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2017 NFL running back revolution: Predicting fits for the top RBs

By Matthew Holowiak

Dec 4, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears running back Jordan Howard (24) rushes for a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 4, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears running back Jordan Howard (24) rushes for a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /
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NFL offseason: There will be a running back shift that will begin to change who holds the power in the NFL for the upcoming season. See who lands where!

Well, the fans have spoken, and for once I’ve decided to listen. It’s been too long, my friends, so I’ll come out of retirement with NFL Mocks and switch to….well, let’s call it a semi-retirement. The 2017 NFL running back shift is upon us, and I can’t sit by and just watch all the scrubs on other sites try outdoing me. Time to put them back in their place.

For some of my new readers, I have been with NFL Mocks for a little while now, however being a South Florida high school coach takes up quite a bit of time. It’s a year round process to build a program, andluckily for you I specialize in coaching running backs, exactly what we will be discussing today.

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I have argued for the last couple years that the league is about to get into a power shift, and by that I mean going away from a pure passing league and having a new breed of running back take over. It has slowly started happening, and the 2017 NFL season should be the final straw. Today we are going to look at the trend that has started and what changes we could see this offseason to create some serious power shifts in the NFL.

First, let’s check out the trend. In case you live in that dumpster behind my local supermarket, you know perfectly well that the NFL has been a pass happy league for quite some time now. 20 years ago it seemed crazy for someone to throw for 5,000 yards in a season, and now it’s a regular thing and it’s more shocking if no one does it. In that time though, the power of the running backs has seemed to dwindle. LaDanian Tomlinson’s touchdown record seems more secure with each passing season, although at one point Mr. Blount may have at least startled LT in his slumber.

Now we are seeing young guys like Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliott, LeVeon Bell and crew taking over their respective teams, with another batch of younglings about to get drafted as well. There are about to be multiple high level free agent running backs next month, some of them you may not even see coming. So to that, I simply say…..You’re Welcome.

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