Bishop Sankey had a pretty unimpressive rookie season. The starting job was basically there for the taking -- he only had to beat out Shonn Greene -- but it was midseason before he got more than 10 carries in a game. And he didn't do a whole lot with those carries.

Since 2000, there have been 43 running backs drafted in the first two rounds, who then went on to put up at least 100 carries in their rookie seasons. Sankey averaged just 3.7 yards per carry on his 152 rushing attempts, better than only 10 of those 42 other backs.

On the other hand, a poor rookie season in that regard doesn't necessarily signal the death knell of a young back's career. LaDainian Tomlinson (3.6) and LeVeon Bell (3.5) were among the backs with worse yards per carry numbers as a rookie. So there's hope for Sankey yet.

Rookie year numbers of the 43 first- and second-round running backs (with at least 100 rushing attempts) since 2000, sorted by yards per carry, are presented below.

YPC, 1ST- AND 2ND-ROUND ROOKIES, 2000-2014
YearRdPlayerTeamAttYdsYPC
20062Maurice Jones-DrewJac.1669415.7
20071Adrian PetersonMinn.23813415.6
20022Clinton PortisDen.27315085.5
20142Jeremy HillCin.22211245.1
20041Steven JacksonSt.L.1346735.0
20081Chris JohnsonTenn.25112284.9
20061Joseph AddaiInd.22610814.8
20041Kevin JonesDet.24111334.7
20132Montee BallDen.1205594.7
20121Doug MartinT.B.31914544.6
20081Jonathan StewartCar.1848364.5
20091Beanie Wells Ariz.1767934.5
20081Darren McFaddenOak.1134994.4
20001Jamal LewisBalt.30913644.4
20051Ronnie BrownMia.2079074.4
20101Ryan MathewsS.D.1586784.3
20061Laurence MaroneyN.E.1757454.3
20012Anthony ThomasChi.27811834.3
20082Ray RiceBalt.1074544.2
20042Julius JonesDall.1978194.2
20132Eddie LacyG.B.28411784.1
20061DeAngelo WilliamsCar.1215014.1
20092LeSean McCoy Phil.1556374.1
20132Giovani BernardCin.1706954.1
20051Cadillac WilliamsT.B.29011784.1
20071Marshawn LynchBuff.28011154.0
20011Michael BennettMinn.1726824.0
20082Matt ForteChi.31612383.9
20021T.J. DuckettAtl.1305073.9
20111Mark IngramN.O.1224743.9
20091Knowshon Moreno Den.2479473.8
20021William GreenClev.2438873.7
20142Bishop SankeyTenn.1525693.7
20011LaDainian TomlinsonS.D.33912363.6
20061Reggie BushN.O.1555653.6
20121Trent RichardsonClev.2679503.6
20132LeVeon BellPitt.2448603.5
20112Daniel ThomasMia.1655813.5
20012Travis HenryBuff.2137293.4
20001Ron DayneNYG2287703.4
20001Thomas JonesAriz.1123733.3
20052J.J. ArringtonAriz.1123703.3
20101Jahvid BestDet.1715553.2

--Andy Richardson