cadillac Williams, T.B. | 290 | 1178 | 4.1 | 6 |
| 2013 | 61 | Eddie Lacy, G.B. | 284 | 1178 | 4.1 | 11 |
| 1999 | 127 | Olandis Gary, Den. | 276 | 1159 | 4.2 | 7 |
| 2004 | 30 | Kevin Jones, Det. | 241 | 1133 | 4.7 | 6 |
| 1997 | 43 | Corey Dillon, Cin. | 233 | 1129 | 4.8 | 10 |
| 1995 | 196 | Terrell Davis, Den. | 237 | 1117 | 4.7 | 8 |
| 1996 | 80 | Karim Abdul-Jabbar, Mia. | 307 | 1116 | 3.6 | 11 |
| 2007 | 12 | Marshawn Lynch, Buff. | 280 | 1115 | 4.0 | 7 |
| 1998 | 18 | Robert Edwards, N.E. | 291 | 1115 | 3.8 | 12 |
| 2001 | -- | Dominic Rhodes, Ind. | 233 | 1104 | 4.7 | 10 |
| 2006 | 30 | Joseph Addai, Ind. | 226 | 1081 | 4.8 | 8 |
| 1995 | 21 | Rashaan Salaam, Chi. | 296 | 1074 | 3.6 | 10 |
| 2003 | 101 | Domanick Davis, Hou. | 238 | 1031 | 4.3 | 8 |
| 1994 | 34 | Errict Rhett, T.B. | 284 | 1011 | 3.6 | 7 |
| 2010 | -- | LeGarrette Blount, T.B. | 201 | 1007 | 5.0 | 6 |
—Ian Allan