The 2026 draft ignored RBs like never before in the modern NFL

One of the most fascinating statistical outliers from the 2026 NFL draft concerns the number of running backs selected. It speaks not only to the caliber of available collegiate talent but also to franchises' gradual shift away from heavy RB investments.

When the draft was condensed to seven rounds beginning in 1994, 28 RBs came off the board, followed by 25 in 1995. Across the next decade, an average of 25 RBs were drafted each year. This was still "the age of the bell cow," as 300-carry backs were not uncommon, and roughly half of the teams fielded someone who ran the ball 250+ times.

The following 14-year period (2006 to 2019) saw a very slight dip, with an average of 23.4 RBs drafted. But more GMs were steering clear of early-round RB investments, opting to wait and make a Day 3 pick rather than grab someone in the first three rounds.

There was another slight shift from 2020 to 2025, as only 20.2 RBs were drafted per year, including an average of only 1.2 running backs in the opening round (compared to 2.6 across the previous 26 years). Selections were still weighted heavily toward the end of the draft.

What happened this past week has not happened before—at least not in the modern NFL. Teams drafted only 13 RBs (including seventh-round fullback Eli Heidenreich). Only one RB (Kaelon Black) was selected in the second or third round, which is the lowest Day 2 total in at least 32 years.

Maybe this is a short-term correction due to an overabundance of NFL running backs and questionable talent coming out of college. Or maybe it's the logical continuation of a trend that's been gaining steam for decades, reflecting the decline of bell-cow volume and the rise of split backfields that don't merit the same level of draft investments.

This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: The 2026 draft ignored RBs like never before in the modern NFL