The Runningback Class of 08 Making Its Presence Felt

Last year, Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco got most of the talk about NFL rookies, and deservedly so.
Both took struggling teams and turned them into playoff teams at the most important position in the NFL.

The rookie runningbacks did pretty good for themselves too, though.

Steve Slaton was 6th in the league in rushing yards, with Matt Forte and Chris Johnson right behind him at 7th and 8th, respectively.

This year, things are looking up even more.

Chris Johnson (pictured, left) is the only one in the top 10, but second year runningbacks are scattered across the top 40. Ray Rice is 14th. Felix Jones is 16th. Matt Forte is 20th. Rashard Mendenhall is 26th. Kevin Smith is 27th. Jonathan Stewart is 31st. Steve Slaton is 36th. Once Darren McFadden gets out of Oakland, he's going to be a player in this league. Don't sleep on Kansas City Chief Jamaal Charles, either.

While that may not overwhelm you, keep in mind the NFL is almost exclusively a runningback by committee league, and these guys are still not even midway through their second season. For some, like Rice and Mendenhall, it's not even that because of injuries during their rookie season. Most of these guys, and again I point to Rice and Mendenhall, along with Jones, Choice and Stewart, were brought in to be the change of pace back who will eventually replace back "1" of their two-back system.

There are certainly a lot of great young quarterbacks in this league, but there's a lot of good young runners, too.