The position has been so ignored in recent years that one of the major storylines of the 2015 draft was the selection of two running backs in the first round—an occurrence that had previously been commonplace for decades.
Due to this trend, coverage of prospects in recent years had tended to be skewed toward positions more likely to land in the first round. And for this reason, many of the most underrated offensive weapons can be found at the running back position.
Last year we saw prospects such as the Buffalo Bills' Karlos Williams and the Chicago Bears' Jeremy Langford burst onto the scene with strong rookie performances despite limited predraft hype.