Consensus board vs. draft day: the full RB class, charted.
The Steal
Bo Scarbrough was ranked RB17 on the consensus board (#172 overall) but lasted until pick 236, where the Dallas Cowboys took him in Round 7. A 64-spot fall, the largest gap between consensus and draft day of any RB in the class. Behind him, Justin Jackson (+51) and Derrius Guice (+39) also outlasted their rankings.
The Conviction Pick
The Atlanta Falcons took Ito Smith at pick 126, 114 spots ahead of his #240 consensus rank. That's the league's strongest disagreement with the public board at the position. Teams showed similar conviction on Chase Edmonds (84 spots) and Rashaad Penny (34 spots).
The Cliff
After Royce Freeman went at pick 71, the next RB didn't come off the board for 33 picks. That's the sharpest drop in the class.
The Spend
Teams spent 22 picks on RB, 7 of them in the first two rounds. That's above the position's average of 21.1 since 2018.
The Bet
The New York Giants spent more draft capital on RB than any other club: pick 2, 34% of their total draft investment.
The One Who Slipped
Dontrell Hilliard, ranked #150 on the consensus board, went undrafted through all 256 picks.
| Pick | Player | Pos Rank | Consensus | Δ | School | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Saquon Barkley | RB1 | #1 | +1 | Penn State | NY Giants |
| 27 | Rashaad Penny | RB6 | #61 | −34 | San Diego State | Seattle |
| 31 | Sony Michel | RB3 | #33 | −2 | Georgia | New England |
| 35 | Nick Chubb | RB5 | #44 | −9 | Georgia | Cleveland |
| 38 | Ronald Jones II | RB4 | #38 | 0 | USC | Tampa Bay |
| 43 | Kerryon Johnson | RB7 | #68 | −25 | Auburn | Detroit |
| 59 | Derrius Guice | RB2 | #20 | +39 | LSU | Washington |
| 71 | Royce Freeman | RB8 | #87 | −16 | Oregon | Denver |
| 104 | Nyheim Hines | RB9 | #114 | −10 | North Carolina State | Indianapolis |
| 112 | Mark Walton | RB10 | #117 | −5 | Miami | Cincinnati |
| 126 | Ito Smith | RB22 | #240 | −114 | Southern Miss | Atlanta |
| 131 | Kalen Ballage | RB11 | #125 | +6 | Arizona State | Miami |
| 134 | Chase Edmonds | RB20 | #218 | −84 | Fordham | Arizona |
| 165 | Jaylen Samuels | RB12 | #135 | +30 | North Carolina State | Pittsburgh |
| 169 | Jordan Wilkins | RB26 | #308 | −139 | Mississippi | Indianapolis |
| 176 | John Kelly | RB13 | #142 | +34 | Tennessee | LA Rams |
| 201 | Boston Scott | RB37 | #445 | −244 | Louisiana Tech | New Orleans |
| 204 | Trenton Cannon | RB44 | #481 | −277 | Virginia St. | NY Jets |
| 226 | David Williams | RB45 | #483 | −257 | Arkansas | Denver |
| 236 | Bo Scarbrough | RB17 | #172 | +64 | Alabama | Dallas |
| 237 | Nick Bawden | RB28 | #358 | −121 | San Diego State | Detroit |
| 251 | Justin Jackson | RB19 | #200 | +51 | Northwestern | LA Chargers |
| Undrafted (UDFA) | ||||||
| — | Dontrell Hilliard | RB14 | #150 | — | — | — |
| — | Akrum Wadley | RB15 | #154 | — | Iowa | — |
| — | Dalyn Dawkins | RB16 | #170 | — | — | — |
| — | Josh Adams | RB18 | #192 | — | Notre Dame | — |
| — | Dimitri Flowers | RB21 | #237 | — | Oklahoma | — |
| — | Phillip Lindsay | RB23 | #246 | — | — | — |
| — | Roc Thomas | RB24 | #252 | — | Jacksonville State | — |
| — | Darrel Williams | RB25 | #292 | — | LSU | — |
| — | Ryan Nall | RB27 | #315 | — | Oregon State | — |
| — | Ryan Green | RB29 | #386 | — | — | — |
| — | Justin Crawford | RB30 | #389 | — | West Virginia | — |
| — | Martez Carter | RB31 | #400 | — | — | — |
| — | Jordan Chunn | RB32 | #401 | — | — | — |
| — | Larry Rose III | RB33 | #411 | — | — | — |
| — | Chris Warren | RB34 | #416 | — | Texas | — |
| — | Kyle Hicks | RB35 | #428 | — | TCU | — |
| — | Khalid Hill | RB36 | #441 | — | — | — |
| — | Kamryn Pettway | RB38 | #454 | — | Auburn | — |
| — | Lavon Coleman | RB39 | #455 | — | Washington | — |
| — | Mike Boone | RB40 | #457 | — | — | — |
| — | Jeff Wilson | RB41 | #466 | — | North Texas | — |
| — | Ralph Webb | RB42 | #467 | — | — | — |
| — | Demario Richard | RB43 | #472 | — | Arizona State | — |