The Dallas Cowboys selected Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott, an exciting mix of the draft's top rookie running back with the NFL's top offensive line. If that weren't enough, there's the recent history of running backs selected in the top 10. Teams seldom bring such players along slowly.

Over the last 20 years, there have been 16 0ther running backs drafted in the top 10 of the NFL Draft. More than two-thirds of those backs (11) put up 1,000 total yards in their rookie seasons; nearly half (7) rushed for more than 1,000 yards, and 6 scored double digit touchdowns. And few of them went into as favorable a situation as Elliott seems to.

Dallas has other backs (for now), but it's likely Elliott will be the lead dog right away, and put up big numbers as a rookie.

Running backs drafted in the top 10 over the last 20 years, sorted by total yards their rookie season, are shown below.

RUNNING BACKS DRAFTED IN THE TOP 10, 1997-2016
YearPkPlayerTeamAttRuYdsRecReYdsToYdsTD
19994Edgerrin JamesInd.369155362586213917
20005Jamal LewisBalt.30913642729616606
19989Fred TaylorJac.264122344421164417
20077Adrian PetersonMinn.238134119268160913
20015LaDainian TomlinsonS.D.339123659367160310
20123Trent RichardsonClev.26795051367131712
20062Reggie BushN.O.1555658874213079
201510Todd GurleySt.L.229110621188129410
20055Cadillac WilliamsT.B.2901178208112596
20052Ronnie BrownMia.2079073223211395
19995Ricky WilliamsN.O.2538842817210562
20084Darren McFaddenOak.113499292857844
20007Thomas JonesAriz.112373322085812
19985Curtis EnisChi.1334976205170
20109C.J. SpillerBuff.74283241574401
20054Cedric BensonChi.67272132750
20164Ezekiel ElliottDall.??????

--Andy Richardson