Fullbacks have become such a dying breed that the few survivors are increasingly more valuable to the NFL teams who still want and need them.
It's why the Detroit Lions used a fifth-round draft pick earlier this month on Michael Burton, even though he carried the ball only once -- on a fake punt -- last season for Rutgers.
"There are no fullbacks anymore," Lions general manager Martin Mayhew said. "Fullback is a dying position in college football with all the spread offenses."
In Burton, the Lions have added a guy who seems to fit the job description perfectly. He just acts and sounds like the ideal selfless fullback.
"A fullback's mentality is smash-mouth football," Burton said. "That's what you gotta have. That's what I have. I love contact.
"I love being the guy that springs the open run. I have more joy in hitting a big block and taking a guy out and then having my running back run 60-70 yards for a touchdown. I really love that. I'm excited to do that."
The Lions will be sacrificing experience at the position after choosing not to bring back Jed Collins, who gave them a lift with some timely short-yardage runs that Burton likely won't provide.
Collins (6-foot-1, 252 pounds) became an unrestricted free agent after four years in the NFL, including the last one in Detroit. He signed with Dallas but already has been released by the Cowboys.
The Lions decided to go in another direction with Burton, a former college walk-on whose only scholarship offers coming out of high school were Division I-AA teams such as Maine, New Hampshire, Lehigh, Lafayette and Towson.
Burton is an overachiever whose strong work ethic has helped put him in this position. His contribution to the Lions not only will be blocking and catching passes out of the backfield, but also as a potentially key special-teams player.
"You want a guy that's durable," Mayhew said. "You want a guy that can do multiple things. We like him for that reason."
Many talented college players who get drafted don't play a lot of special teams in college, particularly later in their career, but that's not true with Burton. He's clearly in his comfort zone on special teams, which is a sometimes underrated part of the game.
"I was on every special teams at Rutgers throughout my entire career," he said. "I played on kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt block, field goal, and I was a starter on every team.
"I have a lot of experience on special teams and I understand that will be a very important goal for me."
In four years, including 42 games and 27 starters, Burton had only 22 rushing attempts for 116 yards and no touchdowns for Rutgers. He also caught 47 passes for 401 yards and three touchdowns.
At 6-foot, he said he finished his college career at around 230-235 pounds. He was up to more than 240 pounds by the NFL Combine in February and is now around 250.
"A lot of teams were telling me they wanted to see me around the 245-250 range to be able to fulfill the needs they have offensively, but at the same time staying quick and athletic for special teams," Burton explained.
He said he added the weight by "just constantly eating, but all clean eating, and hitting the weights hard while also maintaining speed and athleticism with running."
"You never want to put on weight the wrong way," Burton said. "It was difficult, but I knew it was something I needed to do.
"I've put that weight on, and I've been on a running, speed and agility plan that I'm doing very well with. I definitely feel just as athletic as I was at 230. I feel stronger now, so I think I'm going to be a better player at this weight."
