NFL teams have become far more selective in choosing running backs in the first round. What once was commonplace is no more. A look at the last time each of the 32 teams selected an RBI with a first-round pick.
Arizona Cardinals: Beanie Wells (2009)
The Arizona Cardinals used a 31st overall pick in 2009 to draft Beanie Wells out of Ohio State. The career lasted until after the 2012 season. Wells rushed for 2,471 yards.
Atlanta Falcons: T.J. Duckett (2002)
The Atlanta Falcons made T.J. Duckett their first-round pick out of Michigan State in 2002. He didn’t deliver the way they hoped an 18th overall pick would, lasting only through 2005. The rest of the journenyman journey ended after 2008 after stops with three other teams.
Baltimore Ravens: Jamal Lewis (2000)
Jamal Lewis was the fifth overall pick in 2000 out of Tennessee. He did win a Super Bowl as a Raven. Lewis remained a Raven through 2006, missing the 2001 season with a knee injury. He had a 2,000-yard season in 2003. Overall, he had seven seasons of better than 1,000 yards.
Buffalo Bills: C.J. Spiller (2010)
The ninth overall pick in 2010 out of Clemson, C.J. Spiller had one 1,000-yard season as a Buffalo Bill. After leaving Buffalo, he went on a journey that took him to four other teams with limited success.
Carolina Panthers: Christian McCaffrey (2017)
Christian McCaffrey has established himself as arguably the best duel threat running back in the NFL today. In his second season out of Stanford with the Carolina Panthers, McCaffrey had nearly 2,000 yards of combined rushing and receiving yardage. A rock star.
Chicago Bears: Cedric Benson (2005)
Cedric Benson played three seasons for the Chicago Bears after he was picked from the University of Texas. He rushed for a total of slightly less than 1,600 yards. He had more success as a Cincinnati Bengal.
Cincinnati Bengals: Chris Perry (2004)
Chris Perry started nine times in four years after being drafted out of Michigan. Total for his career he had 606 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground. Ugh.
Cleveland Browns: Trent Richardson (2012)
Trent Richardson is currently in the AAF, which tells you how his career has gone. The third overall pick out of Alabama, Richardson lasted a year plus with the Browns before being traded to Indianapolis.
Dallas Cowboys: Ezekiel Elliott (2016)
The Dallas Cowboys have a generational running back in Ezekiel Elliott, who starred at Ohio State in college.
Denver Broncos: Knowshon Moreno (2009)
Knowshon Moreno came to Denver via the running back factory that is the University of Georgia. He rushed for better than 3,400 yards in five seasons with the Broncos. His best season was 2013 when he rushed for more than 1,000 yards and caught balls for more than 500. That was the high mark of his career.
Detroit Lions: Jahvid Best (2010)
Jahvid Best’s career was short and sadly derailed by concussions. The running back out of Cal suffered multiple head injuries that ended his NFL playing days.
Green Bay Packers: Darrell Thompson (1990)
Darrell Thompson made 28 starts in five years as a Packer. His final season wound up with minus-two yards. Overall, he rushed for 1,641 yards and seven TDs. Not what Green Bay expected.
*Houston Texans: none
To give you an idea of the way running backs are valued in the draft, the Houston Texans have never selected one with a first-round pick. In 2003, they used a supplemental pick to grab Tony Hollings (pictured) out of Georgia Tech. He rushed for 149 yards and made one start in 23 games.
Indianapolis Colts: Donald Brown (2009)
Donald Brown was the 27th overall pick by the Colts out of UConn. He remained with Indy for five seasons and rushed for 2,377 of his 2,829 yards there.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Leonard Fournette (2017)
Leonard Fournette arrived in Jacksonville from LSU with a huge rep for combining speed and power. He played in 13 games as a rookie and broke the 1,000-yard mark. Last season was a disaster as he only saw action in five games. Where he will play in 2019 is murky as Fournette has had difficulties with Jaguars management.
Kansas City Chiefs: Larry Johnson (2003)
Larry Johnson was the 27th overall pick out of Penn State in 2003. He had two monster years for the Chiefs — 2005 and ’06 — rushing for more than 3,500 of his career 6,223 yards.
Los Angeles Chargers: Melvin Gordon (2015)
Melvin Gordon has proven to be a versatile back for the Chargers and Philip Rivers. He tends to get banged up but when he plays he is a threat as a runner or receiver.
Los Angeles Rams: Todd Gurley (2015)
Another rock star. Toddy Gurley has three 1,000-yard seasons out of four with the Rams. He’s scored 46 touchdowns on the ground. Gurley also is a huge threat out of the backfield as a receiver.
Miami Dolphins: Ronnie Brown (2005)
The second overall selection out of Auburn in 2005, Ronnie Brown had one 1,000-yard season. He stuck around from 2005-2014 in the league but the majority of his success came in Miami.
Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson (2007)
Adrian Peterson ran at Oklahoma and kept running as a Minnesota Viking. One of the great running backs of his — any? — era, Peterson continues to defy Father Time as a Washington Redskin.
New England Patriots: Sony Michel (2018)
Sony Michel had an instant impact for the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots out of Georgia. He looks like a star in the making.
New Orleans Saints: Mark Ingram (2011)
Mark Ingram won the Heisman Trophy at Alabama and was chosen by the New Orleans Saints. He rushed for better than 6,000 yards in eight seasons. Ingram is now a Baltimore Raven.
New York Giants: Saquon Barkley (2018)
There was much debate over whether the Giants did the right thing selecting Saquon Barkley second overall out of Penn State in 2018. Many wanted the Giants to select Sam Darnold. Barkley had a monster rookie season and the Giants appear to be set at running back for many years to come.
New York Jets: Blair Thomas (1990)
Blair Thomas came out of Penn State to the New York Jets, who had massive hopes for the running back. He didn’t deliver, rushing for 1,300 of his 2,200 career yards in his first two seasons and then fizzled. The Jets have not made a running back a first-round pick since.
Oakland Raiders: Darren McFadden (2008)
Darren McFadden had one 1,000-yard season with the Raiders and another with the Dallas Cowboys. He rushed for 5,421 yards in a 10-year career.
Philadelphia Eagles: Keith Byars (1986)
Keith Byars was a duel threat for the Philadelphia Eagles out of Ohio State, where he was a star. He spent seven years as an Eagle and had more yards receiving (3,532) than rushing (2,672). Overall would call the selection a success.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Rashard Mendenhall (2008)
The majority of the yards in the career of Rashard Mendenhall came for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2009-11. He left the game at a young age following the 2013 season.
San Francisco 49ers: William Floyd (1994)
William Floyd came out of Florida State as a fullback to the 49ers in 1994. The good news is he became the first rookie to score three touchdowns in an NFL playoff game. The bad? He rushed for 1,102 yards in his career.
Seattle Seahawks: Rashaad Penny (2018)
Rashaad Penny rushed for 419 yards in his first season with the Seahawks out of San Diego State. He did not make any starts for the team, which featured a multi-pronged backfield.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Doug Martin (2012)
An up-and-down, troubled career is what the Tampa Bay Bucs wound up with in grabbing Doug Martin.
Tennessee Titans: Chris Johnson (2008)
Chris Johnson blazed into the NFL out of East Carolina. He had six consecutive 1,000-yard plus seasons, including one of better than 2,000 yards, for the Tennessee Titans.
Washington Redskins: Ray McDonald (1967)
For many years, the Redskins did not have a first-round pick. They chose out of Idaho with a first-round pick in 1967. He gained 223 yards as a rookie and wound up being cut by the team after finding trouble away from the field.
