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Dynasty/Redraft RB, Rodney Anderson declares for the 2019 NFL Draft. (1 Viewer)

BigTex

Don't mess with Texas
Oklahoma running back Rodney Andersonofficially announced his intentions to declare for the 2019 NFL Draft on Thursday, ending his time with the Sooners.

Anderson was ruled out for the season after suffering a knee injury on Sept. 9 versus UCLA.

"I thoroughly enjoyed these past four years in Norman and I am proud to have worn the crimson and cream," Anderson said in a statement. "The bonds I formed with my teammates, coaches, and friends are special to me and being selected captain this season was truly an honor." 

The redshirt junior had one year of eligibility remaining, but decided to test the NFL waters instead.

Anderson battled various injuries during his time at Oklahoma, but was a productive player when on the field. He rushed for 1,161 yards and 18 total touchdowns in 2017 while earning second-team All-Big 12 honors.

Tex

 
I’m not a devy guy so I don’t jump in until draft season. Got to watch this guys highlight clip last night and I am very impressed. Looking forward to seeing where he stacks up statistically and physically. 

 
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Where do you rank this guy? Injuries are a concern with him.
If he was healthy he'd easily be my 1.1 pick, at least prior to landing spots. If he had come out last year he'd have been in mix to go 1.2 after Barkley for me.

Injuries however are a major concern, would have been even had he come out last year, obviously situation got worse.

 
Would probably have been the runaway 1.1 in rookie drafts had he not gotten hurt this year.  Will be interesting to see how much steam he can pick back up in the offseason.

 
His injury history isnt suggestive of someone injury prone. 

I remember Peterson's biggest knack coming out of college was his injury history. granted he didnt have the season ending injuries Anderson has had, but nonetheless Anderson's injuries are more flukey to me. 

One has to wonder how much burst and speed he has lost with all of these injuries, which that is a more realistic concern rather than his injury risk going forward. I will wait until the combine before I cast my vote on him, but I have him very high on my RB list right now. if he lands in a good scenario I have no problem taking him top 3 in my rookie draft. 

 
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I watched Snell, Henderson, Weber and Montgomery after... none really held a candle to him, IMO. Didn’t realize he had only one season of productivity. I’m sure that will lead to people being critical of him but he passes the eyeball test for me. I don’t like going with that until I can hopefully see some MPH data plus combine/pro day. For it being really early on, he’s high on the list for me right now.

 
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His injury history isnt suggestive of someone injury prone. 



NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury he suffered in OU's 49-21 win over UCLA on Saturday, coach Lincoln Riley has announced. 

This is Anderson's third season-ending injury in his four years with the Sooners.
 
question for you, do you feel broken bones, torn ligaments, torn muscles (all from contact injuries) is indicative of someone injury prone? because I'm not getting into a 3 page long debate with someone who answers that question "yes"

I've discussed this topic at length in other threads. a player with many season ending injuries is not necessarily injury prone. a player with an unstable ankle is prone to ankle sprains. a player with tight hamstrings or adductors is prone to muscle strains. a player who breaks his leg from a fluke hit, or tears an acl, is not. 

I have a concern how these season ending injuries are affecting his speed, burst, etc, as after each one he needs to rehab heavily. which can make hin injury prone if he is weak. I'm not concerned about him being prone to season ending injuries. that's kind of funny to think about actually. 

 
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question for you, do you feel broken bones, torn ligaments, torn muscles (all from contact injuries) is indicative of someone injury prone? because I'm not getting into a 3 page long debate with someone who answers that question "yes"

I've discussed this topic at length in other threads. a player with many season ending injuries is not necessarily injury prone. a player with an unstable ankle is prone to ankle sprains. a player with tight hamstrings or adductors is prone to muscle strains. a player who breaks his leg from a fluke hit, or tears an acl, is not. 

I have a concern how these season ending injuries are affecting his speed, burst, etc, as after each one he needs to rehab heavily. which can make hin injury prone if he is weak. I'm not concerned about him being prone to season ending injuries. that's kind of funny to think about actually. 


You can talk about it all you want. A guy who has 3 of 4 season end because of an injury has a problemic injury history.  Geez, what would it take for you to call a guy injury prone?  Nevermind, I agree that discussing this with you isn’t worth the investment of the time or effort.  You just go ahead and pretend it isn’t an issue.

 
You can talk about it all you want. A guy who has 3 of 4 season end because of an injury has a problemic injury history.  Geez, what would it take for you to call a guy injury prone?  Nevermind, I agree that discussing this with you isn’t worth the investment of the time or effort.  You just go ahead and pretend it isn’t an issue.
do you think Keenan Allen is injury prone?

To answer your question, a guy like Fournette is injury prone given his chronic ankle condition. A guy with many overuse injuries or preventable injuries is one that I would consider injury prone. a guy who tears his acl is not unless he doesnt rehab properly 

 
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Keenan Allen, season ending injuries in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016. 

each of those a fluke injury/condition from impact. 1 broken bone, 2 ligament tears, 1 lacerated organ

Rodney Anderson's injury history is the result of fluke scenarios. Yes, he has a significant injury history, but his injury history is not indicative of future risk at this point. His potential weakness may be, so I'm interested to see what he tests at the combine. but for now I will assume hes working his tail off and will be ready

 
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do you think Keenan Allen is injury prone?

To answer your question, a guy like Fournette is injury prone given his chronic ankle condition. A guy with many overuse injuries or preventable injuries is one that I would consider injury prone. a guy who tears his acl is not unless he doesnt rehab properly 
This is a very simple concept and I'm not sure why more people don't get it. 

 
Serious question though, don’t you think some innate football instincts actually prevent certain athletes from suffering these “fluke” bone breaks, ligament tears, etc?  Sure, non contact ligament tears may be the fluky exception.  But is it fluky that certain stars seem to avoid ending up in those situations where their knees are exposed while planted firmly on the ground when getting hit while others don’t?  I’m of the belief that there’s a natural, instinctive component that’s seemingly being entirely dismissed.  I’d say it’s far more likely that players such as Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Frank Gore, and Ladanian Tomlinson are one step ahead of defenders 99% of the time in terms of angles, ground contact time, and a sixth sense than others.  Sure, there’s a fluke component that can and does strike at any time.  But I start to question when regularly fluky injuries strike the same player.

So if your stance is that three season ending injuries for Anderson are of no concern because they’re “fluky,” then it’s clear what your stance is.  But I’m of the opinion that, not necessarily in his case because I haven’t watched him a ton, but that there is a natural instinct component to avoiding injuries which some players possess while others lack.

 
Good question. Some guys prevent big hits and know when the play is over. Both are smart moves. Marvin Harrison caught it and went to the ground when a defender was approaching. Franco Harris ran out if bounds untouched, giving up yards but not taking hits. Other guys give up and don't let their legs take hits when the play is obviously over. 

Two of 3 are fluke injuries on Anderson. Injuries when you run and tear a ligament untouched are concerning. His neck injury is the biggest concern but will be checked out pre draft.

 
Serious question though, don’t you think some innate football instincts actually prevent certain athletes from suffering these “fluke” bone breaks, ligament tears, etc?  Sure, non contact ligament tears may be the fluky exception.  But is it fluky that certain stars seem to avoid ending up in those situations where their knees are exposed while planted firmly on the ground when getting hit while others don’t?  I’m of the belief that there’s a natural, instinctive component that’s seemingly being entirely dismissed.  I’d say it’s far more likely that players such as Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Frank Gore, and Ladanian Tomlinson are one step ahead of defenders 99% of the time in terms of angles, ground contact time, and a sixth sense than others.  Sure, there’s a fluke component that can and does strike at any time.  But I start to question when regularly fluky injuries strike the same player.

So if your stance is that three season ending injuries for Anderson are of no concern because they’re “fluky,” then it’s clear what your stance is.  But I’m of the opinion that, not necessarily in his case because I haven’t watched him a ton, but that there is a natural instinct component to avoiding injuries which some players possess while others lack.
yes. Brett Favre was one of those who would always know how to fall to the ground. but non contact injuries to ligaments are often the result of anatomical predispositions. once torn the anatomical anamoly no longer exists. I can go into further detail if you wish. 

As far as how "knowing how to take a hit" or "behind a step ahead of the defense" relates to Anderson, I dont think it translates to his injury history 

 
Let's look at his injury history:

Broken Fibula making a tackle. How does that make him injury prone? 

Broken c5 vertebrae. Again, injury prone how?

Now a knee injury, which I cant find details on but I assume is ligamentous, and was the result of a tackle. 

3 injuries completely unrelated. 2 broken bones and 1 presumed ligamentous tear. 

Nick Chubbs 1 injury was more devastating toward an NFL career than Anderson's 3 combined

 
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Either way Gore is a poor example because, like Anderson, the biggest knock on him coming out of college was that he was injury prone, yet he ended up being one of the most durable backs in NFL history.

 
Rodney Anderson's injury history is the result of fluke scenarios. Yes, he has a significant injury history, but his injury history is not indicative of future risk at this point. 


You have absolutely no basis of fact to support this statement.  Unless you happen to have examined all of his medical files and have run multiples levels of testing.  Is that the case?

 
Serious question though, don’t you think some innate football instincts actually prevent certain athletes from suffering these “fluke” bone breaks, ligament tears, etc?  Sure, non contact ligament tears may be the fluky exception.  But is it fluky that certain stars seem to avoid ending up in those situations where their knees are exposed while planted firmly on the ground when getting hit while others don’t?  I’m of the belief that there’s a natural, instinctive component that’s seemingly being entirely dismissed.  I’d say it’s far more likely that players such as Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Frank Gore, and Ladanian Tomlinson are one step ahead of defenders 99% of the time in terms of angles, ground contact time, and a sixth sense than others.  Sure, there’s a fluke component that can and does strike at any time.  But I start to question when regularly fluky injuries strike the same player.

So if your stance is that three season ending injuries for Anderson are of no concern because they’re “fluky,” then it’s clear what your stance is.  But I’m of the opinion that, not necessarily in his case because I haven’t watched him a ton, but that there is a natural instinct component to avoiding injuries which some players possess while others lack.


It could be just as easily structural issues.  Slight misalignments in the joints, less tendon mass, smaller or weaker attachment surfaces, etc.  There are all sorts of reasons why “fluke” injuries - as he puts them - occur more to some than others.  He has no idea what the reasons are as much as he likes to portray that he does.

 
You have absolutely no basis of fact to support this statement.  Unless you happen to have examined all of his medical files and have run multiples levels of testing.  Is that the case?
Let's look at the facts:

2 broken bones. One lower leg and one cervical vertebra. 

If he has some sort of bone condition that makes him predisposed to broken bones, such as cancer, osteoporosis, or some other weird disease... chances are this would have been detected years ago and his career would have been over. on the slim chance he has a weird disease, and even slimmer chance it was hidden, it will show up in the predraft process. so I'm not at all worried about this. I dont need the examine his medical files to know fluke broken bones dont mean someone is injury prone. I'm an educated person making an educated conclusion.

with regards to the other knee injury... I've said I have no idea what was torn and I'm assuming the worst: a ligamentous tear. if it's less severe than that I'm even less worried. 

 
It could be just as easily structural issues.  Slight misalignments in the joints, less tendon mass, smaller or weaker attachment surfaces, etc.  There are all sorts of reasons why “fluke” injuries - as he puts them - occur more to some than others.  He has no idea what the reasons are as much as he likes to portray that he does.
so you're saying he has a bone condition that makes him more susceptible to fractures, and that hes playing with this condition in spite of certain medical advice to not? we are talking about 2 broken bones and 1 mysterious knee injury. not 3 torn tendons, 3 ligamentous tears. 

and you dont think teams are going to ask to see these medical files during the predraft process? 

Certainly anatomical anomalies exist and make people predisposed to injuries. I'm the #1 person in this forum who preaches that. these are most commonly seen in non contact injuries. his knee injury was the result of a tackle. thus a fluke injury. he wasnt making a cut. he wasnt running and fell to the ground. it's pretty simple in the medical world. 

I have no idea what his knee injury was, and until that's disclosed I assume an acl tear. if its something different or required a surgery I'm not a real big fan of, then I may change my tune. if he has lost speed or agility as a result then I dont like him as much. 

his knee injury was presumably far less severe than Chubbs, just based off of how public chubbs specifics were. I can assume if he tore all of his ligaments we would have heard this. 

So unless you're concerned about 2 broken bones idk what you're basing this off of. 

If you're focusing on "3 season ending injuries" then sure, you have every right to be concerned. if you actually look at what those injuries were then idk how you can be concerned unless you think he has a bone condition that he is going to keep from 32 teams. 

Broken bones =/= injury prone. If you disagree that's fine, your dissenting opinion is noted. as I said, I'm not getting into a long debate with someone who thinks broken bones = injury prone. scentific evidence does not support that opinion

 
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I don't really have a strong opinion on this either way, but if we try our hardest to eliminate hindsight, who are some guys coming out of college that were considered "injury prone" and how did it turn out in the NFL for them?  Is there any data  that suggests a guy with a lot of college injuries will be unable to stay health in the NFL?

Just going off anecdotes, and I'm sure there is results bias clouding my memory some here, it seems like the guys who were injury prone in college weren't necessarily injury prone in the NFL, and guys who were injury prone in the NFL weren't particularly injury prone in college.

Frank Gore of course dropped a ton in the NFL draft because of his injury prone label, and he ended up being very durable.  Adrian Peterson also had an injury prone label coming out of school and while he suffered some injuries in the pros, was overall quite durable.  John Ross on the other hand had injury concerns coming out and while the jury is still out, those have definitely followed him somewhat.

Meanwhile a lot of the "injury prone" NFL guys never really had much of an injury history in college.  Kevin White was perfectly healthy in college and still hasn't had a healthy year in the pros.  Beanie Wells, Marquise Goodwin, both healthy grinders in college and nothing but injuries in the pros.  Fred Taylor of course is the poster boy for all of this, who went from healthy in college, to injury prone in the NFL, to healthy again in the NFL for the long haul.   Keenan Allen likewise was pretty healthy in college (just the one injury his final year), then injury prone in the league, and has now put together back to back mostly healthy seasons and no one really seems to worry about his injuries anymore.

I think we could all benefit from not taking a hardline stance on this just based on our guesses and actually try and figure out if there is a value gap opportunity here.  Years back Adam Harstad made the argument that buying a player after a major injury was overall quite profitable in the long run and I think it's proven quite true over time.  I wonder if there isn't a similar buying opportunity here for talented prospects that drop in the draft due to an "injury prone" label, though I am coming up way short on the data.

 
I tend to agree with Bronco here. People do have different bone brittleness and muscle density/tinsel strength/flexibility which can also effect  their body's ability to absorb horribly violent collisions from a thousand different angles. I also agree with SayWhat that different guys have greater or lesser abilities to avoid full force hits, which reduces their chance of injury. No one is saying (that I have read) that Anderson has any particular condition or lack of instinct that will make him more susceptible to injury going forward, just that not acknowledging that his injury past raises the question of his durability is choosing not to not to look at the full picture. For every Frank Gore there is a Marcus Lattimore.

 
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I tend to agree with Bronco here. People do have different bone brittleness and muscle density/tinsel strength/flexibility which can also effect  their body's ability to absorb horrible violent collisions from a thousand different angles. I also agree with SayWhat that different guys have greater or lesser abilities to avoid damagin full force hits, which reduces their  chance of injury. No one is saying (that I have read) that Anderson has any particular condition or lack of instinct that will make him more susceptible to injury going forward, just that not acknowledging that his injury past raises the question of his durability is choosing not to not to look at the full picture. For every Frank Gore there is a Marcus Lattimore.
Well if we're simply talking about a 1 for 1 where it all balances out, then that's a fair EV.  To avoid Anderson we'd really need to show that for every Frank Gore there are several guys that end up being severely injury prone in the NFL.  If you tell me that with a mid/late 1st round rookie pick half the time I get a top 2 talent who is totally healthy at a discount, and half the time I get a guy who never plays again, then that is an EV risk I want to take with that pick.  If you tell me 5% of the time I get a top 2 talent who is healthy at a discount and 95% of the time I get a guy who never stays healthy then that is a different story.

Also is Lattimore really a pertinent example here?  His issue wasn't that he had a penchant for injury that followed him to more injuries in the NFL, his issue was that his injury in college was so severe that he never recovered from it.  Anderson's ACL tear seems to be much more of the garden variety that players recover from all the time now.  Not the type where people immediately wonder if it's a career ender like Lattimore's was where he dislocated the knee, tore every ligament, and suffered severe nerve damage.

 
No one has said that you don't take the risk at a discount. Only that you need to consider the additional risk and value him accordingly. I agree that if you get a large discount, take the risk for the potentially high reward. On the other hand, if you grade out everything out as equal on two guys except that, I'll take the one with no injury history. How it applies to a particular circumstance falls somewhere in between those two extremes based on what you know.

 
I don't really have a strong opinion on this either way, but if we try our hardest to eliminate hindsight, who are some guys coming out of college that were considered "injury prone" and how did it turn out in the NFL for them?  Is there any data  that suggests a guy with a lot of college injuries will be unable to stay health in the NFL?

Just going off anecdotes, and I'm sure there is results bias clouding my memory some here, it seems like the guys who were injury prone in college weren't necessarily injury prone in the NFL, and guys who were injury prone in the NFL weren't particularly injury prone in college.

Frank Gore of course dropped a ton in the NFL draft because of his injury prone label, and he ended up being very durable.  Adrian Peterson also had an injury prone label coming out of school and while he suffered some injuries in the pros, was overall quite durable.  John Ross on the other hand had injury concerns coming out and while the jury is still out, those have definitely followed him somewhat.

Meanwhile a lot of the "injury prone" NFL guys never really had much of an injury history in college.  Kevin White was perfectly healthy in college and still hasn't had a healthy year in the pros.  Beanie Wells, Marquise Goodwin, both healthy grinders in college and nothing but injuries in the pros.  Fred Taylor of course is the poster boy for all of this, who went from healthy in college, to injury prone in the NFL, to healthy again in the NFL for the long haul.   Keenan Allen likewise was pretty healthy in college (just the one injury his final year), then injury prone in the league, and has now put together back to back mostly healthy seasons and no one really seems to worry about his injuries anymore.

I think we could all benefit from not taking a hardline stance on this just based on our guesses and actually try and figure out if there is a value gap opportunity here.  Years back Adam Harstad made the argument that buying a player after a major injury was overall quite profitable in the long run and I think it's proven quite true over time.  I wonder if there isn't a similar buying opportunity here for talented prospects that drop in the draft due to an "injury prone" label, though I am coming up way short on the data.
Hi Begal, yes there is data. It will probably to some time for me to find it. IIRC the data didn’t favor players with a history of injuries depending on what those injuries were. However, again I’m going off memory....the data also showed there were successful players after a stint of injuries as well. The just of the article was that everyone is different. Some heal differently, etc...etc...therefore each player come with certain amount of risk just choose with caution and choose wisely.

Tex

 
No one has said that you don't take the risk at a discount. Only that you need to consider the additional risk and value him accordingly. 
I would agree. I just dont consider his broken bones to carry any weight in discussion for his future injury risk. 

Knee injury, sure, we can talk about how he may be weaker heading into the combine, it's not a full year after his surgery (anyone who has read an injury/acl post of mine knows how much importance I put on recovery time following an acl tear), and he may be prone to a hamstring issue similar to how Cook was this year due to possible muscle imbalances following rehab from surgery. I can appreciate all of that and I'd be happy to discuss. 

Regarding his knee injury, I've said above that I will wait and see how he tests out to see of hes rehabbed well. I may change my opinion. I am concerned about his knee to some degree, but speculating now is a waste of time. Broken bones...  i couldnt care less, unless he broke a femur 2 times. then we could speculate about the brittleness of his bones. A fibula ( non weight bearing bone in general) , and a c5 vertebrae are small potatoes in general (c5 is serious at the time of fracture, but he seems to be fine from that. I'm talking about long term implications)

 
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I would agree. I dont consider his broken bones to carry any weight in discussion for his future injury risk. 

Knee injury, sure, we can talk about how he may be weaker heading into the combine, it's not a full year after his surgery (anyone who has read an injury/acl post of mine knows how much importance I put on recovery time following an acl tear), and he may be prone to a hamstring issue similar to how Cook was this year due to possible muscle imbalances following rehab from surgery. I can appreciate all of that and I'd be happy to discuss. 

Regarding his knee injury, I've said above that I will wait and see how he tests out to see of hes rehabbed well. I may change my opinion. I am concerned about his knee to some degree, but speculating now is a waste of time. Broken bones...  i couldnt care less, unless he broke a femur 2 times. then we could speculate about the brittleness of his bones. A fibula ( non weight bearing bone) , and a c5 vertebrae are small potatoes in general (c5 is serious at the time of fracture, but he seems to be fine from that. I'm talking about long term implications)
This is one of the things that tend to get lost when discussing players. It’s ok to change your opinion over time. Just because we may disagree on a subject doesn’t necessarily mean that we won’t change our mind.

I started a dialogue about Kamara. I just wasn’t sold on him coming out of Tennessee but when it came time for my draft I thought about some of the valid arguments that caused me to rethink my stance and I drafted him with one of the extra picks I had. Even after drafting him there still was a small uncertainty because I just didn’t feel I had enough data for my liking. Thank the Fantasy Gawds that I have an open mind that’s changeable. If valid points are made and the “small data” supports the theory then I’m all in. So I don’t exclude players that don’t play full time. Any smart owner should approach arguments, discussions, theories with an open and “exchangeable” mindset. There’s absolutely no wrong with it.

Tex

 
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This is one of the things that tend to get lost when discussing players. It’s ok to change your opinion over time. Just because we may disagree on a subject doesn’t necessarily mean that we won’t change our mind.

I started a dialogue about Kamara. I just wasn’t sold on him coming out of Tennessee but when it came time to drafter there were so valid arguments that caused me to rethink my stance and I drafted him with one of the extra picks I had. Even after drafting him there still was a small uncertainty because I just didn’t feel I had enough data for my liking. Thank the Fantasy Gawds that I have an open mind that’s changeable. If valid points are made and the “small data” supports the theory then I’m all in. So I don’t exclude players that don’t play full time. Any smart owner should approach arguments, discussions, theories with an open and “exchangeable” mindset. There’s absolutely no wrong with it.

Tex
yes, many times I will change opinion on a player, largely due to new data and discussions from logical posters. People tend to be surprised that people can change their minds on players. Often times they dont seem to know how to respond when I say, "you were right so I changed my opinion." I respect the heck out of people who do the same when I'm right. 

 
yes, many times I will change opinion on a player, largely due to new data and discussions from logical posters. People tend to be surprised that people can change their minds on players. Often times they dont seem to know how to respond when I say, "you were right so I changed my opinion." I respect the heck out of people who do the same when I'm right. 
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with changing your mind. I often challenge people on a player because I want to see what they see. We’re all different and that’s what makes this sport rewarding and fun. There’s been times that my views were strong because I’ve seen all I needed to personally and no one was able to change my mind. I think more recently Sutton comes to mind. With all of my concerns and watching him in person IIHO his ceiling is extremely low. If I owned him I’d be selling him to the highest bidder as his “Hype” is higher than his production. He’s the ultimate sell high. So while on one handle Tennessee homers and others said enough for me to rethink my stance on Kamara, no one has shown anything that would change my view of Sutton.

An open mind is a great attribute to have as a owner.

Tex

 
Rodney Anderson - RB -  Sooners

Oklahoma RB Rodney Anderson was mocked to the 5th round by Bleacher Report's Matt Miller.

Anderson (6'1/220) was considered a potential Day 1 player before he tore his ACL in the second week of the 2018 season, but it appears that his medicals have sent him to Day 3. There should be more insight on where he stands with NFL teams during the NFL Combine when teams get a closer look with their medical staffs, but for now, it would only be optimistic to consider Anderson a Day 1 prospect.

Source: Bleacher Report 

Feb 4 - 7:58 PM

 
NFL Draft 2019: Who Are This Year's Biggest Bust Candidates?

Excerpt:

RB Rodney Anderson, Oklahoma

Some players carry bust potential because of skill set or competition level. Others carry it because of injury history, which is the case for Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson.

Anderson excelled in 2017, rushing for 1,161 yards and 6.2 yards per carry. He also caught 17 passes for 281 more yards and scored 18 total touchdowns. However, his 2018 season was cut short by a knee injuryafter just two starts.

This wasn't the first injury of Anderson's college career. A neck injury cost him the entire 2016 season, and he missed most of 2015 to a broken leg.

If Anderson can rebound and stay healthy, he has the tools to be a fine NFL back. However, there is a significant injury history to consider, and he's at risk of being a bust because of it.

 
NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah compared Oklahoma RB Rodney Anderson to Steelers RB James Conner.

According to Jeremiah, Anderson (6'1/220) "wouldn't get out of the 2nd round if he had clean medical history" but he is, unfortunately, rehabbing a major knee injury right now. If his medicals come back better than expected, Anderson should be a late-process riser, but it's too early to tell. For now, Anderson is a buy-low, Day 3 running back prospect, but one that could pay major dividends if he returns to his previous form. In Bleacher Report's Matt Miller's recent mock draft, the Oklahoma running back went in Round 5.

Source: Daniel Jeremiah on Twitter 

Feb 6 - 9:12 PM

 
NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah compared Oklahoma RB Rodney Anderson to Steelers RB James Conner.
Brugler threw out same Conner comp for what it's worth but my comp for him has always been Matt Forte. 

He was my #1RB entering the year by far but obvious injury concerns and I'm guessing he won't be able to do typical pro-day or combine workouts is going to make his evaluation pretty tricky. What round he goes will impact how I feel about him because that might shed light on how his medicals look, since we don't get to see his medicals I think when he gets drafted will tell us what teams medical staff sees. 

 
Oklahoma RB Rodney Anderson measured in at 6-foot and 3/8 inch and 224-pounds on Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Anderson was listed at 6-foot-1, 220-pounds when he was at Oklahoma. It's not surprising he's one of the bigger backs in this class, as he is a player that's known as a between-the-tackle runner that excels at finding creases. The question, of course, is how healthy he is, as he has a lengthy history of injuries and missed the majority of the 2018 season with a knee injury. If he tests well -- and teams feel like Anderson's injury isn't long-term -- he could be a Day 2 selection.

SOURCE: Charles Robinson on Twitter

Feb 27, 2019, 9:28 AM
 
Oklahoma RB Rodney Anderson recorded 25 reps in the bench press at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Anderson (6'0/224) coming in with a nice number here, registering the fourth-most bench press reps of any running back in Indianapolis. He is not expected to take part in any other tests at the combine, as he is still rehabbing from the torn ACL he sustained back in early September while with Oklahoma. Per NFL.com's Tom Pelissero, Anderson is hoping to be able to turn in an individual pro day-style workout in April. His medical checks -- he has a history of serious injury even beyond last season's ACL tear -- are going to be key to his eventual draft slot. Anderson figures to be in the Day 2/early Day 3 mix come April.

SOURCE: NFL Draft on Twitter

Feb 28, 2019, 5:07 PM

 
Oklahoma RB Rodney Anderson (knee) would not confirm that he will go through athletic testing in April.

Anderson (6'0/224) turned in 25 reps on the bench press on Thursday, but will not be taking part in any other tests at the combine as he continues to rehab from a torn ACL sustained in September. While NFL.com's Tom Pelissero has reported that the OU back would roll through a pro day-style workout in April, Anderson is doing his best to muddy the waters, responding with a "maybe" when asked whether he would take part in some testing down the road and explaining to reporters that he is going to be "very conservative" in his approach to athletic work. None of this figures to sit well with NFL teams, who already have relatively little meat to evaluate when it comes to the oft-injured back. In ideal circumstances, Anderson might be a borderline Day 1 prospect. These are not ideal circumstances.

SOURCE: Dane Brugler on Twitter

Mar 1, 2019, 11:25 AM

 
NFL Media's Lance Zierlein compared Oklahoma RB Rodney Anderson to Pittsburgh Steelers RB Stevan Ridley.

"Anderson has good size and instincts as an interior runner, but he lacks the juice to be a dynamic runner and might be forced to earn his living as a downhill hammer with the ability to leak out on swing passes," Zierlein writes. While the 6-foot, 224-pound OU product has a spectral appeal in a thinner running backs class, his history of injuries builds a significant level of risk into his evaluation. Anderson could potentially turn in a pro day-style workout for the NFL in April, but he told reporters at the combine that he is taking a "very conservative" approach to his work level as he rehabs from the torn ACL sustained this past September. It's not out of the question that Anderson might be able to land as a Day 2 pick in April, even with the ominous injury history, especially if his medicals check out reasonably enough.

SOURCE: NFL.com

Mar 7, 2019, 4:44 PM

 
NFL Film's Greg Cosell says he "really likes" Oklahoma RB Rodney Anderson "if he's healthy."

Cosell likes Anderson's (6'0/224) ability to run inside using his physicality but also talks up his pass-catching abilities. The worry, of course, is Anderson's healthy since he's coming off a torn ACL. Some draft analysts would have had Anderson as the top running back in this class if he played last season, but he is now teetering on the Day 2/3 borderline, pending physicals. In 2017, 20% of his carries went for at least eight yards, which would have been the second-best percentage of this 2019 RB class if he repeated that last year.

SOURCE: Ross Tucker Podcast

Mar 16, 2019, 2:01 PM

 
Rookie Scouting Report: Running Back Rodney Anderson

I recently read Anderson may do some sort of workouts in April but just reading his comments from his pro day he says he should be ready in June.

He was injured September 9th. so he is still only 6 months into his recovery right now.

Seems to be forgotten about right now along with Bryce Love when people are talking about who might be the best RB of this draft class.

 

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