Jonathan Taylor stars at NFL Combine as Cardinals RB uncertainty looms

Of all the question marks the Arizona Cardinals have coming into the 2020 NFL Draft, the running back position might be the most curious.

The Cardinals have been linked to Georgia running back D’Andre Swift in a two-round mock draft by ProFootballFocus, but Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor stole the show in the NFL Draft Combine posting a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash on Friday night.

Jonathan Taylor vs Odell Beckham Jr., DeAndre Hopkins, and Julio Jones… Jonathan Taylor ran a faster 40 than all three of them with a 4.39… #NFLCombine
pic.twitter.com/HtXenjxZCN

— Christopher Reiss (@NFL_ChrisReiss) February 29, 2020

The Cardinals have two running backs under contract for the 2020 season with David Johnson and Chase Edmonds.

Uncertainty fills the room, however, as trade rumors have been linked to Johnson who saw his numbers decline in 2019 after signing a three-year contract worth $39 million in 2018, and Cardinals’ 2019 leading rusher Kenyon Drake set to test the waters of free agency.

While the Cardinals pursue measures to re-sign Drake, the 2020 NFL Draft offers players Arizona could decide to take to fill the depth chart should the team part ways with Johnson or lose out on the Drake sweepstakes.

Swift, Taylor and Ohio State product J.K. Dobbins are all ranked in the top three at the running back position by ESPN, CBS and Sports Illustrated.

Dobbins opted to not participate in the workout portion of the combine.

Swift posted a 4.48 40-yard dash, 35.5-inch vertical jump and 121-inch broad jump.

In 2019, only one running back was taken in the first round of the draft, one in the second round and five in the third round.

In 2018, three were taken in the first round and eight were taken in the top 100 overall picks.

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