The “running backs don’t matter” axiom has become gospel to many who analyze and pontificate about the NFL to the point that the thought has become simplistic cliche. While it’s true that the days of the bellcow franchise back getting second and third contracts with his original team are over for the most part (Todd Gurley as the most recent cautionary tale), the more complicated truth is that while running backs may not matter as they used to in an individual sense, the importance of the right running game has not decreased.
Whether it’s the power gap running game the Patriots used in the second half of the 2018 season to pick up their sixth Lombardi Trophy and hide the limitations of their passing game, or the way the 2019 Titans used Derrick Henry as the constant while they changed quarterbacks, or the ways in which Kyle Shanahan has used motion and defensive displacement throughout his career to make the most of the backs he’s had, there are absolutely ways in which the backs — and the system — can still define an offense in these halcyon days of the four-receiver set.
And with that in mind, every draft class of running backs… well, matters more. This is when you get your guys fresh off the conveyor belt, fresh as they’re ever going to be, and nothing but upward potential in front of them — no matter how long it lasts (or doesn’t).
Here are the 11 best backs in the 2020 draft class, based on collegiate production and NFL potential.
Moss | Swift | Taylor | Edwards-Helaire | Dobbins | Akers |
Benjamin | Dillon | Evans | Perine | Gibson