Rams third-rounder Darrell Henderson is one of the more interesting selections in early summer fantasy drafts. Where to select him depends a little bit on how confident you are in Todd Gurley. Henderson may not be the direct handcuff (that might be Malcolm Brown), but he's the more explosive of the two options.
Henderson's 1,909 rushing yards last year were more than any college back but Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor (who will return for his junior season). He did it while averaging 8.9 yards per carry, tops in college football. High yards per carry doesn't always translate to NFL success. Maybe the back was running behind a dominant offensive line, or against crummy opposition. But looking at some of the top college backs drafted in recent years, that metric yields more hits -- running backs who have enjoyed at least some NFL success -- than misses.
In the last 15 years, there have been 110 running backs selected in the first three rounds of the draft. None of those guys had a higher yards per carry than Henderson. A lot of the best ones in that regard had some success, albeit with some notable exceptions.
In this table, I'm listing all backs drafted in the first three rounds since 2004 who averaged at least 5.5 yards per attempt in their final college seasons.
YARDS PER CARRY, FINAL YEAR OF COLLEGE, 2005-2019 (RD 1-3) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Rd | Player | School | Avg | Yds | Att |
2019 | 3 | Darrell Henderson | Memphis | 8.9 | 214 | 1909 |
2008 | 1 | Felix Jones | Arkansas | 8.7 | 133 | 1162 |
2006 | 1 | Reggie Bush | Southern California | 8.7 | 200 | 1740 |
2011 | 3 | Alex Green | Hawaii | 8.2 | 146 | 1199 |
2018 | 1 | Sony Michel | Georgia | 7.9 | 156 | 1227 |
2018 | 1 | Rashaad Penny | San Diego State | 7.8 | 289 | 2248 |
2014 | 3 | Dri Archer | Kent State | 7.8 | 68 | 527 |
2015 | 1 | Melvin Gordon | Wisconsin | 7.5 | 343 | 2587 |
2015 | 3 | Tevin Coleman | Indiana | 7.5 | 270 | 2036 |
2015 | 1 | Todd Gurley | Georgia | 7.4 | 123 | 911 |
2014 | 2 | Carlos Hyde | Ohio State | 7.3 | 208 | 1521 |
2012 | 2 | LaMichael James | Oregon | 7.3 | 247 | 1805 |
2005 | 2 | J.J. Arrington | California | 7.0 | 289 | 2018 |
2014 | 2 | Jeremy Hill | Louisiana State | 6.9 | 203 | 1401 |
2015 | 3 | Duke Johnson | Miami | 6.8 | 242 | 1652 |
2017 | 2 | Joe Mixon | Oklahoma | 6.8 | 187 | 1274 |
2013 | 2 | Giovani Bernard | North Carolina | 6.7 | 184 | 1228 |
2006 | 2 | LenDale White | Southern California | 6.6 | 197 | 1302 |
2016 | 3 | C.J. Prosise | Notre Dame | 6.6 | 157 | 1029 |
2010 | 1 | Ryan Mathews | Fresno State | 6.6 | 276 | 1808 |
2017 | 1 | Leonard Fournette | Louisiana State | 6.5 | 129 | 843 |
2014 | 3 | Jerick McKinnon | Georgia Southern | 6.5 | 161 | 1050 |
2013 | 2 | Eddie Lacy | Alabama | 6.5 | 204 | 1322 |
2005 | 2 | Eric Shelton | Louisville | 6.4 | 146 | 938 |
2008 | 1 | Rashard Mendenhall | Illinois | 6.4 | 262 | 1681 |
2017 | 1 | Christian McCaffrey | Stanford | 6.3 | 253 | 1603 |
2006 | 1 | DeAngelo Williams | Memphis | 6.3 | 310 | 1964 |
2016 | 1 | Ezekiel Elliott | Ohio State | 6.3 | 289 | 1821 |
2017 | 3 | D'Onta Foreman | Texas | 6.3 | 323 | 2028 |
2008 | 3 | Jamaal Charles | Texas | 6.3 | 258 | 1619 |
2007 | 3 | Garrett Wolfe | Northern Illinois | 6.2 | 309 | 1928 |
2005 | 3 | Ryan Moats | Louisiana Tech | 6.2 | 288 | 1774 |
2008 | 1 | Jonathan Stewart | Oregon | 6.2 | 280 | 1722 |
2010 | 1 | Jahvid Best | California | 6.1 | 141 | 867 |
2017 | 2 | Dalvin Cook | Florida State | 6.1 | 288 | 1765 |
2015 | 2 | Ameer Abdullah | Nebraska | 6.1 | 264 | 1611 |
2014 | 3 | Terrance West | Towson | 6.1 | 413 | 2519 |
2007 | 1 | Marshawn Lynch | California | 6.1 | 223 | 1356 |
2018 | 3 | Royce Freeman | Oregon | 6.0 | 244 | 1475 |
2011 | 2 | Mikel Leshoure | Illinois | 6.0 | 281 | 1697 |
2004 | 2 | Tatum Bell | Oklahoma State | 6.0 | 213 | 1286 |
2018 | 2 | Nick Chubb | Georgia | 6.0 | 223 | 1345 |
2008 | 1 | Chris Johnson | East Carolina | 6.0 | 236 | 1423 |
2009 | 3 | Shonn Greene | Iowa | 6.0 | 307 | 1850 |
2005 | 1 | Ronnie Brown | Auburn | 6.0 | 153 | 913 |
2006 | 3 | Jerious Norwood | Mississippi State | 5.9 | 191 | 1136 |
2018 | 2 | Ronald Jones | Southern California | 5.9 | 261 | 1550 |
2009 | 3 | Glen Coffee | Alabama | 5.9 | 233 | 1383 |
2012 | 1 | Trent Richardson | Alabama | 5.9 | 283 | 1679 |
2012 | 1 | David Wilson | Virginia Tech | 5.9 | 290 | 1709 |
2008 | 2 | Matt Forte | Tulane | 5.9 | 361 | 2127 |
2004 | 1 | Kevin Jones | Virginia Tech | 5.9 | 281 | 1647 |
2018 | 1 | Saquon Barkley | Penn State | 5.9 | 217 | 1271 |
2017 | 3 | Alvin Kamara | Tennessee | 5.8 | 103 | 596 |
2009 | 1 | Beanie Wells | Ohio State | 5.8 | 207 | 1197 |
2019 | 3 | Damien Harris | Alabama | 5.8 | 150 | 876 |
2019 | 2 | Miles Sanders | Penn State | 5.8 | 220 | 1274 |
2014 | 3 | Tre Mason | Auburn | 5.7 | 317 | 1816 |
2014 | 2 | Bishop Sankey | Washington | 5.7 | 327 | 1870 |
2005 | 3 | Vernand Morency | Oklahoma State | 5.7 | 258 | 1474 |
2008 | 3 | Kevin Smith | Central Florida | 5.7 | 450 | 2567 |
2009 | 1 | Donald Brown | Connecticut | 5.7 | 367 | 2083 |
2008 | 1 | Darren McFadden | Arkansas | 5.6 | 325 | 1830 |
2017 | 3 | Kareem Hunt | Toledo | 5.6 | 262 | 1475 |
2005 | 1 | Cedric Benson | Texas | 5.6 | 326 | 1834 |
2016 | 2 | Derrick Henry | Alabama | 5.6 | 395 | 2219 |
2010 | 1 | C.J. Spiller | Clemson | 5.6 | 216 | 1212 |
2009 | 1 | Knowshon Moreno | Georgia | 5.6 | 250 | 1400 |
2011 | 1 | Mark Ingram | Alabama | 5.5 | 158 | 875 |
2004 | 2 | Julius Jones | Notre Dame | 5.5 | 229 | 1268 |
2012 | 3 | Ronnie Hillman | San Diego State | 5.5 | 311 | 1711 |
2010 | 2 | Toby Gerhart | Stanford | 5.5 | 343 | 1871 |
Some of the guys near the top washed out quickly. Alex Green, LaMichael James, J.J. Arrington. Felix Jones was a disappointment.
But Reggie Bush went on to have a solid career. Melvin Gordon and Gurley have been pretty great. Sony Michel looked good as a rookie, Rashaad Penny showed promise at times, and guys like Coleman, Hill, Hyde, Mixon, Johnson and Bernard have had some success.
At 5-foot-8 Henderson is on the small side, but he's solidly built at 200 pounds. He ran a 4.49 at the combine. Henderson caught 63 passes in college, which is a big part of the Rams offense. I'm thinking the team will use him right away as a change-of-pace and perhaps passing back complement to Gurley, and who knows? If Gurley breaks down, he'll play even more. If you're taking the Gurley plunge in the second or third rounds (where he's going in a lot of early drafts), Henderson needs to be on your radar.
--Andy Richardson