INDIANAPOLIS -- Running back, according to most NFL scouts, is the easiest position for a rookie to play. Taking the ball and running is something most of these backs have been doing since they first started playing football in the backyard, so one more step up the football tree is no different.
That's why running back has always been perceived as the "other" glamour position, second only to quarterback.
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| Willis McGahee drew a lot of attention at the combine, but he'll still be passed over until at least the third round.(AP) |
Where have all the franchise backs gone?
"That's a good question," said one NFC personnel director from the scouting combine. "They're certainly not in this draft. It used to be the first round would be loaded with backs, some of them high picks. But that seems to be changing. This group isn't that exciting."
The backs lost some star power when Miami's Willis McGahee tore up his knee in the Hurricanes' Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State. McGahee would have been the first back taken, but he now has an uncertain draft position that will be determined by his rehabilitation.
Both the Detroit Lions and the Houston Texans, who pick second and third, would have strongly considered McGahee. He now looks to be a third- or fourth-round pick, despite an impressive start to his rehab program.
Normally, there would be another back to fill the void. One potential player to fill that void would have been Florida State's Greg Jones, but he tore up his knee and now must return for his senior season. Jones likely would have entered this year's draft had he not suffered the injury, and he had the look of a star back. He is big and powerful, but coming off an ACL injury, like McGahee, he is now a question mark.
"That's two big-time backs who could have been that franchise player," the NFC personnel director said.
Their injuries have led to a mad scramble to see just who will be the top back selected. Penn State's Larry Johnson is the early leader, but not every team is convinced he can be the franchise back. More than a couple of teams have expressed concern about some things involving his game.
Some say he's too much of a straight-line runner. Others say he got much of his yardage against bad teams, much of it on long runs though huge holes. Then there's the Penn State running back curse, one made famous by the draft flops of Blair Thomas, Ki-Jana Carter and Curtis Enis.
That's a lot of holes, not the kind he ran through, either.
"I can't do anything about that stuff other than to go out and prove it wrong," Johnson said.
At 6-feet-1, 228 pounds he burst onto the college scene last year by rushing for 2,087 yards. It was a surprise to most in college football, and sent the scouts into a more intense dissection of his game. He is a power runner, but he did rip off long runs. To many scouts, though, speed is an issue with him, a number that will ultimately determine his draft position.
"If I run 4.28, I'll be at the top of the first round," Johnson said. "If I run 4.8, I'll slip down. It all depends how I run."
He did not run here at the combine, but will do so at the Penn State pro day March 20. As strange as this might sound, it's a 40 time that could decide if Johnson can truly be considered a franchise back heading into the NFL.
If not him, then who?
- Oregon's Onterrio Smith has some off-field character issues that teams need answered.
- Virginia Tech's Lee Suggs missed most of the 2001 season with a major knee surgery and was actually the second-best back on his own team to Kevin Jones.
- Fast-rising Justin Fargas of USC ran a blistering 4.32 40 here at the combine, but he has had some injury issues and some scouts are concerned about his small legs.
This down year comes after two backs were taken in the first round last year, one being William Green by Cleveland the other T.J. Duckett by the Falcons. Neither had as good a rookie year as Clinton Portis of Denver, who was a second-round choice.
A quick look-ahead to the 2004 draft doesn't offer much more promise in terms of the marquee backs, unless some of the juniors-to-be decide to enter the draft. Clarence Farmer of Arizona and Florida State's Jones will likely be the top two senior prospects.
There are some underclassmen that could be considered marquee backs if they enter the draft. Among them are Virginia Tech's Jones, Cedric Benson of Texas, Stephen Jackson of Oregon State and Carnell Williams of Auburn, although he is also coming off a serious leg injury.
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| Larry Johnson had a year worthy of a high first-rounder, but his speed is the question.(AP) |
Again if several juniors enter -- including Oregon State's Derek Anderson and Miami of Ohio's Ben Roethlisberger -- it could be another quarterback-rich draft.
And that brings us back to one reason why there seems to be a shortage of franchise backs in this draft. College teams are throwing more than they ever have, which has put more focus on the quarterbacks and less on the running backs.
Spread offenses are in vogue, which means more one-back sets and less pounding the football inside. Backs now have to be able to catch the ball out of the backfield, which, in turn, can eliminate some of the better pure runners from being on the field as much as they should be.
"The college game has become a passing game," Tampa Bay general manager Rich McKay said. "When I grew up is was not like that. The backs don't get the carries they used to get. They may get pushed down a little bit."
No carries means less stats, which means more doubts.
Some scouts and coaches offer another opinion as to why the star back might be fading from the first round. They say kids are playing other positions in high school. Seeing the life expectancy of a back is less than other positions, and risk of injury seems greater, they are now moving to defense to play linebacker and safety.
Some of the weak-side linebackers and safeties were once probably good running backs at some point in their playing career, even dating back to Pop Warner.
"A lot of guys like to hit rather than be hit," the NFC personnel director said.
Even so, there are some coaches who don't agree with the assessment this draft class won't produce a star back -- or maybe even two.
"They'll be four or five guys down the road who produce big numbers in this league," one running backs coach said. "They'll surprise some people."
That has almost become the trend, the later-round picks outdoing the first-round backs. It happened last year with Portis, and it has happened with players like Terrell Davis and Jamal Anderson in past years -- players who were taken late in the draft but went on to become Pro Bowl backs. Kansas City's Priest Holmes, arguably the best back in the league, wasn't even drafted.
Factoring that in with the many holes the backs in this draft seem to have, it's probably no wonder there might not be a back taken in the first round.
Where have all the glamour backs gone?
They just might be playing linebacker or strong safety for a team near you.
