Back Draft

The 1983 NFL Draft will forever be celebrated for the six quarterbacks that came out of the first round.

John Elway
Todd Blackledge
Jim Kelly
Tony Eason
Ken O'Brien
Dan Marino

The Hall of Fame careers of Elway, Kelly, and Marino will insure that this is the Quarterback Class to which all others will be compared. Quarterbacks will always be the position that gets the most attention but there are other positions on a football team. With passing being the preferred method for moving the football, and rule changes continually making it easier to pass the football, some of the shine has come off of the running back position. The running backs that came out of the 2017 NFL Draft might change the thinking that the football has to be thrown with ever increasing frequency.

2017 NFL Draft Backs

Pick	Back
4	Leonard Fournette
8	Christian McCaffrey
41	Dalvin Cook
48	Joe Mixon
67	Alvin Kamara
86	Kareem Hunt
105	James Conner
119	Tarik Cohen
143	Marlon Mack
182	Aaron Jones
249	Chris Carson

Undrafted: Austin Ekeler

Undrafted: Matt Brieda

Those are some of the best backs in the league. Nine of them are currently among the top 25 ground-gainers in the NFL. 

Rank	Back	Att	Yards	Avg	TD
1	Christian McCaffrey	105	587	5.6	6
2	Dalvin Cook	92	542	5.9	5
3	Leonard Fournette	95	512	5.4	1
5	Marlon Mack	101	470	4.7	2
9	Chris Carson	94	380	4.0	1
11	Alvin Kamara	75	342	4.6	1
12	Matt Brieda	52	340	6.5	1
17	Aaron Jones	78	302	3.9	8
25	Joe Mixon	66	242	3.7	0
28	Austin Ekeler	59	227	3.8	3
35	James Conner	58	194	3.3	2
96	Tarik Cohen	17	37	2.2	0

Football has been evolving away from running the football. The 2017 Draft backs are making the sort of impact that might slow that evolution. A reason for that is that most of them can make a tremendous impact in the passing game. They're versatile backs. They're terrific runners but they can also catch the football. Some are so proficient at catching the football and running routes that they operate as receivers in the game plan. They don't have to leave the field because they can threaten the defense across the formation no matter the play call or down and distance. 

Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey were the only first round backs. If teams could re-do the 2017 NFL Draft knowing what they know now, Dalvin Cook, Alvin Kamara, Joe Mixon, Marlon Mack, Aaron Jones, and Chris Carson might be taken in the first round as well. Cook and Kamara certainly would be. If Kareem Hunt wasn't such an idiot off the field, he would be as well. But the draft doesn't offer re-dos. One thing that this draft will do for future drafts is confirm the fact that talented backs can be found throughout. Another thing that this draft has done for future drafts is show the importance of versatile backs. McCaffrey and Cook are making such an impact on their team and the league that they have entered into some MVP discussions. That's inconceivable for what's become a quarterback-only award. 

1983 Quarterback Draft has become so iconic. I doubt that the 2017 NFL Draft will be the same thing for running backs but it's probably making teams rethink the position's importance and potential.