2024 NFL Draft Big Board: Generational talents lead final draft big board plus rankings by position
By John Blair
2024 NFL Draft running back rankings
ACC: Trey Benson, Florida State: Benson is an explosive runner who is dangerous in the open field. At the NFL Combine, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds and in 2022 he led the ACC with an average of 6.5 yards per carry. He can also make people miss in the open field and in 2022 he broke Pro Football Focuse's single-season record by forcing 0.51 missed tackles per rush.
Big 10: Blake Corum, Michigan: Blake Corum had some trouble regaining his explosiveness from his 2022 season-ending torn meniscus and saw his yards per carry drop from 5.9 to 4.8. Now that he will be a year fully recovered from this injury look for him to regain some of this quickness.
Big 12: Jonathon Brooks, Texas: Another player who has injury concerns is Texas running back Jonathon Brooks who missed the end of this season with a torn ACL. When healthy though Brooks was one of the top backs in college football rushing for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns in just 11 games.
Pac 12: MarShawn Lloyd, USC: One of my favorite running backs in the 2024 NFL Draft is MarShawn Lloyd who was named to my All-Underrated team. He has a rare combination of speed and size coming in at 5-foot-9 and 220 pounds while running the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds.
SEC: Jaylen Wright, Tennessee: If a team wants a change of pace back Tennessee's Jaylen Wright is your guy. Last season, he led the FBS in yards per carry with a 7.4 average and saw 26% of his runs go for at least ten yards.
Non-Power Five: Blake Watson, Memphis: One of the biggest combine snubs was Memphis running back Blake Watson not getting an invite. Despite this though look for the 2023 All-AAC selection to hear his name called on day three of the draft. Watson shows good contact balance despite being a smaller back and has also been productive in the passing game having caught 53 passes last year.
Overall Rankings
1. Trey Benson, Florida State (second round)
2. MarShawn Lloyd, USC (second round)
3. Bucky Irving, Oregon (third round)
4. Will Shipley, Clemson (third round)
5. Ray Davis, Kentucky (fourth round)
6. Blake Corum, Michigan (fifth round)
7. Jaylen Wright, Tennessee (fifth round)
8. Jonathon Brooks, Texas (fifth round)
9. Braelon Allen, Wisconsin (fifth round)
10. Audric Estime, Notre Dame (fifth round)
11. Isaac Guerendo, Louisville (sixth round)
12. Cody Schrader, Missouri (sixth round)
13. Dillon Johnson, Washington (seventh round)
14. Jawhar Jordan, Louisville (seventh round)
15. Blake Watson, Memphis (seventh round)
16. Jase McClellan, Alabama (seventh round)