They were once the glamour boys of the National Football League, a blend of power and grace that personified the essence of a gladiator sport. Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Eric Dickerson, O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell, Gale Sayers, Larry Csonka, Franco Harris, John Riggins and Tony Dorsett used their legs to help make the NFL what it is today.

They were from an era in which the more carries they got during a given game, the more dangerous they became by wearing down a defense, like sledgehammers breaking through a wall. These days nobody is looking for the next Dickerson, Csonka or Harris. They’re not even looking for the next Jerome Bettis. What they’re looking for is the next Saquon Barkley and Le’Veon Bell.

Over the last decade, running backs have morphed into a hybrid position in which their hands are valued as much as their legs, creating a dual threat that doesn’t leave the field on third-and-long. That’s why at a time when most teams are shying away from top-end running backs, the Giants and Jets have gone all-in on Barkley and Bell.

Power backs have largely gone the way of big shoulder pads, a forgotten commodity seen as too one-dimensional for today’s spread offenses. It has dropped the need for a running back down the priority list.

The last time a running back was selected with the top-overall pick in the NFL draft was 1995, when the Bengals took Ki-Jana Carter out of Penn State. Over the last five years, only five running backs have been selected among the top-10 picks of the NFL draft.

Barkley was the second-overall pick when the Giants selected him in 2018. The next running back taken was Rashaad Penny of San Diego State, selected by Seattle with the 27th-overall pick. New England then snagged Sony Michael of Georgia with the 31st choice. Overall, six running backs were taken in the top 50, but just seven among the top-100 picks.

The draft choices weren’t wasted. Barkley single-handedly made the Giants a must-watch team and captured the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Michel scored five postseason touchdowns for the Patriots. Second-round draft picks Nick Chubb (Browns) and Kerryon Johnson (Lions) were also productive. Chubb started nine games and ran for 996 yards with eight TDs, while Johnson started seven games and totaled 641 yards rushing and 213 receiving.

Despite their success, running backs didn’t get much more love in the 2019 draft, when the first running back chosen was Josh Jacobs of Alabama, by the Raiders with the 24th overall pick. He was the only running back taken in the first round. Miles Sanders of Penn State was the only running back taken in the second round when the Eagles made him the 53rd choice overall.

The skills expected from today’s backs make them harder to evaluate. A good back must not only have vision, acceleration, strength and courage, he is also expected to be a reliable receiver, route runner and pass blocker. NFL teams want players who have displayed those skills in college, or at least have the ability to learn them.

Giants general manager Dave Gettleman took plenty of heat for using the second-overall pick in 2018 on a running back instead of a potential franchise quarterback. But Gettleman said the Giants never wavered from wanting Barkley. They were all-in from the beginning.

“He can string together moves and get in and out of stuff,” Gettleman said a few days after of the draft. “He’s unique. He’s big. He’s powerful. He can step on the gas, and he catches the heck out of the ball and he sees the blitz pickup stuff.”

Barkley proved worthy of his selection. He rushed 261 times for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also caught 91 passes for 721 yards and four scores. He finished with the most scrimmage yards (2,028) in the NFL, and the most for any rookie in league history.

Barkley is part of an era of versatile backs who are giving defensive coordinators fits. Bell, Christian McCaffery, Alvin Kamara, David Johnson, Todd Gurley and James White all follow the trend that began to take root a decade ago, when versatile talents like LaDainian Tomlinson, Marshall Faulk, Edgerrin James and Reggie Bush were active. They can line up in the backfield or as a slot receiver. Barkley was even used as a wideout at times.

The Jets coveted Bell’s versatility, signing him to a $52 million deal with $35 million guaranteed after he sat out the 2018 season in a contract dispute with Pittsburgh. With the Jets’ acquisition of Bell and receiver/running back Ty Montgomery, coach Adam Gase is looking forward to building a diversified offense.

“I think the fact that we have Le’Veon, and then now you add Ty and you add Bilal Powell, you have three guys right there that can do all three phases of the game, which makes play-calling a lot easier,” Gase said. “You don’t have to change because of whoever’s out there. You can call the same things. You’re not adjusting your play-calling because all three are similar.”

It’s a matchup nightmare for defenses, including for the Jets, who have to face Bell every day in practice.

“He’s a tough guy to cover because he’s out of the box,” Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “That’s the model now. You see the smaller running backs getting out of the backfield for screens or going out into slot formation with an empty backfield. It’s evolved into a having a two-way running back that can run the ball but still be able to catch it.”

More offensive responsibilities hasn’t necessarily equated to more money. Determining the value of today’s running backs is becoming as difficult as trying to defend them. Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott held out of training camp before agreeing Wednesday to a six-year, $90 million contract extension with $50 million guaranteed, according to reports. The two-time NFL rushing champion wanted to be the highest-paid back, surpassing Gurley, who last year signed a $57.5 million contract with $45 million guaranteed. The average of $14.375 million per year is more than Bell ($13.125 million) is getting from the Jets.

The Cowboys are among the teams that view Gurley’s deal as a mistake because of the lofty guarantee. It didn’t helped Elliott’s case that Gurley was a virtual non-factor in the playoffs last season because of a knee injury.

The physical pounding a running back endures makes him a long-term liability in most cases. It has created a trend in which running backs, on average, are making less money than in previous years. In 2013, the top-10 backs counted an average of $8.35 million against the cap, according to overthecap.com. In 2018, that number was $7.54 million. Compare that to quarterbacks, who averaged $15.2 million in 2013 and $25.5 million in 2018.

Elliott, Gurley, Bell and Johnson are the only backs making at least $13 million per season. There are 16 receivers making more than $13 million per year and 17 quarterbacks making more than $20 million per year.

Elliott said in an interview with Maxim that he hopes the value for running backs improves.

“Until the very recent deal with Todd Gurley, I think there was an undervalue of the running back,” Elliott said. “But with guys like Gurley getting drafted so high, then me, and now guys like Saquon getting drafted in the first round, I think we’ve done a great job of bringing back the value of the position, showing the importance of the running back.”

One arena in which running backs are highly valued is fantasy football, because consistency and volume are coveted. That’s why running backs with the potential of 200-250 rushes and 60-80 receptions are the first drafted. Barkley scored the most fantasy points ever for a player in his rookie year based on his 352 touches. Barkley, McCaffery, Kamara and Elliott were the first names taken in just about everyone’s fantasy draft this year.

McCaffery had 107 receptions last year, Barkley had 91, James White had 87, Kamara had 81 and Elliott 77. Bell, meanwhile, had 85 receptions for 655 yards and two touchdowns in 2017 with the Steelers to go along with 1,291 rushing yards and nine TDs. Don’t be surprised if he stays just as busy with the Jets.