NFL Draft stock report: Running Back

The NFL Draft is far away, but as college football hits its stride for 2017, we take a look this week and next week at the top prospects at each position. Today we continue with the running backs.

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Recruiting: Barkley committed to Rutgers as a junior and called it his dream school at the time. After a junior day visit to Penn State, where then-new coach James Franklin laid out his recruiting pitch and described how the four-star would be used in the offense, Barkley flipped to the Nittany Lions.

Stats: The Heisman Trophy contender has rushed for 518 yards and four touchdowns on 66 carries this season and also leads the Big Ten with 23 catches for 335 yards and two scores.

Farrell’s take: Barkley was an upright slasher who showed good receiving skills out of high school, so it's not a huge surprise he's made a big impact early his first two years. But to this level? That’s a bit of a surprise as he’s become a dominant Big Ten back. His lower body strength and power to run through some arm tackles has improved greatly. Better than Ezekiel Elliott at the same stage? Yes, which makes him a top five pick.

Recruiting: Guice committed to LSU in the spring before his senior season and the Tigers were always considered the favorite. Alabama, Texas and others were also involved in his recruitment.

Stats: Guice leads the Tigers with 314 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 65 carries. He’s averaging just under five yards per attempt.

Farrell’s take: I loved Guice out of high school because he was mean and nasty. He was the kind of kid, similar to Eddie Lacy who hated to be tackled and would fight hard for extra yardage and wear down defenses. He also had very good speed and vision and light feet, but it was his desire when running, something clear on tape and in person, that pushed him to five stars. We were the only major recruiting network to have him as a five-star, and he’s making us look smart.

Recruiting: In the summer before his senior season, Freeman committed to Oregon over Alabama, USC, Florida and many others. The Trojans were considered the main competition but Freeman decided to pledge to the Ducks.

Stats: On 97 attempts in four games, Freeman has rushed for 541 yards and 10 touchdowns. The four-star recruit has half of Oregon’s rushing scores so far this season.

Farrell’s take: We knew Freeman was good as a top 60 prospect with great size, but we didn't know he'd fit so well into the speedy offense of Oregon, where smaller, slashing backs tend to get the attention. He has increased his quickness in college and he's tough to bring down like he was out of high school. Last year was a down year for the entire team, but this year he’s once again showing the skills that could push him to a first-round grade as running backs become more of a premium in round one.

Recruiting: A former Oklahoma State commit, Jones committed to USC over Notre Dame and others at the Under Armour All-America Game.

Stats: Jones has carried the ball 59 times for 322 yards and five touchdowns this season. He’s also caught three passes for 85 yards and a score.

Farrell’s take: Jones was a speedster and was awesome on film, was impressive at the Under Armour Game and is off to an amazing start in college. Running backs and linebackers are the hardest to evaluate in camp settings without pads, so Jones was never penalized in our rankings for not having as much of an impact as expected and it’s a good thing for us. His film and Under Armour week kept him in the Rivals100 and as one of the top backs in the country. He was disappointing at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge, but that was the only blip on the radar during his evaluation. Now his versatility as a three-down back has many projecting him into the first round.

Recruiting: Chubb committed to Georgia over Auburn, South Carolina and others in June before his senior season. He committed to the Bulldogs less than two months after Sony Michel pledged to Georgia.

Stats: The main ball carrier in Georgia’s offense, Chubb has 59 attempts for 371 yards and six touchdowns so far this season. He’s averaging more than six yards per carry.

Farrell’s take: Chubb was only two spots away from a fifth star as a recruit. Based on the way he has played in Athens, despite the scary injury, Chubb has played a bit above that ranking although there are still those wondering if he’ll ever return to his freshman form. He ran low to the ground, was hard to tackle and had great speed for a 220-pound back in high school. In the end, his ranking might look perfect after looking too low after that freshman year and he could land in the second or third round of the NFL Draft.

Recruiting: Georgia beat out Miami and Notre Dame for Michel’s commitment in the spring before his senior season. Florida, Florida State and many others were also involved.

Stats: Third on the Bulldogs in rushing is Michel behind Chubb and freshman D’Andre Swift. Michel has carried the ball 36 times for 192 yards and two touchdowns.

Farrell’s take: Michel, in the same class as Chubb, is the more well-rounded back of the two and that was the case out of high school. He can run inside, bounce it outside and he is a more natural pass catcher. A star since he was in the eighth grade, Michel has a chance to be an amazing NFL player. However, many feel Chubb is more of a sure thing because he’s better between the tackles. You could easily flip flop Chubb and Michel in these rankings and it could change many times. He was part of an incredible group of backs at our Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge in Chicago, along with Leonard Fournette, Joe Mixon and Elijah Hood, all five-star prospects.

Recruiting: One of the top prospects in the state, Gaskin committed to Washington in the spring before his senior season. The only other offers for Gaskin came from Arizona State and Washington State.

Stats: On 51 carries so far this season, Gaskin has rushed for 355 yards and five touchdowns, averaging seven yards per rush. He’s also fourth on the team with seven catches for 89 yards and two scores.

Farrell’s take: Gaskin was a high three-star recruit but he didn’t get a ton of evaluation out of the state of Washington and slid under the radar a bit. He's playing like a high four- or even five-star prospect at this stage. We liked Gaskin's film a lot coming out of high school. He was a prolific stat-stuffer with excellent lateral quickness. It's possible that we would have had him ranked higher had we saw more of him in person. Clearly, that’s our loss and he’s a guy NFL scouts like quite a bit.