The NFL Draft is coming up, but it's worth remembering that every so often some pretty good players come along that weren't even drafted. The Broncos found a running back after the draft last year in Phillip Lindsay, who went on to be the first undrafted offensive rookie selected to the Pro Bowl.
It's rare that undrafted rookie running backs put up meaningful numbers. Since 2000, only 14 such players have rushed for even 400 yards. What's interesting is that Lindsay is the third of those backs who did it for Denver. Fantasy teams probably remember Mike Bell. Maybe not the other recent Bronco, Selvin Young.
| UNDRAFTED ROOKIE RUNNING BACKS, 2000-PRESENT (400-PLUS YARDS) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Att | Yds | No | Rec | Tot | TD |
| 2001 | Dominic Rhodes, Ind. | 233 | 1104 | 34 | 224 | 1328 | 10 |
| 2018 | Phillip Lindsay, Den. | 192 | 1037 | 35 | 241 | 1278 | 10 |
| 2010 | LeGarrette Blount, T.B. | 201 | 1007 | 5 | 14 | 1021 | 6 |
| 2015 | Thomas Rawls, Sea. | 147 | 830 | 9 | 76 | 906 | 5 |
| 2007 | Selvin Young, Den. | 140 | 729 | 35 | 231 | 960 | 1 |
| 2018 | Gus Edwards, Balt. | 137 | 718 | 2 | 20 | 738 | 2 |
| 2016 | Rob Kelley, Wash. | 168 | 704 | 12 | 82 | 786 | 7 |
| 2006 | Mike Bell, Den. | 157 | 677 | 20 | 158 | 835 | 8 |
| 2014 | Isaiah Crowell, Clev. | 148 | 607 | 9 | 87 | 694 | 8 |
| 2014 | Branden Oliver, S.D. | 160 | 582 | 36 | 271 | 853 | 4 |
| 2005 | Samkon Gado, G.B. | 143 | 582 | 10 | 77 | 669 | 7 |
| 2018 | Josh Adams, Phil. | 120 | 511 | 7 | 58 | 569 | 3 |
| 2016 | Jalen Richard, Oak. | 83 | 491 | 29 | 194 | 685 | 3 |
| 2017 | Matt Breida, S.F. | 105 | 465 | 21 | 180 | 645 | 3 |
Note that three of those 400-yard rushers came last year, with Lindsay joined by Gus Edwards and Josh Adams. The previous 18 years, there were only 11. So maybe it's the start of a trend.
--Andy Richardson