Running backs in draft could be hurt as teams place less value on position

The running back is becoming less and less valuable in today’s NFL, and if anyone knows it, it’s the incoming rookies who play the position, like Arizona star Ka’Deem Carey.

“I don’t like that,” said the 5-foot-9, 207-pound Carey, who is projected to be a midround pick. “I feel like they think the running-back spot is going extinct for some reason.”

Carey, who was wildly productive last season, rushing 349 times for 1,885 yards and 19 touchdowns, was then asked if he would have changed positions years ago had he known that running backs’ value would soon plummet.

“Tell me about it,” Carey said. “Nowadays, they’re like you’ve got to go second, third round. I’m like, ‘Why in the hell didn’t you tell me this a couple of years ago, that running backs are going extinct?’ ”

Carey was obviously joking, but this newfound struggle for running backs is no laughing matter.

Running backs have notoriously short shelf lives, anyway, and rookies are locked into club-friendly deals for at least four years. By the time a good running back hits free-agency in his mid-to-late 20s, the wear and tear on his body will likely prevent teams from investing heavily.

Consider the cases of Knowshon Moreno and Ben Tate. Both hit free-agency this year after productive seasons. Moreno rushed 241 times for 1,038 yards and 10 touchdowns in Denver while Tate rushed 181 times for 771 yards and four touchdown.

Both, however, failed to get big dollars on the open market, as Tate reportedly signed a two-year, $6.2 million contract and Moreno reportedly signed a one-year, $1.975 million contract. They aren’t the only ones, either, as Toby Gerhart (Jaguars), LeGarrette Blount (Steelers), Maurice Jones-Drew (Raiders) and several others all agreed to relatively small deals.

The financial realities of the situation means that it behooves college running backs to get into the league as soon as possible so they can get their free-agency clock started. Carey, who left school after his junior season, said several people advised him to leave school early.

“They definitely were in my ear, saying you have a limited numbers of hits and running backs, you need to go while you have the chance,” Carey said. “I know that I could have come back and played another year, got bigger and stronger and dominated at that level. But my decision was I was ready for the league. I felt like I was ready a year ago but I just couldn’t leave. I stayed consistent this year and really proved to me that I was ready to provide for my family.”

That may be true, but it remains to be seen how high he ― or the other running backs ― will go. NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah considers LSU’s Jeremy Hill and Ohio State’s Carlos Hyde to be the best backs in the draft, but said the diminishing value of the position could make it tough for a team to spend a first-round pick on either of them.

“When you look at the running backs, I think it’s a pretty good group, and I think there’s a lot of depth there,” Jeremiah said. “In past years, (Hyde and Hill), they’d be first-round picks, but now, (we’re) talking about the position being devalued.”

However, there is hope for the top backs, according to Jeremiah.

“A team I’d keep an eye on is the Patriots because the Patriots are always kind of one step ahead of the curve and trying to be creative,” Jeremiah said of New England, which picks No. 29 overall. “I wouldn’t be shocked if they just sit there and said, ‘OK, everybody else wants to pass on all these running backs ― Carlos Hyde is a really good player. LeGarrette Blount is not here anymore, we’re going to pluck him, and we’ve got ourselves a back of the future.’ ”

Indeed, in a copycat league like the NFL, all it takes a respected mind like Patriots coach Bill Belichick to invest a first-round pick in a running back to help the tide turn the other way and instigate a run on the position.

This would be a good thing for Carey and his fellow backs, all of whom know that the earlier they’re taken, the more guaranteed money they’ll make.

For his part, Carey is eager to prove he’s worth the investment. He does have a few question marks ―including a middling 40-yard-dash time of 4.70 and two off-the-field transgressions that led to a one-game suspension this season ― but his productivity and versatility could be attractive.

“I’m definitely going to make sure they know that when I step on the field, they made a good pick and running backs aren’t going extinct,” Carey said.

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