Fantasy Index

Factoid

Rookie running backs

A third of second-rounders have hit it big

Teams don’t like spending first-round picks on running backs anymore. The position has become undervalued, and the preference is to fill that with players selected in later rounds. So a lot of guys selected in the second round are now guys who would have been selected in the first round back in the ‘80s or ‘90s.

So far in this century, 37 running backs have been selected with second-round picks. About a third of those guys went on to be very good. Grading is subjective, but I would say for about 12 of those guys, the vast majority of teams wished they had selected them a lot earlier. I’ve got those guys in bold.

Another approximate third (10 players) at least had some value. Maybe they didn’t hit it out of the park, but they were at least functional players. I’ve got those guys tagged with black dots, and in that group I’m also including players who’ve still got a chance to be good – like Bishop Sankey and Christine Michael.

The remaining approximate third (the 15 remaining players) simply didn’t pan out for various reasons – injuries, lack of talent or whatnot. Those guys are in plain type.

For the 2015 draft, there are a pair of runners who are considered first-round possibilities, Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon. But with the way teams seem to value this position, there’s a good chance both of those guys will last into the second (certainly Gurley, who’s coming off a knee injury).

SECOND-ROUND RUNNING BACKS SINCE 2000
YearPlayerRunRecTotalTD
2001LaMont Jordan292443362
2001Travis Henry7291799084
2001• Anthony Thomas118317813617
2002Clinton Portis1508364187217
2002Ladell Betts3071544611
2002Maurice Morris153251781
2002DeShaun Foster0000
2004• Tatum Bell396804763
2004• Julius Jones8191079267
2004Greg Jones162131753
2005J.J. Arrington3701395092
2005Eric Shelton0000
2006Maurice Jones-Drew941436137716
2006• LenDale White244603040
2007Chris Henry119531722
2007Kenny Irons0000
2007Brandon Jackson2671303971
2008Ray Rice4542737270
2008Matt Forte1238477171512
2009LeSean McCoy 6373089454
2010• Ben Tate0000
2010• Toby Gerhart3221674891
2010Montario Hardesty0000
2011Shane Vereen570571
2011Mikel Leshoure0000
2011Ryan Williams0000
2011Daniel Thomas581726531
2012Isaiah Pead5416700
2012LaMichael James125291540
2013Giovani Bernard69551412098
2013Eddie Lacy1178257143511
2013LeVeon Bell86039912598
2013• Christine Michael790790
2013• Montee Ball5591457044
2014Jeremy Hill112421513399
2014• Bishop Sankey5691337022
2014• Carlos Hyde333684014

—Ian Allan

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