The Kansas City Chiefs running attack was poor this season, leading many to believe a running back should be a draft priority. Lucky for them, the 2017 NFL draft class is deep at the running back position.
The names at the top of the running back class are well known. Leonard Fournette has been the consensus top running back in the country for two years straight. The LSU back is a beast with the ball. At 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds he never goes down easy. The big knock on him is that he is injury prone, and with his physical style of play that is a red flag. If a team can take care of him physically and not run him into the ground he will be a top 5 back in the league in a couple years.
Dalvin Cook out of Florida State is as fast and shifty as Fournette is powerful. At 5-foot-11 and 215 pounds Cook, runs a 4.4 40-yard dash. His running style should look familiar to Chiefs fans as he runs like Jamaal Charles. Cook has had some character issues in the past but has kept his nose clean his final two seasons at Florida St. He is one of the safest running back choices in the draft and will go in the top 20 as well.
The last big name back is Christian McCaffrey out of Stanford. That name will sound familiar to Chiefs fans as his dad is former Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey. He put up video game type numbers during his sophomore year at Stanford. He broke Barry Sanders record for all-purpose yards with 3,864 receiving, rushing, and return yards.
He runs a fast 4.4 40-yard dash and has some of the best hands in the running back class. McCaffrey has great stop and start ability, but is not as smooth moving side to side. He is a high character player who is highly intelligent and has a great football IQ. Most mock drafts I’ve seen have him going in the bottom of the first round meaning there is a good chance he’s available when the Chiefs pick at 27.