All we've heard for the past decade or so is how the modern NFL "devalues" the running back position, but the teams that have the best ones know better.
Despite the prevailing narrative, recent history has been kind to the teams that spend high draft picks at the position. The success rate of drafting running backs in the top 12 over the past 10 years has been pretty impressive: Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Christian McCaffrey, Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkley were all drafted in that range.
It's impossible to argue with the impact all of those players have made for their respective teams, but the next question was always what to do about handing them massive second contracts. It's one thing to a have a superstar running back on a cheap rookie deal for four or five years, but paying top dollar to keep them beyond that stretch was something most teams strayed away from when it came to retaining veterans at the position.
But with the likes of Robinson and Gibbs, as well as recent Day 2 picks like Jonathan Taylor and De'Von Achane, getting market-resetting extensions from the teams that drafted them, it's easy to see why it's well worth it for clubs to pay top-of-the-market value for their services.
Gibbs behind the most recent to ink his deal, his new three-year pact makes him the highest-paid running back in league history based on average annual value. But even at $75 million over three years, the most expensive running back in the league would barely crack the top 20 highest-paid wide receivers in the league right now. I doubt there's anyone who would argue that Gibbs doesn't make a bigger impact for his team than Alec Pierce, DJ Moore, or even Lions teammate Jameson Williams, all of whom make more money per year than Gibbs is set to make on his new deal.
Apply that to the likes of Robinson, Taylor and Achane, who just got knocked down a spot on the running back pay chart with Gibbs' new deal, and they all look like massive bargains relative to the explosiveness, versatility, big-play ability, and overall value they bring to their teams. All of those players are the engines that drive their teams' entire offensive game plans, but even after getting record-setting deals this year, they're all making the equivalent of WR2 money.
Taylor is the elder statesman of that group at 27 years old, but he's still one of the league's most dominant runners. Achane is 25, with plenty of quality football ahead of him. Gibbs and Robinson are both 24, and just how hitting their prime.
Let this string of big-money deals be a lesson to the rest of the league: Not only can a superstar running back immediately transform your offense, proving well worth a premium pick at the top of the draft (something the Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals are hoping to get with Ashton Jeanty and Jeremiyah Love, respectively), but they'll be well worth every penny when it comes time to keep them when that rookie deal expires, even if you have to pay top dollar for the position.
