The phrase ‘this is the best class since….’ line gets thrown around often each and every NFL Draft season. 2014 was the year of the wide receiver for example. In 2015, it has been dubbed as the year of the running back. There may be 10 running backs drafted by the end of Day 2 and the projection model agrees with the consensus sentiment.
One way to filter down the running back class is looking for the balanced prospects, where they have a positive score in terms of athleticism, rushing, and receiving entering the NFL. Seems like a pretty low baseline, right? Well, 2013 saw only two backs meet the criteria (one was Marcus Lattimore, who entered with a big medical question mark). In 2014, again just two backs fit the criteria and one was UDFA Orleans Darkwa.
The 2008 and 2012 running back classes are the two in the model that have at least five backs that were ‘balanced’ by the numbers. In 2015, there are seven (7!) that pass the benchmarks, the highest in the projection model dating back to 1999.
2015 Balanced Running Back Prospects
