Skill position players can make you or break you when chosen in the NFL Draft. Running backs being chosen early have become far more scarce. Could be because so many of them have failed to pan out as first-round picks.
Harry Jones (Eagles)
Harry Jones had the distinction of being the first player from Arkansas to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Call it the SI jinx, or something else, but the Razorback RB was unable to succeed in the NFL. He was the 19th overall pick in 1967. His career stats? Five starts, 85 yards rushing and 113 yards receiving.
Ray McDonald (Redskins)
Ray McDonald was the 13th overall pick of Washington in 1967. He was with the team for a season and a game when off-field incidents cost him his spot. McDonald had 223 yards rushing and four TDs as a rookie. And that was it.
Clint Jones (Vikings)
Clint Jones makes the list because of when he was selected, second overall in 1967. He did stick with the Vikings, who chose him, for six years. The most yards rushing he gained were 675 in 1972. Jones played in San Diego for a season before his career ended.
Lee White (Jets)
Lee White was selected by the Jets 17th overall out of Weber State in 1968. That did make him a member of the Super Bowl III champs. However, in three seasons he rushed for a total of 303 yards before finishing with a year with the Rams and Chargers.
Leroy Keyes (Eagles)
Leroy Keyes was the third overall pick in 1969 by the Philadelphia Eagles. After a star-studded career at Purdue, the hope was he would turn around their fortunes. It didn’t happen. Keyes did not develop into an NFL running back and was moved to strong safety in his third year. He eventually had a short time in Kansas City in 1973.
Larry Stegent (Cardinals)
Larry Stegent (the ninth ranked running back on the video) was the eighth overall pick out of Texas A&M by the Cardinals in 1970. Knee injuries sidelined him and he wound up with a career total of one reception for 12 yards.
Duane Thomas (Cowboys)
Duane Thomas seemed to have the potential to be a fantastic NFL running back. He led the league with 11 touchdowns in his second season and rushed for almost 1,600 yards in his first two years as a Cowboy. The enigmatic running back was too much to handle in the early ’70s. He wound up in Washington for two seasons with minimal success.
Bobby Anderson (Broncos)
Bobby Anderson was the 11th overall pick out of Colorado in 1970. Would have been nice for a local guy to make good on the Broncos. Unfortunately, Anderson rushed for 1,281 yards in four seasons. His final year in the league was 1975 when he split time between the Pats and Washington. That season, Anderson gained one yard.
Joe Profit (Falcons)
Joe Profit came to the Atlanta Falcons as the seventh overall pick in 1971. He stuck around the NFL for four seasons, gaining 471 yards. Profit wound up in the World Football League in 1975, where he scored the league’s first touchdown. Profit went on to have a successful career as a businessman.
Joe Moore (Bears)
Coming out of Missouri, Joe Moore was selected 11th overall by the Bears. Things did not pan out as he was only in the league for two seasons, gaining 281 yards and failing to score a touchdown.
Leon Burns (Chargers)
Leon Burns was selected by the San Diego Chargers 13th overall in 1971. He spent one year with them and one with the St. Louis Cardinals. Burns only gained 292 yards and scored three TDs in the NFL.
Rocky Thompson (Giants)
Rocky Thompson was a speedster, as his fellow Giant appears to be in the above image. He was a college roommate of Duane Thomas, who also is on this list. Thompson was the 18th overall choice in 1971. It didn’t work for Big Blue. He did have a kickoff return for TD in 1972 and ’73, which was his last year in the league.
Bill Thomas (Cowboys)
A shoulder injury in college diminished Bill Thomas as a pro. While he didn’t pan out for Dallas, winding up with three teams in three seasons, the Cowboys did far better with their second-round pick in 1972, drafting Robert Newhouse.
George Amundson (Oilers)
The 14th overall pick out of Iowa State in 1973, George Amundson did not deliver on any level. In a three-year career he rushed for 194 yards and four TDs. It didn’t help the Oilers were 1-13 in his rookie season.
Bo Matthews (Chargers)
Bo Matthews had an eight-year career in the NFL. Solid work for a first-round pick from Colorado in 1974. Until you realize the Chargers drafted him second overall and the most yardage he had in his career came as a rookie — 328.
Charley Young (Cowboys)
The Cowboys chose Charle Young out of North Carolina State with the 22nd overall pick in 1974. He was consistent in his three-year career. Unfortunately, that translated into seasons of 205, 225 and 208 yards. His career was done after that.
Don Hardeman (Oilers)
Bum Phillips (pictured) hoped for a stud running back when the Houston Oilers selected Don Hardeman 15th overall out of Texas A&M-Kingsville. Things did not pan out as he had a career-year of 648 yards rushing and five TDs as rookie. After that, his five-year career was nondescript.
Lawrence Gaines (Lions)
The 16th overall pick out of Wyoming in 1976, Lawrence Gaines rushed for 659 yards and four TDs as a rookie. A promising start fizzled into 233 yards and a touchdown in his final two seasons as a Lion.
Terry Miller (Bills)
Terry Miller burst onto the scene with a 1,000-yard, seven-TD season as a rookie. That was the highlight of a four-year career that saw the RB out of Oklahoma State only rush for 500 yards in his next two-plus seasons. An aside, because of a hamstring injury Miller. started wearing pantyhose to “put more force” into his legs. Before every game he donned a panty girdle. “Women’s size, extra large,” Miller said decades ago.
Elvis Peacock(Rams)
One of the great names in any sport. Elvis Peacock was a star at Oklahoma. Peacock finished a three-year career plagued by injuries with 1,001 yards.
Vagas Ferguson (Patriots)
Vagas Ferguson spent four seasons in the NFL. He got off to a great start, rushing for 818 yards as a rookie. It was all downhill from there. Ferguson only rushed for 345 yards in his remaining time in the league.
Booker Moore (Bills)
Booker Moore was one of the Penn State running backs selected by an AFC East team that turned into a bust and made this list. The 28th overall pick in 1981 rushed for a total of 420 yards and scored one TD in his NFL career.
Michael Haddix (Eagles)
The Philadelphia Eagles chose Michael Haddix as the eighth overall pick in 1983. He was consistent … consistently bad, rushing for 1,635 yards in an eight-year career. His top total was 311 yards in his final season, which came with the Green Bay Packers.
Terrence Flagler (49ers)
Terrence Flagler came out of Clemson to the San Francisco 49ers as the 25th overall pick in 1987. Big, big bust as in 237 total yards rushing and two TDs in his entire career.
Tim Worley (Steelers)
Tim Worley played college football at the running-back factor that is Georgia. His best season for the Steelers came as a rookie when he rushed for 770 yards. It was all downhill after that.
Blair Thomas (Jets)
One of the all-time busts. Blair Thomas was selected second overall by the New York Jets after a brilliant career at Penn State. He rushed for 2,236 yards in a seven-year career that did not deliver what the Jets hoped. The problem was 1,300 yards came in his first two seasons. Ouch.
Tony Smith (Falcons)
Tony Smith was drafted out of Southern Miss 19th overall in 1992. His career was beset by injuries. “I didn’t go into the game to be a bust on purpose,” Smith said at one point. “Sometimes, things just work out that way, you know. That’s just what it was. Now, it’s no big deal to me at this point. I’ve outgrown it.” That’s what 329 yards and two TDs will do.
Vaughn Dunbar (Saints)
Vaughn Dunbar was drafted out of Indiana by the New Orleans Saints in 1992. He rushed for 935 yards … the problem was that was a career total in his four-year time in the NFL.
David Overstreet (Dolphins)
David Overstreet was drafted by the Miami Dolphins 13th overall in 1981. However, he did not play for them until 1983. Overstreet played for the Montreal Alouettes in his first two seasons before heading South to Miami. His lone season as a Dolphin was 1983, when he rushed for 392 yards. The following year, Overstreet was killed when his car hit the pumps at a gas station and they exploded.
Ki-Jana Carter (Bengals)
A first overall pick in 1995, Ki-Jana Carter tore a knee ligament on the third carry of his first preseason game. The injuries piled up and Carter never lived up to the hope the Bengals had when they saw him at Penn State. He played for four teams and rushed for 1,144 yards.
Lawrence Phillips (Rams)
Lawrence Phillips found trouble everywhere he went. The Nebraska star couldn’t avoid it in college and it stayed with him after being chosen sixth overall by the St. Louis Rams in 1996. The stay in St. Louis lasted two years. There was a short stop in Miami before traveling overseas for NFL Europe, back the NFL with the Niners and north to Canada. He wound up in prison numerous times before it was ruled he committed suicide there in 2016.
Trung Canidate (Rams)
Trung Canidate was the 31st overall pick by the St. Louis Rams in 2000. It was a short and unimpressive career that saw Canidate play two years in St. Louis and another one in Washington. He sneaked over the 1,000-yard mark … for his career before it ended.
Curtis Enis (Bears)
Curtis Enis went from the Nittany Lions of Penn State to the Chicago Bears in 1998 as the fifth overall selections. Things got off poorly as Enis held out for almost four weeks. A rookie season saw one start before being derailed by a knee injury. The second year approached 1,000 yards, but it turned out to be a one-hit wonder and Enis only rushed for 84 yards in a third season that saw him become more of a blocker before his career was soon over.
Chris Perry (Bengals)
Chris Perry came out of Michigan to the Cincinnati Bengals in 2004. In four seasons, he made nine starts and rushed for a total of 606 yards and two touchdowns.
Kevin Jones (Lions)
Kevin Jones burst into the Lions’ backfield in 2004 out of Virginia Tech with a 1,000-yard season. The best was first, however, as he never was able to match his debut. After four seasons in Detroit, it was on to Chicago and then the defunct UFL.
Jahvid Best (Lions)
Jahvid Best entered the NFL from Cal in 2010 and improved from 390 yards in nine games, limited by concussions, to 555 in the first six games of his second year. Best, however, suffered another concussion and his career effectively was over. The Lions officially released him in 2013.
Trent Richardson (Browns)
The Cleveland Browns drafted Trent Richardson with the third overall pick in 2012 out of Alabama. He rushed for 950 yards as a rookie. This was the period — a long one — that saw the Browns drop and drop and drop and fail to reach a nadir. Richardson played two games for the Browns in 2013 before being dealt to the Colts, setting him on a road to nowhere. The most recent stop has been the AAF.
David Wilson (Giants)
David Wilson had star written all over him. How about a 327-yard total performance against the New Orleans Saints as a rookie? However, he suffered an injury that was diagnosed as spinal stenosis in 2013 and that ended his NFL career after 21 games.
