I have been looking into the later-round running backs, trying to gauge if there’s a hidden gem there. Mike Anderson and Alfred Morris, recall, were selected in the sixth round. Are we overdue for another one of those guys?
Five running backs were chosen in the sixth round this year.
But before we talk ourselves into anything foolish, let’s check the lay of the land with previous drafts.
In this century (since 2000) there have been 60 running backs chosen in the sixth round. Two absolute superstars in that group – Morris and Anderson.
Two other backs in that group went on to have a season with 1,000 rushing yards: Latavius Murray and Chester Taylor. Neither were superstars, but those were great sixth-round picks.
But of the other 56, only 10 ever had a 100-yard game in their career. And just 20 combined such games for the group. The best of these guys would probably be James Starks, Spencer Ware and Albert Blue.
I’ll also toss in Theo Riddick, who’s never had a 100-yard game but has been a good third-down back for the Lions.
Batting average not real high with this group.
Probably best to simply ignore all sixth-round running backs for now. If one of them starts ripping off big gains in preseason games, that would be the time to start considering including him on your draft board. That was the case with Morris – it was apparent in the preseason back in 2012 that he was going to be good for Washington.
| 100-YARD GAMES BY UNHERALDED SIXTH-ROUND RUNNING BACKS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Opp. | Score | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 2005 | Adrian Peterson, Chi. | S.F. | W 17-9 | 24 | 120 | 5.0 | 1 |
| 2007 | Adrian Peterson, Chi. | G.B. | W 35-7 | 30 | 102 | 3.4 | 1 |
| 2009 | Bernard Scott, Cin. | at Oak. | L 17-20 | 21 | 119 | 5.7 | 0 |
| 2011 | Evan Royster, Wash. | Min. | L 26-33 | 19 | 132 | 6.9 | 0 |
| 2011 | Evan Royster, Wash. | at Phil. | L 10-34 | 20 | 113 | 5.6 | 0 |
| 2011 | Jonathan Dwyer, Pitt. | Tenn. | W 38-17 | 11 | 107 | 9.7 | 0 |
| 2012 | Jonathan Dwyer, Pitt. | at Cin. | W 24-17 | 17 | 122 | 7.2 | 0 |
| 2012 | Jonathan Dwyer, Pitt. | Wash. | W 27-12 | 17 | 107 | 6.3 | 0 |
| 2013 | Andre Ellington, Ariz. | Atl. | W 27-13 | 15 | 154 | 10.3 | 1 |
| 2013 | Jordan Todman, Jac. | Buff. | L 20-27 | 25 | 109 | 4.4 | 0 |
| 2013 | Mike James, T.B. | at Sea. | L 24-27 | 28 | 158 | 5.6 | 0 |
| 2013 | James Starks, G.B. | Wash. | W 38-20 | 20 | 132 | 6.6 | 1 |
| 2014 | Alfred Blue, Hou. | at Cle. | W 23-7 | 36 | 156 | 4.3 | 0 |
| 2015 | Spencer Ware, K.C. | Buff. | W 30-22 | 19 | 114 | 6.0 | 1 |
| 2015 | Alfred Blue, Hou. | at Ind. | W 16-10 | 20 | 107 | 5.4 | 0 |
| 2015 | Alfred Blue, Hou. | Jac. | W 30-6 | 21 | 102 | 4.9 | 0 |
| 2015 | James Starks, G.B. | S.D. | W 27-20 | 10 | 112 | 11.2 | 1 |
| 2015 | Alfred Blue, Hou. | T.B. | W 19-9 | 31 | 139 | 4.5 | 1 |
| 2016 | Rex Burkhead, Cin. | Balt. | W 27-10 | 27 | 119 | 4.4 | 2 |
| 2016 | Spencer Ware, K.C. | at Oak. | W 26-10 | 24 | 131 | 5.5 | 1 |
With the Adrian Peterson in the table, by the way, that’s not Minnesota’s AP. That’s an Adrian Peterson who was drafted by the Bears after playing at Georgia Southern.
—Ian Allan