The first round of the NFL Playoffs has been completed and 24 of the 32 teams in the league have shifted focus to the offseason and the upcoming draft. Teams will look to add talent to all parts of the roster from the college ranks. One interesting position to watch will be running back, as NFL teams have placed less and less emphasis on it in recent years. This year’s class of ball carriers has some talented players, but there’s a good chance that none of them go in the first round, and a possibility that none go in round two either. Here’s one way things could fall in May’s selection process.
Round One
1. Houston Texans: Teddy Bridgewater, Quarterback, Louisville
2. St Louis Rams: Jake Matthews, Offensive Tackle, Texas A&M
3. Jacksonville Jaguars: Blake Bortles, Quarterback, Central Florida
4. Cleveland Browns: Johnny Manziel, Quarterback, Texas A&M
5. Oakland Raiders: Jadeveon Clowney, Defensive End, South Carolina
6. Atlanta Falcons: Greg Robinson, Offensive Tackle, Auburn
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Sammy Watkins, Wide Receiver, Clemson
8. Minnesota Vikings: Derek Carr, Quarterback, Fresno State
9. Buffalo Bills: CJ Mosley, Linebacker, Alabama
10. Detroit Lions: Darqueze Dennard, Cornerback, Michigan State
11. Tennessee Titans: Khalil Mack, Linebacker, Buffalo
12. New York Giants: Anthony Barr, Linebacker, UCLA
13. St Louis Rams: Eric Ebron, Tight End, North Carolina
14. Chicago Bears: Louis Nix, Defensive Tackle, Notre Dame
15. Pittsburgh Steelers: HaHa Clinton-Dix, Safety, Alabama
16. Baltimore Ravens: Cedric Ogbuehi, Offensive Tackle, Texas A&M
17. Dallas Cowboys: Kony Ealy, Defensive End, Missouri
18. New York Jets: Marqise Lee, Wide Receiver, USC
19. Miami Dolphins: Taylor Lewan, Offensive Tackle, Michigan
20. Arizona Cardinals: Vic Beasley, Linebacker, Clemson
21. Green Bay Packers: Stephen Tuitt, Defensive End, Notre Dame
22. Philadelphia Eagles: Jason Verrett, Cornerback, TCU
23. Cincinnati Bengals: Justin Gilbert, Cornerback, Oklahoma State
24. Kansas City Chiefs: Jace Amaro, Tight End, Texas Tech
25. San Diego Chargers: Bradley Roby, Cornerback, Ohio State
26. Cleveland Browns: Davante Adams, Wide Receiver, Fresno State
27. New Orleans Saints: Ryan Shazier, Linebacker, Ohio State
28. New England Patriots: RaShede Hageman, Defensive Tackle, Minnesota
29. San Francisco 49ers: Mike Evans, Wide Receiver, Texas A&M
30. Carolina Panthers: Kelvin Benjamin, Wide Receiver, Florida State
31. Denver Broncos: Trent Murphy, Defensive End, Stanford
32. Seattle Seahawks: Zach Martin, Offensive Guard, Notre Dame
Round Two
33. Houston Texans: Antonio Richardson, Offensive Tackle, Tennessee
34. Washington Redskins: Calvin Pryor, Safety, Louisville
35. Cleveland Browns: Shayne Skov, Linebacker, Stanford
36. Oakland Raiders: Allen Robinson, Wide Receiver, Penn State
37. Atlanta Falcons: Aaron Donald, Defensive Tackle, Pittsburgh
38. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Cameron Erving, Offensive Tackle, Florida State
39. Jacksonville Jaguars: Timmy Jernigan, Defensive Tackle, Florida State
40. Minnesota Vikings: Kyle Van Noy, Linebacker, BYU
41. Buffalo Bills: Deone Buchanon, Safety, Washington State
42. Tennessee Titans: La’el Collins, Offensive Tackle, LSU
43. New York Giants: Kyle Fuller, Cornerback, Virginia Tech
44. St Louis Rams: Jordan Matthews, Wide Reciever, Vanderbilt
45. Detroit Lions: Odell Beckham, Wide Receiver, LSU
46. Pittsburgh Steelers: Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Tight End, Washington
47. Baltimore Ravens: Brandon Coleman, Wide Receiver, Rutgers
48. Dallas Cowboys: Ahmad Dixon, Safety, Baylor
49. New York Jets: Tre Mason, Running Back – Mason showed the world what he could do on the biggest stage of all in the National Championship Game, running past, through, and over defenders to the tune of 195 yards. He’s not a blazer, but he runs bigger than he is and has no trouble getting into the second level. Once there, he delivers hits as good as he gets.
50. Miami Dolphins: Lamarcus Joyner, Cornerback, Florida State
51. Chicago Bears: Aaron Colvin, Cornerback, Oklahoma
52. Arizona Cardinals: Jack Mewhort, Offensive Tackle, Ohio State
53. Green Bay Packers: Dion Bailey, Safety, USC
54. Philadelphia Eagles: Craig Loston, Safety, LSU
55. Cincinnati Bengals: Travis Swanson, Center, Arkansas
56. San Francisco 49ers: Marcus Roberson, Cornerback, Florida
57. San Diego Chargers: David Yankey, Offensive Guard, Stanford
58. Indianapolis Colts: Cyril Richardson, Offensive Guard, Baylor
59. New Orleans Saints: EJ Gaines, Cornerback, Missouri
60. New England Patriots: Xavier Su’a-Filo, Offensive Guard, UCLA
61. San Francisco 49ers: Ego Ferguson, Defensive Tackle, LSU
62. Carolina Panthers: Gabe Jackson, Offensive Guard, Mississippi State
63. Denver Broncos: Brandin Cooks, Wide Receiver, Oregon State
64. Seattle Seahawks: Jarvis Landry, Wide Receiver, LSU
Round Three
65. Houston Texans: Bishop Sankey, Running Back, Washington – Sankey isn’t the biggest, strongest, or fastest running back in this draft class, but he enough of each of those attributes to make him a dynamic, playmaker. His light on his feet, and able to cut quickly into open spots. Once he gets there, he’s a threat to turn it into a big gain.
66. Washington Redskins: DaQuan Jones, Defensive Tackle, Penn State
67. Oakland Raiders: Zach Mettenberger, Quarterback, LSU
68. Atlanta Falcons: Scott Crighton, Defensive End, Oregon State
69. New York Jets: CJ Fiedorowicz, Tight End, Iowa
70. Jacksonville Jaguars: Ka’Deem Carey, Running Back, Arizona – The Jaguars could decide to add some youth at running back to boost the offense and make it easy on a young quarterback. Carey has good size and instincts for the position, and could play immediately. He’s a tough runner, and picks up plenty of yards after contact, but also has quick feet and can make guys miss.
71. Cleveland Browns: Carlos Hyde, Running Back, Ohio State – The Browns were missing a running game this year and should look to address that quickly. Hyde is an imposing runner, bringing a massive body with enough speed and quickness to be effective at the next level. Power is his game, though, and he rarely goes down on first contact. He’ll wear defenses down, then burn them.
72. Minnesota Vikings: Chris Smith, Defensive End, Arkansas
73. Buffalo Bills: Seantrel Henderson, Offensive Tackle, Miami
74. New York Giants: Will Sutton, Defensive Tackle, Arizona
75. St Louis Rams: Anthony Harris, Safety, Virginia
76. Detroit Lions: Tre Boston, Safety, North Carolina
77. San Francisco 49ers: Donte Montcrief, Wide Receiver, Ole Miss
78. Baltimore Ravens: Charles Sims, Running Back, West Virginia – Sims is as well-rounded a running back in the entire draft. He has good size, yet has tremendous top end speed as well. His ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and is a willing blocker, which may allow Baltimore to use him in every situation. Their running game was subpar all season, and they’ll look to improve it. Sims would do that.
79. Dallas Cowboys: Pierre Desir, Cornerback, Lindenwood
80. New York Jets: Anthony Steen, Offensive Guard, Alabama
81. Miami Dolphins: Jared Abbrederis, Wide Receiver, Wisconsin
82. Chicago Bears: Kareem Martin, Defensive End, North Carolina
83. Cleveland Browns: Ed Stinson, Defensive End, Alabama
84. Arizona Cardinals: Jimmy Garoppolo, Quarterback, Eastern Illinois
85. Green Bay Packers: Chris Borland, Linebacker, Wisconsin
86. Philadelphia Eagles: Martavis Bryant, Wide Receiver, Clemson
87. Cincinnati Bengals: Yawin Smallwood, Linebacker, Connecticut
88. Kansas City Chiefs: Josh Mauro, Defensive End, Stanford
89. San Diego Chargers: Jeremiah Attaochu, Linebacker, Georgia Tech
90. Indianapolis Colts: Michael Sam, Linebacker, Missouri
91. New Orleans Saints: Billy Turner, Offensive Tackle, North Dakota State
92. New England Patriots: Victor Hampton, Cornerback, South Carolina
93. San Francisco 49ers: Dee Ford, Linebacker, Auburn
94. Carolina Panthers: Louchiez Purifoy, Cornerback, Florida
95. Denver Broncos: Christian Jones, Linebacker, Florida State
96. Minnesota Vikings: Dominique Easley, Defensive Tackle, Florida