In the last decade, a total of 234 running backs were drafted and they combined for 100 1,000-yard seasons. Sixty of those 1,000-yard performances were turned in by first-round picks, 17 by second-round selections, and 11 by third-round picks. Only 12 1,000-yard rushing seasons were posted by players selected after the third round in the last decade.
Since 1990, every NFL rushing leader has been a first-round pick with the exception of the Broncos' Davis in 1998; Kansas City's Priest Holmes, an undrafted player, in 2001; and the New York Jets' Curtis Martin, a third-round pick, in 2004.
The Eagles made a decent find in the fourth round of the 2001 draft when they selected Correll Buckhalter. A year later, they struck gold with Brian Westbrook in the third round.
Since then, they've whiffed with third-rounders Ryan Moats and Tony Hunt and seventh-rounders Bruce Perry and Nate Ilaoa, which should come as no surprise given how seldom running backs taken after the first round succeed. The jury remains out on Lorenzo Booker, a third-round pick by Miami in 2007 whom the Eagles acquired for a fourth-round pick last year.
The Eagles haven't taken a running back in the first round since Keith Byars in 1986.
The running back situation appears to be different this year. Buckhalter left as a free agent to sign with the Denver Broncos, and Westbrook, at 30, is coming off knee surgery after his least productive season since 2005.
Eagles general manager Tom Heckert said the team is not philosophically opposed to selecting a running back in the first round.
