Melvin Gordon made his NFL debut Thursday night, looking a little tentative out there for San Diego. Plenty of preseason left for him to impress, of course. Gordon had a huge final season of college, rushing for more than 2,500 yards at Wisconsin last year. That's more than any back drafted in the first two rounds over the last 15 years.
That college production doesn't ensure he'll be a great pro. The table below shows all previous running backs drafted in the first two rounds since 2000, sorted by rushing yards in their final season of college. Some great backs near the top of that list (LaDainian Tomlinson, Matt Forte), but plenty of duds (J.J. Arrington, Ron Dayne), too. Note that two of the disappointments also went to Wisconsin: Dayne and (so far) Montee Ball. Although, also note that the best of those runners began his career with the Chargers (Tomlinson).
1ST AND 2ND-ROUND RBS, 2000-2014 | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Rd | Pk | Player | College | NFL Team | Att | Run | TD |
2001 | 1 | 5 | LaDainian Tomlinson | Texas Christian | Chargers | 369 | 2158 | 22 |
2008 | 2 | 44 | Matt Forte | Tulane | Bears | 361 | 2127 | 23 |
2003 | 1 | 27 | Larry Johnson | Penn State | Kansas City | 271 | 2087 | 23 |
2009 | 1 | 27 | Donald Brown | Connecticut | Colts | 367 | 2083 | 18 |
2005 | 2 | 44 | J.J. Arrington | California | Cardinals | 289 | 2018 | 15 |
2008 | 2 | 55 | Ray Rice | Rutgers | Ravens | 380 | 2012 | 25 |
2006 | 1 | 27 | DeAngelo Williams | Memphis | Panthers | 310 | 1964 | 19 |
2010 | 2 | 51 | Toby Gerhart | Stanford | Vikings | 343 | 1871 | 28 |
2014 | 2 | 54 | Bishop Sankey | Washington | Titans | 327 | 1870 | 21 |
2005 | 1 | 4 | Cedric Benson | Texas | Bears | 326 | 1834 | 20 |
2000 | 1 | 11 | Ron Dayne | Wisconsin | Giants | 303 | 1834 | 19 |
2013 | 2 | 58 | Montee Ball | Wisconsin | Broncos | 356 | 1830 | 22 |
2008 | 1 | 4 | Darren McFadden | Arkansas | Raiders | 325 | 1830 | 17 |
2010 | 1 | 12 | Ryan Mathews | Fresno State | Chargers | 276 | 1808 | 19 |
2012 | 2 | 61 | LaMichael James | Oregon | 49ers | 247 | 1805 | 19 |
2000 | 1 | 7 | Thomas Jones | Virginia | Cardinals | 334 | 1798 | 17 |
2013 | 2 | 48 | LeVeon Bell | Michigan State | Steelers | 382 | 1793 | 13 |
2003 | 1 | 23 | Willis McGahee | Miami | Bills | 282 | 1753 | 28 |
2006 | 1 | 2 | Reggie Bush | Southern California | Saints | 200 | 1740 | 18 |
2008 | 1 | 13 | Jonathan Stewart | Oregon | Panthers | 280 | 1722 | 13 |
2012 | 1 | 32 | David Wilson | Virginia Tech | Giants | 290 | 1709 | 10 |
2011 | 2 | 57 | Mikel Leshoure | Illinois | Lions | 281 | 1697 | 20 |
2008 | 1 | 23 | Rashard Mendenhall | Illinois | Steelers | 262 | 1681 | 19 |
2012 | 1 | 3 | Trent Richardson | Alabama | Browns | 283 | 1679 | 24 |
2004 | 1 | 26 | Chris Perry | Michigan | Bengals | 338 | 1674 | 20 |
2004 | 1 | 30 | Kevin Jones | Virginia Tech | Lions | 281 | 1647 | 21 |
2000 | 1 | 31 | Trung Canidate | Arizona | Rams | 253 | 1602 | 12 |
2001 | 1 | 27 | Michael Bennett | Wisconsin | Vikings | 294 | 1598 | 10 |
2011 | 2 | 62 | Daniel Thomas | Kansas State | Dolphins | 298 | 1585 | 19 |
2002 | 1 | 16 | William Green | Boston College | Browns | 265 | 1559 | 17 |
2001 | 2 | 38 | Anthony Thomas | Michigan | Bears | 287 | 1551 | 17 |
2004 | 1 | 24 | Steven Jackson | Oregon State | Rams | 350 | 1545 | 22 |
2014 | 2 | 57 | Carlos Hyde | Ohio State | 49ers | 208 | 1521 | 18 |
2009 | 2 | 53 | LeSean McCoy | Pittsburgh | Eagles | 308 | 1488 | 21 |
2006 | 1 | 21 | Laurence Maroney | Minnesota | Patriots | 281 | 1464 | 11 |
2008 | 1 | 24 | Chris Johnson | East Carolina | Titans | 236 | 1423 | 23 |
2014 | 2 | 55 | Jeremy Hill | Louisiana State | Bengals | 203 | 1401 | 16 |
2009 | 1 | 12 | Knowshon Moreno | Georgia | Broncos | 250 | 1400 | 18 |
2000 | 1 | 19 | Shaun Alexander | Alabama | Seahawks | 302 | 1383 | 23 |
2010 | 2 | 58 | Ben Tate | Auburn | Texans | 263 | 1362 | 10 |
2007 | 1 | 12 | Marshawn Lynch | California | Bills | 223 | 1356 | 15 |
2010 | 2 | 59 | Montario Hardesty | Tennessee | Browns | 282 | 1345 | 14 |
2013 | 2 | 61 | Eddie Lacy | Alabama | Packers | 204 | 1322 | 19 |
2001 | 2 | 58 | Travis Henry | Tennessee | Bills | 253 | 1314 | 11 |
2006 | 2 | 45 | LenDale White | Southern California | Titans | 197 | 1302 | 26 |
2012 | 1 | 31 | Doug Martin | Boise State | Buccaneers | 263 | 1299 | 18 |
2004 | 2 | 41 | Tatum Bell | Oklahoma State | Broncos | 213 | 1286 | 16 |
2004 | 2 | 43 | Julius Jones | Notre Dame | Cowboys | 229 | 1268 | 10 |
2012 | 2 | 50 | Isaiah Pead | Cincinnati | Rams | 237 | 1259 | 15 |
2002 | 1 | 18 | T.J. Duckett | Michigan State | Falcons | 236 | 1236 | 11 |
2013 | 2 | 37 | Giovani Bernard | North Carolina | Bengals | 184 | 1228 | 17 |
2010 | 1 | 9 | C.J. Spiller | Clemson | Bills | 216 | 1212 | 16 |
2002 | 2 | 51 | Clinton Portis | Miami | Broncos | 220 | 1200 | 11 |
2009 | 1 | 31 | Beanie Wells | Ohio State | Cardinals | 207 | 1197 | 8 |
2011 | 2 | 56 | Shane Vereen | California | Patriots | 231 | 1167 | 16 |
2005 | 1 | 5 | Cadillac Williams | Auburn | Buccaneers | 239 | 1165 | 13 |
2008 | 1 | 22 | Felix Jones | Arkansas | Cowboys | 133 | 1162 | 11 |
2002 | 2 | 34 | DeShaun Foster | UCLA | Panthers | 216 | 1109 | 13 |
2002 | 2 | 56 | Ladell Betts | Iowa | Washington | 220 | 1056 | 11 |
2007 | 1 | 7 | Adrian Peterson | Oklahoma | Vikings | 188 | 1012 | 13 |
2007 | 2 | 63 | Brandon Jackson | Nebraska | Packers | 188 | 989 | 10 |
2002 | 2 | 54 | Maurice Morris | Oregon | Seahawks | 169 | 960 | 9 |
2005 | 2 | 54 | Eric Shelton | Louisville | Panthers | 146 | 938 | 20 |
2001 | 2 | 49 | LaMont Jordan | Maryland | Jets | 213 | 920 | 11 |
2006 | 2 | 60 | Maurice Jones-Drew | UCLA | Jaguars | 186 | 914 | 17 |
2005 | 1 | 2 | Ronnie Brown | Auburn | Dolphins | 153 | 913 | 9 |
2006 | 1 | 30 | Joseph Addai | Louisiana State | Colts | 187 | 911 | 10 |
2007 | 2 | 49 | Kenny Irons | Auburn | Bengals | 198 | 893 | 4 |
2011 | 1 | 28 | Mark Ingram | Alabama | Saints | 158 | 875 | 14 |
2010 | 1 | 30 | Jahvid Best | California | Lions | 141 | 867 | 16 |
2000 | 1 | 5 | Jamal Lewis | Tennessee | Ravens | 182 | 817 | 8 |
2001 | 1 | 23 | Deuce McAllister | Mississippi | Saints | 159 | 767 | 16 |
2004 | 2 | 55 | Greg Jones | Florida State | Jaguars | 144 | 618 | 7 |
2007 | 2 | 50 | Chris Henry | Arizona | Titans | 165 | 581 | 8 |
2011 | 2 | 38 | Ryan Williams | Virginia Tech | Cardinals | 110 | 477 | 10 |
2013 | 2 | 62 | Christine Michael | Texas A&M | Seahawks | 88 | 417 | 12 |
--Andy Richardson