When a running back is selected in the top 10, it’s always tempting to put him in your lineup right away. Often times, these guys are transcendent players. It’s clear from their first couple of carries that the landscape of the league has changed. As a kid, I recall seeing Billy Sims, Earl Campbell and Curt Warner do great things in their very first games.
Playing behind that offensive line, Ezekiel Elliott could be one of those kind of players, running for about 120 yards and 2 TDs in his first day out. Todd Gurley had that kind of impact last year, but with a slight delay. After a ho-hum debut against the Steelers, he went over 125 yards in his next four games.
Reality nowadays, however, is that more running backs tend to start slowly. Of the last 18 running backs selected with top-10 picks, only four game out and really shook up the world in their first game.
TOP-10 RUNNING BACKS IN FIRST GAMES | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Opp | Att | Run | No | Rec | TD |
1996 | Lawrence Phillips, St.L. | Cin. | 21 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
1996 | Tim Biakabutuka, Car. | Atl. | 26 | 69 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1998 | Curtis Enis, Chi. | Jac. | 12 | 77 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
1998 | Fred Taylor, Jac. | at Chi. | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1999 | Edgerrin James, Ind. | Buff. | 26 | 112 | 4 | 14 | 1 |
1999 | Ricky Williams, N.O. | Car. | 10 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2000 | Thomas Jones, Ariz. | at NYG | 12 | 16 | 4 | 18 | 0 |
2000 | Jamal Lewis, Balt. | at Pit. | 5 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2001 | LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D. | Wash. | 36 | 113 | 1 | 12 | 2 |
2005 | Ronnie Brown, Mia. | Den. | 22 | 57 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
2005 | Cadillac Williams, T.B. | at Min. | 21 | 148 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
2005 | Cedric Benson, Chi. | at Was. | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2006 | Reggie Bush, N.O. | at Cle. | 15 | 67 | 7 | 52 | 0 |
2007 | Adrian Peterson, Minn. | Atl. | 19 | 103 | 1 | 60 | 1 |
2008 | Darren McFadden, Oak. | Den. | 9 | 46 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
2010 | C.J. Spiller, Buff. | Mia. | 7 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
2012 | Trent Richardson, Clev. | Phil. | 19 | 39 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
2015 | Todd Gurley, St.L. | Pitt. | 6 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
2016 | • Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | NYG | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
—Ian Allan