(05-09-2018, 12:30 PM)Markulous Wrote:

(05-09-2018, 12:13 PM)JackCity Wrote: History has shown if you give 2nd/3rd/4th round backs the same amount of volume as a 1st round back that their production is near identical.    

"But you have to consider how many backs taken in that range ended up as busts" Well yes but the same is true for every single position in the draft. The difference being that it's much rarer to find upper tier QBs, pass rushers, corners etc etc in rounds 2, 3 , 4. Where as with running backs it's fairly common.  

I think Fournette is a good back and not a "bust". I also think his injury history is worrying and that taking a back like him that high in the draft is always a bad move. Even more so when you consider we could have drafted someone like Watson there.

That is misleading IMO.  2nd/3rd/4th round backs only get that amount of volume if they are good.  We couldn't have just taken any RB and expect him to be as productive as Fournette.  There's a reason Yeldon wasn't getting that volume and that he's probably gone in 2019.

It's not misleading if you read the second paragraph.  All of the above is a given.    

The reality is there are a ton of backs not drafted in the first round who can put up similar production when given the opportunity. The running game is an opportunity based enterprise. You give a lot of RBs 300+ carries behind a very good run blocking line and they will put up numbers. You don't need a first round back to do it. He'll Yeldon isn't good and he would have put up 1,400 yards from scrimmage behind a bad line his rookie year if he didn't get hurt.

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(05-09-2018, 12:44 PM)TrivialPursuit Wrote:

(05-09-2018, 12:13 PM)JackCity Wrote: History has shown if you give 2nd/3rd/4th round backs the same amount of volume as a 1st round back that their production is near identical.    

"But you have to consider how many backs taken in that range ended up as busts" Well yes but the same is true for every single position in the draft. The difference being that it's much rarer to find upper tier QBs, pass rushers, corners etc etc in rounds 2, 3 , 4. Where as with running backs it's fairly common.  

I think Fournette is a good back and not a "bust". I also think his injury history is worrying and that taking a back like him that high in the draft is always a bad move. Even more so when you consider we could have drafted someone like Watson there.

Watson will be dog doo next year.

This might be your best piece of analysis yet.

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