NFL Combine: Running Backs Full Measurements

As much as people downplay running backs in the draft, every team seems to need a reliable one to get through the NFL playoffs and win a Superbowl. The biggest problem for running backs is that there’s an abundance of good ones which created running back by committees. If backs were given the old school 300+ carries, I’m sure that some of the players today could put up the type of numbers that the players like Jerome Bettis, Marshall Faulk, and Priest Holmes did. However, the typical RB now getting around 200-250 carries and splits time with someone just as good or just a notch below them in talent. The running back talent hasn’t gone down, just the opportunity to shine.

This year is actually pretty deep in terms of running back depth with three guys that stand out in my eyes in terms of every down type size for the NFL. Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon is considered the best in the class and at 6’ and 215 pounds, he is exactly the type of size back you want for today’s NFL. Two other guys I really like in this draft are Georgia’s Todd Gurley, who is recovering from a horrible ACL injury, and Alabama’s TJ Yeldon, a player that most people think will benefit from splitting time in college to reduce the amount of hits he took.

Three other backs that are being looked to be taken within the 1^st two rounds are Indiana’s Tevin Coleman, Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah, and Miami’s Duke Johnson. All three are slightly smaller, in the 205 pound range, and would probably be used as a change of pace until they should they can handle a bigger load like a Jamaal Charles or Chris Johnson. Most teams look at every down backs to be in the 215-230 range, with anything over that normally being used as a goal line back. Of course there are outliners, but when you are reviewed at the combine, these are some of the things that are scrutinized and looked at.

Below is a list of all the heights, weights, arm lengths, and hand lengths of all the Running Backs from the 2015 NFL Combine.