NFL Exec: RBs Won't Go Round 1 'Unless You're Saquon Barkley or Ezekiel Elliott'

Leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft, at least one personnel executive with a team thinks running backs will have to wait to hear their name called. 

Per The Athletic's Bob McGinn, the anonymous executive said that "unless you're Saquon Barkley or Ezekiel Elliott," teams won't take you in the first round. 

"That’s because you can get somebody late second or third round, sometimes in the fourth round, that is a good running back. It's the new NFL," the person noted.

After a two-year run when no running backs were drafted in the first round in 2013-14, there has been a resurgence at the position over the past five years. 

Nine different running backs have been taken in the first 32 picks since 2015, including four in the past two years. 

A different personnel executive told McGinn there aren't any Elliotts in this class, but "does that even matter" because teams "just want a good back."

There are running backs with first-round talent in this draft. B/R's Matt Miller has three players at the position ranked among his top 30 prospects, led by Georgia's D'Andre Swift (No. 15). 

Swift is the only running back Miller has going in the first round, No. 26 overall to the Miami Dolphins, in his most recent mock draft. 

One potential reason teams may shy away from running backs early is because there is value to be found at the position later in the draft. For instance, five of the top 10 leading rushers last season weren't drafted in the first round. 

When the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs met in the Super Bowl, their leading rushers in the game were undrafted free agents Raheem Mostert and Damien Williams, respectively.