Rutgers running back Ray Rice made the trip out to Indianapolis and compared favorably with some of the top backs in the country. His performance at the NFL Combine didn't hurt him at all and in fact, may have boosted his status. Here's a breakdown of things following the extravaganza in Indy.

Rice's position

Most draft experts and gurus originally projected Ray Rice as a third round selection with a chance of creeping into the second round. That position was due mostly to Rice's questionable speed. Coming into the NFL Combine, Rice was thought to have approximately 4.6 speed in the forty. This past Sunday in Indianapolis, Rice registered an unofficial time of 4.44 in the forty, with an official time yet to be released. Supposing the official time does not differ all that much from the unofficial, that significant increase has already helped his status. Rice now finds himself right behind the top five running backs in the draft. But where he stands is not yet clear. Jamaal Charles is running neck and neck with him and even if the Texas standout inches ahead, that leaves Rice seventh among running backs.

Behind Rice is Steve Slaton, who clocked the same unofficial forty time as Rice. Although Slaton's official time will be a mere hundredth of a second better, Rice still moved ahead of the Mountaineer whose speed is supposed to be his best attribute. Tulane's Matt Forte and Central Florida's Kevin Smith are in similar situations in which their times were only better than Rice's by the slightest fraction of a second. Smith did not bench and Forte did the same amount of reps as Rice, despite weighing 18 pounds heavier. Speed was supposedly all that these backs had over Rice coming in. Now that they are pretty much on a level playing field, Rice should find himself ranked higher than both Forte and Smith. Michigan's Mike Hart saw his stock drop significantly when he clocked a disappointing 4.67 in the forty. Once considered a second round pick, Hart is likely to fall to a fourth round selection, perhaps even lower.

Sneaking past Charles may be difficult, however being seventh among running backs in this year's draft could enable Rice to be picked somewhere in the middle of the second round. Nevertheless, some updated draft rankings already have Rice ahead of Charles as the number six running back in the draft. Holding on to that number six ranking would indicate that Rice could in fact be an early second round selection.

Top five running backs help out Rice

Good showings by the top five running backs slated to go ahead of Rice in the draft will undoubtedly help his status. Darren McFadden may have locked up one of the top three overall spots with his impressive time of 4.33 in the forty. Rashard Mendenhall's strong showing has boosted his stock as did Oregon's Jonathan Stewart. All three of those players are guaranteed first round picks and now all may even break the top twenty. Chris Johnson's 4.24 forty may have earned him a spot in the first round and Felix Jones' performance makes it possible for five running backs to sneak into the first round. The earlier all these running backs go in the draft, the better it bodes for Rice.

Year of the running back

Last year, only two running backs were drafted in the first round (Adrian Peterson 7, Marshawn Lynch 12). However, last year's class was not nearly of the same caliber as this year's. There were seven other running backs selected with the top 100 picks. They were as follows:
49 Kenny Irons, Auburn
50 Chris Henry, Arizona
63 Brandon Jackson, Nebraska
71 Lorenzo Booker, Florida State
90 Tony Hunt, Penn State
93 Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois
100 Michael Bush, Louisville

In 2006, there were four running backs selected in the first round and nine selected within the first 100 picks. This draft was also not as deep as the 2008 draft is expected to be. Maurice Jones-Drew was taken late in the second round with the sixtieth overall pick. Rice has often been compared to the Jacksonville Jaguar standout. Here's a look at how the running back situation looked through the first three rounds in 2006:

2 Reggie Bush, USC
21 Laurence Maroney, Minnesota
27 DeAngelo Williams, Memphis
30 Joseph Addai, LSU
45 LenDale White, USC
60 Maurice Jones-Drew, UCLA
74 Brian Calhoun, Wisconsin
79 Jerious Norwood, Mississippi State
100 Michael Robinson, Penn State