- Joined
- Dec 21, 2004
- Messages
- 12,467
- Reaction score
- 7,461
So, are you claiming that Etienne was only a product of his O-line?
tape don’t lie.
Registered Members experience this forum ad and noise-free.
CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.So, are you claiming that Etienne was only a product of his O-line?
Honestly, if he’s there in the 2nd and the Patriots draft him, I’m not throwing something at my TV as long as I like where they went with their 1st. Akers, Taylor, Etienne, and Swift would be my top RBs in this one. Akers is being very underrated. My wife is an FSU alum (unfortunately) so I watch almost all of their games and my team has to play him once a year. He’s a pain in the balls to deal with.I'm not sure there is a more impressive RB than Cam Akers in CFB. What he is doing behind one of the worst OLs I have ever seen is amazing.
He is Dalvin Cook type good. I think there is a good chance he goes in like the 3rd round and becomes the best RB of this class. Freakish talent.
About the same, or more, as Taylor.just how much tread is left on those tires?
Honestly, if he’s there in the 2nd and the Patriots draft him, I’m not throwing something at my TV as long as I like where they went with their 1st. Akers, Taylor, Etienne, and Swift would be my top RBs in this one. Akers is being very underrated. My wife is an FSU alum (unfortunately) so I watch almost all of their games and my team has to play him once a year. He’s a pain in the balls to deal with.
Taylor is in a battle for the top running back spot in this class. While D'Andre Swift did not drop the ball this evening (figuratively or literally), Taylor wowed with his performance. He was the only back to run the 40-yard dash in less than 4.4 seconds (4.39 -- at 226 pounds). His feet were blurs when required to go over the often dreaded blue pads in drills. Taylor's cuts were not as quick and effortless as those of Swift, Darrynton Evans (more on him below) or Clyde Edwards-Helaire, but his speed and vision have allowed him to find and exploit holes over the past three years for the Badgers. Despite the lack of receptions early in his collegiate career, Taylor looked natural snatching passes during workouts, grabbing high throws and others that were far from his frame. Scouts will forgive him for running out of his shoe on one rep.
Evans challenged Taylor for the quickest feet at Lucas Oil Stadium. His 4.41-second 40 got everyone's attention. Then the former Mountaineer, who left school with one season of eligibility remaining, put on a show during drills. He got his knees up and down in a hurry over bags and also cut as smoothly and quickly as any back I've seen at the combine. He also acquitted himself well in pass-catching drills. At 5-10, 203, teams may not consider him a three-down back, but I'm not sure there are many of those anymore.
The 220-pound Jones is known as a power back, but he struggled athletically tonight, even in comparison to other big runners. He left South Bend a year early with the hope of earning a middle-round draft grade, but a slow 40 (4.68 seconds) and a lack of explosiveness shown in his jumps (32.5-inch vertical, 9-foot-11 broad) will make that difficult to achieve. On the field, his tight hips prevented him from cutting as quickly or as fluidly as others. On the positive side, he did not look out of place as a pass receiver. Like Stenberg, Jones did not get to show his best attribute (nastiness), because pads were not in play.
Could he cover if Develin does not come back , he is listed at 240lbs !
the other thing to take into account with FSU they haven’t had the best line in recent years which make him an even better prospect. Can’t see us taking a RB unless BB trades someone away or something strange happens
a replacement for burkhead? Burkhead plays a lot of special teams. Whoever replaces him had better be a special teams demon!
tape don’t lie.
the single biggest flaw I see with Dillion is he sucks at pass protection.
Harris could not hardly sniff the field with us this past year because he sucks at pass protection, Dillion is even worse.
It's amazing how you claim that Harris' pass protection abilities (or lack there of) is what kept him off the field, yet it was easily the DEPTH the Pats had at RB that kept him off the field with Michel, Burkhead, White, and Bolden ahead of him. With Burkhead and Bolden being HUGE special teams contributors.
So are you really implying that bb is not going to play his best players?
Continuing our position-by-position preview of this year’s draft class, we shift our focus to running backs. As a scouting staff, we use common terminology to grade every trait that we evaluate. We use a 1-9 scale with a 1 representing a “Reject” grade and a 9 meaning a “Rare” grade for whatever trait we are evaluating. We spend a lot of time in our internal Scout School making sure that our scales are calibrated with one another, and this common scale and set of language is a key aspect to ensuring that our evaluations are consistent (that…and cross-checks).
Additionally, for each position in the book, there are positional grading scales. As opposed to grading traits, these scales apply to stacking the final grades for each prospect. The final running back scale is as follows:
GRADE DESCRIPTION
9.0-7.0 High-end 3 down starter. Pro Bowl level.
6.9-6.7 Strong starter who plays on all 3 downs.
6.6-6.5 Lower-end starter. Starting player on early downs.
6.3 Role playing starter. 3rd down difference maker.
6.2 Backup who can play on all 3 downs
6.1-6.0 Developmental. Top traits but needs time.
5.6-5.5 Backup. Either base or 3rd down role.
Swift projects as a starting three-down back at the next level who can play in either a zone or gap-based offensive scheme, although he’s shown the ability to excel in a zone scheme in college. He should be able to contribute on 3rd downs both as a rusher and receiver and his pass pro is good enough to keep him on the field in those situations. He isn’t used on special teams, but his play speed and tough running style suggest he could be a solid contributor on most units if asked.
Continuing our position-by-position preview of this year’s draft class, we shift our focus to running backs. As a scouting staff, we use common terminology to grade every trait that we evaluate. We use a 1-9 scale with a 1 representing a “Reject” grade and a 9 meaning a “Rare” grade for whatever trait we are evaluating. We spend a lot of time in our internal Scout School making sure that our scales are calibrated with one another, and this common scale and set of language is a key aspect to ensuring that our evaluations are consistent (that…and cross-checks).
Additionally, for each position in the book, there are positional grading scales. As opposed to grading traits, these scales apply to stacking the final grades for each prospect. The final running back scale is as follows:
GRADE DESCRIPTION
9.0-7.0 High-end 3 down starter. Pro Bowl level.
6.9-6.7 Strong starter who plays on all 3 downs.
6.6-6.5 Lower-end starter. Starting player on early downs.
6.3 Role playing starter. 3rd down difference maker.
6.2 Backup who can play on all 3 downs
6.1-6.0 Developmental. Top traits but needs time.
5.6-5.5 Backup. Either base or 3rd down role.
As a prospect, Edwards-Helaire compares favorably to Giovani Bernard when he came out several years ago. He projects as an ideal candidate to form a two-headed backfield along with a bigger back, and he’ll thrive as a playmaking weapon in shotgun, spread formations, similar to his usage at LSU. In terms of special teams value, he has been used as a kick returner and projects to be able to fill the same role on the NFL level.
Watched many BC games the past 2 years and this 245 lb RB has issues.For a RB, I would seriously look at AJ Dillon out of BC. He is 245, runs well, good blocker and is a decent receiver. He could play at either HB or FB and would probably be available in the middle rounds.