The long wait for the 1st running back to be drafted ends with Jonathan Brooks going 46th
The long wait for the first running back to be drafted is over.
The Carolina Panthers traded up six spots to take Texas running back Jonathan Brooks with the 46th pick in the NFL draft Friday night, the second-latest selection for the first running back to go off the board.
The only draft that had a longer wait for a running back came in 2014. Bishop Sankey was the first taken when he went 54th to Tennessee that year.
The only other time in the common draft era starting in 1967 when no running backs were taken in the first round came two years ago, when Breece Hall was the first taken at No. 36 by the New York Jets.
The Brooks pick could start a run at the position with several other top backs projected to go in the second and third rounds of the draft. Brooks might have gone earlier but he tore his ACL late in the season after rushing for 1,139 yards in 11 games.