2014 NFL Draft: Buying or Selling Notable RB Names as Starters

Willie Nelson sang, "Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys." He wasn't referring to the NFL or Dallas, but if we tweaked that song for the modern-day NFL draft, we could pop in "running backs" for cowboys in the lyrics.

The position is a thankless one in the NFL. Adam Schefter captured the degradation of the running back better than anyone this winter with this tweet:

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One GM today on free-agent RBs: "That position needs its own union. We treat our equipment people better than we treat our running backs."

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 10, 2014

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Last April, no running back went in the first round of the draft for the first time in half a century (since 1963). Teams are generally getting rushing talent later and later, and the market is pushing down the draft stock of all those who play the position.

Ohio State's Carlos Hyde, one of the few candidates who might sneak into the first round, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Tom Reed at the scouting combine in February:

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Yeah, it does kind of bother me. I feel like they are down on us. They don't think we are capable of doing what we know we can do. They are kind of just downplaying us: 'We can wait to get ya'll.' ... So it's changing the GMs' minds.

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NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown said is more a function of talent than usage, telling Reed:

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Who are the running backs who aren't getting the ball today who should be? Adrian Peterson isn't running by committee. Nobody is going to tell me Marshawn Lynch can't run. He's strong as an ox. I don't have the answers, but it doesn't bother me. I don't measure things by the average, which I know writers would have to look at things the way they have to, but I don't have to.

I'm looking at the exceptions to the rule, not the rule...as we sit here, I can't name seven great runners. Can you?

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Running backs come in all different shapes and sizes. With this in mind, this slideshow takes a look at 10 of the biggest names at the position heading into this NFL draft, highlighting whether we would buy or sell them as starters next season.

Carlos Hyde, Ohio State: Buy

If there is an instant starter at running back in this draft, it has to be Ohio State's Carlos Hyde. He has the size that can make him a durable workhorse for an NFL team out of the box.

Hyde, who is 5'11.875", 230 pounds, according to Bleacher Report draft guru Matt Miller, already goes down in history as the first running back of an Urban Meyer-coached team to rush for 1,000 yards, and he did it after missing the first three games on suspension. Meyer has won two national championships at Florida, mind you.

That says something in the days of the wide-open, spread offense that Meyer has helped make a craze.

On the bygone days of the NFL feature back, Ohio State assistant coach Stan Drayton told the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Tom Reed:

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The only thing I'll say is try to play the game without one. These guys are motivated by the NFL, and somebody like a Carlos Hyde doesn't come around that often. When they see a big 235-pound guy run around with agility (and) quickness and catching the ball, how can you say you don't want that guy on your team?

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The father of New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Thom McDaniels, is the head coach at Canton McKinley high school in Ohio. He still believes in the running back.

"I think you will see a team take Carlos Hyde in the first round," he told the Plain Dealer's Reed. "Someone's going to think he's too good to pass up."

B/R comparison: Eddie Lacy

Bishop Sankey, Washington: Sell

CBS Sports NFL draft analyst Rob Rang wrote that Washington's Bishop Sankey might have overtaken backs like Carlos Hyde as the No. 1 prospect at the position. That lofty status was a function of the receiving skills he displayed at his pro day workout, though:

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Sankey showed off his excellent hands during receiving drills, demonstrating the all-around game that could help him jump to the top of his positional group come draft day -- just like a similarly gifted back, Giovani Bernard, did a year ago.

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Bernard wasn't an instant starter a year ago for the Cincinnati Bengals, who paired him with early-down option BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Rang wrote in Sankey's CBS Sports draft profile:

• Slim shoulders and possesses a relatively slight frame for the position
• Sankey does not possess the ideal frame for a bell-cow running back

The 5'9.5", 209-pounder, according to B/R's Matt Miller, can put on some weight that will make him a starter in the future, but his comps right now suggest he starts his career as a third-down back.

B/R comparison: Knowshon Moreno

Tre Mason, Auburn: Buy

CBS Sports draft prospect rankings list Tre Mason as the No. 1 running back on the board. The fact he broke Bo Jackson's single-season rushing record at Auburn (1,816 yards) helps him project to the next level.

At 5'9", he might be short, which makes him a smallish back, but he is powerfully built in his legs, according to CBS' Rob Rang. Mason is the shortest of the backs considered among the potential first-round options.

The Tennessean's Jim Wyatt reports the Tennessee Titans might consider pairing up Mason with Shonn Greene to replace the recently released Chris Johnson. Mason isn't as fast as Johnson, but he would be a candidate to start over Greene.

B/R comparison: Ray Rice

Ka'Deem Carey, Arizona: Sell

B/R's Matt Miller lists Arizona's Ka'Deem Carey at 5'9.375" and 207 pounds, so he's just a shade bigger than Auburn's Tre Mason. Like Mason, Carey is more quick than fast.

He has proved to be very durable, though, as he did not miss a game at Arizona due to injury, per CBS Sports' Rob Rang.

Although he is a top-five prospect at the position by most analysts, including Miller and Rang, Carey said he wished he could have seen the downgrade of NFL backs coming. He might have wanted to play another position, telling the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Tom Reed:

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Tell me about it. Nowadays, they're like you've got to go second, third round. I'm like, "Why in the hell didn't you tell me this a couple of years ago, that running backs are going extinct?"

I'm definitely OK with it. I'm just trying to bring (them) back and to show we're definitely valuable. But I definitely would have went to (cornerback) or something. Shoot.

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In their respective analysis, Rang called Carey an "Ahmad Bradshaw." Miller, in the video above, said Zac Stacy. Both backs have started in this league, but they didn't open their careers that way. 

B/R comparison: Zac Stacy

Charles Sims, West Virginia: Buy

There is some wide opinion on West Virginia's Charles Sims. B/R's Matt Miller has the 5'11.125", 214-pounder as third among running backs. CBS Sports prospect rankings barely have him among the top 10.

It might be a difference of opinion on what a running back should be. Sims is a taller back, one with a "high-cut frame," per CBS Sports' Rob Rang. He also has solid receiver hands, leading his team with 45 catches.

If you subscribe to fitting players into how this modern-day, pass-happy NFL is played, Sims is a Day 1 starter because of his size and receiving skills.

B/R comparison: Matt Forte

Lache Seastrunk, Baylor: Sell

Lache Seastrunk is a typical spread-offense back: small, quick and shifty. He just isn't an inside runner.

At 5'9.5", 201 pounds, according to B/R's Matt Miller, he needs to add bulk to his frame to be an NFL feature back. Also, his 40 time of 4.51 at the combine was disappointing for someone of his size, as CBS Sports' Dane Brugler writes.

He could emerge as a starter in the right system, but it is unlikely that happens anywhere right away.

B/R comparison: LeSean McCoy

Jeremy Hill, LSU: Buy

The earliest entrant among the elite running back prospects also happens to be the one of the biggest: LSU's Jeremy Hill, a redshirt sophomore. CBS Sports ranks him fifth, while B/R's Matt Miller lists him sixth.

At 6'0.625", 233 pounds, according to Miller, Hill has some big-time projectability as an early-down back. He led LSU in rushing in each of his two years, and if not for off-the-field question marks or another year in school, he might have been considered a first-round talent.

Less wear and tear, a huge frame and solid receiving skills combine to make Hill a big-time feature back right away in this league.

CBS comparison: LeGarrette Blount

Dri Archer, Kent State: Sell

Dri Archer is the easiest one to review in this slideshow. He isn't just a "sell." He is a "no way, no how."

He isn't even listed as a running back by CBS Sports prospect rankings or B/R's Matt Miller.

At 4.26 in the 40-yard dash, though, he was the fastest running back at the scouting combine and one of the fastest in history, as CBS Sport noted in his draft profile. Miller lists him as just 5'7.375" and 173 pounds and merely the 34th-ranked receiver.

Still, draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. ranks him as the fourth-best running back on the board, according to ESPN.com's Scott Brown. Kiper told Brown:

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Every year there's third- to sixth-round running backs that are outstanding backs and this year more than any other because there's not many teams now that really need a running back. There's three to five maybe that could take one within the first four rounds. ...

Dri Archer could be Darren Sproles in the third round.

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There is a place in this NFL for Archer. It just isn't as a feature running back.

B/R comparison: Dexter McCluster

Andre Williams, Boston College: Buy

Just to give you a little of everything in this slideshow, we will review the NCAA leading rusher Andre Williams, who tallied 2,177 rushing yards as a four-year player at Boston College.

He is the first standard senior in CBS Sports' prospect rankings at No. 9. He is merely 12th for B/R's Matt Miller, who compares him to Marshawn Lynch.

The production and that comparison project him as an instant starter. The question is whether he can be more than an inside power runner, which is a dying breed in modern NFL offenses.

B/R comparison: Marshawn Lynch

De'Anthony Thomas, Oregon: Sell

Like Archer, Oregon's De'Anthony Thomas is an easy one to review. At 5'8.625" and 174 pounds, according to B/R's Matt Miller, he just is too slight of stature.

DAT is a playmaker but not as a traditional running back. CBS Sports' prospect rankings list him outside of the top 200 players, which would slot him barely in the draft at all.

His speed and versatility make him a steal as a late-round pick, a la Andre Ellington a year ago.

B/R comparison: Darren Sproles

Best of the Rest

Our slideshow dealt with only 10 names, but here are some others to consider as late-round picks who can wind up on NFL depth charts next fall and perhaps develop into starters due to injury:

• Devonta Freeman, Florida State
• Terrance West, Towson
• James White, Wisconsin
• Marion Grice, Arizona State
• James Wilder, Florida State

These guys don't project as premium picks or immediate starters, but this NFL has shown that guys like the St. Louis Rams' Zac Stacy can rise from the late-round ashes to be 1,000-yard threats. No one should blame NFL decision-makers for passing on backs early. They just appear to be dime-a-dozen, disposable heroes.

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Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, was the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report this past season. He is now an NFL featured writer here. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.