The Rebirth of the Running Back is Coming in the NFL

Oct 11, 2014; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Melvin Gordon (25) rushes for a touchdown during the first quarter against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL is a pass-oriented league, but what goes up must come down. I don’t know if the league will ever return to the old days of run-first, ground-and-pound, smashmouth style of football as a primary way of winning games, but I do think teams are going to make running the football a priority, and the running back position could evolve to become one of the most prominent in the NFL again instead of the footnote that it’s been over the last few years.

When I say footnote, please note that I mean in comparison to years prior when there were teams who were known for scoring the football primarily channeled through their running game. Those teams are, like the fullback in the NFL, an endangered species. In the fast-paced NFL, you need to be able to throw the football to win games, but I think teams are going to start seeing what teams are doing like the Dallas Cowboys this year, turning DeMarco Murray from being a solid yet injury-prone running back into a possible 2,000 yard back overnight, seemingly.

You might disagree with all of this and point to teams like the Seattle Seahawks, who won the Super Bowl just this past year and getting to the game with a strong running game and a really tough defense. That is true, but my belief is that’s been the exception recently, not necessarily the norm.

Now, college football is about to leave the NFL with no real choice. Sending talented backs to the league, it’s going to be really difficult for NFL teams not to try and find creative, innovative ways of reviving the running game in the NFL, and I think we will start to see that in the next couple of years, perhaps we’re even seeing some of it this year with a team like Dallas.

Going through a short list, if you look at players like Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon, Ameer Abdullah, Duke Johnson, Tevin Coleman, Jay Ajayi, T.J. Yeldon, Mike Davis, Javorious Allen, and Jeremy Langford, there are a handful of running backs available this year (potentially) that all have big time ability. The college game is so much different from the NFL, but these players are so talented that I have a hard time seeing NFL teams simply trying to make these players fit what they are already doing. I think you could see a shift in philosophy coming with all these talented backs that we have not seen before.

It’s a random thought, but it feels like something like this is on the horizon.