Dave and Gus mentioned the long torso he has. Definitely room for upgrade.

 

Yup.  He's certainly not soft or weak upper body, but its all lean muscle.  He needs a little thickness.

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i'll feel better when I see him run over a safety that doesn't get low.

 

Fred Taylor meet Mike Doss.  A trample and head turn saying 'as if', as he waltzes into the end zone.  God bless our Jags.

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Success is a journey, not a destination.  Go all out Mighty Jaguars.

He's pretty tall and thin cut.  If he can add 12-15 pounds of muscle and play at 235-240 he may be able to add some power to his game.

 

He needs to bulk up to Leveon Bell's size or even heavier since he's a lot leaner upper body.

 

Bell dropped 20 lbs close to Yeldon's current weight to increase his explosiveness (leading to his breakout season) and you'd want TJ to do the opposite?

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He's pretty tall and thin cut.  If he can add 12-15 pounds of muscle and play at 235-240 he may be able to add some power to his game.

 

He needs to bulk up to Leveon Bell's size or even heavier since he's a lot leaner upper body.

 

Why everybody gotta bulk up n things mate?  

 

Don't we still go by physics laws?  He was the king of elusiveness in the draft, perhaps a fatter version might not juke as much, then you eat into his prime trait...

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Success is a journey, not a destination.  Go all out Mighty Jaguars.

Bell dropped 20 lbs close to Yeldon's current weight to increase his explosiveness (leading to his breakout season) and you'd want TJ to do the opposite?

 

Yes.  Bell's never had an issue with power.  He's always been a power back.  I highly doubt he was in the 220's, however.  That would put him at his high school weight.  You know this is the time of year when teams like to put out feel-good stories that embellish like crazy.  There is no way Luke Joeckel put on 12 pounds of muscle in 2 months... Just sayin'.  Maybe by the time training camp rolls around, but I highly doubt that the story wasn't embellished just a little bit.

 

Why everybody gotta bulk up n things mate?  

 

Don't we still go by physics laws?  He was the king of elusiveness in the draft, perhaps a fatter version might not juke as much, then you eat into his prime trait...

 

Yeldon isn't much of a "juker."  His elusiveness is more from being shifty with good vision.  Its hard to get a clean hit on him.

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Ah, I thought one uses his shiftiness to juke defenders.  Or one jukes defenders due to their shiftiness.  Aka, as you said, hard to hit, hard to bring down.  Just semantics mate. 

 

He's nearly 220 lbs.  Maybe +5-10 lbs of muscle over time for refinement etc.  I don't see the need to 'bulk' up.

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Success is a journey, not a destination.  Go all out Mighty Jaguars.

Yes.  Bell's never had an issue with power.  He's always been a power back.  I highly doubt he was in the 220's, however.  That would put him at his high school weight.  You know this is the time of year when teams like to put out feel-good stories that embellish like crazy.  There is no way Luke Joeckel put on 12 pounds of muscle in 2 months... Just sayin'.  Maybe by the time training camp rolls around, but I highly doubt that the story wasn't embellished just a little bit.

 

 

Yeldon isn't much of a "juker."  His elusiveness is more from being shifty with good vision.  Its hard to get a clean hit on him.

 

Bell was a power back, and he trimmed down before last season to be more explosive. And he looked noticeably slimmer and more explosive last season compared to his college days.

 

Yeldon is plenty big enough to be a powerful runner. It's not his size that hinders that, but his style.

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Yes. Bell's never had an issue with power. He's always been a power back. I highly doubt he was in the 220's, however. That would put him at his high school weight. You know this is the time of year when teams like to put out feel-good stories that embellish like crazy. There is no way Luke Joeckel put on 12 pounds of muscle in 2 months... Just sayin'. Maybe by the time training camp rolls around, but I highly doubt that the story wasn't embellished just a little bit.



Yeldon isn't much of a "juker." His elusiveness is more from being shifty with good vision. Its hard to get a clean hit on him.

The season ended in January. You can gain 12 pounds of fat in a 3 month span. Its not farfetched to gain 12 pounds of muscle mass in that same time frame. Especially in top notch NFL weight program.

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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."

Juking is more being able to break down a defender and make him miss when you are at a stop or coming to a stop.  Point guard type stuff/dancing.  Shiftiness is more just a sudden change in direction.  

 

I don't really know what's better for Yeldon either way.  I'm just saying that if he wants to add power to his game that he needs to bulk up and he has the frame for it.  If he loses too much of his mobility then there's obviously an issue with that.  I don't think that by getting to 235 he would lose too much mobility because it would be muscle added to a thin frame.  Its all an unknown though really.  I know Adrian Peterson wanted to bulk up to over 230, but Childress told him no back in the day. 

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It's quite possible for Luke to have gained 12 pounds since last season ended. That's not hard to believe at all when you consider everything.


He played way too light later year. Given he was already smaller than normal, he has all the tools to maximize gain (money to buy proper food, good gym to work out in, money to take care of his body with recovery tools, etc.) it isn't a surprise to hear he's gained weight.

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The season ended in January. You can gain 12 pounds of fat in a 3 month span. Its not farfetched to gain 12 pounds of muscle mass in that same time frame. Especially in top notch NFL weight program.

 

 

I could believe gaining 12 pounds, but not 12 pounds in pure muscle.  You are talking about a guy who has been lifting regularly since he was in high school.  You honestly think that the weight room goes unused during the season?  If it were so easy to gain 12 pounds of pure muscle in such a small time frame, then everyone would be doing it.

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Juking is more being able to break down a defender and make him miss when you are at a stop or coming to a stop.  Point guard type stuff/dancing.  Shiftiness is more just a sudden change in direction.  

 

I don't really know what's better for Yeldon either way.  I'm just saying that if he wants to add power to his game that he needs to bulk up and he has the frame for it.  If he loses too much of his mobility then there's obviously an issue with that.  I don't think that by getting to 235 he would lose too much mobility because it would be muscle added to a thin frame.  Its all an unknown though really.  I know Adrian Peterson wanted to bulk up to over 230, but Childress told him no back in the day. 

 

Personally, I rather he slim down and gain more explosiveness than bulk up. Even if he comes down to 215-218...that's still plenty big enough.

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Ok, so now that the dust has cleared a little after the draft, I had time to ponder the TJ Yeldon pick. This was not my idea for the Jags at running back, and my initial reaction was disdain. I was seriously pulling for Ameer Abdullah, or even Telvin Coleman, as our new speedy/shifty back..reminiscent of MJD.


But, after having time to return to David Banner status, I was able to be a little less prejudicial in my assessment of Yeldon. After Gurley and Gordon left the board, the talent level seemed to taper off some. Yeldon deserved his place among the rest of the pack, but for whatever reason, was not mentioned much. But, since some thought he was on the rise, it is possible that another team would have selected him before the Jags could get him in the 3rd round. There are several teams that were projected/speculated to have picked up a running back, that did not , or not until later rounds. So, If Dave rated Yeldon as an altogether better back than pack of them that remained on the board, they got the man they thought would do the job for them at running back. I hope they are right. My main knock on TJ, was his combine 40 speed (4.61). He did get a 4.52 at his pro day, for what it's worth. He has drawn some comparisons with some successful backs in the NFL, so I decided to see where he stood with various other backs in NFL, in regards to their 40 time. And here are the results, by name, 40 time, and 10 yard split:


TJ Yeldon 4.61/4.52 1.57

Le’veon Bell 4.6 1.52

A. Foster 4.68 1.65

Eddie Lacy 4.64 1.65

Frank Gore 4.55 None

Alfred Morris 4.63 1.6

Jeremy Hill 4.58 1.61

G. Bernard 4.53 1.56

M. Ingram 4.53 1.54

J. Forsett 4.62 1.51


So, some very similar numbers, of some very successful backs in the NFL.TJ may not be a blazingly speedy back, but apparently, that’s not always the recipe for a successful team (Colts just released Jeff Demps who had a 4.26 40 time). It appears that TJ might have been the complete RB that the Jags were looking for. TJ’s size and ability to catch out of the backfield, and ability to block, makes him standout from a lot of the backs that were available. I guess time will tell if has the ability to be the back that we needed. But I am less pessimistic, especially having gotten another OL that will most likely start. And not to mention, I love the free agency signing of speedster Corey Grant. Hoping he can find his place in the rotation of RB’s.

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Personally, I rather he slim down and gain more explosiveness than bulk up. Even if he comes down to 215-218...that's still plenty big enough.

 

That's an option.  I know AP plays supposedly at 217.  If he could get a chiseled 217 or so like AP, then I'd be fine with that.

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I'm going to take the wait and see approach regarding TJ. Not overly excited, but maybe he'll suprise.

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I slowly began to come around to Yeldon a couple weeks before the draft. Admittedly I ignored him because of the bias I have against Bama RB's due to Ingram/Trich. However once I actually watched some cutups of him I came around. His patience and hips is what makes me hopefull he will be successful.

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

Ok, so now that the dust has cleared a little after the draft, I had time to ponder the TJ Yeldon pick. This was not my idea for the Jags at running back, and my initial reaction was disdain. I was seriously pulling for Ameer Abdullah, or even Telvin Coleman, as our new speedy/shifty back..reminiscent of MJD.


But, after having time to return to David Banner status, I was able to be a little less prejudicial in my assessment of Yeldon. After Gurley and Gordon left the board, the talent level seemed to taper off some. Yeldon deserved his place among the rest of the pack, but for whatever reason, was not mentioned much. But, since some thought he was on the rise, it is possible that another team would have selected him before the Jags could get him in the 3rd round. There are several teams that were projected/speculated to have picked up a running back, that did not , or not until later rounds. So, If Dave rated Yeldon as an altogether better back than pack of them that remained on the board, they got the man they thought would do the job for them at running back. I hope they are right. My main knock on TJ, was his combine 40 speed (4.61). He did get a 4.52 at his pro day, for what it's worth. He has drawn some comparisons with some successful backs in the NFL, so I decided to see where he stood with various other backs in NFL, in regards to their 40 time. And here are the results, by name, 40 time, and 10 yard split:


TJ Yeldon 4.61/4.52 1.57

Le’veon Bell 4.6 1.52

A. Foster 4.68 1.65

Eddie Lacy 4.64 1.65

Frank Gore 4.55 None

Alfred Morris 4.63 1.6

Jeremy Hill 4.58 1.61

G. Bernard 4.53 1.56

M. Ingram 4.53 1.54

J. Forsett 4.62 1.51


So, some very similar numbers, of some very successful backs in the NFL.TJ may not be a blazingly speedy back, but apparently, that’s not always the recipe for a successful team (Colts just released Jeff Demps who had a 4.26 40 time). It appears that TJ might have been the complete RB that the Jags were looking for. TJ’s size and ability to catch out of the backfield, and ability to block, makes him standout from a lot of the backs that were available. I guess time will tell if has the ability to be the back that we needed. But I am less pessimistic, especially having gotten another OL that will most likely start. And not to mention, I love the free agency signing of speedster Corey Grant. Hoping he can find his place in the rotation of RB’s.

 

Beep beep timed speed lovers are the best.  Glad you found a means to make yourself less sad mate.  That's the key.  Good list.  Hopefully, the slow big boy can do his thing and get you happy soon.

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Success is a journey, not a destination.  Go all out Mighty Jaguars.

TJ does not need to put on weight.  He can finish a run and he is very elusive as is.  All the kid needs to do is hold onto the rock and he'll get plenty of carries.

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