Steelers Draft Study: Reasons why taking a RB early is a waste of a pick

2020 proof

According to Pro Football Reference’s scrimmage yard leaders, the top ten running backs in the NFL this year were: Derrick Henry, Dalvin Cook, Alvin Kamara, David Montgomery, Jonathan Taylor, Aaron Jones, James Robinson, Elliott, Josh Jacobs, and Nick Chubb. All of those players are premiere talents at their position, but not all of them were actually first-round picks.

Of that list, only Jacobs and Elliott went in the first. Meanwhile, three of these players were second-round picks, two were thirds, and there was one fifth and one undrafted player in the mix as well. All of this points to the fact that running backs can be found later in the draft. No, this doesn’t mean the Steelers can take any late-round rookie and turn them into a star running back, but if the team invests elsewhere early, they can still find a starting running back later.

To be fair, the NFL has seen its share of first-round running backs decrease in recent years (probably because teams understand drafting one in the first is a waste). That doesn’t explain why this list is dominated by mid-round picks though. If anything, the NFL should be dominated by the elite few running backs that were picked in the first. Instead, they go through the same struggles that all running backs are going through right now.