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2015 NFL Draft running back rankings: Will one be taken in the 1st round?

Before tearing his ACL, Georgia's Todd Gurley looked like a potential first-round pick. Now he may not be, but could a running back still get taken in the top 32 picks?

By Dan Kadar
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

On the surface, the 2015 NFL Draft class of running backs looks like a good one. That, of course, is assuming several non-seniors decide to enter the draft.

For now, let's say they do. For fun. And because this could be the draft that challenges the notion that you shouldn’t draft a running back early.

In the past two years, a running back hasn’t been taken in the first round. That’s justifiable considering the success of late-round and undrafted running backs. Only one of the top 10 rushers in the NFL so far this season was a first-round pick.

Todd Gurley probably had the best chance at being taken in the first round, but he tore his ACL near the end of Georgia’s season. Gurley shares many of the same traits as Marshawn Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks. He’s a powerful runner who can slip tacklers and has the speed to take runs deep. However, that’s assuming his knee will be healthy.

Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon could flirt with the first round if teams don’t think he’s a product of a great system. The common comparison for Gordon is Jamaal Charles. In the Big Ten Championship Game, when he had just 76 yards on 26 carries, that comparison couldn’t look further from the truth for Gordon.

What makes this class so good is the top-line depth. Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah is much stronger than his 195-pound frame would suggest and in the right situation could be a lite version of LeSean McCoy. Duke Johnson of Miami is arguably the draft’s best zone scheme option.

Even after those four, there are starting-caliber backs if a first-round or even second-round pick isn’t used on the position. But unlike this year, we should see a few go in the top 50 picks.

1. Todd Gurley | 6’1, 226 pounds | RB | Georgia *
2. Melvin Gordon | 6’1, 213 pounds | RB | Wisconsin *
3. Ameer Abdullah | 5’9, 195 pounds | RB | Nebraska
4. Duke Johnson | 5’9, 206 pounds | RB | Miami *
5. T.J. Yeldon | 6'2, 221 pounds | RB | Alabama
6. Tevin Coleman | 6’1, 210 pounds | RB | Indiana *
7. David Cobb | 5’11, 220 pounds | RB | Minnesota
8. Jay Ajayi | 6’0, 216 pounds | RB | Boise State *
9. Matt Jones | 6’2, 235 pounds | RB | Florida *
10. Mike Davis | 5’9, 223 pounds | RB | South Carolina *
11. David Johnson | 6’1, 229 pounds | RB | Northern Iowa
12. Devontae Booker | 5'11, 203 pounds | RB | Utah *
13. D.J. Foster | 5'11, 205 pounds | RB | Arizona State *
14. Javorious Allen | 6’1, 220 pounds | RB | Southern California *
15. Josh Robinson | 5’9, 215 pounds | RB | Mississippi State *
16. Jeremy Langford | 6’1, 208 pounds | RB | Michigan State
17. Karlos Williams | 6'1, 225 pounds | RB | Florida State
18. Malcolm Brown | 5’11, 222 pounds | RB | Texas
19. Cameron Artis-Payne | 5'11, 210 pounds | RB | Auburn
20. Terrence Magee | 5’9, 217 pounds | RB | LSU
21. Michael Dyer | 5’9, 212 pounds | RB | Louisville
22. Prince-Tyson Gulley | 5’8, 193 pounds | RB | Syracuse
23. Bill Belton | 5’10, 204 pounds | RB | Penn State

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