The current example of Dalvin Cook shows that running backs in the NFL are more replaceable than at any other position group. The next victims are already preprogrammed. One comment.

NFL – not for long. If we look at Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Julius Peppers or Calais Campbell, this may not necessarily be true.

But for one position group, we haven’t even pronounced the letter “f” yet and they’re already gone: running backs.

The value of the running ball carrier in the current NFL continues to plummet.

The latest example: Dalvin Cook. The running back was an absolute workhorse with the Minnesota Vikings. But now the racehorse is nothing more than a plough horse. And that despite a 65-million contract still running.

NFL – Running Backs: The next victims are pre-programmed

The long contracts – like Ezekiel Elliot’s – are worth no more than the paper they’re written on. That’s the way business is in the NFL. Running backs have become interchangeable.

Their impact on the game in the NFL, which is leaning more and more towards the extreme passing game, is now marginal – in part because mobile quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and wide receivers like Deebo Samuel cut down on the running backs and make them look one-dimensional.

As aware as football fans are, it’s all the more surprising that big contracts are still being handed out. The next victims are already preprogrammed with Alvin Kamara or Derrick Henry.

Not for nothing were they the subject of speculation in the offseason, just as Austin Ekeler was.

Christian McCaffrey is the running back exception

It was all the more surprising that in last year’s draft, the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions selected running backs with their first-round picks in Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs.

However, the picks caused head-scratching – especially in the case of the Lions – because the oft-cited “positional value” is not present in the running back duo.

There is, however, one exception: Christian McCaffrey. Also because his style of play makes him more than a running back who can also catch passes.

The pure runner is not extinct in the NFL, but he is no longer worth anything.