Wow did this thread get hijacked...
I'm going to address one point and let the rest of the stuff just go at this point - there's really no reason to continue some of this dialogue...
Here are the RBs in my Top 50 that are below Hairston, without revealing all the subscriber info:
Kenny Irons, CIN - This one was close, but I personally like Rudy a lot and I think he is the guy in Cincy for 3 more years or longer. Even if you like Irons, I don't know if he gets the # of touches it warrants to be of any value. This ranking (they are close) is debatable and subject to change (well, I guess they all are) come August.
Tony Hunt, PHI - I think he's C-Buck 2. I don't understand why the Eagles have him. Hunt doesn't offer much more than a healthy Buckhalter does, so if they do believe in C-Buck (whom they re-signed, IIRC) then I don't see him getting much playing time. Westbrook is the Eagles offense and a lot of it keys off of him. C-Buck is the CoP and I don't think he gets unseated. With 2 guys firmly in front of Hunt I don't see it. I also want to see if / when / ever Reid commits to running the game with any kind of a power back, which would increase Hunt's value - but after 8 seasons I don't hold much hope for it.
Garrett Wolfe, CHI - Cedrick Benson and Adrian Peterson, and now Devin Hester as RB. Wolfe on Day 1 seemed like a stretch. I don't know what they see, and I don't know how he ever finds time on the field. I think it might be a "what if Benson bombs" insurance type of pick, or maybe they were tired after a long Draft Day 1.
Thomas Clayton, SF - Frank Gore, Maurice Hicks, Michael Robinson all ahead of him. Again, they really REALLY like Gore, and as long as he holds up, there's not enough room to give him playing time aside from possibly special teams. Nice sleeper if Gore gets hurt and they take a committee approach, but I don't see the opportunity for Clayton. He does have some character uestions too.
Ahmad Bradshaw, NYG - Right thought, not the right guy IMHO. Really thought the G-men would take Booker in Round 2 as their CoP / 3rd down guy. Bradshaw may look good now, but again, he has two RBs in front of him in Rube and Brandon Jacobs (whom some are saying is FASTER THAN TIKI?). Could be a talent, but another RB logjam. Only real upside is if Jacobs bombs and/or he emerges to fill the 2006 Tiki role - which was NOT fantasy gold last year due to GL thievery by Jacobs. Bradshaw could contribute and does have value as a deep sleeper. I will admit I didn't see much of Marshall, so I could be missing on this guy completely.
DeShawn Wynn, GB - Florida wasn't really known for their running attack, and I really believe that his style of running benefitted from their spread offense. I don't know if he's going to translate well to the NFL unless he had gone to Pittsburgh and they played a spread formation (GB may use him like this, who knows) but between his questions of talent, injury history, and coming in behind Brandon Jackson (whom I really like) I don't know how much he'll contribute.
Selvin Young, DEN - Has a good chance to make team RB DENVER, but behind Travis Henry and Mike Bell. Good situation (great if no Henry), but he wasn't considered a Top 10 RB coming into the draft (but then again neither was Hairston). I'd have him higher in a better situation. I also can't stand the Denver RB situations in past years and guys like Shanahan keep me up at night with WDIS nightmares.
Jason Snelling, ATL - Fullback. Full. Back.
Kolby Smith, KC - Well, if you think I didn't like Young behind Henry, how do you think I like Smith behind Larry Johnson? KC's run game is heading downhill (read - the O-line is aging), but a plus to Smith's situation is Herm Edwards, who never met a run play he didn't like. I think Smith is a good backup kind of guy (who couldn't beat out Michael Bush mind you, but did well when he went down).
So, some of the guys after Hairston have good skill but bad situations. Some have good situations, but I don't like their skills. Of all the RBs I have after a Top 30 list, I like Hairston's combination the best. You don't have to agree or disagree, but those are my thoughts.
For the record and for full disclosure, I don't pretend to be a college football expert. Far from it. With all my other commitments, I cannot spend the amount of time that others like Bloom and Lammey (and Andy Dufresne and Chaos Commish for that matter - ConstruxBoy too it seems - many on this site) and I really depend on a lot of good info from here and other places to formulate my opinions. I wish I could watch every game, but that's not where I'm at in life. So, read the rankings and ask questions as you like - as you can see I'll lay out my thoughts and opinions as time permits (this took a while to write) - so ok, I'm done now.