1
| William Green
| Boston College |
  | Green has good size (6-1, 215), speed (4.48-40), and can
run between the tackles or outside them. He has the moves to avoid tacklers and can run them
over if he needs to. He can catch the ball out of the backfield as well. All of that makes him
the top running back in the draft. He will be an early 1st round selection.
| |
|
1708 yards, 16 td, 5.7 avg |
2
| TJ Duckett
| Michigan State |
  | Duckett is a big (6-1, 250) bruising back in the mold of
Jerome Bettis. He has good speed for his size (4.55-40) and if he stays healthy, he should
be a solid back in the NFL. Duckett could vault ahead of Green and be the first running back
take in the draft. Cleveland has its eye on Duckett in the middle of the first round.
| |
|
1420 yards, 12 td, 5.4 avg |
3
| Clinton Portis
| Miami (Florida) |
  | Portis is an explosive back who often makes defenders
look silly. He has great change of direction speed and knows how to win. Portis follows two
very good recent Miami backs into the NFL (Edgerrin James & James Jackson). |
|
|
1304 yards, 11 td, 5.4 avg |
4
| DeShaun Foster
| UCLA |
  | Foster has decent speed, good size, and is a great
receiver out of the backfield. Fumbling has been an issue, but his talent is just too much
to pass up. Foster will be hurt by Green, Portis, Duckett, and Staley's decisions to
enter the draft a year early. |
|
|
1099 yards, 12 td, 5.1 avg |
5
| Luke Staley
| Brigham Young |
  | Staley dominated the competition this season and racked
up a ton of yards in a pass first offense. Staley is one of four juniors who will come out early
and make this draft loaded with top halfbacks. | |
|
1582 yards, 24 td, 8.1 avg |
6
| Adrian Peterson
| Georgia Southern |
  | Peterson is a fundamentally sound runner. Though he
competed at the IAA level in college, he has the ability to be a solid running back in
the NFL. | |
|
1795 yards, 21 td, 5.6 avg |
7
| Jonathan Wells
| Ohio State |
  | Wells is solid between the tackles, but lacks the speed
to turn a corner and run away from tacklers. | |
|
1294 yards, 16 td, 5.2 avg |
8
| Brian Westbrook
| Villanova |
  | Westbrook has good speed (4.47-40), and can catch the
ball out of the backfield, but a major knee injury and the competition he faced in college
are two question marks, on an otherwise good player. Might only turn out to become a third down
specialist in the NFL. | |
|
1603 yards, 22 td, 6.4 avg |
9
| Lamar Gordon
| North Dakota State |
  | He is fast (4.46-40) and has good size (6-1, 220), and
has break away speed, but the lack of competition will hurt his draft status. Had he played IA,
he could have potentially been a second round pick. | |
|
780 yards, 10 td, 6.0 avg |
10
| Travis Stephens
| Tennessee |
  | At only 5-8, Stephens size is a big question mark. His
ability to elud tacklers and his heart are not. He will have to prove he can stay healthy
at the next level. |
|
|
1502 yards, 11 td, 4.9 avg |
11
| Damien Anderson
| Northwestern |
  | Anderson has good speed (4.45-40) and is a finesse runner.
He is elusive, but when he is hit, he goes down fast. He won't get many yards after contact.
| |
|
757 yards, 8 td, 4.4 avg |
12
| Ladell Betts
| Iowa |
  | He is a consistent back, but he isn't very fast (4.7-40).
He won't run away from the pack, but won't make many mistakes when he has the ball.
|
|
|
1060 yards, 10 td, 4.8 avg |
13
| Chester Taylor
| Toledo |
  | Taylor was a very good running back in college, but
he doesn't have much speed, which makes him a mediocre prospect. |
|
|
1620 yards, 21 td, 5.4 avg |
14
| Maurice Morris
| Oregon |
  | Morris has decent skills, but slows greatly as a game
wears on, bringing durability into question. | |
|
1049 yards, 9 td, 5.8 avg |
15
| Levron Williams
| Indiana |
  | Williams is a converted wide receiver, so his receiving
skills are solid out of the backfield, but he will need time to develop his rushing skills.
|
|
|
1401 yards, 17 td, 6.6 avg |
16
| Ennis Haywood
| Iowa State |
  | He is strong, but doesn't have NFL caliber speed. |
|
|
1294 yards, 14 td, 4.7 avg |
17
| Ken Simonton
| Oregon State |
  | Simonton is small at only 5-8, but was productive in
college. He need to add strength if he wants to play on Sundays next year. |
|
|
971 yards, 8 td, 4.1 avg |
18
| Woodrow Dantzler
| Clemson |
  | Dantzler will make the switch from quarterback to
running back. He is such a great athlete that the transition shouldn't take that long. He
will play running back in the Senior Bowl, and a strong performance will greatly help his
draft status. He might be a project his first couple of years, but with his athleticism, he
is too good not to get a chance in the NFL. |
|
|
1061 yards, 10 td, 4.8 avg |
19
| Eric McCoo
| Pennsylvania State |
  | Can break away from would be tacklers, but struggled his
senior season along with the rest of his team. |
|
|
265 yards, 6 td, 3.2 avg |
20
| Ricky Williams
| Texas Tech |
  | Another Ricky Williams from
Texas, this one lost a step due to a serious knee injury in 1999. He hasn't been the same since.
He dominated his sophomore year, but hasn't shown he can overcome the knee injury. He might be
just because he has produced at an extraordinary level in the past (1582 yards in 1999).
|
|
|
756 yards, 14 td, 5.0 avg |
21
| Antwoine Womack
| Virginia |
  | Womack was a great runner, but a knee injury leaves a
question as to whether he can produce at the next level. Like Williams, he might be worth a
look to see if he can return to his old form. | |
|
263 yards, 0 td, 4.2 avg |
22
| Dave Minnich
| Washington State |
  |
Minnich has average size, average speed, and average skills. He won't impress anyone, but
he won't make too many mistakes either. |
|
|
764 yards, 6 td, 4.4 avg |
23
| Tony Fisher
| Notre Dame |
  | Fisher has good hands, which could land him a role as a
third down back somehwere. His running won't impress anyone. He is best running between the
tackles. | |
|
384 yards, 4 td, 4.9 avg |
24
| Ray Jackson
| Cincinnati |
  | Jackson can run inside, but not outside. He like many
others lacks the speed to take his game to the next level. | |
|
601 yards, 7 td, 4.0 avg |
25
| Jonathan Adams
| Arkansas State |
  | Adams can run guys over, but doesn't have the speed
to run away from them. | |
|
1004 yards, 5 td, 4. avg |
26
| Omar Easy
| Pennsylvania State |
  | He could be a halfback or fullback. Has limited skills at
both positions, but with some coaching could be adequate at one or the other. He is a long term
project. | |
|
196 yards, 1 td, 4.4 avg |