2017 NFL Draft: How Many Running Backs Could Crash the 1st Round?

The running back position is devalued in today’s NFL, they say.

Tell that to last year’s 10th overall pick and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, Todd Gurley. Or this year’s fourth overall pick and early favorite to win that same award in 2016, Ezekiel Elliott.

That guy wearing No. 28 up in Minnesota, Adrian Peterson? He’s still looking pretty good, even past the dreaded 30-year-old mark.

It’s true NFL teams can find value at the position in the later rounds of the draft—David Johnson and Karlos Williams were among last year’s examples—but does that mean they should avoid spending a premium pick on a rare talent and potential game-changer?

Next year’s crop of runners eligible for the draft is looking like the perfect test for that theory.

There’s plenty of hype surrounding the group, but a lot can change over one draft cycle—a full season of college football, as well as the always complicated predraft process.

Which of next year’s top running back prospects are most likely to live up to the high expectations and come off the board in the first round?

The Locks

Any discussion of this running back class must begin with LSU’s Leonard Fournette, who has been a highlight machine since the moment he touched the field in Baton Rouge.

Fournette is a running back coach’s dream on paper, with a ridiculous combination of size, speed and power. At 6’1″ and 230 pounds, Fournette is big enough to dominate opposing defenders with his physicality between the tackles, but he has the speed and explosiveness to be a legitimate home-run threat every time he gets the ball.

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2015 SEC defenses may not have been as stout as in previous years, but that doesn’t make Fournette’s numbers from last season much less impressive. The sophomore destroyed LSU’s school record with 1,953 yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground, averaging a staggering 162 yards per game. Despite having opposing defenses …

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