Ok I decided to put my REAL rankings out here despite many of my leaguemates on these boards.1- Mendenhall2- Stewart3- McFadden4- Kevin Smith5- Ray Rice6- Matt Forte7- Jamaal Charles8- Felix Jones9- Chris Johnson10- Steve Slaton
Time for me to start explaining and going in depth on these guys.Their is the big 3 in which ever order.#4) Kevin Smith- 6'1 217 ran a 4.43 at the combine with a 32 inch vertical. He led the nation in rushing last season and was a marked man. I just see a determination in him. He has good speed(which looks like he is almost gliding at times), he makes people miss, good vision and will cut back when needed, but also is good at using his blockers. The one thing that Smith needs to do is to add a little weight without losing his quickness and speed, I'm talking about another 5 pounds would really help out his frame.#5) Ray Rice- 5'8 199 ran a 4.44 at the combine 23 reps at 225, 31.5 inch vertical and a 4.2 short shuttle. Rice will never have good long speed, but he is very quick. He has perhaps the best vision in this class. He is not affraid to run inside and will initial contact. That short shuttle tells me that he can seperate initially from defenders and hit the hole quickly. He is a "Rudy" guy b/c he is undersized and doesn't have the athletic ability of McFadden or mendenhall. He is a team oriented guy and will never quit. The thing that worries me about Rice is that Schiano ran him a lot in college, how healthy are Rice's legs? #6) Matt Forte- 6'1 217 ran a 4.46 at the combine with 23 reps at 225, 33 inch vertical and a 4.23 short shuttle. I didn't expect Forte to be so athletic at the combine. He looks like a RB and now has enough athletic ability to produce like one at the NFL level. He has great vision and agility. Will lower his shoulder to get the extra yard, but will easily avoid defenders for such a big back. The knock on Forte(from me anyways now that he proved his athletic ability) is that he did it against lower competition and he doesn't have that "wow" factor. McFadden was in the SEC, Stewart was the #1 Rb recruit from this class, mendenhall had a great rose bowl, Smith led the Nation in yards, Rice single handedly brought Rutgers football back, Chris Johnson ran a 4.24, etc. Forte doesn't have that....but it provides him to be a tremendous sleeper in this draft.#7) Jamaal Charles- 5'11 200 ran a 4.38 with a 30.5 vertical and a 4.22 short shuttle. I believe that Charles, along with Felix Jones had a poor combine. I think that Charles is more athletic than that. However, even those numbers show that this kid is athletic. I believe that people have kind of pushed away Charles as....vince young made him look good, you know texas RB's(see Benson), he is just a speed guy on the outside, etc. However, the more film I have seen from this kid has shown otherwise. When he first came to texas, yes his athletic ability was easy to see and he did bounce a lot to the outside and carried the ball almost exclusively in his left arm. However, two years later, looking at his junior year. He cuts inside and will lower his shoulder. He carries the ball in both arms and has great hands. Will Charles ever be a power back? No but I do believe he has enough power. Will he fumble? Yes, because that is one knock on him. The one thing with Charles is that he is raw. He needs more seasoning....pass blocking...reading defenses....putting on about 5-10 pounds. However, if you discredit this kid....then you are letting a phenomenal talent slip through the cracks.#8) Felix Jones- 5'10 207 ran a 4.47 with 8 reps at 225(Brady Quinn had 24 last year), 33.5 vertical and a 4.19 short shuttle. Felix had a disappointing combine from the fact of the forty time. Yes it was just one day and maybe he wasn't fast on that day. He needs to have a great pro day(4.35). But looking at the vertical and the short shuttle it shows that the athletic ability is there. Being overshadowed by DMC he needed to have a chip on his shoulder at the the combine and it didn't look like it was there. He didnt' look the part of an NFL running back.....to me anyways. I love Felix's lateral agility and playmaking ability. However, I don't think he looks the part and needs a good Pro Day to move up in my rankings. I think he was a product of DMC's system and catching defenses off guard.#9) Chris Johnson- 5-11 197 ran a 4.24 with a 35 inch vertical jump, also a 10'10 broad jump. This kid has explosion and athletic ability. To put that in perspective...Reggie Bush ran a 4.33 at his Pro Day with a broad jump a 10' 9 and a vert of 40.5. So this kid could be more explosive than Bush. What is his knock? He is small and doesn't have a lot of power. However, the more I see of him....the more I see he can break tackles, lowers his shoulder when he needs too and takes good angles to avoid defenders. 4.24....seriously guys.....that is unreal at the RB position. If you think that he is almost .1 faster than Reggie Bush and McFadden.#10) Steve Slaton- 5'9 197 ran a 4.44 with 19 reps at 225, and a 33.5 verical jump. A year ago Slaton was overrated and had a disappointing senior season. At this point, I believe that he is underrated. So many people have knocked him down, that if he can fight through it, he will be a heck of a steal. He has the athletic ability, he can make moves, outrun defenders, has great hands, lots of experience in big games(see Sugar Bowl) but a couple of injuries and a disappointing senior year. That has people looking at a possible 4th round pick in the NFL draft. If he goes to a ZBS he could be amazing with this chip on his shoulder.
While the idea of a flowchart with two branches of category distinctions below the primary three RBs makes great sense to me, in my haste to construct it here, I left Felix off the list. I am however, a little low on him in comparison to most. Replace Slaton with him and bump Brown for li'l Stevie and that's how I would cut the deck. I think Felix is fine. I am very impressed by this entire crop of RBs (and have been since the 05 season). I don't think Felix necessarily did things in Arkansas that Charles and Johnson wouldn't have done better. Anyone as fast as him is going to look pretty great alongside McFadden. That's sounds like a low blow. I really don't mean it that way. Felix is a great prospect. I've gone from big love for Slaton to having him out of my top 10 in an ordered list, but in his defense, he's been getting a little bit of the buzz back lately -- all of it surrounding his potential in a receiving capacity, maybe as a slot player, maybe as a CoP back, maybe used as a hybrid like Bush. I am still a fan. I love playmakers and gamebreakers and I really hope he does find a role that translates. At his best his is great fun to watch. At his worst, he does not belong on the field.
Although you probably have Charles too low; I'd like to see your tiers as opposed to a straight ranking.I find myself hoping Forte and Hart fall to my late picks. I think both will. 
Although you probably have Charles too low; I'd like to see your tiers as opposed to a straight ranking.I find myself hoping Forte and Hart fall to my late picks. I think both will. 
While the idea of a flowchart with two branches of category distinctions below the primary three RBs makes great sense to me, in my haste to construct it here, I left Felix off the list. I am however, a little low on him in comparison to most. Replace Slaton with him and bump Brown for li'l Stevie and that's how I would cut the deck. I think Felix is fine. I am very impressed by this entire crop of RBs (and have been since the 05 season). I don't think Felix necessarily did things in Arkansas that Charles and Johnson wouldn't have done better. Anyone as fast as him is going to look pretty great alongside McFadden. That's sounds like a low blow. I really don't mean it that way. Felix is a great prospect. I've gone from big love for Slaton to having him out of my top 10 in an ordered list, but in his defense, he's been getting a little bit of the buzz back lately -- all of it surrounding his potential in a receiving capacity, maybe as a slot player, maybe as a CoP back, maybe used as a hybrid like Bush. I am still a fan. I love playmakers and gamebreakers and I really hope he does find a role that translates. At his best his is great fun to watch. At his worst, he does not belong on the field.
Id
