Running backs are ‘en vogue’ again in the NFL. Will Broncos buck tradition and pick a first-round back?

It was just about closing time night creeping toward morning in Metairie La Terry Malone and the rest of the New Orleans Saints contingent preparing to close up their books at the facility after the first round of the NFL draft The building had gone into the night wanting Alabama running back Mark Ingram the Heisman Trophy winner Wanting him bad They figured sitting at pick No that they d never get him as then-tight ends coach Malone recalled As names flew off the board he d fallen into their lap but so had defensive end Cameron Jordan And this was the dawn of the passing explosion in the NFL ushered in part by Sean Payton and QB Drew Brees a birth that temporarily killed the idea of first-round running backs They took Jordan at Deep breaths First round done So it seemed We were ready to fold our tents and go home recalled Malone who worked with Payton for nearly a decade in New Orleans And suddenly bang We got ourselves a running back Payton required Ingram This was the majority significant variable He liked what he d seen in a competitor workout He trusted Nick Saban and the Alabama staff s view of Ingram And behind the scenes he continued to pull particular magic as Malone put it when Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots called to ask about trading back from their No pick The one thing that perpetually was in front of everybody s mind was no matter what draft picks Sean Payton has in his pocket he is going to relentlessly pursue a performer that that he feels fits the need of the company and he s not afraid to borrow from the future Malone commented That was the year that opened people s eyes Malone announced to Payton s sheer tenacity in maneuvering for skill-position talent If he s requested a guy he s gotten him caution chucked to the wind He threw a third-round pick at Arizona back in to land receiver Brandin Cooks He gave a future second-rounder to San Francisco in to land versatile back Alvin Kamara a move that was widely questioned at the time given the presence of Ingram and new signee Adrian Peterson In Payton s first draft pick with the Broncos in he jumped up to snag receiver Marvin Mims Jr Throughout his career though there s one conventional NFL line of thinking Payton has rarely broken Don t draft a running back in the first round He s only done it twice in his years And forgot about it too I ve done it twice Payton questioned in a pre-draft presser Thursday before being reminded of Ingram and Reggie Bush back in This is the existential dilemma whispering beyond the Broncos walls in Dove Valley a clear franchise-elevating company need and a decade of league logic colliding at Denver s No pick Thursday in Green Bay The Broncos have a -something-pound hole at running back an ineffective room in further thinned by the departure of Javonte Williams General manager George Paton has disclosed explicitly that the Broncos will get a back in this draft and analysts have linked Denver to an RB at that th slot for months But would they really swing on a name like North Carolina s Omarion Hampton or Ohio State s TreVeyon Henderson all the way up in the first round when much of the NFL still sees the running back position as expendable and volatile You re gonna have chosen people that just don t solely believe in that analyst and former NFL performer Bucky Brooks responded when sought if he felt stigma around picking first-round RBs would persist Like they just philosophically they re opposed to taking a running back in the first round But you have others who are able to look at the sportsman and assess the talent and the foreseen of the contestant and say No he s worthy of being a first-round pick From the start of the st century through as bell-cow backs from LaDainian Tomlinson to Shaun Alexander took -plus carries every Sunday multiple RBs were taken in the first round every year As the league shifted overwhelmingly pass-heavy in the s though and teams got just a sparse productive years out of a slew of high first-round backs from C J Spiller No in to Trent Richardson No in the prevalence of first-round backs fell off a cliff The prevalence of running backs taken in the first round of the NFL Draft has steadily declined since the start of the st century The reasons vary according to evaluators across the league There s the short shelf life on the bulk backs as Malone highlighted There s the progress of passing-efficiency analytics as Brooks pointed out There s correspondingly the decline of the workhorse and the increasing development of backfield tandems a by-committee approach Payton has long preferred The value of the position has never gone down an NFL assistant coach who spoke with The Denver Post on condition of anonymity declared You need that guy as much as ever And I just think when people saw that you can take a back you can use two backs you can use em in the second and third round why go and get em in the first round The age of the first-round back though is still clinging to life The league underwent a noticeable course-correction in toward the old days Twelve different NFL running backs had over carries last season the highest figure since the league shifted to a -game regular season in and the highest figure in general since And could see three backs taken in the first round for just the second time since Boise State s Ashton Jeanty North Carolina s Hampton and Ohio State s Henderson You get a organization like Philadelphia that helps run its way to a Super Bowl analyst Charles Davis declared referencing the Eagles riding Saquon Barkley to a title in February and all of a sudden running back s back en vogue This particular year presents a unique quandary though with one of the deeper classes in up-to-date memory ESPN analyst Jordan Reid noted in a March conference call with media that he had draftable grades on backs this class and Paton reported media at the owner s meetings that good backs were available from the second round through the sixth Denver would have to have a substantially higher grade on Henderson who they hosted for an in-house visit last week to justify swinging on him at No rather than wait until Day or for Tennessee s Dylan Sampson Iowa s Kaleb Johnson Kansas s Devin Neal or a myriad of other options I would say if it s not Jeanty or Hampton I wouldn t do it ESPN analyst Matt Miller stated when demanded if he d take a first-round back in Just because as much as I like Quinshon Judkins and Henderson I think there s just value Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton calls in play as they play the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood California on Dec Photo by RJ Sangosti The Denver Post It could be worthwhile to take a first-round back Payton indicated last week if you had a real clear vision for how you want to use them And the vision is there for each of the options on the Broncos board for a coach who s never been afraid to swing high on talent Hampton could be a legitimate three-down bruiser if Payton wants a spiritual successor to Ingram Henderson is a natural explosive complement with standout supplementary skills if Payton wants a spiritual successor to Kamara Jeanty is a foreseen Pro Bowler if Payton wants to sell the farm and leap well up from No If he s the best performer on your board he could impact your group Paton reported last Thursday speaking of a back similar to former Vikings great Adrian Peterson whom he worked with for years previously in Minnesota s front office I think you take him Paton continued regardless of the position