A reader raised an interesting point a few weeks back. I didn’t make a note of his name. He pointed out that since running backs are being drafted later, shouldn’t we consider a second-round pick to be more of a first-round guy? And isn’t a fourth-rounder now more of a guy who would have gone in the second round previously? I thought it was an interesting point.
I liked the idea, and I want to circle back to it.
The Giants selected Paul Perkins in the fifth round. He was the 8th running back selected, and at pick #149, that’s the latest the No. 8 running back has ever gone, I think. But Perkins looks like a capable, well-rounded back, and he’s going to a team that’s got a void in its backfield. So if we think of this guy as being more of a third-round pick five years ago, it maybe gets more palatable to think of him as maybe a viable player.
Andy and I were just sharing ideas on ranking rookies, and we both independently ranked Perkins as the 3rd-best of the rookie runners.
Anyway, if we think of Perkins not as a fifth-rounder but as the 8th running back selected. Well, about half of those guys have a 1,000-yard season at some point in their careers.
Here’s the rundown of the last 20 years. Note that Matt Jones is on there for 2015, and there’s a good chance he’ll have a big year this season.
In the 2010 and 2014 seasons, teams selected players who clearly weren’t runners – fullback John Connor, and Dri Archer, who was supposed to be a kick returner and RB-WR hybrid. So for those guys, I moved down to the 9th running back chosen.
If a player ever had a 1,000-yard season, he’s in bold.
| EIGHTH RUNNING BACKS DRAFTED (last 20 years) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YEAR | Rd | Pk | Player | School |
| 1996 | 3 | 75 | Moe Williams, Minn. | Kentucky |
| 1997 | 3 | 62 | Troy Davis, N.O. | Iowa State |
| 1998 | 3 | 76 | Ahman Green, Sea. | Nebraska |
| 1999 | 2 | 60 | Jermaine Fazande, S.D. | Oklahoma |
| 2000 | 3 | 81 | Rueben Droughns, Det. | Oregon |
| 2001 | 3 | 80 | Kevan Barlow, S.F. | Pittsburgh |
| 2002 | 3 | 91 | Brian Westbrook, Phil. | Villanova |
| 2003 | 4 | 101 | Domanick Davis, Hou. | Louisiana State |
| 2004 | 4 | 128 | Cedric Cobbs, N.E. | Arkansas |
| 2005 | 3 | 77 | Ryan Moats, Phil. | Louisiana Tech |
| 2006 | 3 | 79 | Jerious Norwood, Atl. | Mississippi State |
| 2007 | 3 | 93 | Garrett Wolfe, Chi. | Northern Illinois |
| 2008 | 3 | 64 | Kevin Smith, Det. | Central Florida |
| 2009 | 4 | 129 | Andre Brown, NYG | North Carolina State |
| 2010 | 6 | 173 | • Anthony Dixon, S.F. | Mississippi State |
| 2011 | 3 | 96 | Alex Green, G.B. | Hawaii |
| 2012 | 4 | 97 | Lamar Miller, Mia. | Miami |
| 2013 | 4 | 131 | Marcus Lattimore , S.F. | South Carolina |
| 2014 | 4 | 103 | • Devonta Freeman, Atl. | Florida State |
| 2015 | 3 | 95 | Matt Jones, Wash. | Florida |
| 2016 | 5 | 149 | Paul Perkins, NYG | UCLA |
From a memory lane standpoint, the most notable name for me here is Troy Davis, who was a little back who went over 2,000 yards twice at Iowa State. Mike Ditka was looking for a running back, settled on Davis, and it never went anywhere. Being in Seattle (where we see Husky football) I remember during the draft being surprised when the Saints passed on Corey Dillon in the second round. Twice. That was a big miss for Ditka, and a pick that would have altered the courses of many franchises. Bengals wouldn’t have gotten a really good back. Saints never would have had to make the big trade for Ricky Williams. Dillon probably never would have set the NFL single-game rushing record. And Patriots probably never would have gotten their hands on him (he won a Super Bowl there).
—Ian Allan