A running back stands a good chance at being a first-round selection at some point Thursday night in the NFL draft. If so, what was once an annual occurrence will become an occasion for celebrating.

After all, it has been three years since it last happened.

In today’s pass-happy NFL, running backs have become a devalued commodity. They do not command first-round attention like they used to and often are vastly overshadowed on draft day by all the wide receivers who have become statistical stars in spread offenses.

What’s more, running backs tend to have short shelf lives with the teams that do draft them. In many instances, they become as disposable as paper plates.

Despite the lack of emphasis on building an offense around a running back, NFL teams slowly tried to morph back to the running game last season in an attempt to balance their offenses and take some of the pressure off their elite quarterbacks. Maybe that is because of the success of the Seattle Seahawks, who led the league in rushing in 2014 and have been to the Super Bowl each of the past two seasons.




http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/s...s/201504280152