On Draft's Most Talented Runners, 'Wild' Ideas Abound

Trendy Formation Might Influence How Backs Come off the Board

The lasting effects of the rage over the "Wildcat" formation Miami popularized last season could be felt all the way into next weekend's NFL draft, potentially adding further intrigue to the selections of those players who will be expected to run with the ball next season.

With a deep and well-regarded group of tailbacks available, the draft promises to be lively for runners. But the Dolphins started a league-wide trend when they beat New England in an early-season game while relying heavily on a formation in which they took the quarterback out of the backfield and had the ball snapped directly to a running back.

Other teams copied that, and now people around the league are wondering how many players might be drafted next weekend with their possible roles in Wildcat formations in mind.

"I'm sure that there's some people that are looking at those pieces right now," Dolphins Coach Tony Sparano said at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis in late February. "I know that as the season went on, more teams tried it. I don't know how committed other teams are one way or the other to it. But there's a lot of those kinds of players out there, the potential Wildcat guys."

The prime draft-weekend beneficiary of the focus on the Wildcat could be West Virginia quarterback Pat White, a skilled runner who is viewed by some teams as a potential specialist in the formation.

"We're traditional with our offense," New York Giants General Manager Jerry Reese said at the combine. "But some teams have gone to that look, that Wildcat look . . . or whatever you want to call that: 'We have an athlete in the backfield, and he can throw the ball and run the ball.' That gives you another dimension. So Pat White should be popular in that respect."

As for the more traditional runners, NFL talent evaluators said they think it's a solid draft.

"I think there's a lot of talent there," Cleveland Browns General Manager George Kokinis said at the combine.

A year ago, five running backs were selected in the first round, beginning with Arkansas's Darren McFadden as the fourth overall choice by the Oakland Raiders. There isn't likely to be another opening-round run on tailbacks this year. Some observers said they think there will be two or three running backs off the board in the first round, probably beginning with Knowshon Moreno of Georgia or Chris Wells of Ohio State.

The history of the draft indicates that teams can find highly productive runners in later rounds, and coaches and executives seem convinced that could be the case this time too. Of the three NFL rookies who topped 1,200 rushing yards last season, only Tennessee's Chris Johnson was selected in the first round. The Chicago Bears got Matt Forte in the second round, and the Houston Texans took Steve Slaton in the third round.

"You can find value in rounds three, four and five," Texans General Manager Rick Smith said. "But you look at the history of where I've been, in Denver, we had really great success on second-day running backs. You saw a ton of running backs last year out of the draft come in our league and play at a very productive level, and I think a lot of that is due in large part to teams understanding what they're looking for and drafting players who fit their systems. Guys understand what they're being asked to do and they let their athleticism take over. You saw that last year. I think you'll see it again this year."

The other fact of life in today's NFL is the need for a team to have two dependable runners. The Giants led the league in rushing while having two 1,000-yard runners, Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward, and the Carolina Panthers ranked third in that category while using rookie first-rounder Jonathan Stewart to complement DeAngelo Williams. So the Giants could be looking for a runner to replace the departed Ward, and other teams with front-line tailbacks, including the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, could be in the mix for running backs as well.

"I think it's proven out in this league nowadays, and especially in the system that we'll be running in the run game, that having a second back is vital," Scot McCloughan, the general manager of the 49ers, said at the combine.