NFL draft watch: Injured running backs' limitations complicate forecast

The latest running back draft prospect to get hurt was Minnesota's David Cobb, who came up lame while running the 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine and opted against trying to run at the Gophers' pro day on Tuesday.

The quad injury hasn't yet healed, and so Cobb will have to hope that teams look back at the strong tape he put up during the season and at the Senior Bowl before stamping a grade on him.

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The same goes for other injured running backs such as Georgia's Todd Gurley, whose ACL rehab limited him from doing anything but lifting at the combine, and Indiana's Tevin Coleman, whose foot injury will keep him on the shelf until April 15.

Could other backs pass them up during the pre-draft process? It's possible.

This is a deep group this year, and it's possible that with a strong pro day and his late-season momentum — plus better health — that Melvin Gordon could slip ahead of Gurley, even though Gordon's good but hardly great 40-yard dashes in Indy represent a missed opportunity for a stock raise.

It also comes down to scheme fit, too. Bishop Sankey went ahead of Carlos Hyde, the prospective top back in last year's draft, because the Tennesee Titans wanted more of a quicker playmaker. (We know how that decision looks now.) Eddie Lacy was the fourth back taken in 2013 because not every team was convinced that he was well-conditioned enough, versatile enough and scheme-diverse enough. (Another oops in retrospect.)

So while teams try to tell you they have the long vision in mind, so many times it comes down to a what-can-you-do-for-me-now proposition, and if teams determine that Gurley might not be healthy enough to practice until August or that he won't regain his full burst until 2016, then potential be damned — he'll slide.

Coleman and Cobb have the chance to work out for teams prior to the draft, which will help. But with a loaded class that could see 10-12 backs taken in the first three rounds, these talented runners' injuries might tilt the scales in other backs' direction when the draft rolls around.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm