Felix Jones to Declare

[Avery]

I haven't seen a RB draft as deep as this in ages:

Junior running back Jones to join McFadden, head to NFL

Arkansas junior running back Felix Jones plans to declare for the NFL draft at a news conference on Monday, two sources briefed on the decision said Sunday night.

Jones and junior teammate Darren McFadden, each of whom topped 1,000 yards rushing this season, could both be taken in the first round of the next NFL draft.

Jones, 6 feet, 207 pounds, averaged 8.7 yards per carry and scored 11 rushing touchdowns. He is also a proven threat as a returner.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/news/story?id=3195375

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

I'm not particularly interested in him honestly...

 

[Sasquatch]

I'm not particularly interested in him honestly...

Care to elaborate? He gets a lot of love from other sources. I'm neutral on him myself.

 

[Avery]

I think Jones would be a good alternative to MB's brusing style as he's more of a slasher.

Mendenhall's my pick, but I'd be okay with Jones.

 

[marchetta]

I think Jones would be a good alternative to MB's brusing style as he's more of a slasher.

Mendenhall's my pick, but I'd be okay with Jones.

I like them both. From what I've seen, Mendenhall is a bigger version of Julius Jones (his rookie year), except Mendenhall is much bigger (~6'1 ~220lbs). Mendenhall runs exactly the same as JJ did his rookie year, except he's can't do JJ's signature "ankle breaking move." Mendenhall is too big to stop his momentum on a dime and skip to the side the way JJ did that Rookie year. Other than that, he looks like an exact duplicate of JJ. He has the same vision, speed, and quickness that JJ displayed early in his career. Mendenhall could hit a hole and take it the distance any time he gets the ball, as long as the hole is there. However, he'll have the same problem JJ has. He will be a run-into-the-pile RB. He doesn't have the agility to slide down the LOS when a hole isn't there, the way Ray Rice can do. If the hole isn't there, he has to turn his shoulders and "take steps" to redirect his momentum because he's such a big RB rather than keep his shoulders parallel to the LOS the way R.Rice does and "slide" laterally to an opening. However, unlike JJ, instead of going down at first contact, he will move the pile 3 or 4 yards, and he will break tackles because of his size and power. Personally, I love this kid (no homo). But if we pick him, we'd better darn well have an OL that can open holes, or he'll just run into the pile. He doesn't have the agility to improvise, and slide around the LOS in order to find the soft spot. But, if the hole is there, no one hits it with more power and speed than this guy. Simply put, if you want to know anything about Mendenhall, just turn on a video of JJ's rookie year and imagine JJ a couple of inches taller and 20lbs heavier doing the same exact thing (except for the ankle breaking move). Mendenhall has all the speed and quickness as JJ did except in a much bigger body. Call him JJ v2.0. JMHO.

Here's a youtube link. Check it out and tell me if you think he runs exactly like JJ did.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=27cxAs7mGSs

Here's another link. At the 2 minute mark he does JJ's ankle breaking move. So, I was wrong, he can do everything JJ did. LOL! (FWIW: Mendenhall is #5 NOT #9)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=w2gIsDTL-AU