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Combine notebook: Running backs in business

Yahoo Sports

• More Robinson at the combine – Born-again Buckeye

INDIANAPOLIS – He's in there, somewhere. A Clinton Portis or Chris Brown. A Rudi Johnson or a Travis Henry.

Somewhere beyond the big three of Cedric Benson, Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown, there is a franchise running back waiting to be stolen.

"Maybe you'll see more than one [high-quality back taken] after the first round this year," one NFC personnel man said Thursday.

Some believe this season's crop of "second-tier" running backs could be as lucrative and deep as that of the 2003 draft, which, after Buffalo's Willis McGahee and Kansas City's Larry Johnson were tabbed in the first round, produced a bushel of budding stars later. Two of them became 1,000-yard rushers – Tennessee's Chris Brown (third round) and Houston's Domanick Davis (fourth round) – and two more have posted strong numbers in platoon roles – Minnesota's Onterrio Smith (fourth round) and Cleveland's Lee Suggs (fourth round).

This year, the second wave of backs features tremendous speed, though we won't know exactly how much until the players run their 40-yard dashes on Saturday. But if their college highlights are any indication, guys like Vernand Morency, Ciatrick Fason and Eric Shelton should burn up the stopwatches. That trio all declared for the draft after their junior seasons despite relatively limited experience, but all three had the potential to be first-round picks had they stayed one more season – even Morency, who already is 25.

Then there is Maurice Clarett, who hasn't played football in two years but arrived Thursday in tip-top shape sounding like he's ready to make some noise. Perhaps the two most intriguing prospects outside of the first round will be Miami's Frank Gore and Kansas State's Darren Sproles. Gore, who suffered two knee injuries in college, was lauded by an NFC scout as "the most skilled" back in the draft. Sproles, a tiny 5-foot-7 and 180 pounds, is the draft lightning bug who wowed scouts at the Senior Bowl.

And here's an interesting wrinkle: Now that the franchise tags of Edgerrin James, Rudi Johnson and Shaun Alexander have gutted the free-agent market, this secondary group of running backs should get a little bump in stock as teams scour the landscape and hope to turn up a gem.

COMBINE CHATTER

  • There is a growing assumption that many of the skill-position players will run at the combine this year, as opposed to past years when agents encouraged their clients to run their 40-yard dashes and some of their drills at their colleges' respective pro days.

Part of the rationale might be based on the decisions of some defensive players last year, when they decided to run at the RCA Dome and registered some fairly accurate times. One notable commitment came from Clarett, who said he plans on 100-percent participation in all of the testing after skipping practically the entire physical portion of the combine last year.

  • Don't be shocked if Florida linebacker Channing Crowder sneaks into the first round of the draft. Despite a few legal problems in college and a healthy reputation as a free spirit, Crowder is expected to impress NFL teams with his lean and strong physique.

He also offers versatility (he can play both defensive end and outside linebacker) that is becoming a valued commodity to teams that use a 3-4 defense. Is that a side effect of the New England Patriots? Absolutely. Anyone who watched the Super Bowl could see why New England's linebackers give their defensive scheme so much lethal flexibility.

  • Twenty-six-year-old West Virginia running back Kay-Jay Harris, had a frank take on his 3½ years playing minor-league baseball before going to college.

Asked whether baseball was boring him, Harris said, "Oh, yeah. … Definitely a love-hate thing. It's something you have to grow to love. It's something you have to play year-round and love. I didn't have the time to do that. I played all sports growing up, so baseball wasn't something I played year-round. I only played it my senior year of high school. I played the last 15 games of the season and wound up getting drafted. My family was the reason why I chose it."

Interestingly, childhood friend and Seattle Seahawks receiver Darrell Jackson urged Harris to go to college and pursue the NFL.

  • As expected, both Buffalo Bills coach Mike Mularkey and general manager Tom Donahoe beat the drum for new starter J.P. Losman, who will be taking over a budding offense with some nice young stars.

It wasn't news, but it brought to mind last year's combine when Losman came off as one of the most cocksure quarterbacks in recent memory attending the event. Losman even likened himself at one point to Brett Favre. Asked last year if he really thought he was going to go into the NFL and take over a team immediately, Losman deadpanned "Why not?"