Rookie RBs POST DRAFT RANKINGS (1 Viewer)

[switz]

4. McFadden - three RBs competing for a spot, and a young QB unlikely to sustain drives.

Yeah, 3 RBs competing for the role of backup to McFadden. McFadden is light years ahead of the others in this class.

light years is overstating it . . .

So is saying he will be competing with 3 other RBs....

good point . . .

I have no doubts that McFadden is much much better than anyone on the Raiders roster. But they have Fargas (just resigned), Bush (drafted last years), and Rhodes (FA last season)I just see enough of them being used situationally to take away from McFadden. Plus, my second comment was completely ignored - if JMar can't make the third down conversions, the running backs just won't get tons of opps.

 

[TitusIII]

For 2008-2009 alone...

Possible #1 Fantasy RB's this season....

1. Stewart(CAR)...starter...no vultures

2. McFadden(OAK)...starter...gl vultures

3. Forte(CHI)....starter due to Benson career threatening injury...better anyway...possible AP vulture...

Possible #1's with a little injury luck

4. K. Smith(DET)...can he beat out Tatum?

5. Mendenhall(PIT)...the best of the bunch come 2010...

6. F. Jones(DAL)...another 2010 pick...

7. C. Johnson(TEN)...what a cluster#### in the TEN backfield...

8. Slaton(HOU)...if Dayne can put up points, so can Slaton when he gets the job...

Who knows...I love small school RB's!

9. Hightower(AZ)...worth a flyer...small school stallion...

10. Odom(BUF)...worth a flyer...small school stallion

 

[switz]

1. Stewart(CAR)...starter...no vultures

DeAngelo will still get carries. Probably 35-40% of the work load. Not enough to really be worth anything FF-wise, and just enough to knock Stewart down FF-wise.

 

[Thunderchicken]

1. Mendenhall - PIT likes to run, and with this move, I don't see FWP getting the most snaps

2. Stewart - CAR is RBBC but Stewart will see at least 250 carries

3. Felix Jones - There is no doubt he will see between 130-150 carries, plus catches, and if your league rewards for return yardage he'll be a monster.

4. McFadden - three RBs competing for a spot, and a young QB unlikely to sustain drives.

5. Chris Johnson - TEN will run run run run run, but the carries will be split 3 ways at least

6. JMall - great fit for HOU IMO, Clinton Portis in DEN, possibly, but also too risky to rank that high

7. Forte - no QB, hard to run much, plus Benson is the starter

I don't see much for the rest of these guys except pure backup material

You are telling me that Benson is a legit starter, but FWP is not? FWP >>>>>>>>>>Benson, and I am being conservative.

 

[switz]

1. Mendenhall - PIT likes to run, and with this move, I don't see FWP getting the most snaps

2. Stewart - CAR is RBBC but Stewart will see at least 250 carries

3. Felix Jones - There is no doubt he will see between 130-150 carries, plus catches, and if your league rewards for return yardage he'll be a monster.

4. McFadden - three RBs competing for a spot, and a young QB unlikely to sustain drives.

5. Chris Johnson - TEN will run run run run run, but the carries will be split 3 ways at least

6. JMall - great fit for HOU IMO, Clinton Portis in DEN, possibly, but also too risky to rank that high

7. Forte - no QB, hard to run much, plus Benson is the starter

I don't see much for the rest of these guys except pure backup material

You are telling me that Benson is a legit starter, but FWP is not? FWP >>>>>>>>>>Benson, and I am being conservative.

FWP just had a horrible season, is recovering from a broken bone, and has a FIRST ROUND PICK to compete with, who BTW is LOADS more talented than Parker.Benson was given the starting job, did his best to lose it, and all they did was grab a questionable second round pick who is not nearly as talented as Benson. Sure Benson has sucked in the NFL, but he still has more talent than Forte.

It's not about FWP vs. Benson, it's about FWP vs. Mendenhall compared to Benson vs. Forte.

 

[Buckeyedawgs]

Nice to see different opinions SWITZ but the original poster of this thread is much more inline with my thinking! Felix could move up to top 3 if Barber holds out. Forte 7? No way. Benson is history.

 

[jurb26]

4. McFadden - three RBs competing for a spot, and a young QB unlikely to sustain drives.

Yeah, 3 RBs competing for the role of backup to McFadden. McFadden is light years ahead of the others in this class.

light years is overstating it . . .

So is saying he will be competing with 3 other RBs....

good point . . .

I have no doubts that McFadden is much much better than anyone on the Raiders roster. But they have Fargas (just resigned), Bush (drafted last years), and Rhodes (FA last season)I just see enough of them being used situationally to take away from McFadden. Plus, my second comment was completely ignored - if JMar can't make the third down conversions, the running backs just won't get tons of opps.

I ignored the 2nd part because Oak was one of the worst offensive teams in the NFL last year, yet the RBs produced rather well regardless.

 

[awesomeness]

1. Mendenhall - PIT likes to run, and with this move, I don't see FWP getting the most snaps

2. Stewart - CAR is RBBC but Stewart will see at least 250 carries

3. Felix Jones - There is no doubt he will see between 130-150 carries, plus catches, and if your league rewards for return yardage he'll be a monster.

4. McFadden - three RBs competing for a spot, and a young QB unlikely to sustain drives.

5. Chris Johnson - TEN will run run run run run, but the carries will be split 3 ways at least

6. JMall - great fit for HOU IMO, Clinton Portis in DEN, possibly, but also too risky to rank that high

7. Forte - no QB, hard to run much, plus Benson is the starter

I don't see much for the rest of these guys except pure backup material

You are telling me that Benson is a legit starter, but FWP is not? FWP >>>>>>>>>>Benson, and I am being conservative.

FWP just had a horrible season, is recovering from a broken bone, and has a FIRST ROUND PICK to compete with, who BTW is LOADS more talented than Parker.Benson was given the starting job, did his best to lose it, and all they did was grab a questionable second round pick who is not nearly as talented as Benson. Sure Benson has sucked in the NFL, but he still has more talent than Forte.

It's not about FWP vs. Benson, it's about FWP vs. Mendenhall compared to Benson vs. Forte.

What evidence is there that Benson has talent? He was given every opportunity last year and showed nothing at all. Also, you need to think of a new nickname for Jamaal Charles. JMall is horrible, tonnes of players have the first name Jamaal so its confusing.

 

[Wildman]

Kevin Smith has the best opportunity to shine as a rookie RB in this draft. Yes Detroit's line stinks, but that has a lot to do with the pass-first mentality of Mike Martz. It's much easier to run block than pass block and it wears out the defense when done effectively. Since Kitna is good enough to move the chains, this switch in philosophy should reap immediate dividends. Smith is a special runner. He's not yet a complete back, but he will be. I don't know how you can't put him in the top 4-5 rookies for 2008 when ranking situations. Tatum Bell is nowhere near the back that Smith is.

 

[Benchwarmers]

1. Darren McFadden - RB

2. Jonathan Stewart - RB

3. Kevin Smith – RB

4. Rashard Mendenhall - RB

5. Chris Johnson - RB

6. Matt Forte – RB

7. Felix Jones - RB

8. Jamaal Charles – RB

9. Ryan Torain – RB

10. Tashard Choice – RB

11. Ray Rice – RB

12. Steve Slaton – RB

13. Marcus Thomas – RB

 

[hankey2mlh]

FWP just had a horrible season, is recovering from a broken bone, and has a FIRST ROUND PICK to compete with, who BTW is LOADS more talented than Parker.Benson was given the starting job, did his best to lose it, and all they did was grab a questionable second round pick who is not nearly as talented as Benson. Sure Benson has sucked in the NFL, but he still has more talent than Forte.It's not about FWP vs. Benson, it's about FWP vs. Mendenhall compared to Benson vs. Forte.

Parker rushed for 1,316 yards in 15 games last season, not exactly horrible In 2006 Parker had roughly the same yardage and more TDs than Benson in his whole career.And what makes you think that Forte is a questionable second round pick? Benson simply was a wasted 1st round pick, he has a bad work ethic and isn't a very popular guy in the locker room, while Forte, on the other hand, is described as a high-character guy. The scouting report on nfl.com compares him to Edggerin James, so there must be some talent. While the jury is still out on Forte, we already know that Benson sucks...

 

[switz]

Also, you need to think of a new nickname for Jamaal Charles. JMall is horrible, tonnes of players have the first name Jamaal so its confusing.

It's not my nickname for him, he's been called that for years.

 

[Warhogs]

Anyone have any thoughts that focus more on the RB 9-14 range?

I presently agree with most of the top 8 RBs and am pretty close to how most have them ordered but I think the next group gets interesting with Charles, Slaton, Torain, Choice and such. I honestly just don't have enough information on that whole group.

 

[switz]

FWP just had a horrible season, is recovering from a broken bone, and has a FIRST ROUND PICK to compete with, who BTW is LOADS more talented than Parker.Benson was given the starting job, did his best to lose it, and all they did was grab a questionable second round pick who is not nearly as talented as Benson. Sure Benson has sucked in the NFL, but he still has more talent than Forte.It's not about FWP vs. Benson, it's about FWP vs. Mendenhall compared to Benson vs. Forte.

Parker rushed for 1,316 yards in 15 games last season, not exactly horrible In 2006 Parker had roughly the same yardage and more TDs than Benson in his whole career.And what makes you think that Forte is a questionable second round pick? Benson simply was a wasted 1st round pick, he has a bad work ethic and isn't a very popular guy in the locker room, while Forte, on the other hand, is described as a high-character guy. The scouting report on nfl.com compares him to Edggerin James, so there must be some talent. While the jury is still out on Forte, we already know that Benson sucks...

Parker scored 2 TDs last year. And his YPC was 4.1, the worst of his career, and it has decline three years in a row. Forte is a questionable second round pick IMO because he's a third round back at best. Part of it is I'm just not impressed with him. But don't mistake that as my being a Benson fan, I'm not. But the team got rid of a "team guy" to give Benson the job. Obviously they don't care about his attitude issues. And with the backs they could have grabbed, but passed on, they obviously don't think that they need to replace Benson yet.

 

[Warhogs]

Switz, I respect your opinions and enjoy your comments but in this case I think your opinion if Benson is much higher than most people and your opinion of Parker is much lower than what most have. Maybe we can leave it at that?

 

[switz]

Switz, I respect your opinions and enjoy your comments but in this case I think your opinion if Benson is much higher than most people and your opinion of Parker is much lower than what most have. Maybe we can leave it at that?

Oh, that's totally possible. No doubt. I'm just replying to what people are pointing out/asking. I hardly think my opinion is going to be consensus, or necessarily correct.

 

[awesomeness]

Also, you need to think of a new nickname for Jamaal Charles. JMall is horrible, tonnes of players have the first name Jamaal so its confusing.

It's not my nickname for him, he's been called that for years.

I just did a search of every post on this board, and you are the only person ever to have used "JMall".

 

[switz]

Also, you need to think of a new nickname for Jamaal Charles. JMall is horrible, tonnes of players have the first name Jamaal so its confusing.

It's not my nickname for him, he's been called that for years.

I've never seen Charles refered to as JMall before. Has he been called JMall before on these forums?

I don't know whether I've seen it on these forums or not before. Regardless...Jamaal Charles

PERSONAL:

Enrolled in the College of Education...Three-time member of the University of Texas Athletics Director's Honor Roll...Comes from an athletic family, as he joined his brother, Shanderric Charles, who played running back at Southern Methodist (2001-02), his cousin, Graylin Johnson, who played safety at Texas (1989-90) and cousin, RaShonta LeBlanc, who plays basketball at Louisiana State (2004-present) as members to star at the college level...Nickname is "J-Mall"...Born Jamaal RaShaad Charles on 12/27/1986 in Port Arthur, Texas.

 

[TheFanatic]

I like this chicken little mentality with regards to FWP, it's going to make it easier to get him cheap.

Fast Willie is a below average NFL (not fantasy) starting running back . . .

I disagree. I think he's one of the more underrated NFL starting RBs. He may not be as well-rounded as the eternally-underrated Westbrook, but he's more than just a speed guy. He's a great inside runner (which shouldn't be a big surprise considering he learned under one of the best), shows good footwork, patience and vision. I don't think the Mendenhall pick was an indictment of FWP's ability as a starting RB - just the realization that RBs have a short shelf life (especially smaller guys) and looking at how much different their team was after the loss of Parker last year. I'm sure the broken leg is still a concern - and should there be a set back, Mendenhall gives them a mighty big insurance blanket.

If he were a great inside runner they wouldn't have drafted a RB. Take a high power offense like the Steelers and then get down to the goal line only to run trick and gadget plays because FWP can't get the tough yards. That had to be a nightmare last year for pound it down your throat steeler fans....

 

[hephner]

FWP just had a horrible season, is recovering from a broken bone, and has a FIRST ROUND PICK to compete with, who BTW is LOADS more talented than Parker.

Benson was given the starting job, did his best to lose it, and all they did was grab a questionable second round pick who is not nearly as talented as Benson. Sure Benson has sucked in the NFL, but he still has more talent than Forte.

It's not about FWP vs. Benson, it's about FWP vs. Mendenhall compared to Benson vs. Forte.

Parker rushed for 1,316 yards in 15 games last season, not exactly horrible In 2006 Parker had roughly the same yardage and more TDs than Benson in his whole career.

And what makes you think that Forte is a questionable second round pick?

Benson simply was a wasted 1st round pick, he has a bad work ethic and isn't a very popular guy in the locker room, while Forte, on the other hand, is described as a high-character guy. The scouting report on nfl.com compares him to Edggerin James, so there must be some talent. While the jury is still out on Forte, we already know that Benson sucks...

Parker scored 2 TDs last year. And his YPC was 4.1, the worst of his career, and it has decline three years in a row. Forte is a questionable second round pick IMO because he's a third round back at best. Part of it is I'm just not impressed with him. But don't mistake that as my being a Benson fan, I'm not. But the team got rid of a "team guy" to give Benson the job. Obviously they don't care about his attitude issues. And with the backs they could have grabbed, but passed on, they obviously don't think that they need to replace Benson yet.

Couldn't disagree more on the Benson issue, especially the points I bolded. Angelo all but came out and admitted in an interview over the weekend that Benson was a bust. "Maybe he's not the featured back we thought he'd be..." was the exact quote, but he went on to say more, although a lot of it was standard, "they'll both get a shot" type of stuff. But that's a big statement coming from him, since they always take the hard line with any questions like this and don't like to admit they make any mistakes. I mentioned on another thread yesterday that the oft-injured Benson is behind schedule on his rehab, after already being overweight last year, and the coaches are getting tired of his antics, so yes, they do care about his attitude. They just were ignoring it and hoping he'd step up with Thomas Jones leaving town. But Benson came in overweight last year and never performed up to the level that he had with the promise he showed closing out the 2006 season.Forte was picked to replace Benson. I think Forte will at the very least be getting the lion's share of split carries in a RBBC early in the season, and could potentially even be the undisputed Day 1 starter, especially with Benson coming off of injury and maybe not fully healthy by then. Is Forte the long term answer, maybe not, but the Bears certainly are signaling that he's an upgrade over Benson and will be given every opportunity to be the #1 RB.

 

[switz]

Also, you need to think of a new nickname for Jamaal Charles. JMall is horrible, tonnes of players have the first name Jamaal so its confusing.

It's not my nickname for him, he's been called that for years.

I just did a search of every post on this board, and you are the only person ever to have used "JMall".

So? Just because I know something other people on this forum don't doesn't mean I'm wrong... i.e. see post #68

 

[awesomeness]

Also, you need to think of a new nickname for Jamaal Charles. JMall is horrible, tonnes of players have the first name Jamaal so its confusing.

It's not my nickname for him, he's been called that for years.

I just did a search of every post on this board, and you are the only person ever to have used "JMall".

So? Just because I know something other people on this forum don't doesn't mean I'm wrong... i.e. see post #68

Perhaps other people on this forum hadn't heard of it before, they just realized it is a horrible nickname and decided not to use it.

 

[switz]

Also, you need to think of a new nickname for Jamaal Charles. JMall is horrible, tonnes of players have the first name Jamaal so its confusing.

It's not my nickname for him, he's been called that for years.

I just did a search of every post on this board, and you are the only person ever to have used "JMall".

So? Just because I know something other people on this forum don't doesn't mean I'm wrong... i.e. see post #68

Perhaps other people on this forum hadn't heard of it before, they just realized it is a horrible nickname and decided not to use it.

You questioned my use of the nickname, and now that I've shown you it's not just something I made up, you have to come back with a smart ### comment? Give me a break

 

[Chachi]

Forte = Bust

Mark it down with a permanent marker.

 

[Raagsreth]

PPR?

1. Darren McFadden - Fargas ran for over 1000 yards in this offense and won't lose many carries to the backs behind him.

2. Rashard Mendenhall - I think Mendenhall is a bit overrated, but can't deny the offense he's being put into and Willie Parker isn't a threat to steal catches.

3. Chris Johnson - If he's used correctly, he won't need to be the cowbell to be worthy of this spot. If Fisher primarly tries to have him be the cowbell he'll be down in the tier with Felix / Charles.

4. Jonathan Stewart - DWill might not be the starter, but he's one of the better 3rd down / COP backs in the league and will keep Stewie from getting a ton of catches or overused carry-wise in his first few years.

5. Kevin Smith - Classic situation over talent case, I don't view him anywhere near a top 5 talent but he'll likely be the

starter with trash infront of him.

6. Ray Rice - Tough to argue with talent to put him any lower. I wouldn't pick Rice here but if I was a championship team with the luxury to wait a few years, Rice could prove to be well worth this spot.

7. Matt Forte - Situtation, situation, situation. I think people are setting aside Benson to quickly but it's an awesome situation for him non the less and could put up nice numbers in the Bears run-heavy attack sooner rather then later.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drop off here.

8. Ryan Torain - Sleeper talent with the ability to be a 3-down back. Fell into a perfect situation to showcase his skills. I don't like chasing Denver backs but I think it's well worth the risk at this point on a "potential" starter down the line.

9. Felix Jones - Prototypical 3rd down back / COP who will have an uphill battle of ever being anything else IMO. Jones just can't do the things that Chris Johnson can do to make him a very good PPR play in a limited role.

10. Jamaal Charles - Similiar to Felix but in a worse offense. I think Charles has the better chance to be a 3-down back before Jones based on their skills, but I view Jones as the safer bet while Charles has more potential.

11. Steve Slaton - I don't like Slaton at all, but Kubiak could potentially turn him into a Tatum Bell type back in his system.

12. Mike Hart - I know im getting a guy who's going to play in the league for 10 years barring injury and will be in a very good offense. Might never be a starter but could be a sneaky play a few weeks a year and has value to Addai owners, although personally I'd rather keep him then trade him off for crumbs.

My crack at it.

 

[BigJim®]

Tier 1

1. Darren McFadden

Personally, I'm not a huge fan but he is definitely #1 based upon trade value alone.

Tier 2

2. Jonathan Stewart

I'm a huge Deangelo proponent, but I like watching Stewart run. What people don't seem to be talking about much is his injury history. I saw 250 carries projected somewhere on this board and if he gets that number of carries, he'll be a stallion. But he's had 1 season with that workload, running for only 980 yards the prior season with a nagging ankle. Boom or bust, hinging 100% on health. Do not be surprised if he does not get many carries early as the team tries to see what it has in Deangelo, and doesn't rush him back from injury. That could cost him heavily as a rookie. He'll be someone I'm targetting as a buy low prospect early in the season in my dynasty league. He definitely has the best upside of remaining RBs, so I take him #2 without hesitation.

3. Rashard Mendenhall

I like his talent and his location. His 40 was faster than he looked to me in college, and I'm a little worried about the one year track record. Similar to Stewart, had low number of carries prior to breakout season [78 in 2006].

4. Kevin Smith

He is someone I was secretly targetting in the 1.09-1.12 range as sneaky value pre-draft, but the draft killed that plan. He's got a very solid running base and has proven he can take the carries in college. It's true his location seems to be best among rookies, but I don't think its realistic that he'd come in and be a starter as a rookie jumping from UCF. Also Detroit has what is likely to remain a horrid line blocking for him. If KJ failed in Detroit, pretty much any RB could.

Tier 3

5. Matt Forte

Pretty big drop-off in value here. I don't particularly like his landing spot competing for carries with Benson. Benson is not real liked for reasons that are his own doing, but he definitely has the talent to hold off a rookie. With no passing game to speak of and a below average OL, I'll take Forte for no reason other than he's the most likely of remaining RB to become a primary RB.

Tier 4

6. Felix Jones

Another pretty big drop-off in value as remaining RBs seem unlikely to become primary ball carriers. Guys at the top of this tier, like Felix, will serve a niche need like PR/KR and 3rd down. He's a dazzling player who has nowhere near a primary running role accomplishment in college, and I actually think the selection of T.Choice is somewhat damning of F.Jones' future potential.

7. Chris Johnson

I really liked the video I saw of Johnson but I'm not sure he has the size to be a long-term primary ball carrier. He does have a chance to be a starter though, but perhaps not in Tennessee, when the team is invested into Lendale White. This should be the protypical thunder and lightning act.

8. Steve Slaton

Somewhat underrated landing spot for this guy, needing to compete only with A.Green and Chris Brown. I didn't see enough of him last season and I'm scratching my head that the dazzling player I saw a few times in 2006 could recede so much. He's very good value at the 1.10-1.14 I've seen him ranked at IMHO, and this running scheme would seem to be good for a one cut and go runner like Slaton.

9. Jamaal Charles

I like his ability to handle primary duties better than F.Jones, C.Johnson and Slaton, but it's impossible to ignore the fact he's on a team with a stud RB is signed longterm for big money. Bad luck of the draw for this prospect.

Tier 5

10. Ryan Torain

I probably take Matt Ryan, Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly before taking a RB like Torian, but he's the next one because you're unlikely to find a RB at this point with the value-upside of a Denver rookie.

11. Tashard Choice

I don't like him in Dallas because I see Barber as a better version of him. There is an argument to be made that his upside is greater than Felix Jones, however, pending what happens to Barber contractually.

12. Ray Rice

I really like his talent, but like J.Charles it is impossible to ignore that he's competing with McGahee. Not a bad guy to take and roster however, in case of injury to McGahee.

 

[thecardiackid]