Dorm Report: The year of running backs

Oct 23, 2014 - 1:22 PM Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - We've all noticed the trend: NFL teams are more reliant on the passing game offensively than ever before, which makes the running back position more of a commodity than a necessity.

That wasn't always the case, though. Decades ago, the running game was the most effective way to move the ball down the field. But with such athletic and talented passers nowadays, it's become commonplace for the majority of downs to be passes.

The devaluation of the running back position at the highest level was epitomized in May, when the first running back taken in the NFL Draft - Washington's Bishop Sankey to Tennessee - was the lowest selection for a player at the position in the history of the draft (54th overall pick - second round).

Sure, the talent at the position in the 2014 draft wasn't the highest it has ever been, which contributed to the historic free fall. But for some time now in college football, a bounce-back has been brewing. And come April, when the NFL Draft rolls around once again, we won't see a repeat of the trend that knocked running backs out of the first round of selections.

In fact, there are a handful of players at the college level who could all go before Sankey's 54th overall selection. Most drafts are known for especially strong positions, even if they aren't all-around deep. There's always an overtly talented position that NFL teams target.

For example, the 2012 draft was considered quarterback-heavy, evidenced by four first-round selections at the position - Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill and Brandon Weeden - and five opening-day rookie starters - with Russell Wilson joining the first-rounders.

Next year, that distinction will fall to the same position that made headlines for the wrong reasons last May. The running back class of 2015 is so top-heavy with talent, it should have NFL teams tripping over each other just to get a shot at some of the future stars that will be born on draft night.

Rushers like Georgia's Todd Gurley and Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon are projected already to be top-end talents who could tip the scales back in favor of a strong running offense. CBS Sports' 2015 NFL Draft projections currently list nine college running backs who figure to be potential first- and second-round selections. Of course, the landscape could change in the next six months, and the heavy offseason testing period will either bring more names to light or discourage teams from taking a high-round flier on one of these names.

But for a handful of backs, the 2014 season is only helping their stock as their transition to the professional level beckons. Here are some of those players who will make an impact on Sundays next season, assuming all underclassmen become draft eligible (which is projected to be the case):

Todd Gurley, Georgia - Gurley will be reinstated to the Georgia lineup by the time the Bulldogs take the field next against Florida. He was suspended for two games due to NCAA infractions involving compensation for signing autographs. That won't hurt his draft stock in any possible way, as the 6-foot-1, 226-pound back combines supreme athleticism with a bruising style. He contributes to the kick return game and uses his open-field speed to blow by defenders. There's no question he's a first-round talent. The question moving forward rather is, how high will he go? Even after missing two games, he still has amassed 773 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground (a 154.6-yards-per-game average), adding a kick return for a touchdown.

Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin - The junior from Wisconsin currently ranks second in the country with 1,046 rushing yards, and has 13 touchdowns to go along with his extreme number of yards and carries (132) through his six games. Gordon and Gurley are easily the one-two favorites at the position, and should be the top two running backs off the board - both potentially in the first round. Gordon can transform an offense, and he has kept his Badgers, who average 343 rushing yards per game, relevant on the national stage.

Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska - Abdullah should be the first senior running back off the board when draft time comes. The Alabama native is having a fantastic season with the Cornhuskers, ranking second in the FBS with 14 rushing touchdowns and third in the country with 1,024 rushing yards. He jumped back into Heisman relevance after a strong performance against Northwestern, when he carried the ball 23 times for 146 yards and four touchdowns. Listed at 5-9, 195 pounds, he's smaller than both Gurley and Gordon, but he packs a serious punch.

T.J. Yeldon, Alabama - The junior from Alabama certainly wasn't ready to come out of college after his sophomore year, but his stock was admittedly higher before this season. Through seven games, the extremely athletic Yeldon has carried the ball 106 times for 566 yards and four touchdowns. Those aren't the numbers Alabama coaches and NFL scouts across the country were hoping for in his junior season, but the raw talent is present in Yeldon in bunches. He's big (6-2, 215 pounds) but uses his excellent field vision to find a hole through which he can burst. He's very well-versed in the passing game out of the backfield as well. With a current second-round grade, it's obvious scouts aren't concerned about his down year.

Duke Johnson, Miami - Johnson has a second-round grade tagged to him, and he could be well worth the pick if he lands with an NFL team that knows how to use him. This season, Johnson has carried the ball 110 times for 787 yards (ranked 15th in the country) and six touchdowns, even in an offense with a low ceiling. He's on the smaller side (5-9, 206 pounds), but he has played well against greater competition through seven games. He's not on the same level as the first four, but he's part of a second tier of backs who could still have immediate impacts with an NFL squad.

Some of those other names include South Carolina's Mike Davis, Boise State's Jay Ajayi, Indiana's Tevin Coleman, USC's Javorius Allen and Michigan State's Jeremy Langford. These are running backs that, for the time being, are projected to be at-worst third-round picks.

Some of college football's other top names at the position aren't eligible for the draft next year - players like Pittsburgh's James Conner, Western Michigan's Jarveon Franklin, Baylor's Shock Linwood and San Diego State's Donnel Pumphrey. But they provide the NFL with more hope for the future of the running back position.

Maybe the recent downward trend of running backs in the NFL has more to do with the available talent than anything else. In the next few years, college football should pump some new life into the running back spot at the next level, rejuvenating a position on offense that has largely gone underutilized in the grand scheme of things.