Robert Kelley had an impressive rookie season for Washington, rushing for 704 yards and 7 TDs despite being undrafted in April and not emerging as the starting running back until Week 8. It's not the first time Washington has turned a nobody running back into somebody as a rookie.
Just five years ago, 2012 sixth-rounder Alfred Morris had a huge rookie season, rushing for 1,613 yards and 13 TDs. Morris' star burned out relatively quickly in Washington, but that's the top season by any late-round (5th-7th) or undrafted back in the last decade. Second goes to a 2016 rookie, Chicago fifth-rounder Jordan Howard.
In the last 10 years, 20 running backs selected from the fifth round on or undrafted have had some degree of success as rookies; at least 400 total yards. Washington, with Morris and Kelley, has two of the 10 best of those backs. Three other teams have produced two such backs in that span: the Cardinals, the Rams and the Raiders -- who uncovered two such backs from the fifth round on last April.
The best of the late-round or undrafted rookie running backs from the last 10 years are shown below, sorted by total yards.
LATE-ROUND / UNDRAFTED ROOKIE RBS, 2007-2016 (500-PLUS YARDS) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Rd | Pk | Player | Run | Rec | Tot | TD |
2012 | 6 | 173 | Alfred Morris, Wash. | 1613 | 77 | 1690 | 13 |
2016 | 5 | 150 | Jordan Howard, Chi. | 1313 | 298 | 1611 | 7 |
2013 | 5 | 160 | Zac Stacy, St.L. | 973 | 141 | 1114 | 8 |
2013 | 6 | 187 | Andre Ellington, Ariz. | 652 | 371 | 1023 | 4 |
2010 | U | - | LeGarrette Blount, Tenn. | 1007 | 14 | 1021 | 6 |
2012 | 5 | 170 | Vick Ballard, Ind. | 814 | 152 | 966 | 3 |
2015 | U | - | Thomas Rawls, Sea. | 830 | 76 | 906 | 5 |
2014 | U | - | Branden Oliver, S.D. | 582 | 271 | 853 | 4 |
2016 | U | -- | Robert Kelley, Wash. | 704 | 82 | 786 | 7 |
2014 | U | - | Isaiah Crowell, Clev. | 607 | 87 | 694 | 8 |
2016 | U | -- | Jalen Richard, Oak. | 491 | 194 | 685 | 3 |
2014 | 6 | 181 | Alfred Blue, Hou. | 528 | 113 | 641 | 3 |
2012 | 7 | 252 | Daryl Richardson, St.L. | 475 | 163 | 638 | 0 |
2008 | 5 | 149 | Tim Hightower, Ariz. | 399 | 237 | 636 | 10 |
2012 | 7 | 229 | Bryce Brown, Phil. | 564 | 56 | 620 | 4 |
2016 | 5 | 149 | Paul Perkins, N.Y. | 456 | 162 | 618 | 0 |
2015 | 5 | 155 | Karlos Williams, Buff. | 517 | 96 | 613 | 9 |
2016 | 5 | 143 | DeAndre Washington, Oak. | 467 | 115 | 582 | 2 |
2008 | 7 | 227 | Peyton Hillis, Den. | 343 | 179 | 522 | 6 |
2007 | U | - | Pierre Thomas, N.O. | 252 | 151 | 403 | 2 |
--Andy Richardson