NFL Draft preview: Running backs not short on talent

While there won’t be a Derrick Henry among this year’s group of running backs, there could be a Barry Sanders.

The top backs are all short, with none topping 5 feet 10. Leading the way of the vertically challenged are: 5-8 D’Andre Swift of Georgia, 5-10 Jonathan Taylor of Wisconsin, 5-7 Clyde Edwards-Helaire of LSU and 5-9 J.K. Dobbins of Ohio State.

“When I saw him (Edwards-Helaire), the player he reminded me of was Barry Sanders,” said an NFL scout who was interviewed for this draft series on the condition of anonymity. “Same height (Sanders was listed at 5-8), about the same weight. The difference was Barry didn’t run at the combine, he ran at the school, 4.45.”

Edwards-Helaire ran at the combine and recorded a pedestrian 40 time of 4.6, nowhere near what he looked like during games, where he was hard to corral, hard to tackle, hard to catch from behind and sometimes hard to find.

The big surprise at the combine was Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, who ran the 40 in 4.39, fastest of all the top backs. Yet, he didn’t flash that break-the-ankles ability of Swift, Edwards-Helaire or Dobbins.

Swift, who was timed at 4.48, is rated as the top back, followed by Taylor, Edwards-Helaire and Dobbins.

Still, the way running backs have been de-emphasized in the current NFL landscape, probably most of these backs will slip into the second round, making them bargains.