Running backs are back
So very punny.
In any event, after seeing running backs valued at a lower clip in recent drafts, it looks like they might very well be back. For only the third time in the past eight years, two running backs went in the first round. More than that, the 2017 draft represented the first time since 2005 that two running backs went in the first 10 picks.
It started with Jacksonville adding a three-down playmaker to the mix in the form of LSU’s Leonard Fournette with the fourth pick. Fournette was the consensus No.1 back leading up to the draft and should provide a mistake-prone Blake Bortles with the balance he needs on offense.
Then, a few picks later, the Carolina Panthers got a tremendous offensive weapon of their own. It came in the form of Christian McCaffrey with the eight pick. The former Stanford standout can excel in three different areas of the game and is coming off a three-year career on the Farm in which he tallied over 7,000 all-purpose yards. That’s just absurd.
Talk about getting Cam Newton the help he needs on offense. McCaffrey is a Day 1 starter and should immediately challenge the 2,000-yard mark as a rookie.
It’s an interesting dynamic. Ezekiel Elliott was seen more as an outlier when the Cowboys took him fourth overall last year. That doesn’t appear to the case anymore.
With Saquon Barkley, Royce Freeman and Nick Chubb potentially set to declare for the 2018 NFL Draft, this is a trend we could see last beyond the 2017 event. It will surely be interesting to see.