The running back position is back!
People think the position has been devalued but it’s really the players that started to devalue it. The top of the first round is for special players only and there just haven’t been many since Marshawn Lynch and Adrian came to us in 2007. A lot of the big, strong, agile athletes coming into the NFL ended up playing receiver.
But Todd Gurley ended up bringing it back home by playing running back in college and going in the top 10. Now, we have two guys that could be top-10 picks, depending on who those teams are and what they need. And those two guys happen to be in a race for this thing they call the Heisman Trophy.
LSU’s Leonard Fournette, who won’t be eligible for the draft until 2016, was the early favorite. And with back-to-back 200-yard performances, many are starting to believe Alabama’s Derek Henry has taken the lead. But there’s another running back in this race and his name is Ezekiel Elliott, from Ohio State.
This could very well be a two-man race between the running backs with the top quarterbacks faltering and getting injured of late. Plus the two running backs could end up playing against each other in the National Championship game. With all the attention on Henry right now, Elliott can sneak in the back door and get it.
Fournette being held under 100 yards and Henry having 200 in back-to-back games were the stories on Saturday, Elliott quietly had 181 yards and two TDs. For the season, he has 1,425 yards with 16 TDs to Henry’s 1,458 yards and 19 TDs. Fournette is still there with 1,474 yards and 17 TDs but he hasn’t had a good November, the month the Heisman Trophies are won.
So right now, Elliott is still in the race with Henry in the pole position.