[BostonCard]

[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=16796.msg191985#msg191985 date=1492636988]
No team is going to draft a running back in the first round unless they have a gaping need at the position.

BC

For more than a decade the NFL has been under appreciating the running back position. And college programs have followed that trend as well, favoring the passing game..
That last five years of drafts had an average of only one first round running back selection, and those picks were mostly late first round.
But I think if NFL teams make a commitment to the running game, including using their high draft picks on RB's, those teams will recognize the benefit of a balanced offense.
[/quote]

I don't think it is that teams undervalue running backs, it's that it seems harder to predict success in the NFL at the running back position than at other positions.  Every position obviously is going to have its beta, but some seem to have fewer busts at high draft picks or surprises from low draft picks than others.  But running backs seem to have a much weaker correlation between draft position and ultimate success than most.  So, if a guy projected to go in the first round is only somewhat more likely to find success than a guy projected to go in the fourth round, why invest a high pick for a (relative) crapshoot.

BC

[BostonCard]

[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=16796.msg191985#msg191985 date=1492636988]
No team is going to draft a running back in the first round unless they have a gaping need at the position.

BC

For more than a decade the NFL has been under appreciating the running back position. And college programs have followed that trend as well, favoring the passing game..
That last five years of drafts had an average of only one first round running back selection, and those picks were mostly late first round.
But I think if NFL teams make a commitment to the running game, including using their high draft picks on RB's, those teams will recognize the benefit of a balanced offense.
[/quote]

I don't think it is that teams undervalue running backs, it's that it seems harder to predict success in the NFL at the running back position than at other positions.  Every position obviously is going to have its beta, but some seem to have fewer busts at high draft picks or surprises from low draft picks than others.  But running backs seem to have a much weaker correlation between draft position and ultimate success than most.  So, if a guy projected to go in the first round is only somewhat more likely to find success than a guy projected to go in the fourth round, why invest a high pick for a (relative) crapshoot.

BC