Once upon a time, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and pterodactyls dotted the sky, running backs were the focal point of NFL offenses and bashed heads with big middle linebackers.
But sometime in the past decade, a meteor shower of star quarterbacks crashed into the NFL, changing the landscape and putting running backs and, subsequently, one-dimensional linebackers on the verge of extinction.
OK, so maybe their demise been exaggerated, but as running backs have become devalued during recent drafts, so have the defenders whose primary objective had been to run them down.
"I think it certainly is a case where they have been phased out a little bit in terms of their importance," ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. said on a recent conference call. "The days where you need that great middle linebacker that can be your run-stuffer, that's just not the case anymore."
The days of middle linebackers being picked early in the draft could become history, too.
During the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night, two pass-rushing outside linebackers, South Carolina's Jadeveon Clowney and Buffalo's Khalil Mack, are considered locks to be selected among the top 10 picks. But Alabama's C.J. Mosley, regarded by many as the top middle linebacker in this class, could be waiting around much longer until Commissioner Roger Goodell calls his name.
The Vikings are one team with a 4-3 defense that could use a playmaking linebacker after waiting to address the position a year ago. Instead of using one of their three first-round picks to plug a prospect such as Notre Dame's Manti T'eo into the middle of their defense, they bolstered other positions. On Day 3, they selected Penn State's Gerald Hodges and Michael Mauti.
"It's always tough to project the development of young players when a new staff comes in, but I do see this as a position to address," said Matt Miller, the lead draft analyst for Bleacher Report. "If Khalil Mack or C.J. Mosley is available, the team has to consider either one of them."