Factoid

Justin Eleff, in his kickoff column, made a crack about rookie running backs playing well right away. More specifically, that great running backs tend to be great from their very first game.

It's something we've seen many times over the years. Adrian Peterson last year against Atlanta, for example. Barry Sanders and LaDainian Tomlinson were terrific in their first games. Here in Seattle, Curt Warner was phenomenal in his first game - at Kansas City in 1983.

Running the football isn't rocket science. Either you have the speed and ability to make people miss, or you don't. Not that guys are going to play their best ball right away, but if they can play, it should show right away.

Check out the below chart. It shows the top 20 rushing who have been drafted since the merger in 1970. The numbers shown are their best numbers from either of their first two games. You're looking at total yards (rushing and receiving) and total touchdowns. Players are ordered by fantasy value (6 points for TDs and 1 point for every 10 yards).

In regards to Darren McFadden, I'm not guaranteeing that he'll be any good. Instead, I'm saying that if he's truly a great running back -- an Adrian Peterson-type guy - I think you'll see signs of that in those first couple of games.

With there appearing to be seven significant rookie running backs this year (including the two selected outside the first round - Matt Forte and Kevin Smith), I think you'll see at least one of those guys make a big impact very early in the season. Maybe Chris Johnson returns a kickoff for a touchdown. Maybe Jonathan Stewart knocks everyone's socks off in Carolina. Or maybe Felix Jones shows a lot of wiggle for the Cowboys.


HOW ROOKIE RUNNERS FARED IN THE FIRST GAMES
Shown is the best combined yardage total from each player's first two games. These 20 running backs are the league's top-20 rushers drafted since the merger in 1970.

   YDS   TD
   174   3   Marshall Faulk (1994-2005)
   128   3   Eric Dickerson (1983-1993)
   193   1   Ottis Anderson (1979-1992)
   125   2   LaDainian Tomlinson (2001-2007)
   180   1   Marcus Allen (1982-1997)
    98   2   Tony Dorsett (1977-1988)
   153   1   Barry Sanders (1989-1998)
   152   1   Eddie George (1996-2004)
   127   1   Edgerrin James (1999-2007)
   120   1   Tiki Barber (1997-2006)
   113   1   Thurman Thomas (1988-2000)
   102   1   Curtis Martin (1995-2005)
    87   1   Emmitt Smith (1990-2004)
   140   0   Ricky Watters (1992-2001)
    72   1   Jerome Bettis (1993-2005)
   131   0   Walter Payton (1975-1987)
    88   0   Corey Dillon (1997-2006)
    73   0   John Riggins (1971-1985)
    44   0   Franco Harris (1972-1984)
    44   0   Fred Taylor (1998-2007)

-Ian Allan

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