If you’ve ever wondered what the worst position would be to play in the NFL, it looks like we now have our answer.
During an interview this week with Jim Rome on CBS Sports Radio, Melvin Gordon said the worst position to play is definitely running back.
“It’s just so tough for running backs right now, man,” Gordon said. “You have a lot of running backs that’s out there and we just don’t get no love. It’s literally the worst position to play in the NFL right now. It literally sucks.”
You don’t usually hear an NFL player complain about how much their position “sucks,” so Gordon clearly feels strongly about this point and it’s easy to see why. Over the past decade, running backs have lost value in the eyes of NFL teams. Unless your name is Christian McCaffrey or Derrick Henry, it’s almost impossible to get a big contract.
NFL teams have found that they can get almost the same production from a young, cheap running back as they can from an established name. If a team has to choose between a running back making $3 million per year or $11 million per year, they’re almost always going to pick the cheaper option, because the production will likely be similar between the two despite the $8 million difference in price tag.
If you want an idea of how ugly things have been for running backs, just consider this. Back in 2013, the franchise tag number for the position was $8.08 million. This year, that number has only gone up to $10.09 million, which is an increase of 25%.
That might sound like a nice bump until you realize that almost every other position has seen its tag number double over that span. Quarterbacks have led the way, going from $14.64 million in 2013 to $32.42 million (an increase of 121 percent). Linebackers have also seen their total increase by more than 100 percent ($9.46 million to $20.93 million) as have defensive tackles ($8.31 million to $18.94 million).
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