Since the beginning of the new year, a number of underclassmen have declared for the NFL Draft. Already, 44 juniors have announced their intentions to leave college football behind — if five more declare, there will be more underclassmen in the 2008 Draft than any other in this millennium. This influx of juniors has transformed the running back class from a fairly weak one to one of the deepest in recent memory.

Before any underclassmen declared, Michigan’s Mike Hart, Georgia Tech’s Tashard Choice and East Carolina’s Chris Johnson headlined the position, but besides them and a few others, there was little depth at running back. Many entered their names for consideration, but due to injuries, poor measurables and inconsistent statistical totals, most were projected either as late-round picks or as undrafted free agents.

But then the cavalry arrived.

Over the past few weeks, nine junior running backs have declared for the NFL Draft, and all are expected to be high draft picks. All of a sudden, Hart and Choice (not Johnson, though, who ran a remarkable 4.20 40-yard dash, which will bump him up the draft boards) went from being at the top of their class to the middle of it, with little chance of moving up.

The top running back by overwhelming consensus is Arkansas’s Darren McFadden, who finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting this year for the second season in a row. He has been favorably compared to all-world Chargers running back LaDanian Tomlinson and Minnesota star rookie Adrian Peterson. McFadden won’t drop past the fifth pick, and it’s doubtful he will still be available even then (he may go first overall).

The Arkansas program is so good at churning out tailbacks that McFadden’s backup, Felix Jones, also declared and is a projected first-round pick as well. Jones is an excellent kick returner, and, in limited action, has proven to be a dangerous running back. Over his three college seasons, he averaged, in order, a mind-boggling 6.3, 7.6 and 8.7 yards per carry. A good NFL average is 4 YPC — anything above 5 is special.

Joining the two Arkansas backs are Illinois’ Rashard Mendenhall, who single-handedly carried the Fighting Illini to an improbable BCS berth, and Oregon’s Jonathan Stewart, who rushed for 160 yards on only 19 carries against Stanford this year. Central Florida’s Kevin Smith led Division 1 in scoring (30 touchdowns) and rushing yards (2,448, good for 188.31 yards per game, which put him only 180 yards short of Barry Sanders’s single-season rushing record).

Rounding out the juniors are Texas’ Jamaal Charles, the Longhorns’ work horse; Rutgers’ Ray Rice and West Virginia’s Steve Slaton, two preseason Heisman favorites; and Clemson’s James Davis, a consistent back who was one of the ACC’s most dangerous threats over the past two seasons. All of the underclassmen should go within the first three rounds, which pushes seniors like Hart and Choice down into the mid-rounds.

But with so many talented backs available, a question arises: is there room for all of them in the NFL? So many teams seem set at the position, so why would they take a running back high in the draft when they can address a more pressing need?

The truth is, there are no longer 32 feature back roles. In today’s NFL, there are 64 of them. The NFL has developed into a two-back league where carries are split. Many teams employ a bruising back that can explode into the hole and a smaller, shiftier back that can take sweeps around the outside and catch passes out of the backfield.

For proof, look no further than three of the four remaining teams in the NFL playoffs: the Chargers use both Tomlinson and Michael Turner — who is so valuable to the offense that, despite numerous trade offers for him last year, General Manager A.J. Smith said that he wouldn’t trade Turner for anything less than a first- and third-round pick. The Patriots have Lawrence Maroney, a hard runner, and Kevin Faulk, a third-down specialist who is one of the best receiving backs in NFL history.

The Giants actually have four good running backs on their roster: starter Brandon Jacobs, a physical freak who stands at six-foot-four, weighs in at 265 pounds and yet runs a 4.4 40-yard dash and averaged close to 100 rushing yards a game; rookie Ahmad Bradshaw, who hits the hole as quick as any back in the league and rarely goes down at first contact; Rueben Droughns, who has rushed for over 1,000 yards twice in his career; and Derrick Ward, who is currently on injured reserve but started earlier in the year and was a reliable pass catcher and runner.

Many other teams have the same two-back strategy, which bodes well for the top of the 2008 running back draft class. For assurance, they need only look back to last year. Minnesota had the seventh pick in the 2007 draft and a reliable veteran in Chester Taylor, who had rushed for 1,216 yards in 2006. Adrian Peterson wasn’t supposed to drop past the top five, but he did and Minnesota pounced on him.

The result? Peterson broke the single-game rushing record in only his ninth career game, was the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and was an early MVP contender before he got injured. Taylor didn’t reach the 1,000-yard mark again, but he tallied 844 yards on an impressive 5.4 yards per carry average. The two backs nearly carried the Vikings to a playoff berth despite the inconsistent, and at times horrid, play of their quarterback.

There’s room for everyone at the NFL’s running back table — everyone can, and is expected to, contribute.