NFL Draft 2022: Biggest Losers

Bills running back Devin Singletary

7. Veteran running backs Chris Carson, Devin Singletary, and Antonio Gibson

This is a fairly easy one to figure out. The first running back off the board in this draft was Iowa State’s Breece Hall, going to the New York Jets at the top of the second round. But we saw Michael Carter Jr. have issues staying healthy as a rookie when New York tried to put him in a featured role. So he will welcome a one-two punch situation like this as he’s paired with a bigger, more physical back, similar to now-Bronco Javonte Williams, whom he shared touches with at North Carolina.

Five other players at the position were selected over the course of Day 2. You could mention their veterans here as well, but there was plenty of competition in the 49ers backfield already, and Leonard Fournette just signed a new three-year deal, with the majority of the money guaranteed. However, Singletary, Carson and Gibson are in trouble.

Five picks after Hall came off the board (41st overall), Seattle surprisingly picked Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III, who was a Heisman Trophy candidate for a while last season, and impressed with his combination of explosion, ability to make any kind of cut necessary, and break arm tackles.

We don’t know the exact status of Carson, who missed almost all of last season with a neck injury. There are some who believe he may never play again. Making this move for Walker is a sign of Carson potentially not getting on the field a whole lot, even if he comes back. Moreover, Rashaad Penny showed signs in the latter half of last season and will be fighting for lead duties himself.

Buffalo used the penultimate second-round pick on Georgia’s James Cook, who was one of the biggest home-run hitters and the most natural pass-catcher in this class.

Singletary, in correlation to public perception, is actually one of the more underrated backs in this draft and was a productive player down the stretch. But he doesn’t have that extra gear Cook has, and we’ve seen him legitimately split out wide and run by people. So he makes perfect sense for an offense that doesn’t feature that position in terms of total touches, but you want all of them to matter.

Finally, Washington seemed to be pretty set with Gibson and J.D. McKissic being brought back. Last year’s UDFA Jaret Patterson looked good when given an opportunity. So using a late day-two pick on Alabama’s Brian Robinson Jr. was kind of surprising.

Gibson is a supremely talented player, but he hasn’t shown a ton of improvement in vision and technique, which leaves the door open for a complete three-down back like Robinson to steal snaps.