Roy Helu JR; 2nd/3rd day back sleeper. - Dallas Cowboys Forum

Romo 2 Austin · 11-06-2010

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player...layerId=388026

He can be huge asset to replace a leaving Marion Barber and he can probably grab him in the late 4th/early 5th. He has the tools to eventually emerge as a starting RB.

egn22 · 03-07-2011

why no replies to this. does anyone have any insight on this kid? i just read a bleacher report article on him and it said he's 6'0" 219lbs and ran a 4.4 forty. physically he sounds solid but i've never seen him play.

SDogo · 03-07-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by egn22

why no replies to this. does anyone have any insight on this kid? i just read a bleacher report article on him and it said he's 6'0" 219lbs and ran a 4.4 forty. physically he sounds solid but i've never seen him play.

You listed two great attributes, size and speed and with in that lies the problem with Helu.

Despite the speed he never displayed the consistant ability to make a the big play. He also plays much smaller then his size.

I have just never been impressed with his body of work.

His AVG per carry has been solid but that's more a product of the style of offense he ran. When asked to lineup in traditional sets and run traditional plays he really struggled with his vision and decision making. He also did not disply the power between the tackles nor the break away speed at the 2nd level as his 40 time would suggest.

fishspill · 03-07-2011

Yeah, watching him play it doesn't all add up. Rather take flyer on a back later like the kid from Hawaii or Fannin.

The Realist · 03-07-2011

I actually like Helu a lot and think he is one of the most underrated players in the draft.

Six runs of 50+ on the year.

Romo 2 Austin · 03-07-2011

Selfpat, good call by me.

funkytown · 03-07-2011

I'd rather get Locke from Kentucky or Jamie Harper from Clemson in 4th or 5th

If you spend 6th or 7th round pick on a RB you have to make sure they are gonna be an upgrade over Lonyae Miller or another guy you could pick up who goes undrafted this year

RB's can be found anywhere in the draft or undrafted free agency. LeGarrette Blount went undrafed last draft. Arian Foster the year before that. Just to name a few.

So if u spend a draft pick on a running back they need to have some kind of special talent.

realtick · 03-07-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDogo

Despite the speed he never displayed the consistant ability to make a the big play.

Not quite sure how you arrived at that conclusion.

Helu had seven runs last year of 50+ yards, including three against Missouri (66, 73 and 53...all for TDs). That's quite impressive for only 188 carries on the season.

I would agree that he doesn't have that great of vision and he does run a bit upright. I see him as a solid round 4-7 pick.

BigWillie · 03-08-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDogo

You listed two great attributes, size and speed and with in that lies the problem with Helu.

Despite the speed he never displayed the consistant ability to make a the big play. He also plays much smaller then his size.

I have just never been impressed with his body of work.

His AVG per carry has been solid but that's more a product of the style of offense he ran. When asked to lineup in traditional sets and run traditional plays he really struggled with his vision and decision making. He also did not disply the power between the tackles nor the break away speed at the 2nd level as his 40 time would suggest.

Few things ..

Agree that Helu doesn't play to his speed. However, that is only in his initial burst. If Helu gets open space, it's a wrap. See: Washington (1st game), Mizzou

Disagree about not playing to his size. Helu will like to rely on his vision and feet (his best attribute) to try to make plays, but he showed a very good ability to take on multiple tacklers this year before hitting the ground.

Not a product of the offense either with these stats. His 1st year he played under Bill Callahan/Shawn Watson in a WCO, his 2nd year in a WCO under Shawn Watson, and his 3rd year under Watson in a WCO. Even this year, Watson was still our OC and tried to run a hybrid spread/WCO variation which is what helped him get 'fired' after the season.

The biggest knock on Helu should be his durability and his ability to protect the ball.

Over the years Helu has developed a bad ability to get nagging injuries that follow him throughout his year. You look at his stats from his junior year and you see nice stats, but he dealt with a shoulder injury from the Mizzou game until the season was over. This year he battled constant ankle injuries, which had followed him early in his career as well.

Also Helu has a bad ability to cough up the ball over his last 2 seasons. This year it was worsened due to the fact he would do it at the absolute worst times. Example: Second drive of the Texas game in our territory, led to TD; Late in 1st half against Oklahoma in our territory, led to TD

I like Roy, don't get me wrong, but his durability scares the heck out of me. And with Felix Jones already getting nicked up a bit, I don't think we need another RB who may have the same problem.

But if we are talking about a later round RB, I'm all about Darren Evans from VA Tech.

If his knee checks out fine, and he is on the board in the 5th round or later, I'd definitely like to take a look at him.

dbair1967 · 03-08-2011

Not interested

Chocolate Lab · 03-08-2011

What Willie said. Helu does have some talent but somehow isn't special overall and is always banged up. I think he's in that great gray middle ground of backs who will do some good things in a good scheme but will look very average in an average scheme.

Randy White · 03-08-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romo 2 Austin

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player...layerId=388026

He can be huge asset to replace a leaving Marion Barber and he can probably grab him in the late 4th/early 5th. He has the tools to eventually emerge as a starting RB.

I don't think you want him as your featured HB in Dallas. Helu's style is suited better for the Houston and Washington systems of zone blocking/one cut running. He's fast, he's tough and he has the measureables of a #1 draft pick, but I can tell you that he puts the ball on the ground, particularly in big games, too often for a starting RB. He's also a bit of a china doll in the injury department.

Randy White · 03-08-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDogo

Despite the speed he never displayed the consistant ability to make a the big play. He also plays much smaller then his size..

I disagree with this. I've watched Helu his entire career at Nebraska ( Prince was changed from RB to CB in part because of Roy ) and he has plenty of big plays in his resume. He gets on the open field and it's going to take a 4.3 guy with a head start to catch him from behind.

His problem is that he's a typical one cut RB and he just puts the ball in the ground too much. If you take a 2nd look at Nebraska's big games, the ones where they didn't blow out their opponets, you'd see Roy putting the ball on the ground in just about every one of them. Sometimes they recovered them, sometimes they didn't.

I'm not sure he'd be a good back up RB simply because he didn't show the ability to catch the ball at Nebraska, but that's mostly because of the system. If he shows that he can do that in training camp, he could be another Brandon Jackson, ie: a nice back up.

Randy White · 03-08-2011

what Big Willy said..