No NFL team wants to be weak at any one position. But every team has choices to make and priorities to address. Odds are, they won’t be great at every spot. So which matters most? For at least the last five years, running back has drawn the short straw. Considered fungible by many, teams prefer to use committee approaches and find cheap, niche options that can be thrown on the scrap heap the moment they stop being useful. The 2024 NFL Draft is a product of that thinking. No running back is expected to be drafted in the first round, and it’s possible zero will be taken in the second round, too. But for former Steelers GM Kevin Colbert, running backs still matter to him.
Appearing on the Armstrong Neighborhood Channel, a local Pittsburgh broadcast, Colbert discussed why teams put lower priority on the position.
“I understand the game has changed,” Colbert told host Ed Codi. “The standard set right now is three wide receivers and one running back. It’s very rare to see two backs in a backfield and a power-type running game. Over time, the game has changed. So I think that that belief comes from the fact that it’s always gonna come back to having a quarterback. But the systems that the colleges play, the systems that have leaked into the NFL, are predicated on more of the passing games.”
Call it the trickle-up effect. If the college world is based on passing the ball, spread systems with great receivers and open grass to exploit, the NFL game will reflect that. The NFL works off which talent and players are available to them and must adjust to the college game. If you don’t see fullbacks on Saturdays, you won’t see them on Sundays.
The draft results are proof of that. Decade-by-decade, here are the number of running backs drafted in the first round.
NFL 1st Round Running Backs Drafted By Decade
1990 – 7
2000 – 5
2010 – 3
2020 – 1
A clear and consistent decline. In 2023, there were two selected, the Atlanta Falcons using the seventh overall pick on Bijan Robinson and the Detroit Lions surprising many with Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 12. But this year, no back is expected to be taken in the top 50 and the first realistic landing spot for one of the top runners are the Dallas Cowboys at No. 56. There’s also no clear top running back in this year’s class with Texas’ Jonathon Brooks, Florida State’s Trey Benson, and Michigan’s Blake Corum jockeying to be first off the board.
But Kevin Colbert believes the NFL shouldn’t ignore the position. The Steelers didn’t. They took first-round runners twice in his tenure, Rashard Mendenhall in 2008 and Najee Harris in 2020, along with several other early-round selections. Colbert received criticism from the analytics world for taking Harris in 2020, but he stands by the selection.
“Najee Harris helped the Steelers win a lot of games. And he’s helped himself by rushing for over a thousand yards in each of his seasons.”
Harris became the first running back in Steelers history to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons and has a chance to join rare company by doing it four times in 2024. His game comes with limitations, and he’s no longer the workhorse back he was as a rookie, but the Steelers got a return on their investment. Kevin Colbert understands the value of the passing game but thinks running backs close out wins. And championships.
“When you have a big lead, you better be able to run out the clock. Because that’s how you win games. That’s how you win championships. And anybody that talks about the value of a running back, um, I always refer them to the Hall of Fame and, and look at all the great players that are in there.
“I understand the game has changed, and maybe there’ll be more wide receivers in the Hall of Fame as we move forward, but I would never minimize the impact of a great runner. They talk about market value for running backs and so on and so forth. I will always live by the fact that you don’t pay the position, you pay the player.”
Funny enough, the Steelers haven’t paid a running back in a while. The last long-term deal they gave to a starter was Willie Parker in 2006. Mendenhall played out his contract. Ditto with James Conner. Pittsburgh tried to get deals done with Le’Veon Bell, who turned them down before signing with the New York Jets. Harris could break that mold. He’ll likely have his fifth-year option accepted, with the potential of the two sides working out a contract later this summer.
Catch the whole segment with Colbert below.
