Meme Watch: In search of a running back for all seasons

Back in Alabama, they're busy comparing Mark Ingram to Emmitt Smith, another short, stout and prolific SEC star whose versatility, vision and balance more than made up for his less-than-awe-inspiring speed. And the scouts don't necessarily disagree: Ingram is almost unanimously considered the best back on the board as we approach the start of the NFL Draft on Thursday. So why is he suddenly on the verge of falling out of the first round altogether?

Maybe, as suggested by Yahoo! colleague Dan Wetzel, it's because no one in the quarterback-dominated NFL is looking for Emmitt Smith anymore:

The NFL has turned its back on its ball carriers. Modern thinking says the position is best handled by a pool of competent runners, not a single superstar that a high NFL draft pick — and subsequent high salary — would cost. Offensive coordinators want fresh legs and see backs as not just interchangeable but replaceable.
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Previous generations of football executives loved running backs. In the 20 drafts held from 1971-90, 34 backs were taken in the first round, 18 of them in the top 5, including four No. 1 overalls. As recently as 2005 and 2006, Ronnie Brown and Reggie Bush, respectively, went second overall.

Today, selecting a running back that high would be considered unorthodox. The rage is defensive lineman (Shutdown Corner's latest two-part mock predicts 11 will go in the first round). That's how quickly the game has changed and how, for the top backs of today, timing is a curse.

Ingram's slide may be an extreme version of the trend, if there's a trend at all —�some 20 running backs have come off the board since 2005, when Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson and Cadillac Williams all went in the top five —�but it does reflect the reality of a league that passed on more than 55 percent of all downs last year for two-thirds of its total yards. In that context, the selling point for top backs like Ingram and Oklahoma's DeMarco Murray is less their ability to rack up big, workhorse-like numbers than their value as a "three-down" back —�a guy who can run, catch, pick up blitzes and never have to leave the field because he doesn't fit the call or the situation. "Versatility is what I always try to do," Ingram told Wetzel. "I try to control every facet of the game. I take pride in being able to break a 70-yard run and being able to get one yard on third and one."

Obviously, the standard for staying on the field in college isn't quite as high: You don't have to be 220 pounds to handle 20 carries per game or pick up a yard in a spread offense. But that doesn't make the true all-purpose back —�the guy who does everything well enough that you want him on the field under almost any circumstances — any more�prevalent or any less valuable. In 2011, you've got maybe a handful of those guys coming back, at best:

? MARCUS LATTIMORE, South Carolina. Other guys may run for more yards, but there won't be a better back in the country this fall because no one else ranks so near the top by so many different criteria. As a freshman, Lattimore managed the rare feat of emerging as both one of the nation's most reliable between-the-tackles workhorses — in Carolina's biggest games, he shouldered 37 carries against Georgia, 23 against Alabama, 29 against Tennessee, 40 at Florida and 23 at Clemson, all Gamecock wins —�and one of its best route-runners out of the backfield, averaging a wide receiver-like 14.2 yards on 29 catches.

He was also a machine in short yardage, plowing ahead for 15 first downs on 18 carries with three yards or less to go on third down. With the possible exception of a halfback pass, there are no situations in which Lattimore wouldn't be one of the first two or three guys you'd pick to have in your backfield regardless of the system, and I only single out the halfback pass because he hasn't attempted one.

? TRENT RICHARDSON, Alabama. Injuries dramatically slowed Ingram's heir apparent after Halloween, but Richardson has flashed the full range over his first two seasons as a power runner, a home-run threat, a receiver, a return man, and a pass blocker. The only thing he hasn't done yet is put all of it together as the Tide's feature back.

? DOUG MARTIN, Boise State. Think of the infamous Muscle Hamster as Ingram's Rocky Mountain doppelg�nger: 5-foot-9, 215 pounds, and equally capable of breaking a game open as a runner or receiver, which he did last year to the tune of 1,600 yards and 14 touchdowns for an offense that didn't have any extra touches — or spotlights — to spare.

? STEPFAN TAYLOR, Stanford. If the Cardinal offense begins and ends with quarterback Andrew Luck, much of the overlooked middle sections belong to Taylor, a sturdy 210-pounder who racked up 1,400 yards from scrimmage as a sophomore and consistently kept the chains moving: Seventeen of his 22 touches on third/fourth-and-short resulted in Stanford first downs.

? BRANDON BOLDEN, Ole Miss. He's always looked the part of a first-rate workhorse at 5-11, 220 pounds, but Bolden's first season in a feature role also left him as the Rebels' most frequent target with 32 catches. If he matches his junior production (976 yards rushing, 344 receiving, 17 total touchdowns) Bolden will leave as Ole Miss' all-time leader in rushing yards, all-purpose yards and touchdowns, knocking two other all-purpose stars — Deuce McAllister and Dexter McCluster —�out of the books in the process.

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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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