He reminds me of Toby Gerhart. Powerful one cut, uphill runner with very little lateral ability. There is very little creativity to his game. He'll run into piles instead of bouncing somewhere else. Seemed mostly feast and famine where he does a whole lot of nothing and then takes it to the endzone when the defense would breakdown or overpursue or when the line would open a gaping hole.

Not seeing the comp at all.

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He reminds me of Toby Gerhart. Powerful one cut, uphill runner with very little lateral ability. There is very little creativity to his game. He'll run into piles instead of bouncing somewhere else. Seemed mostly feast and famine where he does a whole lot of nothing and then takes it to the endzone when the defense would breakdown or overpursue or when the line would open a gaping hole.

I agree with everything you said except for the Toby Gerhart comparison. Like many have mentioned on here, I think the better comparison is to McFadden. For a guy who played on bad team with no offensive line he sure does have a lot of plays and TD's where he is untouched or barely touched at all. That's actually very interesting to me.

 

The guy has amazing speed and that's something you can't teach/coach but he rarely makes something happen if it's not there. He looks a little stiff in the hips but he looks like he is going to be a good downhill one cut back with explosive speed.

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"Sucess Is Not a Goal, It is a By-product"

I don't think he's in the top tier of RBs, but I was a little surprised by the lack of love for him too.


However, while its great to speculate what he might do behind a dominant OLine, we need to remember that we don't currently have one ourselves !

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The problem I have with drafting a RB is that the biggest need on the team is DB especially free safety & corner.  The 2nd biggest need is LT, and Guard on the offensive line.  It doesn't matter what Running back you draft if the Oline isnt improved he wont be that good.  I think the cry for RB from the fans has more to do with how fortunate we have been with Fred Taylor & Maurice Jones-Drew over the years.  If GM Dave Caldwell does draft ; Gurley, Ajay, or a guy like Tevin Coleman there is no guarantee any of them will be as good as the two greats that have played in a Jags uniform.


Heck MJD came at the bottom of the 2nd round and I expect that GM Dave Caldwell wont look at a RB until the 3rd round in this draft.  That leaves guys like Tevin a possibility.


I think GM Dave Caldwell trades down and acquires another pick in the draft allowing him to draft a CB like Trae Waynes, a LT like Peat from Stanford, and a RB like Ajay in the 3rd round.

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He reminds me a lot of Demarco Murray.  I see him more as a one-cut back, but one that would really excel in that scheme.  If that's what we're looking for, he's a great pick.

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I love him. There is no way he is any worse than the third RB in this draft. I wouldn't mind him in the second, the third would be better, but he won't make it there.

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I am generally leery of Indiana players, but he looks better than any RB ever to come out of that school.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

I am generally leery of Indiana players, but he looks better than any RB ever to come out of that school.

 

Your post reminded me of former Indiana RB Anthony Thompson,  who was drafted by the then Phoenix Cardinals in the 2nd Round.   He also played for the then Los Angeles Rams.   Anthony Thompson didn't even come close to living up to his draft billing.  

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Your post reminded me of former Indiana RB Anthony Thompson,  who was drafted by the then Phoenix Cardinals in the 2nd Round.   He also played for the then Los Angeles Rams.   Anthony Thompson didn't even come close to living up to his draft billing.  

To me, with rare exceptions, Indiana players have always stunk.

 

Anthony Thompson was horrible, and I didn't like him then.

 

Vaughn Dunbar wasn't too much better.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

To me, with rare exceptions, Indiana players have always stunk.

 

Anthony Thompson was horrible, and I didn't like him then.

 

Vaughn Dunbar wasn't too much better.

You and your school biases...smh

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Thompson almost won the Heisman too.

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You and your school biases...smh

Fine.  Shake your head all you like.

 

Name a good RB to ever come out of that school prior to Coleman.

 

(BTW, I am still waiting to see a DB worth a damn Penn State has ever produced).

 

Off the top of my head, I can name 5...maybe 7 good players to ever come out of Indiana over the last 30 years...period.

 

Adewale Ogunleye

Trent Green

Antwan Randle El

Ian Beckles

Pete Stoyanovich

Harrison-the LB who played for the Steelers...

Mike Dumas had a decent year or two

Tracy Porter had the pick 6 in the Super Bowl, but was hardly a shut down CB.

 

That's pretty much it.

 

IU is, at best, the 3rd best football program in that state behind ND and Purdue in terms of caliber and number of NFL players produced.

 

Forget obvious Hall of Famers Len Dawson, Bob Griese, and Rod Woodson.

 

Forget a future Hall of Famer like Drew Brees.

 

I'd take Dave Butz and Jim Everett over ANY Indiana player drafted over the last 40 years.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

You and your school biases...smh

I think we all have some form of school bias. At least on a small level. I hate drafting certain positions from certain schools. Like I wouldn't draft a RB from Wisconsin unless that guy was the best thing walking, hands down. Same for drafting a QB from Florida.

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"Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he's a mile away and barefoot."

I don't have any form of school bias. For me, a player is a player. If they are good, they are good. I probably never will understand the theory of every DE from Florida being a bust, or every DB from Penn St being a bust. I've said it before and if any merit came from this theory then you should only draft QBs from Michigan because of Brady, RBs from Cal because of Marshawn Lynch and so on. Either the guy can play or he can't and if he fails it won't be because he went to the same school as Derrick Harvey or Blaine Gabbert.

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I think we all have some form of school bias. At least on a small level. I hate drafting certain positions from certain schools. Like I wouldn't draft a RB from Wisconsin unless that guy was the best thing walking, hands down. Same for drafting a QB from Florida.

Exactly.

 

Name a dominant DE or CB from Miami.

 

I'll spot you Calais Campbell at DE.

 

But who else?

 

Bill Hawkins?

 

Daniel Stubbs?

 

Kenny Holmes?

 

What about CB?

 

Duane Starks was average at best, and easily the worst player in that Ravens secondary in 2000.

 

Ryan McNeil? He had one season where he had a bunch of picks, because teams felt they could attack him.  He was NOT a shut down CB.

 

Do I knock Miami as a football program overall because of this?

 

Of course not.

 

They have produced great pros at just about every other position.

 

But sometimes, for whatever reason, good football schools don't produce at particular positions.

 

Sometimes, schools don't produce much at all in the way of NFL prospects.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

I don't have any form of school bias. For me, a player is a player. If they are good, they are good. I probably never will understand the theory of every DE from Florida being a bust, or every DB from Penn St being a bust. I've said it before and if any merit came from this theory then you should only draft QBs from Michigan because of Brady, RBs from Cal because of Marshawn Lynch and so on. Either the guy can play or he can't and if he fails it won't be because he went to the same school as Derrick Harvey or Blaine Gabbert.

 

1.  Florida has produced some great DEs in their time from a Hall of Famer in Jack Youngblood, to Pro Bowlers Kevin Carter and Jevon Kearse. 

 

2.  Penn State DBS have never been highly regarded in my lifetime.  Very few warranted enough pre draft consideration to be considered a bust.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

I don't have any form of school bias. For me, a player is a player. If they are good, they are good. I probably never will understand the theory of every DE from Florida being a bust, or every DB from Penn St being a bust. I've said it before and if any merit came from this theory then you should only draft QBs from Michigan because of Brady, RBs from Cal because of Marshawn Lynch and so on. Either the guy can play or he can't and if he fails it won't be because he went to the same school as Derrick Harvey or Blaine Gabbert.

If the guy is hands down better than the rest of the field then my bias may change. Obviously it'll depend on the prospect but history has shown a way of repeating itself, albeit there may be an outlier or two.

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"Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he's a mile away and barefoot."

He reminds me of Toby Gerhart. Powerful one cut, uphill runner with very little lateral ability. There is very little creativity to his game. He'll run into piles instead of bouncing somewhere else. Seemed mostly feast and famine where he does a whole lot of nothing and then takes it to the endzone when the defense would breakdown or overpursue or when the line would open a gaping hole.

 

Yep this is what I see. Not so much the Gerhart comparison, but he seems to be a guy who takes what is there. I don't like that he doesn't have much wiggle. I did notice that he tended to run into piles, but is that because of lack of vision or is it because his OL just isn't creating holes on a regular basis?

 

He's a good back with plenty to like. But this RB crop is just so deeeeep.

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I think we all have some form of school bias. At least on a small level. I hate drafting certain positions from certain schools. Like I wouldn't draft a RB from Wisconsin unless that guy was the best thing walking, hands down. Same for drafting a QB from Florida.

I'll admit, I have bias against long snappers from BYU.

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I can definitely understand having a little hesitation selecting a guy like Gordon for example because a couple of past Wisconsin RBs haven't done great in the NFL. I just don't understand how some people so far as to say they wouldn't select Gordon because of it. Being leery is one thing, blind is another.

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