The state of running backs in the NFL is something that has been a major topic of discussion this offseason. Stars at the position failed to cash in on contracts they feel they were worth as teams around the league are no longer putting much value into running backs.

Seemingly every year we see a running back in the NFL come out of nowhere to help carry a team’s backfield. Last season, the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs relied on a rookie seventh-round pick, Isiah Pacheco, as their lead back throughout the postseason.

Most of the teams who have found success in recent seasons in the NFL have relied on young running backs on their rookie contracts. That played a part in the free agent market being so slow for players at the position this year.

The biggest contract that was signed was by Miles Sanders, who left the Philadelphia Eagles for the Carolina Panthers on a contract that pays just over $6 million annually. Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard all had the franchise tag placed on them and none of them were able to secure a long-term deal.

That is the state of the position currently in the NFL as teams believe it to be the most easily replaced position on the roster. Longevity at the position is rare, and that is evident based on one intriguing fact that Evan Massey of NFL Analysis Network shared.

Of the top 10 rushing leaders in the NFL in 2016, none of them were on an NFL roster before Monday evening, when Ezekiel Elliott, who was No. 1 in rushing that season, signed with the New England Patriots. None of the other nine are on a roster and some haven’t even played in the NFL in multiple years.

Unfortunately, that seems to be a trend that will continue in the coming years. While seven years is certainly a long time for an NFL running back to be in the league, there aren’t going to be any other offensive positions that the top 10 in yardage are all absent from rosters in the same time period.