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- Mar 19, 2019
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In the lead-up to the 2020 NFL Draft, Vikings.com is taking a position-by-position look at prospects who have garnered a range of attention from national outlets. The series will include rankings by national outlets, stats and background information for multiple prospects. We'll also include comments that experts shared during interviews.
Vikings Status at the RB Position
Minnesota is returning all four of its running backs – and its fullback – from the 2019 season.
Dalvin Cook started 14 games last season and racked up 1,135 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on 250 carries. He also added 53 catches for 519 yards through the air.
Alexander Mattison, a 2019 second-round draft pick, and Mike Boone remained under contract, and the Vikings are bringing back Ameer Abdullah, who also served as Minnesota's kick returner.
Minnesota native C.J. Ham was set to become a restricted free agent, but the fullback signed an extension before the new league year opened.
The Vikings certainly don't have a glaring need at running back, but you can't rule out Minnesota selecting one if the situation makes sense.
About the expert
For running backs, we reached out to Chad Reuter, a draft analyst for NFL.com.
Chad Reuter has covered the NFL draft since 2000. He was hired by NFLDraftScout.com as a senior analyst in 2007 and then continued in that role when NFLDraftScout and CBSSports.com formed their partnership for the 2009 draft. He joined NFL Network and NFL.com in December 2011 as a senior researcher, assisting in the production of the East-West Shrine Game, Senior Bowl, Scouting Combine and NFL Draft.
Follow him on Twitter @chad_reuter for his analysis.
While the Vikings don't have a pressing need at running back, we asked Reuter for his thoughts on one prospect who likely will go a little earlier in the draft and another prospect who could add some value for a team in the later rounds. Reuter's evaluation of Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor and Florida's Lamical Perine are included below.
We also asked Reuter to provide his thoughts on the 2020 running backs draft class as a whole.
"I would say that this year's running backs group is fairly typical," Reuter said. "I won't say 'average' because that has a negative connotation that I don't mean to imply. There are talented players who will be picked late in Round 1 and throughout Rounds 2-3 that will be excellent contributors. And there will definitely be Saturday selections that will become starters, but they fall into the later rounds due to the nature of the running back position in today's NFL.
"So, it's a typical group in which teams should find value," he added.
Position Rankings
NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah currently has four running backs in his overall Top 50: 16. D'Andre Swift, 30. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, 35. Jonathan Taylor, 40. J.K. Dobbins. Worth noting is that Jeremiah previously had Dobbins slated at No. 34 but moved him down.
ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr., has one running back in his overall Top 25: 17. Swift
PFF included four RBs in its overall Top 100: 52. Zack Moss, 57. Swift, 72. Taylor, 76. Dobbins
Positional rankings by NFL.com's Bucky Brooks, ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr., analytics site Pro Football Focus and The Athletic's Dane Brugler impacted the players listed for this series. Rankings by each are noted under each prospect.
Running backs