Silver N Blue
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Been a busy past month for me so I have not had the opportunity to post much but I have been reading. Looks like the general consensus still remains at RB and the obvious concerns there. No this is not another AD thread....boo...but just another thread that showcases how dim the light is at RB. I'm looking forward to training camp cause I want to see what Randle has to offer in a prominent role and I want to see which RBs are cut as the season approaches. Anyway good points in this article. Enjoy.
From both metrics and game-film standpoints, Joseph Randle was a pedestrian prospect coming out of Oklahoma State's wide-open spread offense in 2013. He was a stiff-hipped, lunging, non-elusive runner who managed a 4.63 forty at 6-foot, 204 pounds before lasting until the middle of the fifth round. As PFF's Pat Thorman has noted, Randle has struggled in all four NFL games where he's handled double-digit carries, posting rushing lines of 13-37-0, 11-17-1, 19-65-0, and 14-26-0. Taking offensive steam engine DeMarco Murray off the field was understandably difficult for the 2014 Cowboys, but it's worth noting that Randle earned all of four snaps and two touches in Dallas' two playoff games. Randle did excel in a change-of-pace back role last regular season, averaging 6.73 YPC on 51 runs. The Cowboys' offensive line is the best in the league, and beat writers are projecting Randle as Dallas' lead back. Still, it should concern prospective fantasy drafters that the only indication Randle is actually good stems from a 51-carry sample versus defenses Murray had already hammered with volume. Randle's fantasy ADP has soared into the early portion of round four, which is too rich for my personal taste.
The problem with Darren McFadden is no longer that he's "injury prone." The problem is that he isn't effective. Whereas McFadden managed a 3.34 YPC average in Oakland the past three seasons, teammates Mike Goodson(6.31), Latavius Murray (5.17), Marcel Reece (4.56), and Rashad Jennings (4.50) all severely outperformed him behind the same offensive line. While landing in Dallas has sparked some intrigue among fantasy leaguers, McFadden in all likelihood will get beaten out by Joseph Randle or a running back the Cowboys add off the street in training camp. I would prefer taking a double-digit-round flier on McFadden over paying Randle's skyrocketing price tag, but DMC's average draft slot remains in the seventh round.
A 5-foot-8, 205-pound passing-down specialist with 4.47 wheels, Lance Dunbar was a popular sleeper in the fantasy community last offseason. While he did out-snap the now-ballyhooed Randle, Dunbar was only lightly sprinkled into the offense after managing 27 yards on 11 garbage-time runs during a Week 2 win at Tennessee. Ideally, Dunbar would be employed as a satellite-space back, mixing in for change-up carries and the occasional checkdown or screen. Cowboys beat writers have continued to talk up 25-year-old Dunbar as a potentially critical piece in the team's 2015 offense. While Dunbar is unlikely to ever be employed as a lead NFL runner, it's conceivable that his role in the offense will be more stable than Randle or McFadden's. With an ADP of undrafted, Dunbar also presents the lowest-cost investment into Dallas' backfield.
While the training-camp progress of both is worth monitoring, Dallas beat writers indicate Ryan Williams and Lache Seastrunk are long shots to make the 53. Williams was a premium talent coming out of Virginia Tech in 2011, but has been unable to overcome a rookie-year patellar tendon tear and experienced recurring knee swelling at OTAs. Seastrunk was a "flash" player on college film, but is essentially a smaller version of Bryce Brown. Seastrunk is being treated as a camp body after Williams (knee) and McFadden (hamstring) battled injuries this spring.
From both metrics and game-film standpoints, Joseph Randle was a pedestrian prospect coming out of Oklahoma State's wide-open spread offense in 2013. He was a stiff-hipped, lunging, non-elusive runner who managed a 4.63 forty at 6-foot, 204 pounds before lasting until the middle of the fifth round. As PFF's Pat Thorman has noted, Randle has struggled in all four NFL games where he's handled double-digit carries, posting rushing lines of 13-37-0, 11-17-1, 19-65-0, and 14-26-0. Taking offensive steam engine DeMarco Murray off the field was understandably difficult for the 2014 Cowboys, but it's worth noting that Randle earned all of four snaps and two touches in Dallas' two playoff games. Randle did excel in a change-of-pace back role last regular season, averaging 6.73 YPC on 51 runs. The Cowboys' offensive line is the best in the league, and beat writers are projecting Randle as Dallas' lead back. Still, it should concern prospective fantasy drafters that the only indication Randle is actually good stems from a 51-carry sample versus defenses Murray had already hammered with volume. Randle's fantasy ADP has soared into the early portion of round four, which is too rich for my personal taste.
The problem with Darren McFadden is no longer that he's "injury prone." The problem is that he isn't effective. Whereas McFadden managed a 3.34 YPC average in Oakland the past three seasons, teammates Mike Goodson(6.31), Latavius Murray (5.17), Marcel Reece (4.56), and Rashad Jennings (4.50) all severely outperformed him behind the same offensive line. While landing in Dallas has sparked some intrigue among fantasy leaguers, McFadden in all likelihood will get beaten out by Joseph Randle or a running back the Cowboys add off the street in training camp. I would prefer taking a double-digit-round flier on McFadden over paying Randle's skyrocketing price tag, but DMC's average draft slot remains in the seventh round.
A 5-foot-8, 205-pound passing-down specialist with 4.47 wheels, Lance Dunbar was a popular sleeper in the fantasy community last offseason. While he did out-snap the now-ballyhooed Randle, Dunbar was only lightly sprinkled into the offense after managing 27 yards on 11 garbage-time runs during a Week 2 win at Tennessee. Ideally, Dunbar would be employed as a satellite-space back, mixing in for change-up carries and the occasional checkdown or screen. Cowboys beat writers have continued to talk up 25-year-old Dunbar as a potentially critical piece in the team's 2015 offense. While Dunbar is unlikely to ever be employed as a lead NFL runner, it's conceivable that his role in the offense will be more stable than Randle or McFadden's. With an ADP of undrafted, Dunbar also presents the lowest-cost investment into Dallas' backfield.
While the training-camp progress of both is worth monitoring, Dallas beat writers indicate Ryan Williams and Lache Seastrunk are long shots to make the 53. Williams was a premium talent coming out of Virginia Tech in 2011, but has been unable to overcome a rookie-year patellar tendon tear and experienced recurring knee swelling at OTAs. Seastrunk was a "flash" player on college film, but is essentially a smaller version of Bryce Brown. Seastrunk is being treated as a camp body after Williams (knee) and McFadden (hamstring) battled injuries this spring.
