This NFL Draft more than any other illustrates the trend of how the league doesn\u2019t covet the running back like it used to do. <\/p>\n
There likely will not be a running back selected in Thursday\u2019s first round of the NFL Draft. For context, two (Bijan Robinson<\/a><\/strong> and Jahmyr Gibbs<\/a><\/strong>) And we may not see one called until late into Friday\u2019s draft session, when the NFL drafts it second and third rounds.<\/p>\n The top back taken may be one who still is rehabbing from ACL surgery. Or maybe it will be Michigan\u2019s touchdown machine or a star from Florida State. We\u2019ll use DraftKings Sportsbook for the latest odds.<\/a> <\/p>\n Ricardo B. Brazziell-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n Brooks waited his turn behind Robinson when both were at Texas. And once Brooks earned the starting job, he looked like he was on his way to a Doak Walker Award. Instead, he tore his ACL in mid-November on the road against TCU.<\/p>\n Still, his tender knee ligament won\u2019t stop teams from looking at him in the second round. ESPN NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper called him the best back in the draft. \u201cHad he not been hurt \u2013 and I\u2019m not a running back in the first round kind of guy \u2013 I would have had early to mid second, Kiper said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Matt Pendleton\/Gainesville Sun \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n Benson spent the last two years at Florida State after originally playing for Oregon. While in Tallahassee, he proved himself to be a big-play producer with three touchdowns of at least 80 yards.<\/p>\n Joel Klatt, a college football analyst for FOX Sports, had Benson as the top back in the NFL Draft. He wrote: \u201cI like his vision. There are times when Benson can be a bit upright, but that\u2019s usually the case for taller running backs, like\u00a0Derrick Henry<\/a>. I\u2019m not trying to compare him to Henry, but he\u2019s shown that playing upright can work at the next level. His style will play well in the NFL.\u201d<\/p>\n Junfu Han \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a draft sub-plot for you. Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is now with the Chargers. And he needs a running back. Could he go with Corum? All the running back did was score 27 touchdowns for the Wolverines in 2023.<\/p>\n Former running back Maurice Jones-Drew analyzes the draft for NFL Network. He wrote<\/a> that Corum has \u201cabove-average contact balance\u201d and \u201cthrives as a short-yardage back.\u201d Jones-Drew isn\u2019t sure about Corum\u2019s catching skills, but thinks he can be an asset out of the backfield.<\/p>\n Matt Stone\/Louisville Courier Journal \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n Wright says he models his game after former Tennessee Vol Alvin Kamara<\/a><\/strong>. And that\u2019s a good thing if you\u2019re wanting an NFL team to draft you. <\/p>\n Jones-Drew described Wright as \u201can explosive runner with breakaway speed at the second level. With pass-catching talent to pair with his linear running style, Wright has a real chance to one day be an NFL starter.\u201d<\/p>\n John Leyba-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n Lloyd started his career at South Carolina, then transferred to USC. So he had one season playing in the same backfield as Caleb Williams, the likely top pick of the NFL Draft.<\/p>\n Lloyd only had 291 carries in his college career, so he doesn\u2019t have a lot of wear and tear. Lance Zierlein, a draft analyst for NFL.com, wrote of the running back:<\/a> \u201cLloyd\u2019s flashes on tape could lead a team to envision a more expansive role for him in its offense, but based on his play, he feels more like a good complementary option with big-play potential.\u201d<\/p>\n Chances are, the first back goes off the draft board sometime Friday night. To catch up on all the On3 NFL Draft news, click it here<\/a>. And you can check sports betting trends here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n The post 2024 NFL Draft: Odds for first running back selected<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This NFL Draft more than any other illustrates the trend of how the league doesn\u2019t…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48848"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48879,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48848\/revisions\/48879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Jonathon Brooks<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Texas: -110 <\/h2>\n
2. Trey Benson<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Florida State: +220<\/h2>\n
Blake Corum,<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Michigan: +400<\/h2>\n
Jaylen Wright,<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Tennessee: +750<\/h2>\n
MarShawn Lloyd<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0USC: +900 <\/h2>\n