The last running back before Elliott to be picked in the top five was Trent Richardson, who went No. 3 overall to the Cleveland Browns in 2012; he was traded to the Indianapolis Colts during his second season and is no longer in football.

There might be four running backs picked in the first round this year in Fournette, Cook, McCaffrey and Kamara; the last time that happened was in 2008. If not for his off-field issues, Joe Mixon could have been a first-round possibility, as well.

“I don’t remember this amount of running backs coming out,” Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said. “We just got out of our draft meetings, and there’s a significant amount of talent at that position. And to be honest with you, I can’t remember a year where the draft class at running back is this deep.”

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett’s introduction to Elliott came in the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship at AT&T Stadium, where he ran through, over and around Oregon to lead Ohio State to the title. The Cowboys met with Elliott at the scouting combine and then held a private workout with him in Columbus, Ohio, with a number of his Buckeyes teammates.

Garrett acknowledged the “don’t draft a running back high” theory as a recent trend, but he doesn’t agree with it.

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“The runner matters, and that’s something we’ve believed in for a long time,” Garrett said. “A couple of years ago when DeMarco Murray was our running back, he had a huge impact on our football team. I was fortunate to play with Emmitt Smith for eight years. I know the impact he made in this organization. So great runners make a big difference. They make the offensive line better. They make the quarterback better. They make the receivers better, because everyone is hunkered down to stop the run if you have a great one. And I think it certainly makes the defense and your kicking game better because of the way a runner can help you control a game. So we’ve always valued a running back.

“I understand the arguments about shelf life, and maybe you can find running backs later in the draft. But if you have an opportunity to get a great football player who’s a running back, he can have a big impact on your football team.”

Fournette, Cook, McCaffrey and Kamara are hoping to do in 2017 what Elliott did last season.

“It shows that anybody can step up and be an immediate force on the football field,” McCaffrey said, “even as a rookie.”

Two sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that the Buccaneers are not expected to aggressively pursue Peterson at this point. Though things could always change, the team still has loose plans for Doug Martin, whom the Buccaneers think looks refreshed and healthy after rehab for substance abuse, according to a source.

Speaking to reporters at the combine, Giants coach Ben McAdoo said the team would “take a look” at Peterson.

As for Spielman’s talks with Peterson, the GM said Wednesday: “I believe in just putting everything up front and on the table.

“I told him there are some areas we’d like to address. The one thing you can’t predict is what the market is going to be. Usually, you have expectations coming into this market, when we get into the negotiating window with other free agents next week. You may have expectations today, and those expectations all of a sudden change within a week. If we go specifically after some specific positions in free agency, and we’re planning to spend ‘X’ amount of dollars, and all of a sudden those dollars increase, we have to adjust our game plan.”

The NFL has for years discussed possibilities for its own developmental league to replace NFL Europe, which was shuttered in 2007.