Argument for Felix Jones

SMCowboy

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There are alot of people on the board who are against taking Felix Jones at #22. Let me give the argument for taking Felix Jones at #22.

Yes, Jones is a "niche" RB, but in all actuality LT is the only RB in the league that is not a "niche" RB. Why do I say that, because while a Larry Johnson is a very good RB, he would not fit very well in an offense that lines up 3 WR and a TE without a FB and likes to throw the ball early and often at times. Larry Johnson to be good needs to lineup and pound the ball 25+ times a game. A Brian Westbrook is also very much a "niche" RB, you couldn't line Westbrook up in a power I formation and pound the ball with him 25+ times a game, his body simply will not hold up. Joseph Addai is also a niche RB, he needs to be in a pro style offense that will give him 15 to 20 carries a game at the most and a handful of passes thrown his way. Felix Jones is also very much a "niche" RB. He is at his best in a spread offense where he is allowed to catch the ball, run the ball, do a little bit of everything. Can he be a #1 RB, all signs point to yes. But not the same type of #1 RB that Barber would be. Felix Jones would be best limiting his carries to 15 to 18 carries with a hand full of passes tossed his way as well in a more spread passing oriented offense like we tended to go towards at times last year anyways.

In football there are two types of speed, football speed, and 40 time speed. Sometimes they match, sometimes they do not. Some players don't run nearly as fast in pads as they do in shorts and t-shirts. Others seem to run faster in pads, than they do in shorts and t-shirts. Felix Jones, is while his 40 time is good, but not great, his football speed is flat amazing. Felix Jones is one of the fastest players in the country with pads on.

Felix Jones is the ideal compliment to Marion Barber. He has great vision, and and start and stop on a dime. He also has proven he can run against the toughest defenses in college football playing in the SEC. He also has very good hands and can be lined up in the slot or in an split backfield and used as both a RB or a receiver out of the backfield. He would give us the lighting to Barber's thunder. Both Jamaal Charles and Chris Johnson could fill the same spots as well, but Jones has advantages over both. Jones is a better receiver than Charles while also having the added benefit of being a great return man, which Charles does not provide. And while Chris Johnson and Felix Jones have very similar skill sets, Jones is a better return man and Jones also has the advantage of having played against the best defense that College football has to offer, and still posting better numbers than Johnson did.
 
I like the idea of taking Felix @ either 22 or 28.

But AP is another RB like LT that doesn't have a "niche".
 
I like Felix Jones because I think he is a very good RB. I don't know if any back needs to be a compliment style wise to Barber you just need to produce when you are in the game.
 
This has probably been posted before, but it's worth a second look since Felix Jones has consistently been linked to the Cowboys.


FROM ARKANSAS RB COACH TIM HORTON:


"I think he can be an everydown back. He has all the attributes you're looking for. He's a good pass protector. He's deceivingly strong and deceivingly bigger than you think when you look at him. He's got a really big set of legs on him. ... You very, very rarely get a clean shot on him. Felix doesn't get near as many direct hits as Darren [McFadden] does. I don't think there's any doubt that he can and will handle [being a feature back]. ... If we were very smart, we would have given [the ball] to him more. He averaged over nine yards per carry. We didn't get it to him enough. He is such an explosive player. ... He's not a punt returner. He struggles to catch a punt. He'll catch about 85 percent of them, but you've got to have a guy better than 85 percent back there. ... He's got the feel - whatever 'it' is, he's got it. Anytime you get him the ball in space, something good is going to happen. ... He's maybe not as fast as Darren McFadden, but heck, who is? He's got really, really good speed. ... Good, not great [hands]. He generally caught the ball well in games, but every once in awhile, he'd drop a ball in practice that would make you think, 'What the heck?' ... The thing about Felix is all the intangibles he brings to the table. He is really a first-class kid. He's got that personality or charisma about him. The thing that everybody at Arkansas will remember about Felix is his smile. He's fun to be around. ... He's one of the ultimate team guys I've ever been around, but at the same time, he's very competitive. If things weren't going well and he was on the sideline, he'd say, 'Get me in there.'"
 
ajk23az;2050784 said:
I like the idea of taking Felix @ either 22 or 28.

But AP is another RB like LT that doesn't have a "niche".

You are probably right, I forgot about Peterson somehow.....
 
You might be right. I won't be disappointed if he's the pick, because he is an explosive player. I just wonder whether deep down Jerry is looking for a franchise back, if he can get his hands on one without giving up too much more than his two first rounders.

What I'd really like to know is what does Jason Garrett want? Because what he wants, he gets. Deep down I believe Garrett knows he passed the ball way too much last year and we must improve as a running football team for us to succeed.

We will see tomorrow.
 
Any running back that can produce like that in the SEC I'm all for. I don't care if he was the backup. Ronnie brown was the backup to Carnell williams and was headed for a monster season until he got hurt, plus jones is a kick returner. He may not have the 4.2 speed of d-mac, but I never saw felix get caught from behind. I don't care about measureables, show me the tape and the production on the field.
 
If I had my preference, I'd rather get Jones at 28 than 22, but if we ultimately take him at 22 I'm fine with it because he'll be very productive and ad a dimension to our offense we really dont have...then there's the added bonus of being very explosive on kick returns

getting Roy Williams for one of those firsts and Felix Jones with the other would definitely add some pop to the offense...dreadful performances like we saw vs Philly, Carolina and Washington down the stretch last yr would be a thing of the past

David
 
What kind of intrigues me a little bit is the possibility of taking Felix Jones at #22 and then picking up Kevin Jones for league minimum to be the 3rd guy. He's rehabing an ACL injury, and may not be ready for training camp. He was really looking good before the injury.

He fully realizes he's not going start next year. He just wants a team to take a chance on him and show the league that he's healthy. With MB3 and Felix, they won't need him in training camp or even a couple of weeks into the season. When he gets healthy, he can split carries with Felix if MB3 goes down. And if KJ stays healthy all year and looks like his old self, then that's leverage against giving MB3 a Larry Johnson type of contract next offseason.
 
I have pretty much said this all along I am not against Felix Jones as a runnng back, what I am mainly against is taking a RB in the first round when this class is full of depth at the running back position. I believe a first rounder is basically a starter and while Felix Jones maybe good in the NFL I do not believe he would see a whole lot of carries behind Barber, and those picks could be used elsewhere.
 
i love all this talk about felix not being able cause he split carries in college. last i checked so did a fellow named marion barber III.
 
Teague31;2050958 said:
i love all this talk about felix not being able cause he split carries in college. last i checked so did a fellow named marion barber III.

And for some reason there's the discussion whether Barber can be the lead back too....
 
dbair1967;2050807 said:
If I had my preference, I'd rather get Jones at 28 than 22, but if we ultimately take him at 22 I'm fine David

...you better be, cause that is what the pick will be........ ;)
 
InmanRoshi;2050823 said:
What kind of intrigues me a little bit is the possibility of taking Felix Jones at #22 and then picking up Kevin Jones for league minimum to be the 3rd guy. He's rehabing an ACL injury, and may not be ready for training camp. He was really looking good before the injury.

He fully realizes he's not going start next year. He just wants a team to take a chance on him and show the league that he's healthy. With MB3 and Felix, they won't need him in training camp or even a couple of weeks into the season. When he gets healthy, he can split carries with Felix if MB3 goes down. And if KJ stays healthy all year and looks like his old self, then that's leverage against giving MB3 a Larry Johnson type of contract next offseason.

Makes alot of sense.......

Any idea of KJ's makeup.....is he a workaholic to come back from that injury?

Could he be a Preston Pearson type 3rd Down Back ultimatly?
 

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