Looking at the incoming rookie running backs, it's hard not to get excited. There were six selected in the first three rounds, a little above average for recent years, and six more in the fourth. A good group of young players.
One thing that stands out from this particular draft class is how big some of these guys are.
Three of the six backs drafted in the first three rounds stand at least 6 feet tall and weight 220-plus pounds (Omarion Hampton, Quinshon Judkins, Kaleb Johnson). Among later picks, fourth-rounder Cam Skattebo (Giants), sixth-rounder Ollie Gordon (Dolphins) and seventh-rounder Damien Martinez (Seahawks) are in the 220-pound range, and could work their way into relevance for their new teams.
Size isn't everything, but the bigger backs who have been drafted early in recent years have tended to get their shot to put up numbers early on.
The table shows running backs of that larger size (6-0, 215 or more) selected in the first three rounds over the last dozen years, with their first-year numbers (Run-Rec-Total-TD). There have been 23 previous backs.
Of those previous backs, 10 went over 1,000 total yards in their rookie seasons. Three more went over 800 total yards. Seem like pretty good odds.
From the exceptions, James Conner was stuck behind LeVeon Bell, and Trey Benson was stuck behind Conner as rookies. Jonathon Brooks was coming off injury. But a lot of guys involved in their offenses right away. Table sorted by total yards as rookies.
| BIGGER BACKS DRAFTED ROUNDS 1-3, 2013-PRESENT | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft | Rd | Player | Ht | Wt | Run | Rec | Total | TD |
| 2018 | 1 | Saquon Barkley, NYG | 6.00 | 233 | 1307 | 721 | 2028 | 15 |
| 2016 | 1 | Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 6.00 | 225 | 1631 | 363 | 1994 | 16 |
| 2021 | 1 | Najee Harris, Pitt. | 6.02 | 230 | 1200 | 467 | 1667 | 10 |
| 2017 | 1 | Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 6.01 | 230 | 1040 | 302 | 1342 | 10 |
| 2014 | 2 | Jeremy Hill, Cin. | 6.01 | 233 | 1124 | 215 | 1339 | 9 |
| 2015 | 1 | Todd Gurley, St.L. | 6.01 | 222 | 1106 | 188 | 1294 | 10 |
| 2013 | 2 | LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 6.01 | 230 | 860 | 399 | 1259 | 8 |
| 2020 | 3 | Antonio Gibson, Wash. | 6.00 | 228 | 795 | 247 | 1042 | 11 |
| 2015 | 3 | David Johnson, Ariz. | 6.01 | 224 | 581 | 457 | 1038 | 13 |
| 2015 | 2 | T.J. Yeldon, Jac. | 6.01 | 226 | 740 | 279 | 1019 | 3 |
| 2017 | 2 | Joe Mixon, Cin. | 6.01 | 226 | 626 | 287 | 913 | 4 |
| 2022 | 3 | Brian Robinson, Wash. | 6.02 | 225 | 797 | 60 | 857 | 3 |
| 2015 | 1 | Melvin Gordon, S.D. | 6.01 | 215 | 641 | 192 | 833 | 0 |
| 2015 | 3 | Matt Jones, Wash. | 6.02 | 231 | 490 | 304 | 794 | 4 |
| 2016 | 2 | Derrick Henry, Tenn. | 6.02 | 247 | 490 | 137 | 627 | 5 |
| 2018 | 3 | Royce Freeman, Den. | 6.00 | 229 | 521 | 72 | 593 | 5 |
| 2017 | 3 | D'Onta Foreman, Hou. | 6.00 | 233 | 327 | 83 | 410 | 2 |
| 2014 | 2 | Carlos Hyde, S.F. | 6.00 | 230 | 333 | 68 | 401 | 4 |
| 2016 | 3 | C.J. Prosise, Sea. | 6.00 | 220 | 172 | 208 | 380 | 1 |
| 2024 | 3 | Trey Benson, Ariz. | 6.00 | 216 | 291 | 59 | 350 | 1 |
| 2020 | 2 | A.J. Dillon, G.B. | 6.00 | 247 | 242 | 21 | 263 | 2 |
| 2017 | 3 | James Conner, Pitt. | 6.01 | 233 | 144 | 0 | 144 | 0 |
| 2024 | 2 | Jonathon Brooks, Car. | 6.00 | 216 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 0 |
Of the incoming rookies who fit the profile, Hampton (pictured) is the marquee guy. He ran for over 1,500 yards with 16-17 touchdowns each of the last two seasons, and caught 67 passes, too. He's faster than you'd think (4.46 at the combine). Johnson is a straight-ahead runner with an upright running style (plus he's 6-foot-1); he ran through some big holes in college and he'll probably need those in the pros. Judkins, like Hampton, is faster than you'd think for his size.
Anyway, it's a good crop of running backs. History suggests at least a couple will get opportunities to be factors right away.