This is the second in a series previewing each position in the 2022 NFL Draft. Today’s installment looks at running back.
Options are limited for do-it-all running backs in the 2022 draft class.
“There’s not a single back in this class where I say he’s the next guy who’s going to take the league by storm,” said ESPN analyst Todd McShay.
That’s the glass-half-empty view.
The glass-half-full view? Almost nobody in the NFL cares about having a do-it-all back anymore. The committee approach is the way most teams handle the position, and the 2022 running back crop is loaded with prospects who excel at one element of the game or another.
“I love this running back group,” said NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah. “I don't think there's going to be one that goes in the first round. I think this is a really deep group. I was talking with a personnel director the other day who said, ‘Let's just circle the fourth round.’ You're going to get a great back in the fourth round, especially if you want a bigger back.”
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Over the past 10 years, an average of 22.5 running backs have been drafted per year, well under one per team. Last year, there were 19 taken and in 2020, it was 17. There will be great value at running back this year in the third to seventh rounds.
Overall position ranking: 7 out of 10.
Bills view: Buffalo has a need at running back because Devin Singletary is entering the last year of his contract, and the coaches signaled their desire for an impact receiver out of the backfield with the attempt to sign free agent J.D. McKissic.
It’s well established that running backs grow on trees and never should be signed to a second contract unless it’s a cheap one or the back is a Hall-of-Fame talent. Singletary had a nice end to his 2021 campaign but he is replaceable after the 2022 season. To make up for losing McKissic, the Bills signed Plan B option Duke Johnson, who has averaged 51 catches over his six full NFL seasons. That’s not likely to preclude them from drafting someone who could bring juice to the offense.
Adding a difference-making receiver out of the backfield would be a way to help exploit the shell coverages the Bills see, out of respect for Josh Allen’s deep passing ability.
There are a bunch of good pass-catching options to be had in the middle rounds. Excellent receiving backs who could fill a McKissic-like role include Arizona State’s Rachaad White, Notre Dame’s Kyren Williams, Georgia’s James Cook and North Carolina’s Ty Chandler. Later on Day 3, throw in Baylor’s Trestan Ebner, who is good in pass protection, ran 4.43, had 124 career receptions and had only five drops on 156 career targets.
The Irish’s Williams might be a good value with the Bills’ No. 130 pick, if available. He has natural hands, was split out some by Notre Dame and is the best pass-protecting back in the draft class. He’s not electric but he fits the Bills’ character profile, and he even served as a lead blocker on QB runs. Chandler, a transfer from Tennessee, averaged 14.4 yards on 15 catches last season.
Bills need ranking: 7 out of 10.
The best: Iowa State’s Breece Hall is a do-it-all back. He had 82 receptions in the last three years and at least 23 every season. He had 51 rushing TDs the past two years. He has good patience, vision and contact balance. He’s not elite in any category and not sudden. But he’s a three-down NFL starter. He would look good in the Buffalo offense. The question is value. He won’t be available at No. 57. Given the depth at the position, it would be a controversial move to take him in the first round. The other do-it-all back in the class – who will be No. 1 on some team’s boards – is Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III, the Doak Walker award winner as the nation’s top back in 2021. He led the nation with 89 forced missed tackles last year. He runs behind his pads and can pass protect. But he only has 19 career catches.
Names to know: Cook, the brother of Vikings star Dalvin Cook, catches like a wide receiver. He’s a change-of-pace back and a 10-touch-a-game guy early in his pro career. He could go late in the third round.
The best zone-scheme runners in the class: There are a bunch, but at the top are Baylor’s Abram Smith, who is decisive and has good vision, and Texas A&M’s Isaiah Spiller, who isn’t super explosive but who started as a true freshman and who has vision and patience.
Looking for a runner to get the tough yards? Two of the best are Florida’s 220-pound Dameon Pierce and Alabama’s 226-pound Brian Robinson Jr. Mississippi’s 222-pound Snoop Conner is another.
Sleeper: Pierre Strong Jr. isn’t a deep sleeper because he will be a mid-round pick but he starred at Football Championship Subdivision power South Dakota State. He led FCS with 1,686 rushing yards and had 10 career rushing TDs of 50-plus yards. He ran 4.37 in the 40. He didn’t excel as a receiver.
TOP 10 RUNNING BACKS
1. Breece Hall*, Iowa State 5-11, 217
2. Kenneth Walker III*, Michigan St. 5-9, 211
3. James Cook, Georgia 5-11, 199
4. Isaiah Spiller*, Texas A&M 6-0, 217
5. Rachaad White*, Arizona St. 6-0, 210
6. Kyren Williams*, Notre Dame 5-9, 194
7. Dameon Pierce, Florida 5-9, 220
8. Brian Robinson Jr., Alabama 6-1, 226
9. Zamir White*, Georgia 5-11, 214
10. Abram Smith, Baylor 5-11, 211
*-underclassman
