prymetyme25
Footballguy
Disclaimer: I'm not gonna rank these guys untill after the Combine.
Comparisons= By visual comparison
Rating= Total does not equal success as we know success comes from other factor other than physical abilities.
Darren McFadden 6-2/ 215
At first glance of McFadden he looks a lot like AP/LJ simply by size and running style. Once you look into him though you would probably see that these styles are nothing alike. Darren doesn’t run with that added violence that AP or LJ does. He does however run with a more body conscience than the other two. Many of Darren’s run are on the outskirts of the defense and run out of a very unconventional offense. For as big a guy as he is I just didn’t see enough contact to have me completely sold on him. In the bowl game I saw him get folded a couple of times and there were plays that I think the AP/LJ’s of the league would have made that defender pay. Although I’m not calling him a bust but if you think you are getting the same type of runner as AP/LJ you might be disappointed.
Comparison=LJ/AP
Upside= O. J. Simpson
Downside= Tyrone Wheatley
Ratings
Speed=8 Toughness=6.5? Agility=6 Vision=8 Rb IQ=7
Ray Rice 5-9/ 195
After watching a few runs of Rice’s first thought that popped in my head was Marshawn Lynch. He sorta has that unorthodox running style, almost unbalanced. The more I watched him the more I started to see the true comparison which was Shaun Alexander. Like Alexander I don’t think Rice has anything that is particularly special but he just seems to get things done. Good balance, good speed, solid toughness good in between the tackles runner. I think Rice may be the surprise of the draft.
Comparison= Shaun Alexander
Upside= Shaun Alexander
Downside= ATrain
Ratings
Speed=7 Toughness=8 Agility=7 Vision=6.5 Rb IQ=6?
Mike Hart 5-9/ 196
I have made it no secret that I really like Hart. Not for only rb skills but more for his intangibles. Hart is the tradition little/big man syndrome. He plays a lot bigger than he actually is. Very tough, very smart, instinctive runner. He does however get caught from behind too often. In yardage leagues I think Hart is gonna be a guy to have as I see him a being a 100 total yards a game type guy rushing/rec type yards. I don’t expect Hart to grade out well in the combine so I see him dropping to the last round picks unless teams go on college production.
Comparison= Dominic Davis/Williams
Upside= Thurman Thomas
Downside= Dominic Davis/Williams
Ratings
Speed=6 Toughness=8.5 Agility=6 Vision=8 Rb IQ=8
Jamaal Charles 6-1/190
Charles is by far the running back that I’ve seen the most of and I’ve watched him since his freshman year. In those years I’ve seen a lot of growth in Charles. Started out as a track guy who plays football to a football player who happens to be an elite athlete. Reminds me of T.Bell/Justin Fargas but Texas tough. Before UT fans crucify me about the T. Bell comparison I happen to like Bell just don’t think he was tough enough to make it big in the NFL. This past year Charles seemed to have taken his game to another level and Although I am leery of rbs who play with running qbs, Charles showed me that he’s not a product of a system *cough* Cedric Benson*cough*. Although they ran the same zone read offense McCoy is no Young. Charles has also shown me that he has more moves than people think. He shows decent wiggle and footwork and if you give him any air he’s gone. He’s the angle buster. Got these measurements off of another site but I think Charles is closer to 200lbs.
Comparison= T. Bell
Upside= Eric Dickerson
Downside= M. Bennett
Ratings
Speed=10 Toughness=7 Agility=6.5 Vision=8 Rb IQ=7
Jonathan Stewart 5-11/235
You don’t see too many RBS with Stewart’s size/speed ratio he’s big and thickly build. He’s also bottom heavy which I think is why he’s so fast. It also leads me to believe that he has a good shot to be a great rb for a 3-4 year period. I however don’t think he’ll have a very long shelf life.(just a hunch) I admittedly haven’t seen much on him but like Charles rbs who play with highly mobile qbs raise questions for me.
Comparison= Deuce McAllister
Upside= Ronnie Brown
Downside= Michael Turner
Ratings
Speed=8.5 Toughness=8 Agility=6.5? Vision=??? RB IQ=???
Steve Slaton 5-11/195
I really don’t wanna go on a limb here but everything I’ve seen of this guy just says bust. BUST in big letters. I don’t see any wiggle, no real toughness and he plays with an option qb. If you watch this guy and JJ Arrington doesn’t come to mind I don’t know who you are watching. Slaton does however have excellent straight line speed. I hate to be so negative about a player but I just don’t see much I like about Slaton. There is however the chance that he could end up with the right coach/system and flourishing.
Comparison= J.J. Arrington
Upside= Tiki Barber
Downside= J.J. Arrington
Ratings
Speed=9 Toughness=5 Agility=6 Vision=6 RB IQ=6
Rashard Mendenhall 5-11/224 (incomplete)
At first sight of him first name that came to mind was Willis Mcgahee. Then that quickly went away after I saw him run. Keep in mind this footage was from last year but he didn’t really jump off the screen at me. I did however see some of his game against USC and he looks as though he’s come a long way as a runner. He seems to run with great body lean with excellent leg drive. I didn’t see a lot of vision but that could be due to O-line play. Haven’t quite figured out who he reminds me of so I cant give a comparison right now. Anybody feel free to fill in the blanks.
Comparison=????
Upside=????
Downside=????
Ratings
Speed=7.5 Toughness=8.5 Agility=7 Vision=7 RB IQ=????
Kevin Smith 6-1/210
Ya gotta like this kid. He plays with a lot of fire and passion. Does however look more like a wr playing rb. Very lean built. Lots of explosion in his steps. Seems to be a bit of a knucklehead, made a bonehead play against Texas trying to showboat with a front flip to the end zone and stepped out of bounds at the 2 yard line. He did make up for it by scoring on the next play though. Not sure why he went to UFC but he seems to be a very complete back with very surprising toughness.
Comparison= Jerious Norwood
Upside=Curtis Martin
Downside=????
Ratings
Speed=8.5 Toughness=8 Agility=8 Vision=8 RB IQ=6
Felix Jones 6-00/207
Big play guy. Not really sure what you are gonna get but you know you are getting a guy who can make good things happen. Of all the rbs I’ve seen I never seen a guy so comparable to Portis. Like Portis most will say he’s too small to carry a full load, he’s a change of pace back, or 3rd down guy. I see a guy who has a frame to add a few pounds and be a perfect back for a zone blocking scheme.
Comparison=Clinton Portis
Upside= Clinton Portis
Downside= Leon Washington
Ratings
Speed=9 Toughness 7 Agility=8 Vision=7 RB IQ=7
Also to come: Matt Forte, Chris Johnson, Tanard Choice, and Justin Forsett.
Feedback is greatly appreciated.
Enjoy.
ETA: Ratings for Smith and Bolding.
Comparisons= By visual comparison
Rating= Total does not equal success as we know success comes from other factor other than physical abilities.
Darren McFadden 6-2/ 215
At first glance of McFadden he looks a lot like AP/LJ simply by size and running style. Once you look into him though you would probably see that these styles are nothing alike. Darren doesn’t run with that added violence that AP or LJ does. He does however run with a more body conscience than the other two. Many of Darren’s run are on the outskirts of the defense and run out of a very unconventional offense. For as big a guy as he is I just didn’t see enough contact to have me completely sold on him. In the bowl game I saw him get folded a couple of times and there were plays that I think the AP/LJ’s of the league would have made that defender pay. Although I’m not calling him a bust but if you think you are getting the same type of runner as AP/LJ you might be disappointed.
Comparison=LJ/AP
Upside= O. J. Simpson
Downside= Tyrone Wheatley
Ratings
Speed=8 Toughness=6.5? Agility=6 Vision=8 Rb IQ=7
Ray Rice 5-9/ 195
After watching a few runs of Rice’s first thought that popped in my head was Marshawn Lynch. He sorta has that unorthodox running style, almost unbalanced. The more I watched him the more I started to see the true comparison which was Shaun Alexander. Like Alexander I don’t think Rice has anything that is particularly special but he just seems to get things done. Good balance, good speed, solid toughness good in between the tackles runner. I think Rice may be the surprise of the draft.
Comparison= Shaun Alexander
Upside= Shaun Alexander
Downside= ATrain
Ratings
Speed=7 Toughness=8 Agility=7 Vision=6.5 Rb IQ=6?
Mike Hart 5-9/ 196
I have made it no secret that I really like Hart. Not for only rb skills but more for his intangibles. Hart is the tradition little/big man syndrome. He plays a lot bigger than he actually is. Very tough, very smart, instinctive runner. He does however get caught from behind too often. In yardage leagues I think Hart is gonna be a guy to have as I see him a being a 100 total yards a game type guy rushing/rec type yards. I don’t expect Hart to grade out well in the combine so I see him dropping to the last round picks unless teams go on college production.
Comparison= Dominic Davis/Williams
Upside= Thurman Thomas
Downside= Dominic Davis/Williams
Ratings
Speed=6 Toughness=8.5 Agility=6 Vision=8 Rb IQ=8
Jamaal Charles 6-1/190
Charles is by far the running back that I’ve seen the most of and I’ve watched him since his freshman year. In those years I’ve seen a lot of growth in Charles. Started out as a track guy who plays football to a football player who happens to be an elite athlete. Reminds me of T.Bell/Justin Fargas but Texas tough. Before UT fans crucify me about the T. Bell comparison I happen to like Bell just don’t think he was tough enough to make it big in the NFL. This past year Charles seemed to have taken his game to another level and Although I am leery of rbs who play with running qbs, Charles showed me that he’s not a product of a system *cough* Cedric Benson*cough*. Although they ran the same zone read offense McCoy is no Young. Charles has also shown me that he has more moves than people think. He shows decent wiggle and footwork and if you give him any air he’s gone. He’s the angle buster. Got these measurements off of another site but I think Charles is closer to 200lbs.
Comparison= T. Bell
Upside= Eric Dickerson
Downside= M. Bennett
Ratings
Speed=10 Toughness=7 Agility=6.5 Vision=8 Rb IQ=7
Jonathan Stewart 5-11/235
You don’t see too many RBS with Stewart’s size/speed ratio he’s big and thickly build. He’s also bottom heavy which I think is why he’s so fast. It also leads me to believe that he has a good shot to be a great rb for a 3-4 year period. I however don’t think he’ll have a very long shelf life.(just a hunch) I admittedly haven’t seen much on him but like Charles rbs who play with highly mobile qbs raise questions for me.
Comparison= Deuce McAllister
Upside= Ronnie Brown
Downside= Michael Turner
Ratings
Speed=8.5 Toughness=8 Agility=6.5? Vision=??? RB IQ=???
Steve Slaton 5-11/195
I really don’t wanna go on a limb here but everything I’ve seen of this guy just says bust. BUST in big letters. I don’t see any wiggle, no real toughness and he plays with an option qb. If you watch this guy and JJ Arrington doesn’t come to mind I don’t know who you are watching. Slaton does however have excellent straight line speed. I hate to be so negative about a player but I just don’t see much I like about Slaton. There is however the chance that he could end up with the right coach/system and flourishing.
Comparison= J.J. Arrington
Upside= Tiki Barber
Downside= J.J. Arrington
Ratings
Speed=9 Toughness=5 Agility=6 Vision=6 RB IQ=6
Rashard Mendenhall 5-11/224 (incomplete)
At first sight of him first name that came to mind was Willis Mcgahee. Then that quickly went away after I saw him run. Keep in mind this footage was from last year but he didn’t really jump off the screen at me. I did however see some of his game against USC and he looks as though he’s come a long way as a runner. He seems to run with great body lean with excellent leg drive. I didn’t see a lot of vision but that could be due to O-line play. Haven’t quite figured out who he reminds me of so I cant give a comparison right now. Anybody feel free to fill in the blanks.
Comparison=????
Upside=????
Downside=????
Ratings
Speed=7.5 Toughness=8.5 Agility=7 Vision=7 RB IQ=????
Kevin Smith 6-1/210
Ya gotta like this kid. He plays with a lot of fire and passion. Does however look more like a wr playing rb. Very lean built. Lots of explosion in his steps. Seems to be a bit of a knucklehead, made a bonehead play against Texas trying to showboat with a front flip to the end zone and stepped out of bounds at the 2 yard line. He did make up for it by scoring on the next play though. Not sure why he went to UFC but he seems to be a very complete back with very surprising toughness.
Comparison= Jerious Norwood
Upside=Curtis Martin
Downside=????
Ratings
Speed=8.5 Toughness=8 Agility=8 Vision=8 RB IQ=6
Felix Jones 6-00/207
Big play guy. Not really sure what you are gonna get but you know you are getting a guy who can make good things happen. Of all the rbs I’ve seen I never seen a guy so comparable to Portis. Like Portis most will say he’s too small to carry a full load, he’s a change of pace back, or 3rd down guy. I see a guy who has a frame to add a few pounds and be a perfect back for a zone blocking scheme.
Comparison=Clinton Portis
Upside= Clinton Portis
Downside= Leon Washington
Ratings
Speed=9 Toughness 7 Agility=8 Vision=7 RB IQ=7
Also to come: Matt Forte, Chris Johnson, Tanard Choice, and Justin Forsett.
Feedback is greatly appreciated.
Enjoy.
ETA: Ratings for Smith and Bolding.
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