INDIANAPOLIS — When it comes to running backs in the NFL Draft, the respect level is about on par with Rodney Dangerfield.

A year after Alabama’s Josh Jacobs was the only running back taken in the first round — and he didn’t come off the board until No. 24 — Georgia’s D’Andre Swift is the only consensus first-rounder in his 2020 position group.

And, like Jacobs, Swift is not expected to be picked until the second half of the round.

That is bothersome to some of the top prospects in this class, a group that includes Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins, Florida State’s Cam Akers and LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

“Look at the talent,” Taylor said, rattling off a list of names. “You look at these guys, and it’s not ordinary things that are going on. I think the biggest thing is understanding these guys have value. We have value.”

Dobbins rushed for 2,003 yards last season, Taylor became the first player in NCAA history to rush for more than 6,000 yards in a three-year span, and Swift finished his college career with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.

Still, Dobbins and Taylor might not be picked until the second day, which would continue the trend of NFL executives devaluing the position.

Consider that last year, Jacobs and Penn State’s Miles Sanders were the only backs taken in the first two rounds. That matched 2016, when only two backs went before the third round.

Over the past five drafts, an average of seven running backs has been selected before the fourth round.

“I think if I was to go in the first round, it would show the value of running backs really isn’t down,” Dobbins said. “A lot of people think (it is), but honestly, I don’t. We do a lot of things on the field, and I think we help our teams win.”

The performance of Tennessee’s Derrick Henry and Kansas City’s Damien Williams in the playoffs speaks to the success teams can have by running the ball. Still, NFL teams have been reluctant to go all-in on running backs early in the draft.

That trend could play into the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers this spring. Minus a first-round choice, they won’t draft until the No. 49 overall spot and then not again until late in the third round — provided they are awarded a compensatory pick.

Given the state of their running game — no Steelers player reached 475 yards last season on a unit that finished No. 29 in the NFL — a reliable runner could be a main target.

General manager Kevin Colbert continues to throw support behind James Conner, whose 464 yards last season were less than half of his 2018 total. Injuries limited Conner to 10 games, and he’s entering the final year of his contract.

“We know you are still a young, ascending player, and we want you to get back to where you were in 2018,” Colbert said of Conner. “The injuries happen. They were acute injuries that were not avoidable. He has to work through it, and we are confident in James because we know what he did in ’18 and are hopeful he can do that again in 2020.”

Colbert, though, didn’t discount second-year back Benny Snell Jr. and Jaylen Samuels, entering his third season, providing competition. And Colbert is willing to see if help can be summoned in the draft.

A potential fit is Florida State’s Akers, who rushed for 1,144 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. He also caught four touchdowns among 30 receptions. The 5-foot-10, 217-pound Akers, who doesn’t turn 21 until June, said he has a formal interview scheduled Thursday with the Steelers.

“He runs through contact. He’s strong, and he can catch the ball out of the backfield,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “He’s got good patience. He’ll press and bounce. He’s got a good feel for that. I don’t believe he possesses that elite-elite speed. It will be interesting to see how he runs in Indy.

“But if you told me in four years from now that Cam Akers ended up being the first- or second-best back in this draft, I would not be surprised at all.”

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