So let me understand what we're saying here, Alfred Morris is as good as Zeke Elliott? Orleans Darkwa had better ypc than Leveon Bell last season, put that man in the Hall of Fame.
you said the cowboys collapsed without him. i just pointed out that is wrong. my comparison makes more sense because they played in the same offense behind the same offensive line. not so with darkwa and bell.
but really, the larger point that i have been making all along is that running backs are the most interchangeable position (which is why its easier for rookies to contribute at running back than any other position) and that talent evaluators cannot consistently determine which running back will be better.
- phillip lindsey was undrafted
- matt breida was undrafted
- dion lewis was a 5th round pick
- david johnson was a 3rd round pick
- tarik cohen was a 4th round pick
- kareem hunt was a 3rd round pick
- alvin kamara was a 3rd round pick
- james conner was a 3rd round pick
- jordan howard was a 5th round pick
meanwhile
- tj yeldon was a 2nd round pick
- ameer abdullah was a 2nd round pick
- bishop sankey was a 2nd round pick
- montee ball was a 2nd round pick
- eddie lacy was a 2nd round pick
- christine michael was a 2nd round pick
- trent richardson, doug martin and david wilson all went in the first round in the same draft
the best running back drafted in 2008 was matt forte: he was the 6th back picked that year (shoutout to justin forsett, picked 25th, ranked 7th)
the best running back drafted in 2009 was lesean mccoy: he was the 4th back picked that year
the best running back drafted in 2010 was ryan matthews: he was the 2nd back picked that year (3rd best is james starks, picked 13th)
the best running back drafted in 2011 was demarco murray: he was the 6th back picked that year
the best running back drafted in 2012 was lamar miller: he was the 8th back picked that year
the best running back drafted in 2013 was leveon bell: he was the 2nd back picked that year
the best running back drafted in 2014 was devonta freeman: he was the 8th back picked that year
the best running back drafted in 2015 was todd gurley: he was the 1st back picked that year (2nd best is david johnson, picked 7th)
thats 8 years and only once was the back picked 1st actually the best. you can go back even further and see a time where you could have a reasonable chance of picking the best running back. its just that the game has moved on. rule changes benefit passing more than ever. teams use running back committees more than ever. its just not a good use of resources to use a top pick on a running back. even if you think you can evaluate which is best, history says you cant
2007: 1st
2006: 6th
2005: 6th
2004: 1st
2003: 1st
2002: 4th
2001: 1st
2000: 1st
1999: 1st
1998: 2nd
1997: 3rd
1996: 3rd
1995: 10th
1994: 1st
1993: 2nd
1992: 10th
1991: 6th