1st round running backs

[Andy]

The Bears have drafted 4 RBs in the first round over the last 20 years: '88 Brad Muster, '95 Rashan Salaam, '98 Curtis Enis, '05 Cedric Benson. Although the jury is still out on Cedric Benson, the overall production has not been great. They have rushed for a combined 6331 yards on 1671 carries over 16 seasons (395 yards/year, 3.78 yards/carry).

If you go back in Bears history a little farther you find Neal Anderson and, of course, the great Walter Payton. There are no such saviors in the Bengals past. In their history the Bengals have drafted 4 RBs in the first round: '76 Archie Griffin, '79 Charles Alexander, '95 Ki-Jana Carter and '04 Chris Perry. They have combined for 0 1000-yard seasons, 6934 rushing yards (3.8/carry, 289/year) and 40 rushing TDs (1.6/year)

The Chiefs' Bengal-like streak of disappointing RBs was snapped by Larry Johnson. Before Johnson the Chiefs had never had a 1000-yard season from their group of disappointing 1st round RBs: '72 Jeff Kinney, '74 Woody Green, '85 Ethan Horton, '87 Paul Palmer, '91 Harvey Williams, '94 Greg Hill.

The other team that sticks out as far as 1st round RBs is the Cardinals, but for another reason. The Cardinals have only taken 2 1st round RBs over the last 20 years: '93 Garrison Hearst and '00 Thomas Jones. In 6 combined seasons with the Cardinals they rushed for 2767 yards (3.6/carry, 461/year) and 12 TDs (2/year). In 11 combined years after leaving the Cards they have rushed for 10,583 yards (4.4/carry, 962/year) and 52 TDs (4.7/year).

The Redskins haven't taken a RB in the 1st round since Ray McDonald (233 career rushing yards) in 1967. The Redskins have another interesting 1st round RB anomaly in their history. In 1946 they took UCLA RB Cal Rossi with the 9th pick overall, not realizing that he was a junior and not eligible for the draft. In 1947 they took him in the 1st round again, only to find out that he wasn't interested in playing pro football.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Dallas Cowboys have taken 2 RBs in the first round in the last 30 years. Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith combined for 31,094 rushing yards and 241 rushing TDs.

[Seattle1]

The Seattle Seahawks have had success with their first round RB picks:

In 1983 they took Curt Warner out of Penn State University, in 1986 they took John L. Williams out of the University of Florida, and in 2000 they took Shaun Alexander out of the University of Alabama. Here’s their stats:

(carries – yards – ypc – tds / catches – yards – ypc – tds)

Curt Warner (three Pro Bowls)
Seven Seahawk seasons: 1,649 – 6,705 – 4.1 – 55 / 193 – 1,467 – 7.6 – 7
Eight career seasons: 1,698 - 6,844 - 4.0 - 56 / 193 - 1,467 - 7.6 – 7

John L. Williams (two Pro Bowls)
Eight Seahawk seasons: 1,148 – 4,579 – 4.0 – 17 / 471 – 4,151 – 8.8 - 16
Ten career seasons: 1,245 – 5,006 - 4.0 – 18 / 546 – 4,656 - 8.5 - 19

Shaun Alexander (three Pro Bowls)
Seven career seasons: 1,969 - 8,713 - 4.4 - 96 / 200 - 1,435 - 7.2 – 11

Combined stats for first round Seahawk RBs (22 seasons)
4,766 carries, 19,997 yards, 4.2 ypc, 168 tds
864 catches, 7,053 yards, 8.2 ypc, 34 tds
(eight Pro Bowls)

Combined career stats (25 seasons)
4,912 carries, 20,563 yards, 4.2 ypc, 170 tds
939 catches, 7,558 yards, 8.1 ypc, 37 tds

And bear in mind that Shaun Alexander is far from being done! Very strong picks.


:applaud:

:goteam:

[CCN]

The Lions took Barry Sanders as third overall in 1989, and that worked out quite well despite having an offensive coordinator who didn't think Sanders was a good player because his style didn't fit his scheme (nice way to be so short-sighted, Mouse) and a coach who didn't believe in handing him the ball inside the five. A few years earlier, they took Billy Sims at the same pick, and Sims was great when healthy.

James Jones was adequate. Kevin Jones has played like a first-rounder at times.

[efin98]

New England has picked some good short term running backs, but in the first round that's not good enough...
Robert Edwards('98): rushed for 1115 yards in his only seaons, blew out his knee and never played again for the Patriots in regular season
Leonard Russel('91): rushed for just 2437 yards in three seasons
John Stevens('88): rushed for 1168 yards in first year then just 2081 yards total the next four years, one time pro bowler
Vagas Ferguson('80): rushed for a measly 1163 yards in three seasons

The lone exception is Sam Cunningham('73). He rushed for 5453 yards in ten seasons and set the franchise record for rushing yards

The jury is out on Laurence Maroney('06)

[ATLFalcons]

The Falcons have had some good running backs throughout their existence, but the best of them haven't been 1st round selections. Here is a rundown of the five 1st round running backs the Falcons have chosen.

1971- Joe Profit was a huge bust for the Falcons. He only played 15 games for the Falcons and rushed for 198 yards on 61 carries. His career in the NFL only lasted 3 years.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/ProfJo00.htm

1976- Bubba Bean was a Falcon for only 3 seasons and rushed for 1,528 yards in his short career. He ranks 15th on the Falcons all-time rushing yards list.

http://pigskin-fever.com/showthread.php?p=8168#post8168

1982- Gerald Riggs was one of the best running backs to don a Falcons jersey. He is the Falcons all-time leading rusher and a 3-time Pro Bowler. He finished his career with the Redskins and ran for six touchdowns in the Skins 1991 Super Bowl winning postseason.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/RiggGe00.htm

1990- Steve Broussard played 40 games for the Falcons between 1990-93. In his 1st season he teamed with Mike Rozier for a combined 1,129 rushing yards and 7 TDs. But by his final season as a Falcon he was replaced by Erric Pegram. Broussard is now the running backs coach for Washington State.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/BrouSt00.htm

2002- T.J. Duckett was the last running back the Falcons picked in the 1st round. Duckett was an effective short yardage back for the Falcons during his 4 years in Atlanta. He rushed for 2,175 yards and 31 TDs as a Falcon. He spent the 2006 season with the Washington Redskins and is currently the backup to Kevin Jones with the Detroit Lions.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/DuckT.00.htm

[Andy]

I should have included the Seahawks, they have a great record for 1st round RBs. I just missed them for some reason.

I almost included the Falcons and Patriots with the Bengals in the 'disaster' catagory, except for Sam Cunningham and Gerald Riggs.

Just for fun, I ran the numbers for the individual draft classes for the last 10 years. I calculated rushing yards/season, rushing TDs/season and yards/carry for the first round picks.

Each catagory had a different leading class. The class of '99 (Edgerrin James, Ricky Williams) leads in yards/season with 1248.7. The class of '01 (LaDainian Tomlinson, Deuce McAllister, Michael Bennett) leads in yards/carry with 4.42. The class of '03 (Willis McGahee, Larry Johnson) leads in TDs/season with 10.1. While the best class was a split decision, the worst class has a clear cut champion. The class of '02 (William Green, T.J. Duckett) is last in 2 catagories and next to last in TDs/year.

The raw numbers:
2006 (Bush, Maroney, Williams, Addai)
723 yards/year, 5 TDs/year, 4.27 yards/carry

2005 (Brown, Benson, Williams)
801 yards/year, 3.66 TDs/year, 4.05 yards/carry

2004 (Jackson, Perry, Jones)
674 yards/year, 4.55 TDs/year, 4.29 yards/carry

2003 (McGahee, Johnson)
1081 yards/year, 10.14 TDs/year, 4.30 yards/carry

2002 (Green, Duckett)
490 yards/year, 4.66 TDs/year, 3.81 yards/carry

2001 (Tomlinson, McAllister, Bennett)
1007 yards/year, 8.66 TDs/year, 4.42 yards/carry

2000 (Lewis, Jones, Dayne, Alexander, Candidate)
864 yards/year, 6.8 TDs/year, 4.20 yards/carry

1999 (James, Williams)
1248 yards/year, 8.5 TDs/year, 4.08 yards/carry

1998 (Enis, Taylor, Edwards, Avery)
708 yards/year, 6.33 TDs/year, 4.28 yards/carry

When I have some free time I'll run some numbers on first round QBs.

[Seattle1]

I should have included the Seahawks, they have a great record for 1st round RBs. I just missed them for some reason...When I have some free time I'll run some numbers on first round QBs.


If only the Seahawks had the same kind of success with first round QB picks (Dan McGwire, Rick Mirer) as they have had with first round RB picks. :ughh:

Still, they have had some degree of success with QBs they acquired via trade or free agency (Jim Zorn, Dave Krieg, Warren Moon, Jon Kitna, Matt Hasselbeck).