Marshawn Lynch, signed. (1 Viewer)

[BigSteelThrill]

PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) -Running back Marshawn Lynch, the Buffalo Bills' first-round draft pick, agreed Thursday night to a five-year contract worth nearly $19 million, his agent told The Associated Press.

``Marshawn's ecstatic and looking forward to helping the Bills,'' agent Doug Hendrickson said. ``All along, Marshawn told us he wanted to be in camp on time and instructed us to get the deal done.''

Drafted 12th overall out of California, Lynch will earn $10.285 million in guaranteed money including bonuses, with the entire contract worth $18.935 million. An additional year would be added to the contract if Lynch missed a majority of his first two seasons.

Lynch was traveling to join the Bills at their training camp site in suburban Rochester and was expected to be at practice Friday. He missed the Bills' first two practices which were held Thursday.

The Bills weren't immediately available for comment.

Buffalo drafted Lynch to replace former starter Willis McGahee, who was traded to Baltimore in March.

Lynch was the second running back selected in the draft, behind Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson, who was taken at No. 7 by Minnesota. Lynch finished with 3,230 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns, while adding 600 yards receiving and six TDs in 35 games spread over three seasons at California.

The Bills particularly like Lynch's versatility as a receiver, an added dimension that fits offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild's scheme and something with which McGahee struggled.

Lynch, who played quarterback in high school, even showed off a strong arm in college, completing three passes for 55 yards and two touchdowns.

 

[BigSteelThrill]

ESPN showing it now.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2950942

 

[jurb26]

Looks like the 1st round signing are rolling in now.

 

[Ned]

and how much is lj making??

 

[Grigs Allmoon]

 

[GroveDiesel]

Let's see what we have now. Just the fact that he was catching so many passes in OTAs is exciting. It gives the offense a dimension that wasn't there last year and should help slow down that outside pass rush some. DEs will have to keep an eye on him as they're rushing in to make sure that he's not slipping out for a screen. It may also help bail out JP when the pass rush IS getting to him, again, something that wasn't there last year.

 

[Dope]

This is good news for all those out there in dynasty land that took Lynch over Calvin at the 1.02 slot



Getting in on time just adds to the positive side of the slate for Marshawn. I think this guy is going to be big. Real Big.

Think Indy Edge and Marshall Faulk (GBMF)

I'm getting excited.

 

[rzrback77]

This is good news for all those out there in dynasty land that took Lynch over Calvin at the 1.02 slot Getting in on time just adds to the positive side of the slate for Marshawn. I think this guy is going to be big. Real Big.Think Indy Edge and Marshall Faulk (GBMF)I'm getting excited.

and a little carried away, I think. I hope that Lynch does well, but Edge and Faulk is up there.

 

[BroadwayG]

When is he going to be traded to a team with an offense?

 

[Dope]

This is good news for all those out there in dynasty land that took Lynch over Calvin at the 1.02 slot Getting in on time just adds to the positive side of the slate for Marshawn. I think this guy is going to be big. Real Big.Think Indy Edge and Marshall Faulk (GBMF)I'm getting excited.

and a little carried away, I think. I hope that Lynch does well, but Edge and Faulk is up there.

I know it's carried away. It's just a feeling more than anything concrete.It's hard to put my finger on why.I like the situation a lot. Buffalo looks to be an offense on the rise. JP Losman took some strides forward. He's got a very good go-to WR in Lee Evans. Adding the multi-dimensional Lynch to the mix, just screams to me that they are going to blow up real soon. It's really the Losman part that has me thinking that way. If this was last year, I wouldn't be nearly as excited. Losman was green, but now he has some game experience. I love Marshawn's ability too. As a former 1.04 picker of JJ Arrington (in not one but TWO leagues...ouch) I was a little wary about taking another Cal Bear RB. But I read a lot about him. He's got that shifty thing going. He's got some toughs inside. He's got a 2nd gear. I'm thinking another comparison might be Tiki Barber. (I know I know)The clincher for me is (believe it or not) Marv Levy. I remember reading an interview with him and the gist of the conversation was that he needed a "Thurman Thomas" for the Bills offense. He also went out to improve the offensive line. Now, maybe it takes a full year to gel, but I think you'll really start to see the dividends this year. The Bills do have a horrific schedule, so results might not be there. He might have a pretty great December.@WashMiami@ CleveNYGSo to recap...Lynch = Faulk, Edge, Tiki and/or Thurman Thomas.:rose colored glasses:

 

[GroveDiesel]

When is he going to be traded to a team with an offense?

Losman+Evans+Lynch=Big 3

 

[Hagger]

This is good news for all those out there in dynasty land that took Lynch over Calvin at the 1.02 slot Getting in on time just adds to the positive side of the slate for Marshawn. I think this guy is going to be big. Real Big.Think Indy Edge and Marshall Faulk (GBMF)I'm getting excited.

and a little carried away, I think. I hope that Lynch does well, but Edge and Faulk is up there.

I know it's carried away. It's just a feeling more than anything concrete.It's hard to put my finger on why.I like the situation a lot. Buffalo looks to be an offense on the rise. JP Losman took some strides forward. He's got a very good go-to WR in Lee Evans. Adding the multi-dimensional Lynch to the mix, just screams to me that they are going to blow up real soon. It's really the Losman part that has me thinking that way. If this was last year, I wouldn't be nearly as excited. Losman was green, but now he has some game experience. I love Marshawn's ability too. As a former 1.04 picker of JJ Arrington (in not one but TWO leagues...ouch) I was a little wary about taking another Cal Bear RB. But I read a lot about him. He's got that shifty thing going. He's got some toughs inside. He's got a 2nd gear. I'm thinking another comparison might be Tiki Barber. (I know I know)The clincher for me is (believe it or not) Marv Levy. I remember reading an interview with him and the gist of the conversation was that he needed a "Thurman Thomas" for the Bills offense. He also went out to improve the offensive line. Now, maybe it takes a full year to gel, but I think you'll really start to see the dividends this year. The Bills do have a horrific schedule, so results might not be there. He might have a pretty great December.@WashMiami@ CleveNYGSo to recap...Lynch = Faulk, Edge, Tiki and/or Thurman Thomas.:rose colored glasses:

I'm not ready to put him up there with those names. But he does have some good buzz around him. Clearly Marv is looking for a back with a skill set similar to Thurman's. But like most rookies, it will take time. Next year could be huge for Lynch, this year I'd temper my expectations.

 

[bostonfred]

Can somebody explain the excitement about Lynch to me? I don't know much about him as a player. I guess I don't know much about the Bills, really, except that they're mostly harmless.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Can somebody explain the excitement about Lynch to me? I don't know much about him as a player. I guess I don't know much about the Bills, really, except that they're mostly harmless.

Marshawn LynchHe can run over DBs and most LBers. He has breakaway speed. He reads his blocks well. He's a good receiver out of the backfield. And he can block too.

This offense isn't going to be a cakewalk for opposing defenses.

 

[bostonfred]

Can somebody explain the excitement about Lynch to me? I don't know much about him as a player. I guess I don't know much about the Bills, really, except that they're mostly harmless.

Marshawn LynchHe can run over DBs and most LBers. He has breakaway speed. He reads his blocks well. He's a good receiver out of the backfield. And he can block too.

This offense isn't going to be a cakewalk for opposing defenses.

Thanks. He definitely looks impressive. Is he that big an upgrade over McGahee, though?

 

[BroadwayG]

Can somebody explain the excitement about Lynch to me? I don't know much about him as a player. I guess I don't know much about the Bills, really, except that they're mostly harmless.

Marshawn LynchHe can run over DBs and most LBers. He has breakaway speed. He reads his blocks well. He's a good receiver out of the backfield. And he can block too.

This offense isn't going to be a cakewalk for opposing defenses.

Too bad they're not college defenses.

 

[CalBear]

This offense isn't going to be a cakewalk for opposing defenses.

Too bad they're not college defenses.

Shockingly, none of the other rookie NFL RBs will be playing against college defenses either, but some of them are going to be successful anyway.Lynch might have some adjustment issues like Reggie Bush did, getting used to the fact that he can't physically dominate at the level he did in college. But I would be shocked if he fails to become, at the least, an exciting and productive RB in the pros.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Can somebody explain the excitement about Lynch to me? I don't know much about him as a player. I guess I don't know much about the Bills, really, except that they're mostly harmless.

Marshawn LynchHe can run over DBs and most LBers. He has breakaway speed. He reads his blocks well. He's a good receiver out of the backfield. And he can block too.

This offense isn't going to be a cakewalk for opposing defenses.

Thanks. He definitely looks impressive. Is he that big an upgrade over McGahee, though?

Well, I certainly HOPE that he is. He can definitely catch the ball better than McGahee and the Bills have been saying all offseason that they really want that out of their starting RB.

I also think that he has better vision than McGahee too. I can't tell you how many times it felt like McGahee just tiptoed behind the line because he had no idea where to run (and then proceeded to run directly into the pile and go down with a one yard gain).

He should be a better pass blocker as well. I specifically remember reading that McGahee wasn't a very good pass blocker because he barely knew the playbook and was frequently confused as to what his role was on passing plays.

Honestly, the only concerns that I have with Lynch are that he has never been a feature back and he runs fairly upright. I'm more concerned about the first than the second.

 

[BroadwayG]

This offense isn't going to be a cakewalk for opposing defenses.

Too bad they're not college defenses.

Shockingly, none of the other rookie NFL RBs will be playing against college defenses either, but some of them are going to be successful anyway.Lynch might have some adjustment issues like Reggie Bush did, getting used to the fact that he can't physically dominate at the level he did in college. But I would be shocked if he fails to become, at the least, an exciting and productive RB in the pros.

I wouldn't be shocked at all. The dude may be a box of rocks for all we know. You'd think this guy can walk on water with all they hype in here.Yeah, he's got talent, or he wouldn't be a first round pick. But the offense is lame, he's got a terrible head coach, and hasn't seen a lick of NFL caliber defenses in his life.

 

[Grigs Allmoon]

But the offense is lame, he's got a terrible head coach...

What's the over/under game for Lynch taking the starting role? Any predictions?

 

[CalBear]

Honestly, the only concerns that I have with Lynch are that he has never been a feature back and he runs fairly upright. I'm more concerned about the first than the second.

Lynch was a feature back at Cal. The only reason other backs got carries was that we blew out a number of opponents, so Lynch got to rest. He had 20+ carries in 6 games his junior year; there was a four-game stretch where Cal scored over 40 points each game and won by more than 20, where Lynch didn't get more than 17 carries, including against Portland State when he had just 6 carries (for 112 yards). He also had 20+ carries in 7 games in his sophomore year, missing two games and most of a third due to injury. Cal did not have RBBC.

 

[CalBear]

I wouldn't be shocked at all. The dude may be a box of rocks for all we know. You'd think this guy can walk on water with all they hype in here.

I'm speaking as someone who's seen virtually every carry and reception of his college career.

 

[JAA]

Can somebody explain the excitement about Lynch to me? I don't know much about him as a player. I guess I don't know much about the Bills, really, except that they're mostly harmless.

he's not as good as JJ Arrington

 

[BroadwayG]

I wouldn't be shocked at all. The dude may be a box of rocks for all we know. You'd think this guy can walk on water with all they hype in here.

I'm speaking as someone who's seen virtually every carry and reception of his college career.

I'm speaking as someone who's seen every carry and reception of his NFL career.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Honestly, the only concerns that I have with Lynch are that he has never been a feature back and he runs fairly upright. I'm more concerned about the first than the second.

Lynch was a feature back at Cal. The only reason other backs got carries was that we blew out a number of opponents, so Lynch got to rest. He had 20+ carries in 6 games his junior year; there was a four-game stretch where Cal scored over 40 points each game and won by more than 20, where Lynch didn't get more than 17 carries, including against Portland State when he had just 6 carries (for 112 yards). He also had 20+ carries in 7 games in his sophomore year, missing two games and most of a third due to injury. Cal did not have RBBC.

Thanks. You're actually the first person that I've ever seen address that. I've just read just about everywhere (including the "experts") that he was a RBBC guy. So that's actually good to hear.

 

[BroadwayG]

But the offense is lame, he's got a terrible head coach...

What's the over/under game for Lynch taking the starting role? Any predictions?

If you mean in a standard 85/15 starter/backups ratio for touches, I'll set it at 10.

 

[GroveDiesel]

I wouldn't be shocked at all. The dude may be a box of rocks for all we know. You'd think this guy can walk on water with all they hype in here.

I'm speaking as someone who's seen virtually every carry and reception of his college career.

I'm speaking as someone who's seen every carry and reception of his NFL career.

Adrian Peterson might as well pack it in too then. I don't think that any is guaranteeing anything as there's no such thing in the NFL. Everyone is just talking about what he appears to be capable of doing.

 

[womb]

I wouldn't be shocked at all. The dude may be a box of rocks for all we know. You'd think this guy can walk on water with all they hype in here.

I'm speaking as someone who's seen virtually every carry and reception of his college career.

I'm speaking as someone who's seen every carry and reception of his NFL career.

Dude, you are not being fair. The fine line you are walking is based on noone knows what a freshman can do in NFL since none of them have yet to play a down prior to their first season, like Reggie Bush, Maroney, Addai, Larry Johnson, Steven Jackson, AD, LT, McGahee, Portis, etc... They all may have been a box of rocks for all we know. So, in essence that line lies away from drafting a rookie to your fantasy team which makes me think why you are reading or bothering to reply to this thread. The Calbear dude obviously is giving us not so fortunate guys more insight than the stat lines or the brief descriptions. That insight may prove to be wrong, but at least it is out there for us to decide how to put the value on it.

 

[BroadwayG]

Sorry,

Mark me down for

300/1,700/20

75/900/10

 

[Slothrop]

Sorry,Mark me down for 300/1,700/2075/900/10

Just because people want to know how to evaluate a rookie doesn't mean they're all running out to draft him, or assuming he's going to have ridiculous numbers. Knowing anything about Lynch is better than knowing nothing at all.

 

[King of the Jungle]

Sorry,Mark me down for 300/1,700/2075/900/10

Although your sarcasm is really insightful in analyzing Lynch's ability, maybe you would like to offer some concrete reasons or examples of why you feel this way. Do you think you can do that?

 

[BroadwayG]

Sorry,Mark me down for 300/1,700/2075/900/10

Although your sarcasm is really insightful in analyzing Lynch's ability, maybe you would like to offer some concrete reasons or examples of why you feel this way. Do you think you can do that?

I'm not analyzing Lynch's ability, I'm pointing out that this guy is talented (1st round pick), but hasn't seen a lick of NFL action yet, and everyone's tripping over their tongues praising him. Throw Mr. Peterson into the same mix as well. For every LT, there's a Curtis Enis or three.I for one will not fail to realize that the Bills are not even remotely a high octane offense, either with personnel, or their head coach.

 

[CalBear]

I'm not analyzing Lynch's ability, I'm pointing out that this guy is talented (1st round pick), but hasn't seen a lick of NFL action yet, and everyone's tripping over their tongues praising him. Throw Mr. Peterson into the same mix as well. For every LT, there's a Curtis Enis or three.

Actually, the track record is pretty good on RBs drafted in the top half of the first round--better than any other position. I'll go back to 1998 to include Curtis Enis. Numbers are RB ranking during rookie season, and best ever RB ranking:1998

1.5 Enis (54, 18) (bust)

1.9 F.Taylor (4, 4) (stud)

1999

1.4 E.James (1, 1) (stud)

1.5 R.Williams (27, 2) (stud)

2000

1.5 J.Lewis (16, 4) (stud)

1.7 T.Jones (42, 9)

1.11 R.Dayne (29, 27) (bust)

2001

1.5 Tomlinson (7, 1) (stud)

2002

1.16 W.Green (27, 27) (bust)



2003, 2004

None

2005

1.2 Ronnie Brown (23, 25)

1.4 Cedric Benson (85, 38)

1.5 Carnell Williams (19, 39)

2006

1.2 R.Bush (17)

So, out of 13 RBs drafted in the top half of the first round since 1998, five went on to have at least one studly fantasy season, three were clear busts, and the jury is still out on four others. Three had top-10 RB finishes in their rookie season; seven (more than half) finished above the RB baseline in their rookie seasons.

Clearly, it's important to know who the good rookie RB candidates are, and it's reasonable to expect useful fantasy production out of the RBs drafted in the top half of the first round.

 

[Slothrop]

I for one will not fail to realize that the Bills are not even remotely a high octane offense, either with personnel, or their head coach.

They certainly haven't been for the past few years - I definitely think Lee Evans is a little overvalued in this year's draft, for example - but there's still a place for taking a chance that a promising rookie could change that, and if rookies never did, teams wouldn't draft them.

 

[CalBear]

Digging deeper:

Of the three rookie RBs since 1998 who finished in the top 10, one (Taylor) came into an good offense (Jacksonville was #7 in 1997), one (James) came into a mediocre offense (Indianapolis was #16 in 1998), and one (Tomlinson) came into a terrible offense (San Diego was #28 in 2000). So any situation can work.

 

[BroadwayG]

So, out of 13 RBs drafted in the top half of the first round since 1998, five went on to have at least one studly fantasy season, three were clear busts, and the jury is still out on four others. Three had top-10 RB finishes in their rookie season; seven (more than half) finished above the RB baseline in their rookie seasons.Clearly, it's important to know who the good rookie RB candidates are, and it's reasonable to expect useful fantasy production out of the RBs drafted in the top half of the first round.

Excellent data grabbing. You may want to extend your analysis to the first round, or at least pick 24, not just the top half. This list is kind of skewed grouping him in with the stats of top 3 picks but hardly anyone drafted similarly lower that he was.

 

[BroadwayG]

I for one will not fail to realize that the Bills are not even remotely a high octane offense, either with personnel, or their head coach.

They certainly haven't been for the past few years - I definitely think Lee Evans is a little overvalued in this year's draft, for example - but there's still a place for taking a chance that a promising rookie could change that, and if rookies never did, teams wouldn't draft them.

He's worth a flyer for sure late in a redraft. Definitely top 3 rookie dynasty pick. I'm just saying it'd be wise to temper expectations until you see what he can do on the field against an NFL defense.

 

[CalBear]

So, out of 13 RBs drafted in the top half of the first round since 1998, five went on to have at least one studly fantasy season, three were clear busts, and the jury is still out on four others. Three had top-10 RB finishes in their rookie season; seven (more than half) finished above the RB baseline in their rookie seasons.Clearly, it's important to know who the good rookie RB candidates are, and it's reasonable to expect useful fantasy production out of the RBs drafted in the top half of the first round.

Excellent data grabbing. You may want to extend your analysis to the first round, or at least pick 24, not just the top half. This list is kind of skewed grouping him in with the stats of top 3 picks but hardly anyone drafted similarly lower that he was.

I didn't want to take the time, but the second half of the first round includes Shaun Alexander, Larry Johnson, Deuce McAllister, Steven Jackson, and Kevin Jones, so I think the results would be similar.

 

[D_House]

 

[Grigs Allmoon]

Not a whole lot here, but as stoked as I am to get things rolling, I'll take it...

http://play.rbn.com/?url=nfl/nfl/open/bill...072707lynch.wmv

 

[*****]

I'm just saying it'd be wise to temper expectations until you see what he can do on the field against an NFL defense.

My draft is before the season starts.

 

[BroadwayG]

I'm just saying it'd be wise to temper expectations until you see what he can do on the field against an NFL defense.

My draft is before the season starts.

I'm not saying don't draft him. I'm saying don't draft him thinking he's going to get 300 touches this year.

 

[The Man with the Plan]

He could show a little in preseason. Not a lot but enough to make you think something good (or bad) is going on with him.

Like since forever a rookie running back has rushed for over 1,000 yards. Lynch seems to have to best chance of the rookie rb group. He only has Anthony Thomas as his main competion and that's no competition at all.

 

[joffer]

July 27, 2007, 20:17

Bills :: RB

Bills To Be RBBC

Chris Browm, BuffaloBills.com - [Full Article]

Buffalo Bills HC **** Jauron has stated more than once to BuffaloBills.com that he's leaning toward a running back by committee approach this season. With all of the final four teams standing last season (New Orleans, Chicago, Indianapolis, New England) profiting greatly from a two-horse offensive backfield, Jauron remains in favor of a group effort for 2007. "Regardless of who the number one (running back) is we do still intend to run the ball by committee," said Jauron. "We think it's better for our team over the long haul."

 

[Riffraff]

The full article about RBBC in Buffalo. - 27 July

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?NEWS_ID=4982

 

[Warhogs]

I was looking for any new information on Lynch. I have a draft this weekend where Rb is certainly a tougher find than WR and I am probably looking at Lynch or CJ at pick 1.02. The RBBC talk scares me a bit as well as not being able to get the name JJ Arrington out of my head. I would like to hear some more detailed information on why anyone thinks Lynch is going to be stud, dud or an average RB. Can anyone help out?

 

[Gottabesweet]

take Lynch