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One of the biggest recent trends of the NFL Draft is a decline in using top picks on running backs. The Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions both bucked that trend to respectively draft Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs.
The Falcons drafted Robinson, a product of Texas regarded as the best running back and one of the best overall players in the 2023 class, with the eighth overall pick. Five picks after Robinson, the Lions drafted Gibbs, a former star at Alabama. Last year's draft didn't see an RB go until the 36th overall pick. The year before that it was the 24th pick and prior to that the 32nd that the first running back went off the board.
Not since 2017 have two running backs been taken in the top 12 picks of the NFL Draft. Both players are well aware that running backs are not usually drafted that high in today's NFL, according to Michael Rothstein of ESPN.
“I know the running back position in the top 10 is really, really rare,” Bijan Robinson said, via ESPN. “But I mean, it's pretty cool to be a guy that can share that and to show the younger kids in the college football, the younger running backs, that it's possible — you just got to do everything the right way and just be as effective as you can for their program.”
Although there are still some workhorse running backs in the modern NFL, many teams deploy several running backs in their offense. Given the likelihood of injuries, how rare it is for running backs to age gracefully and the rise of passing over the years, few RBs are signed to long-term deals or drafted with high picks. As far as the latter is concerned, the 2023 NFL Draft serves as an outlier.
Robinson was taken with the highest pick since 2018, when the New York Giants drafted Saquon Barkley second overall. He will be a part of a rebuilding Falcons offense while Gibbs could emerge as a leading option on a playoff team with the Lions.
“I didn't know I would get picked as high as I did,” Jahmyr Gibbs said, via ESPN. “Running backs don't get picked as high in this new age and new era of the NFL draft. But it was pretty shocking to me.”
Gibbs was far from the only person surprised that the Lions took him given that they already have two veterans in the backfield. He and Robinson are not just out to succeed in their own careers. They want to prove that valuing running backs can pay off in big ways.
