Earlier this week, Mike Mayock posted his first positional rankings of the 2016 NFL Draft season. On Thursday, we took a look at quarterbacks, on Friday we took a look at inside linebackers, and then interior offensive linemen, on Saturday we looked at tight ends, on Sunday we looked at safeties, on Monday we looked at wide receivers, on Tuesday we looked at edge rushers, on Wednesday we looked at offensive tackles, and yesterday we looked at cornerbacks.
We've been moving through these position-by-position, and today we wrap it up with a look at the running backs. looking at cornerbacks. The running back position seems likely to be further down the need list than others, but it is still worth a look. Here's how Mayock ranked out the top five running backs in the 2016 NFL Draft:
1. Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State
2. Derrick Henry, Alabama
3. Devontae Booker, Utah
4. Kenneth Dixon, Louisiana Tech
5. Jordan Howard, Indiana
The San Francisco 49ers have Carlos Hyde seemingly locked into the starting running back spot. There are certainly no guarantees of anything with a new coaching staff in place, but injury is the only thing that would seem to stand in Hyde's way. After that, the team has Mike Davis, DuJuan Harris, Jarryd Hayne, Kendall Gaskins and restricted free agent Shaun Draughn.
Tom Rathman did some wonders with the running back rotation following Frank Gore's departure and Carlos Hyde's injury. Mike Davis has to show some improvement, but thankfully will not be viewed as someone who needs to carry the bulk of the load by any stretch.
This past season showed you can never have too many running backs. At the same time, it also showed there is no need to invest significant draft assets in the position. I would not be surprised to see the 49ers add a running back in the draft, but if they re-sign Draughn, it would not surprise me if they passed on the position in the draft, and just added a UDFA and maybe some deep veteran free agency depth.