It is the time of year that scouts enjoy the most; the scouting combine is upon us. The running backs are the position group that I look forward to every year. The big names will be there like Andre Williams from Boston College and Tre Mason from Auburn. Then there are the names most won’t know anything about like David Fluellen of Toledo and Timothy Flanders of Sam Houston State. Most of these backs won’t rise or fall too much on a team’s draft board but it could definitely answer a few questions based on how they perform.

Running Back Rankings

1. Carlos Hyde, Ohio State 

2. Jeremy Hill, LSU 

3. Ka'deem Carey, Arizona 

4. Tre Mason, Auburn 

5. Andre Williams, Boston College 

6 Devonta Freeman, Florida State 

7.De'Anthony Thomas, Oregon 

8 Dri Archer, Kent State 

9 Terrance West, Towson 

10 Charles Sims, West Virginia 

11 Storm Johnson, UCF 

12 Bishop Sankey, Washington 

13 Lache Seastrunk, Baylor 

14 Alfred Blue, LSU 

15 Adam Muema, San Diego State 

16 Jerick McKinnon, Georgia Southern 

17 James Wilder, Florida State 

18 Marion Grice, Arizona State

19 Antonio Andrews, Western Kentucky 

20 Ladarius Perkins, Mississippi State 

21 Tyler Gaffney, Stanford 

22 David Fluellen, Toledo 

23 George Atkinson, Notre Dame 

24 Henry Josey, Missouri 

25 Damien Williams, Oklahoma

26 Isaiah Crowell, Alabama State 

27 Jerome Smith, Syracuse 

28 Kapri Bibbs, Colorado State 

29 Lorenzo Taliaferro, Coastal Carolina 

30 Silas Redd, USC 

31 Tim Cornett, UNLV 

32 James White, Wisconsin 

33 Timothy Flanders, Sam Houston State 

Fullback Rankings

1 Trey Millard, Oklahoma 

2 J.C. Copeland, LSU 

3 Ryan Hewitt, Stanford 

Drills to Watch

Of course the running the 40 will be huge for this group. It will show you acceleration and their 10 yard splits. The bench press will show upper body strength which is key for not only fighting through tackles but blocking for a quarterback as well. The biggest drill for the group will be the broad jump. It will give you an idea about their lower body strength and explosion.

Players to Watch

Andre Williams should be a player to keep an eye on. For someone who put up monster numbers after three average years at Boston College. Devonta Freeman could be the best of the group after the season is up. He is the best blocker of the class who could develop to the best overall.

When looking at this group you shouldn’t expect to find one who is taken in the first round. With the way the game is played these days, two of these backs could be playing in the same backfield.