University of Miami running back Lamar Miller is aware he may have to wait until the second day of the draft even if NFL teams decide he's one of the top talents at the position.
INDIANAPOLIS – Every major draft analyst pegs Trent Richardson as the top college running back.
Many mock projections view him as a top-five pick.
The 5-foot-9 ¼, 228-pound junior split carries with Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram for much of his career at Alabama, giving him coveted low mileage at a position known for being a human meat grinder.
A Heisman finalist himself, Richardson is one of the most powerful specimens at the Combine. His combination of speed and brute strength helped him to 1,679 rushing yards, 338 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns en route to a BCS Championship last season.
Richardson averaged 6.0 yards per carry the last two seasons playing in the SEC, and smashed his way to 185 rushing yards in two games against a brutal LSU defensive front in 2011.
Why, then, is it possible he could find himself waiting in Radio City’s green room longer than many other players?
The value of NFL running backs has dipped in recent years. There’s the atrophied career span, the Pac-Man hungry passing games and the continued emergence of unheralded backs. Last year, Ingram, the consensus No. 1 running back, slipped to No. 28 overall – the lowest position the first back was taken in the draft since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
“They try not to take us like they used to in the first round,” Richardson said. “But hopefully I can change that or guys in this class can change it.
“Mark went in the first round and he got a good opportunity where he is. Hopefully I can do the same thing but go earlier in the first round.”
In 1970-74, backs represented 20 percent of all first-round picks, or one every five selections. Backs made up 19 percent of first-round choices in 1985-89. In the last three years, that figure has dipped to 7.3 percent.
Said Lamar Miller of the University of Miami: “The last couple years, running backs have been going in the second round now. I guess they feel they can find good running backs in the later rounds instead of wasting an early pick.”
The Chargers’ 
Mathews and Tennessee’s Chris Johnson are the only first-round running backs drafted since 2008 that have made the Pro Bowl.
“Historically there have been some outstanding backs throughout the draft at any round, including free agents that have made impacts in the NFL,” General Manager A.J. Smith said. “There’s good backs all the way through, but when we went after one particular back (Mathews), I think we made the statement that we felt that he was a special, special back.”
Mathews finished seventh in the NFL in yards from scrimmage during his second season, topping 1,000 rushing yards and catching 50 passes. Mathews registered three consecutive 100-yard rushing games in Weeks 12-14 and six consecutive games with 110 total yards of offense through Week 5 of this year.
“Why would we get a back there when we could get a back all the way through the draft and free agency? Well, we felt he was a special back. We still feel that way going into his third year, and I would do it again tomorrow based on what I’ve seen of his ability in two years.”
