The perception that the running back position is no longer a valuable commodity in the NFL is over inflated.  If we have learned anything over the years, it’s that a combination of being able to run and pass the football are each keys to keep a defense off-balanced, allowing an offense to move the football effectively.

Over the last decade (or longer), it appears clear which teams have been able to first identify a running back prospect and develop that particular player into one worthy of starting and being successful in the NFL. Below are some of the best team’s in the NFL that draft running backs.

Who Drafts The Best RB’s

Buffalo Bills – If you think all the way back to O.J. Simpson, the Buffalo Bills have had a keen eye on identifying running backs that can be successful in the NFL.  Since drafting Simpson with the top overall selection back in 1969 the team has used nine other first-round picks on running backs. The list includes Simpson, Terry Miller (1978), Booker Moore (1980), Greg Bell (1984), Ronnie Harmon (1986), Thurman Thomas (1988), Antowain Smith (1997), Willis McGahee (2003), Marshawn Lynch (2007) and C.J. Spiller (2010).

Two turned into Hall of Fame inductees (O.J. Simpson and Thurman Thomas) and possibly a third running back enshrinee remains as it is not out of the question that Marshawn Lynch could hear his name called to Canton after he wraps up his NFL career.  Buffalo has shown the ability over the years to replenish the position via the NFL Draft and not via free agency or a trade (although they did acquire LeSean McCoy in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this year).

There’s no question that the Bills are among the best in the NFL at drafting running backs. It is also their penchant for uncovering undrafted gems like Fred Jackson or Joique Bell that really show their depth and knowledge to identify and develop talent in the back field (Jackson and Bell had their first NFL camps with the Bills).

Imagine if Buffalo could draft quarterbacks the same way?  They would be one of the NFL’s elite.

Denver Broncos – Mike Shanahan took over as head coach in 1995 and the Denver Broncos become a powerhouse for running the football in the NFL. Shanahan ran a run-heavy version of the West Coast offense, which he learned while spending time in San Francisco under 49ers’ former head coach George Seifert.

Shanahan proved that in his system almost any running back could succeed. The list of late round running backs that he turned into 1,000-yard rushers in a single season include Terrell Davis, Mike Anderson, Olandis Gary, Clinton Portis, Rueben Droughns and Tatum Bell.

Since Shanahan’s departure, the team has not been able to recapture the magic in the backfield, but nonetheless the success by Shanahan and the results are simply too much not to mention.

Indianapolis Colts – The Colts precision to identify and nail the right running back has been spot on for drafting running backs. Especially with their last three first-round picks at the running back position.

The first of those three draft choices is Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk, who was drafted by the Colts in 1994 and traded to the St. Louis Rams in 1999. He rushed for 1,000-yards in four of his five seasons in Indianapolis and helped the Rams win Super Bowl XXXIV.

Indianapolis replaced Faulk with Edgerrin James (1999) who won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year that same year. James played with the Colts from 1999-05 and is currently the team’s all-time leading rusher with 9,226. Ironically, one year after James left via free agency to the Arizona Cardinals, the Colts won the Super Bowl. Indianapolis however showed their appreciation and value he met to the club by giving him a Super Bowl ring of his own following their Super Bowl XLI victory over the Chicago Bears.

The running back that replaced James was Joseph Addai. He started Super Bowl XLI for the Colts and is the trifecta piece to the puzzle of running backs drafted by the Colts. His production and career never matched that of either Faulk or James, but he did help the team to the city’s only Super Bowl victory.

San Francisco 49ers – When you think of the San Francisco 49ers you think of Joe Montana then Jerry Rice and then Steve Young comes to mind.   It’s easy to forget the success the 49ers had at drafting running backs. The first guy that comes to mind is the three-time Super Bowl champion Roger Craig. His memorable running style with his knees pumping almost chest high as he worked his way through defenses helped him became one of the most versatile running backs in the history of the NFL. He became the first player in the history of the league to gain 1,000-yards in a single season running and receiving.

Following Craig’s career in San Francisco (1983-90) the 49ers drafted Ricky Watters in the 1991. He missed his entire rookie season due to injury, but Watters returned in 1992 to help the 49ers’ offense lead the NFL the next three seasons in scoring offense and yardage. Watters played 10 years in the NFL and rushed for 1,000-yards in seven of those seasons. His final year (1994) in San Francisco he won his only Super Bowl when the 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers 49-26.

Watters signed with the Philadelphia Eagles via free agency following that Super Bowl season. The void at running back was short lived with San Francisco adding value to their running game with free agents additions themselves that included Charlie Garner and Garrison Hearst.

The team returned to the draft fountain and used two third-round picks in the upcoming years with one in 2001 on Kevan Barlow and another in 2005 on Frank Gore.  Since 2003, they are only two running backs to lead the team in rushing. Barlow twice in 2003-04 and Gore with a team record 10-straight years from 2005-14.

Gore signed with the Indianapolis Colts this past off-season and all signs point to the teams second-round pick in 2014, Carlos Hyde, to carry (no pun intended) the tradition of productive and successful running backs that began their career in the Bay Area.