{"id":23702,"date":"2023-02-28T10:30:08","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T15:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/?p=23702"},"modified":"2023-02-28T10:30:13","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T15:30:13","slug":"2023-nfl-draft-top-5-running-backs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/nfl\/2023-nfl-draft-top-5-running-backs\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 NFL DRAFT: TOP 5 RUNNING BACKS<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BY ADAM GREENE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re a running back entering the NFL, you have a real problem. First, there are a ton of you coming out of every level of the NCAA each season, so there\u2019s a glut of talent. Secondly, the position is just not as valued in the league as it once was. The last running back taken No. 1 overall was Ki-Jana Carter back in 1995.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s still possible for a running back to go in the first round, but it didn\u2019t happen last season. In this year\u2019s draft, we have one guy who could sneak in there<\/a>, but I feel like the \u201crun,\u201d if you\u2019ll forgive the pun, won\u2019t start until the top of the second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is my Top Five based on my own eyeball criteria. Guys like DeWayne McBride (UAB), Zach Evans (Ole Miss), Eric Gray (Oklahoma), Sean Tucker (Syracuse) and Zach Charbonnet (UCLA) all look about the same to me, NFL capable, but mid-rounders at best. I mean, Isiah Pacheco was a seventh rounder last year, so that\u2019s still not too shabby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. ROSCHON JOHNSON, TEXAS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022:<\/em><\/strong> 6-2, 223 pounds, 93 carries, 554 yards, five touchdowns, 14 receptions, 128 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson benefited from being the RB2 on Texas\u2019 ground attack, but that didn\u2019t keep him from making multiple highlight plays and getting himself atop plenty of running back draft boards. No one in the NCAA hurdled more guys on the football field<\/a> than Johnson and the fact that Bijan Robinson took the lion\u2019s share of the carries should only work in his favor. It means he\u2019s not got the wear and tear on him that his backfield mate (who\u2019s coming up on the list) has on him. I like that he always seems to be moving forward, he\u2019s got some solid hip movements and while no running back in the modern NFL will have a lasting career, he definitely looks as if he\u2019s ready to step on the field as a rookie and be a real contributor. He has never averaged less than 5.2 yards per carry in his college career. His only knock is that he wasn\u2019t used much as a receiver, but the Longhorns just don\u2019t do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. TANK BIGSBY, AUBURN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022:<\/em><\/strong> 6-0, 208 pounds, 179 carries, 970 yards, 10 rushing touchdowns, 30 receptions, 180 yards<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you see that 1990s fashion is starting to come back, it\u2019s too bad the NFL isn\u2019t falling in line for a guy like Tank Bigsby because, if he was coming out in the draft in 1992, he would have been a Top 5 pick. This is exactly what the stud running backs of that era all looked like<\/a>, played like and helped teams like the Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys win championships. He\u2019s a grinder, delivers a hit and is tough to bring down. He’s a throwback, like Derrick Henry, and, like Henry, probably a second round pick. But that doesn\u2019t mean he won\u2019t be terrific in the right offence. And he\u2019s helped by the fact that the Tigers liked to use him as a receiver out of the backfield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. BIJAN ROBINSON, TEXAS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022:<\/em><\/strong> 6-0, 215 pounds, 256 carries, 1,560 yards, 18 touchdowns, 19 receptions, 314 receiving yards, two receiving touchdowns<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our lone workhorse running back makes the list at No. 3 as the guy who averaged 6.1 yards a carry, in spite of carrying the ball 258 times over 12 games, will enter the draft and, at worst, enjoy a solid 5-6 year NFL career with the right team. Like Bigsby, Robinson is a throwback runner. A guy that would probably go in the Top Three of the 1994 NFL Draft. He\u2019s ok out of the backfield as a receiver, but Texas doesn\u2019t like to do that. What I do like is his vision early. He finds the hole and hits it. He doesn\u2019t try to get cute with his feet. I don\u2019t see a second gear on the film like the two guys I\u2019ve ranked above him and hate (for his sake) the load he had to carry as a junior last season for the Longhorns. But, again, like Bigsby, this is the throwback NFL prototype and, if you run that kind of offense (like they do in New England, San Francisco and Miami, he\u2019d easily slide into the rotation, if not take over as starter by midseason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. DEVON ACHANE, TEXAS A&M<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022:<\/em><\/strong> 5-9, 185 pounds, 196 carries, 1,102 yards, eight touchdowns, 36 receptions, 196 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My only concern with Achane is his size. Other than that, he looks like the total package to me<\/a>. He\u2019s a guy that can explode out of his cuts and embarrass defenders. In the passing game, he\u2019s a tremendous receiver and a danger to take it to the house every time he touches it. His ability to slow down and set up cuts and blocks is rare at any level and he\u2019s played in a pro style attack with the Aggies where\u2019s had to face off against SEC opponents for the last three seasons, two as the primary back. You\u2019d like to see about 15 more pounds on him, but would hate to see him sacrifice any elusiveness or speed. He looks like a solid second round pick to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. JAHMYR GIBBS, ALABAMA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022:<\/em><\/strong> 5-11, 200 pounds, 151 carries, 926 yards, seven touchdowns, 44 catches, 444 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my first mock draft I have no running backs gong in the first round, but if one could sneak in there, it\u2019s Gibbs. His highlight tape makes me downright giddy<\/a>. If I was going to build the perfect running back from the ground up, he\u2019d look a lot like Gibbs, because Gibbs, looks a whole lot like Todd Gurley without the injury history. Gurley, for two seasons, was the best running back on the planet and Gibbs has a similar skillset. His movement, body control and ability to weave through traffic are rare at any level. His ability to catch the ball can keep him on the field on all three downs and he\u2019s played with and against the best players in college football last season. He also, because Alabama is so loaded, wasn\u2019t overworked and averaged just 12.5 carries a game in 2022. The plastic wrap is practically still on him. If I could pick any running back from any team in the NFL right now, it\u2019d be the Jacksonville Jaguars Travis Etienne for his similar abilities to run, be evasive and catch the ball as a receiver. I think Gibbs will be better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter <\/em>@TheFirstMan<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connect with us our socials on <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a> for the latest sports news, viral moments, betting odds and the occasional memes.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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