Photo: Rich Barnes, USA Today Sports

After the exceptional talent that entered the NFL from the 2013 draft class, the 2014 class can't be considered anything but disappointing.

That's what you would think if you only considered each class in terms of its rookie season. The 2013 class initially looked stacked with Eddie Lacy, Montee Ball, LeVeon Bell, Zac Stacy, Andre Ellington, Giovani Bernard and Knile Davis. However, the second seasons of those players have revealed more warts than before. Lacy hasn't recaptured the form he showed during his rookie season as he has repeatedly struggle to create yards behind a limited offensive line. Ball and Stacy have lost their jobs. Davis remains a bit-part player behind Jamaal Charles, Ellington doesn't look set to be a feature back at any point of his career and Bernard is sharing the backfield with Jeremy Hill when he was supposed to be the team's focal point.

Of the bigger names in the 2013 class, only LeVeon Bell has really ascended during his second season in the league.

For the most part, this year's rookies have struggled. As evidenced by the 2013 class, one season can be misleading, but it also shouldn't simply be ignored:

Bishop Sankey, Tennessee Titans

Sankey was the first running back off the board during the 2013 draft. It was somewhat of a surprise when the Titans selected him. Not because the Titans didn't have a need at running back, but rather that they had other more glaring needs and Sankey wasn't viewed as the best runner of the incoming rookies.

To this point of his career, Sankey has done little to prove his doubters wrong.

His own head coach, Ken Whisenhunt, highlighted Sankey's limitations before he even stepped on the field. Whisenhunt kept Sankey on the sideline, sticking with the underwhelming but consistent Shonn Greene in his place. Whisenhunt suggested that Sankey's footwork wasn't where it needed to be for him to get snaps on the field. Eventually, Sankey did work his way onto the field and he has become the biggest part of the backfield rotation. However, his impact has been severely limited.

Part of Sankey's struggles have been a result of theb porous offensive line in front of him. Sankey played this season behind an offensive line that the Titans had invested heavily in, but an offensive line that had repeatedly failed to live up to expectations. The failures of his offensive linemen put more pressure on Sankey to create yards at or behind the line of scrimmage. He proved incapable of doing this as his production remained inconsistent and he failed to break tackles even when put in space.

Sankey can still be a decent fantasy option moving forward, but he lacks the explosiveness, elusiveness and intelligence to be productive behind an overmatched offensive line. Sankey needs the Titans situation to get much better before he can reach his full potential.

Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati Bengals

If LeVeon Bell was the revelation of the 2013 class during his second season, Jeremy Hill has been the revelation of the 2014 class during its rookie season.

Hill was always a standout talent, but character concerns hung over his head coming out of LSU. When the Bengals selected him as high as the second round of the draft ahead of some more prominent names, it came as a major surprise. The Bengals had invested a second round pick in Giovani Bernard just 12 months before and still had BenJarvus Green-Ellis on the roster. While Hill's character may rear its head and cause problems over the long term, his play on the field to this point has only justified his selection.

The 22-year-old is primarily a power back who excels running between the tackles. At 6'2" and 230+ pounds, Hill has the size to brutally impact defenders, but he also carries the frame that allows him to avoid big hits and still show off subtle footwork.

Although Hill's size allows him to be aggressive, it's his short area burst and quickness that assures him of the Bengals' goal line snaps moving forward. His aggressiveness, vision and overall power makes him capable of breaking tackles at the line of scrimmage but he's not completely reliant on that to be productive. Playing behind a relatively impressive offensive line in Cincinnati has given Hill plenty of opportunities to show off his between-the-tackles running.

Hill won't solely be reliant on touchdowns to produce in fantasy though.

He is a well-rounded running back with the ability to turn the corner, get to the edge and make defenders miss in space. Most significantly, he combines patience with burst and decision making to create yardage behind the line of scrimmage or highlight the quality of his blocking to advance onto the second level. By all measureables on the field, Hill has the potential to be a high quality running back for a very long time. He's not simply a Cedric Benson or BenJarvus Green-Ellis.

With enough ability as a receiver to not limit the offense, the only concern about Hill moving forward is his character.

Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers

There's very little certainty in San Francisco right now. For a long time the only certainty was Frank Gore's place in the offense and his ability to consistently overcome inexplicably low expectations.

Gore has held off decline for as long as any back could ever expect to. Now that he is 31 years of age though, 32 before the start of next season, his decline has a feeling of inevitability. Even if Gore can still be effective next season, Carlos Hyde should be expected to take over a significant portion of his touches during his second season. The former Ohio State prospect hasn't played a huge role for the 49ers during his rookie season, but he has repeatedly shown flashes of his impressive talent.

Hyde is an aggressive an energetic runner. He isn't that similar to Gore, but he does bring similar physicality. Hyde should offer the 49ers a more explosive player to run the ball.

In terms of athleticism, Hyde is a very well rounded player. He has very easy acceleration that leads to a straight-line speed that he can sustain for big gains. He's not exceptionally agile, but he shows off good footwork and balance with the strength to brush off tacklers. Hyde can jump cut away from defenders and through holes, while also showing off impressive patience and vision to be a reliable between-the-tackles runner. Because of his limited role, Hyde is still an unproven commodity. 

Regardless of his limited exposure to this point, there's no reason to doubt Hyde significantly once he moves into a starting role.

Charles Sims, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Much of Sims' rookie season was taken from him because of injury. He hasn't played enough this year to really gauge his abilities, while the offensive line in front of him was always going to make it tough for him to be immediately productive.

Sims has shown off some quickness and natural receiving ability, but there are still way too many unknowns to be certain about anything moving forward. It's especially difficult when you consider that the Buccaneers need to replace three to four of their starting offensive linemen and they have multiple other options at the running back position.

Tre Mason, St. Louis Rams

If any back has been the star of this running back class, it's the Rams' Tre Mason.

The former Auburn prospect found himself on the sideline for much of his rookie season. Mason fell behind Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham during the preseason because of his inability in pass protection. Eventually, the Rams turned to Mason around midseason to try and spark their running game. He quickly became a feature back for the offense to rely on who could wear down defenses by running hard between the tackles while also breaking off huge gains with his explosiveness.

Mason still isn't much of a pass protector, but it shouldn't prevent him from staying on the field if the Rams use him properly.

Pushing the Pocket previously looked at Mason's skill set within the Rams offense.

Terrance West, Cleveland Browns
Isaiah Crowell, Cleveland Browns

Quite clearly, Isaiah Crowell is the fan favorite of the Browns' rookie running backs. However, just as clear appears to be that the franchise isn't going to hand anything to Crowell.

Crowell is the less predictable, more fascinating player. According to Football Guys staffer Matt Waldman, Crowell was the most talented running back in last year's draft. However, he went undrafted because of character concerns. Crowell hasn't been in trouble during his time with the Browns, but despite his clearly superior play over his teammates, the Browns have been reluctant to shift the workload onto his shoulders. Part of that may be Crowell's size, yet even though he's relatively short, he carries a stocky frame opposed to, say, an Andre Ellington type of runner.

For the long term, Crowell is clearly the running back to own. His skill set simply fits Kyle Shanahan's offense better than West's. However, if Crowell is coming at a significant cost while West is being overlooked, it may be more prudent to pick up West and hope that he remains a significant part of the offense due to Crowell not being fully trusted/living up to his potential.

Jerick McKinnon

Little was known about Jerick McKinnon when he entered the NFL. Finding tape on the running back wasn't a problem, instead the problem was the offense he played in during his time in college.

McKinnon played in an option offense where he wasn't doing things that traditional running backs are asked to do in the NFL. His athleticism was obvious to anyone who watched him, but little could be learned about his ability to read/follow blocks or create yardage at the line of scrimmage. After one season in the NFL, McKinnon is still essentially an unknown. He had a promising year, but also a year in which he only touched the ball 140 times in an offense that was regularly spread out with option looks or simple assignments for the running back in space.

Because of his athleticism and the comfort he showed in his role as a rookie, McKinnon is worth keeping an eye on, but his potential is still tough to gauge.

Dri Archer, Pittsburgh Steelers
Devonta Freeman, Atlanta Falcons

Archer and Freeman went close together in the draft and both have had similar roles in the NFL to this point. Both have struggled to get and stay on the field with any kind of consistency.

Playing behind LeVeon Bell means that Archer is at best going to be a third down back over the coming seasons. His lack of size likely limited him to that role from the moment he was drafted. Archer has some explosiveness and is a natural receiver, but he can't be considered a valuable fantasy option because he shouldn't find any kind of consistency even moving past this season.

On the other hand, Freeman is in a better situation to carve out a role on the field. Steven Jackson is coming to the end of his career, while Jacquizz Rodgers is only a role player. The Atlanta Falcons' offensive line may be limited right now, but the roster appears set to endure some turnover so Freeman could soon be the starting option on a team with a more effective offensive line. The relatively small runner shows a surprising physicality and impressive quickness to be effective on the field.

While he doesn't have great long speed and his upside is likely limited, Freeman's consistency and skill set should raise his ceiling to that of a reliable runner after this season.

Andre Williams, New York Giants

Andre Williams and the New York Giants appear to be a perfect match.

Williams is an old style running back, a power runner who is allergic to playing as a receiver. Tom Coughlin will likely keep Williams involved on his offense for as long as he is there, but it's unclear how long that will be after this disappointing season for the franchise. Williams' skill set is very limited. He is a power back without much power and a lack of fluidity to become anything more. Williams is the kind of fantasy option you only ever use when you're desperate.

Ka'Deem Carey, Chicago Bears

Being stuck behind Matt Forte on the running back depth chart is one of the quickest ways to lose opportunities on the field. When the offense as a whole is such a mess, chances are you're even less likely to get on the field.

Carey hasn't seen the field a huge amount this year, but when he has he has shown flashes of starter potential. He is a physically gifted player with surprising strength for such a slender silhouette. Carey can comfortably play in space and should be a receiving option out of the backfield once he becomes a more prominent part of the offense. Forte likely only has one seaosn left in Chicago. While it may take 12 months longer than you'd prefer, Carey could become his heir in 2016.