The NFL draft is here finally on Thursday and that means final mock drafts, ESPN expert predictions and projections for the top 5 and the top 10 heading into the first round of the event and after all the speculation, names like Jadeveon Clowney and Johnny Manziel will be ready to hear their names called and with so many mocks having come out with the delay this year, it will be interesting to see who gets what picks right.
The college football season is long over and the NFL draft and combine are the next major events for those players on the calendar and this year the running back position has some of the best athletes in the class with names like Tre Mason, Carlos Hyde, De'Anthony Thomas, Andre Williams, Jeremy Hill, James White, Tyler Gaffney, Lache Seastrunk, Ka'Deem Carey and Bishop Sankey going pro.
Check here for the final mock picks from Mel Kiper and Todd McShay from ESPN or more on the first round of the draft Thursday.
Last year there were no running backs taken in the first round of the draft and that was for a few different reasons, including of course the fact that the NFL is turning very pass-happy, which pushed names like Eddie Lacy and Montee Ball into the second round. This year many expert projections have no running backs going in the first round for a second straight draft and names like Carey, Hill, Mason and Thomas are considered players that could be selected first.
Carey is one of the most productive of the group and he is coming out of the draft from Arizona after rushing for nearly 1,900 yards last season, while Mason is leaving Auburn after being a Heisman finalist and rushing for 300 yards and four touchdowns in the SEC championship game. Carlos Hyde is being looked at as one of the top back after finishing his senior season at Ohio State and he is a much bigger back then the rest of the class along with Hill and that could push those two up boards if they have solid workouts heading into the draft.
Gaffney had a great season for Stanford and he could be a late round pick for a number of teams and the position is very deep this year along with Sankey and Thomas from the Pac-12 and all those players could go on the first day of the draft. Williams had over 2,000 yards this season and was a Heisman finalist and he is also one of the bigger backs coming out of this class from Boston College. Hyde is coming off of a great season with over 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns and he is projected to be one of the first group of running backs to get drafted this year.
Jeremy Hill comes out of LSU after a controversial run, but he did perform well on the football field, rushing for 1,400 yards this season with 16 touchdowns and he finished the season on a high note with over 200 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the Tigers Bowl victory this year.
