INDIANAPOLIS -- DeAngelo Williams has been dodging defenders as a halfback seemingly since birth.
At Memphis, he rushed for 1,430, 1,948 and 1,964 yards in the past three years. His 6,026 career rushing yards trail only the totals registered by Ron Dayne, Ricky Williams and Tony Dorsett in the NCAA record book. Though he has to reluctantly concede that Reggie Bush will likely be the top pick and first running back taken, he isn't looking back in the second most competitive running back draft in the new millennium.
"I'm not one of those guys that's looking back," Williams said. "I'm not looking for LenDale White to pass me or Reggie Bush to pass me. I turned my rear view mirror off a long time ago. I'm chasing."
But timing is everything. Williams enters the NFL at the same time as the greatest veteran free agent running back class ever. Shaun Alexander is an MVP. Edgerrin James put up Pro Football Hall of Fame-bound numbers in Indianapolis. Then there's Jamal Lewis, Ahman Green, Chester Taylor and Michael Bennett. The Panthers took themselves out of the backfield market by transitioning DeShaun Foster.
How does he view that all-star lineup?
"In my side view mirror," Williams said.
Running backs better enter the NFL offseason with their heads on swivels and their eyes looking in all directions. The musical chairs for running backs is about to begin and there aren't enough chairs for the talent available. A few backs are going to go at bargain prices or at bargain positions in the draft.
Williams is competing against first-round candidates Bush, White and Laurence Maroney to convince teams to draft them in the first round and there are no guarantees backfields will be in motion. It didn't help backs when word came out of Arizona that the Cardinals aren't going to jump into the high end of salary to play for a running back.
Cardinals vice president Rod Graves said this week it's unlikely the team will sign a free agent at the "very top of the market." That would surely depress the market for Alexander, James and Lewis. The Cardinals were considered the main team with cap room in the true market to add a feature back.
The next group of teams -- Pittsburgh, Jacksonville and Tennessee -- in the market for a back would only be looking for upgrades and they may look at other priorities instead of investing heavy on backs. With the Panthers blocking Foster's freedom, five teams that let backs hit the market -- Seattle, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Green Bay and Minnesota -- have the options of re-signing their own, outbidding the other or drafting one of the top four backs.
One of the fun parts of the combine is scouts trying to figure out how the drafted backs compare to backs from the current league or past. Is Bush a Barry Sanders or a Marshall Faulk? White has that Jerome Bettis look about him. Williams is elusive but not tall, much like former Buffalo Bill Thurman Thomas.
Williams joked how pleased he was at his weigh-in and his measurements.
"Teams want to know that I'm not 5-foot-8 ½, that I'm 5-9," Williams said. "I just want to be an exciting player. I want to help to contribute to their team's success. I want to be utilized."
Maroney made an interesting observation this week. He describes his game as being patient as a runner. That's drawn comparisons to Alexander. Maroney disagrees.
"No. I don't see that at all," Maroney said. "That's two different styles of runner. He has a nice style but I feel his style and my style do not go together."
All right, Laurence, how about James.
"I could see that," he said. "He's a downhill runner with good hands and speed."
White, of course, has the most interesting perspective. He played in the shadows of Bush at USC. Unlike the rest of the backs in the draft who are smaller, White is unique. He's big checking into the combine at 238 pounds. The rest of the top backs are 210 or less.
"That's what helps me a lot in this draft, just because how big I am," White said. "DeAngelo and Reggie are in a class of their own and then you have the in-betweens like (Laurence) Maroney. And I think how big I am and how strong I am helps me out a lot. I'm kind of happy to be in this class because you get a lot more touchdowns when you're big."
Maroney didn't hurt himself by showing up at the combine at 5-11, 217. Normally, he's between 210-212 pounds. His plan is to play between 215-220 pounds in the pros.
Maroney hurt a hamstring in workouts in preparation for the combine so he isn't running. White, Bush and Williams are saving themselves for their individual workouts.
Each back will be checking their mirrors to see which teams sign the veterans and possibly take themselves out of the market for first-round choices from the backfield. It leaves a lot of uncertainty.
"I really don't know because we have a lot of great backs coming out after Reggie Bush. LenDale, DeAngelo," Maroney said. "There are a lot of great backs out there. Right now, there's no telling where I will get picked."
Around the combine
• Delay in free agency?: Commissioner Paul Tagliabue told a group of owners and front office executives that the NFL could push back the start of free agency a week if a collective bargaining agreement is reached by Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET. NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw said he wouldn't move back the start of free agency, but he wants to get a deal. Upshaw left town and no negotiating sessions are in the works. It's going down to the deadlines, but as each day passes, the chances of a settlement look that much more impossible.
Here is the optimistic view of what's happening on the labor front. An agreement could be reached by next Wednesday and free agency would start March 10. The owners have a meeting around March 7 to go over the deal and approve it. The union starts its annual convention in Hawaii around March 9 and could start the ratification process. No meetings are scheduled between the union and the owners, but Upshaw is available at any time to try to get something done.
And talk about going to the last minute. NFL teams and agents aren't going to be informed about the official salary cap number and what numbers to tender restricted free agents until Monday or Tuesday. Free agency is scheduled to start Friday.
• Speaking of money: Here is how much money is on the table during these collective bargaining talks. Each half percentage is worth about $500 million over the length of a new collective bargaining agreement. The union is four percentage points apart in negotiations. No wonder owners say it's a lot of money.
• Vikes in RB market: With their intentions to not re-sign halfback Michael Bennett, the Vikings are clearly in the market for a running back. "You know we're a little bit talent poor right there right now with Ciatrick Fason and Mewelde [Moore]," Vikings coach Brad Childress said. I shouldn't say talent poor, let me take that back. We don't have that many numbers. We just have two running backs there right now."
• McCarthy impressed by Green: Listening to Packers coach Mike McCarthy, you get the feeling he lists the re-signing of halfback Ahman Green as an important part of the team's future. McCarthy said he was pleased with how Green has been working out at the facility every day and loves his attitude.
• Favre over '05 campaign: The Packers see a possible opening that could lead to Brett Favre coming back for the 2006 season. His agent, Bus Cook, said Favre seems to have put the disappointments of the 2005 season behind him and is a little more positive when talking football. Favre will film a commercial this week and go to a golf event with Cook. His agent refuses to ask him his plans because he wants to give Favre as much time as possible to decide his future. Though it's clear Favre is leaning toward retirement, the fact he's emotionally putting the 4-12 season behind him is important.
• Size no concern for Moss: University of Miami wide receiver Sinorice Moss checked in at 5-8, 185 pounds and doesn't have any fears of being short for the NFL. "It's been something since I've been a young child," Moss said. "I've been shorter than mostly everybody else. It doesn't affect me much." By being a short, compact player, Moss said he has a lot of explosiveness in his legs and he can go under defenders on different routes.
• LenDale in Glendale?: So many people are thinking the Cardinals might draft USC halfback LenDale White that he's being labeled GlenDale White for the site of the Cardinals new stadium.
• Kiwanuka caught off guard: The funniest moment of the combine came when Boston College defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka was asked if he thought about sacks when he was on the field. "Do I think about sex on the field?" Kiwanuka said, turning the press conference into a laughfest. "I wondered where you were going with that one." He said he does think about sacks because that's why defensive ends get paid.
• Rush to glory: The big winners among the running backs who ran at the combine on the first day were Joseph Addai of LSU and Maurice Drew of UCLA. Drew ran a 4.36 in the 40-yard dash, even though his thighs are so muscular they look like they were pumped up with air. Addai ran a 4.4, but some had him at 4.37. Addai may have moved himself into the first round with his efforts at the combine on Saturday. Washington State's Jerome Henderson continued his bid for the second or third round by running a 4.47 in the 40-yard dash. Reggie Bush didn't run.
• Back on track: Tackle Eric Winston was the big winner among the offensive linemen who ran Saturday. He clocked a 4.94, second only to Chris Chester of Oklahoma. This was a big day for Winston, after not playing with his full leg strength last season because he was coming off a 2004 knee reconstruction. His time showed that he has regained the explosion in his legs. He also did well in the agility drills, moving himself back toward the first round.
• Colledge on the rise: Another player who impressed was tackle Daryn Colledge of Boise State. He ran a 5.01. Colledge is vying for second-round consideration.
• Making presence felt: Players are finally understanding the importance of running at the combine. Of the 53 offensive linemen who attended the combine, 44 worked out and most of those who didn't had medical excuses. Naturally, top prospects such as D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Winston Justice didn't run, but most of the other top linemen did. From the first group of running backs, 13 of 14 ran, with Reggie Bush being the lone exception.
• Hanging Chad: The Jets had a scheduled negotiating session with Tom Condon, agent for quarterback Chad Pennington. The Jets asked him to take a paycut from $9 million to $1 million. He rejected their first offer. If he is cut, don't be surprised to see him land in Kansas City with former head coach Herman Edwards.
• Playing tag: On the labor front, one of the changes the NFL players are asking for is a limit on the number of times a team can franchise or transition a player. Under the current system, teams can franchise or transition the same player as many times as they want. The union wants a one-time clause for franchise or transition players.
• McNair in limbo: The Titans continue to talk about restructuring the contract of quarterback Steve McNair. General manager Floyd Reese said the team won't give him the $50 million option bonus that was in his contract, but no one ever figured he would get that anyway. If no deal is reached by next Thursday, the Titans can pay a penalty clause and limit his contract to one year. If that happens, though, the cap number could go to $23 million because of proration from the future years he won't get. The contract becomes a one-year contract if the option bonus isn't exercised.
• Veteran's day: The Titans will be in the market for a veteran wide receiver to complement all the young receivers on their team. Reese joked he needed to raise the age limit for this young group of receivers so they could get a beer together.
• Edwards eyeing Holmes: Herman Edwards still believes Priest Holmes will be with the Chiefs this season and that he will receive medical clearance from his doctors to play, but Edwards hasn't spoken to Holmes.
John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.