Jacob Hester, FB, LSU and Pats' draft

[mcbee]

He would be a good RB to pick up, runs hard, can catch passes, good feet, gets a lot of yards after contact running up the middle...winner/good football player listed as running a 4.65 40 but I've also read 4.55 (which is about what Emmitt Smith ran so no, it's not slow).

5'11" 235. A little bit like Kyle Eckel so may be redundant.

Probably 4th round pick or so.

Another option is to trade down into the late 1st (say Dallas' two picks) and pick Rashad Mendenhall of Illinois who is a tough, hard to tackle runner. And with the other pick, pick up a LB or CB.

If they do draft a RB really high, I could see them trading Maroney to Denver or something. "No! We don't want to help Denver!". Yes, we would for a draft pick or two if he's not going to do anything here. I just don't think he has the build for running in the trash amongst huge DL with NO holes. Plus every time he's in it's kind of a giveaway that it's going to be a run...so they overplay the run. If he could catch passes and block then he could be more of an every down back instead of the "Maroney's in, it's a running play" back.

 

[BelichickFan]

I like Hester but with Maroney/Morris/Faulk I'd be surprised to see a RB drafted real high next year.

 

[cstjohn17]

I like but unless he can play CB or ILB I don't see the need, we have enough JAGs at running back.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Hester can play Special teams and he brings a ton of skills and intangibles, but he is awfully slow for the NFL. At 4.65 most NFL DE's can run him down.

BB passed on Leornard last year who had everything Hester has and more speed, so I can't really see him jumping on the Hester bandwagon.

 

[mcbee]

Hester can play Special teams and he brings a ton of skills and intangibles, but he is awfully slow for the NFL. At 4.65 most NFL DE's can run him down.

BB passed on Leornard last year who had everything Hester has and more speed, so I can't really see him jumping on the Hester bandwagon.

I think it depends on where he's available....

Speed is deceiving, quickness in the hole counts a lot. Top end speed...not so much.

I think Welker ran a 4.7 coming out. It doesn't matter much. Acceleration is bigger IMO than speed. Bethel was much faster than Welker.

The difference between a 4.7 and 4.5 over 40 yards is about 2 yards or so...

"Leland recalls a scout from Oklahoma who was interested but wanted to get his own time on Welker in the 40-yard dash. "Son," the scout said, "if you can run 4.5 or better, there might be some (college scholarship) money in it for you."

Try as he might, Welker could do no better than a relatively sluggish 4.63 seconds on a grass field."

 

[cstjohn17]

Hester can play Special teams and he brings a ton of skills and intangibles, but he is awfully slow for the NFL. At 4.65 most NFL DE's can run him down.

BB passed on Leornard last year who had everything Hester has and more speed, so I can't really see him jumping on the Hester bandwagon.

I agree, Seltz has looked good to me. Immediate special teams potential and could possibly be a good NFL safety. If he is around in the 4th, 5th round it may be worth a chance.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

I think I've watched at least six LSU games this year. And in every game I've thought that Hester would be a nice replacement in waiting for Faulk. Hester is mainly a RB, but he will project to a FB in the Pros.

 

[sebman2112]

I've seen Hester make some good catches downfield as well, so he's versatile.

Now, I don't know if he's a better blocker than Evans, but he's a more powerful runner, and a better receiver.

I almost posted something about him on here two days ago, but didn't bother. It's nice to see other Pats fans looking at the same guys.

Incidently, I think Hester will be available in the third or fourth round.