dbair1967
Arch Defender
- Messages
- 30,782
- Reaction score
- 1
NFL draft preview: Running backs
09:48 PM CDT on Sunday, April 13, 2008
• E-mail
Position strength
There were only two running backs selected in the first round of the 2007 draft.
There might have been even fewer in 2008 had the juniors not come out. Seven of the top eight runners on this draft board are juniors.
STRENGTH: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
WEAK STRONG
Spotlight on Michigan's Michael Hart
There is no more productive running back in the 2008 NFL draft than Michigan's Mike Hart.
He set national high-school records in upstate New York with his 204 career rushing TDs and 47 consecutive 100-yard games. Then he went to Michigan and became the all-time leading rusher for the Wolverines.
Getty Images
Michael Hart (left) was the all-time leading rusher at Michigan.
View largerMore photos Photo store Add it all up, and he has rushed for 16,030 yards and scored 247 touchdowns in his last eight seasons of football. But the only numbers that concern the NFL in this draft process are 5-8 ½ and 4.69. Hart stands 5-8 ½ and runs a 40-yard dash in 4.69 seconds. Both numbers fall well below the profile of an NFL running back.
So productivity is out and measurables are in. Hart figures to slide well into the second day of this draft.
"It doesn't matter what round you're drafted as a running back," Hart said. "You still have a chance to make a team and make some plays. Look at Ahmad Bradshaw of the Giants. [Mike] Bell of the Broncos wasn't even drafted."
Bell was a 900-yard rusher for Denver in 2005 and Bradshaw, a seventh-round pick in 2007, led the Giants in rushing last postseason on the way to the Super Bowl.
"Ahmad Bradshaw might have run a 4.6 at the combine last year," Hart said. "But look what he did in the NFL. He doesn't look like he runs a 4.6 out on that field."Notable
The best
Darren McFadden, Arkansas: McFadden started three seasons at Arkansas and was a three-time All-SEC pick. He twice finished as the Heisman Trophy runner-up and won two Walker Awards as the best running back in the land. He projects as a top-five pick – and that's being conservative. "I feel I'm the best player in this draft," McFadden said. "I can do a lot of different things. I can line up at receiver, line up in the backfield, block, run, throw a pass if you need it. If I had to, I can play defense."
Sleeper
Andre Callender, Boston Coll.: Callender wasn't invited to the combine but got the NFL's attention with a 4.45 40-yard dash at Boston College's pro day. Scouts who stuck around to watch tape discovered a sticky-fingered receiver who could become a third-down back in the NFL. Callender caught 138 career passes, tops on this draft board. He also rushed for almost 3,000 career yards.
Best of Texas
Jamaal Charles, Texas: NFL teams that watched the Nebraska tape love Charles. The Port Arthur product rushed for 290 yards, including 237 in the second half and 217 in the fourth quarter. Charles is a speed back (4.41) with fumble concerns. Draft projection: Late first, high second round.
The rest
2. Justin Forsett, Cal (and Arlington): Draft projection: 4-5 rounds.
3. Marcus Thomas, UTEP: Draft projection: 6-7 rounds. There were only two running backs selected in the first round of the 2007 draft, and there might have been even fewer in 2008 had the juniors not come out. Seven of the top eight runners on this draft board are juniors.
Notable
Fixing a mistake: Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson was the first running back selected in the 2007 draft, taken by the Minnesota Vikings with the seventh overall pick. He went on to rush for an NFC-leading 1,341 yards. Darren McFadden figures to benefit in this draft from Peterson's showing. "With what Adrian Peterson did last season – and all the teams that passed him up – I feel they don't want to let that happen again," McFadden said. "A lot of people try to compare us. He did some great things as a rookie, and I'm going to try to do the same things. I feel I can have the same type of season he had."
Honor roll: Jamar Brittingham (Bloomsburg), Calvin Dawson (Louisiana-Monroe), Mike Hart (Michigan), Tim Hightower (Richmond), McFadden (Arkansas), Kalvin McRae (Ohio), Xavier Omon (Northwest Missouri State), Ray Rice (Rutgers) and Kevin Smith (Central Florida) all left campus as the all-time leading rusher in school history. Rice also finished as the Big East's all-time leading rusher.
Impressive numbers: Hart twice rushed for 3,000 yards in a high school season. Jehuu Caulcrick (Michigan State), Jamaal Charles (Texas), Justin Forsett (Cal), Peyton Hillis (Arkansas), Felix Jones (Arkansas), Kregg Lumpkin (Georgia), McFadden, Jonathan Stewart (Oregon) and Tony Temple (Missouri) all rushed for 2,000 yards in a season as preps. None were able to duplicate the feat in college, though. But there are three 2,000-yard college backs on this board in Kevin Smith, Rice and Matt Forte, who all accomplished the feat in 2007.
Hands of glue: LSU fullback Jacob Hester finished his college career with 351 consecutive carries without losing a fumble, dating to 2004. He fumbled once during that stretch. "We used to watch films of Tiki Barber and Brian Westbrook – different guys with good ball security," Hester said. "You didn't want to fumble. We had to do 200 yards of up-and-downs if any running back fumbled. That's something we sure didn't want to do."
Two-sport threat: This will be the second draft for Oregon State's Yvenson Bernard. Coming out of high school, he was a 30th-round selection in the baseball draft by the Minnesota Twins. Now he enters the NFL draft in April as the sixth all-time leading rusher in Pac-10 history with 3,862 yards.
Two-school threat: Benjarvus Green-Ellis led Indiana in rushing as a freshman and sophomore and led Mississippi in rushing as a junior and senior. He sat out the 2005 season during his transfer. He rushed for 200 yards in a game for both schools, blitzing Penn State for 203 yards on 43 carries in 2003 and Missouri for 226 yards on 33 carries in 2007. Other backs on this draft board who transferred are Tashard Choice (Oklahoma to Georgia Tech), Bruce Hall (Wake Forest to Mississippi) and Chad Simpson (South Florida to Morgan State).
Carrying the load: The NFL's all-time leading rusher, Emmitt Smith, didn't spend all of his carries at the college level. Smith left Florida after his junior season with 700 career carries. There's a belief that running backs only have so many carries in their bodies, so many of the best ones leave school after their junior seasons to start the meter running as NFLers. Workload is one of the biggest raps on Hart and Rice in the 2008 scouting process. How much juice is left in the tank? Here's the backs with the most college carries on the 2008 draft board:
Player School Car.
Mike Hart Michigan 1,015
Benjarvus Green-Ellis Miss. 920
Ray Rice Rutgers 910
Kalvin McRae Ohio 909
Jamar Brittingham Bloomsburg 908
Kevin Smith C. Florida 905
Yvenson Bernard Oregon St. 876
Matt Forte Tulane 833
Lex Hilliard Montana 806
Family affair: Washington's Louis Rankin is a nephew of former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Webster Slaughter. Rankin is coming off a 1,200-yard rushing season and is an elite kick returner.
King of Florida: Kevin Smith rushed for more college yards than any back in the state of Florida's history. Among those below him on that list are Emmitt Smith and Edgerrin James. Not bad for someone who was projected as a safety by the big universities. Smith was a 1,100-yard rusher as a junior at Miami Southridge High. But when he moved to safety as a senior, Florida, Florida State and Miami fell off his recruitment trail, unimpressed with his play at that position. Akron and Rutgers offered him scholarships to play safety. "I never planned to be a safety, and I told them all that," Smith said. "I just waited for that running back offer." Only Central Florida offered him a chance to be a ball carrier. He rewarded the Knights with an NCAA rushing crown in 2007.
In the shadows: Felix Jones exploded from the shadows of McFadden to establish himself as a first-round talent in the 2008 draft. Sharing the workload with McFadden, Jones rushed for 1,162 yards and averaged an NCAA-leading 8.7 yards per carry in 2007. He doesn't waste his idle moments wondering what life would have been like without McFadden as a teammate. "I was put there for a reason," Jones said. "I don't think in terms of woulda, coulda or shoulda. I just keep moving forward. We were a tremendous tandem, but I look forward to creating a name now for myself."The best
THE TOP 15
Player School Ht. Wt. Noteworthy
Darren McFadden Arkansas 6-1 211 4.33 speed in the 40
Rashard Mendenhall Illinois 5-10 225 6.4-yard average in '07
Jonathan Stewart Oregon 5-10 235 1,722 yards rushing in '07
Felix Jones Arkansas 5-10 207 11 TD runs as part-timer
Chris Johnson East Carolina 5-11 197 4.24 speed in the 40
Jamaal Charles Texas 5-11 200 18 TDs in '07
Kevin Smith Central Florida 6-1 217 NCAA's leading rusher
Ray Rice Rutgers 5-8 199 49 career rushing TDs
Matt Forte Tulane 6-1 217 103 career receptions
Chauncey Washington USC 5-11 211 Led USC in rushing in '06 and '07
Tashard Choice Georgia Tech 5-10 ½ 215 18 career 100-yard games
f-Jacob Hester LSU 5-10 ½ 226 4 100-yard games in '07
Thomas Brown Georgia 5-8 204 5.0-yard career rushing average
Mike Hart Michigan 5-8 ½ 206 Four-year starter
Justin Forsett Cal 5-8 194 School-record 305 carries in '07
09:48 PM CDT on Sunday, April 13, 2008
Position strength
There were only two running backs selected in the first round of the 2007 draft.
There might have been even fewer in 2008 had the juniors not come out. Seven of the top eight runners on this draft board are juniors.
STRENGTH: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
WEAK STRONG
Spotlight on Michigan's Michael Hart
There is no more productive running back in the 2008 NFL draft than Michigan's Mike Hart.
He set national high-school records in upstate New York with his 204 career rushing TDs and 47 consecutive 100-yard games. Then he went to Michigan and became the all-time leading rusher for the Wolverines.
Getty Images
Michael Hart (left) was the all-time leading rusher at Michigan.
View largerMore photos Photo store Add it all up, and he has rushed for 16,030 yards and scored 247 touchdowns in his last eight seasons of football. But the only numbers that concern the NFL in this draft process are 5-8 ½ and 4.69. Hart stands 5-8 ½ and runs a 40-yard dash in 4.69 seconds. Both numbers fall well below the profile of an NFL running back.
So productivity is out and measurables are in. Hart figures to slide well into the second day of this draft.
"It doesn't matter what round you're drafted as a running back," Hart said. "You still have a chance to make a team and make some plays. Look at Ahmad Bradshaw of the Giants. [Mike] Bell of the Broncos wasn't even drafted."
Bell was a 900-yard rusher for Denver in 2005 and Bradshaw, a seventh-round pick in 2007, led the Giants in rushing last postseason on the way to the Super Bowl.
"Ahmad Bradshaw might have run a 4.6 at the combine last year," Hart said. "But look what he did in the NFL. He doesn't look like he runs a 4.6 out on that field."Notable
The best
Darren McFadden, Arkansas: McFadden started three seasons at Arkansas and was a three-time All-SEC pick. He twice finished as the Heisman Trophy runner-up and won two Walker Awards as the best running back in the land. He projects as a top-five pick – and that's being conservative. "I feel I'm the best player in this draft," McFadden said. "I can do a lot of different things. I can line up at receiver, line up in the backfield, block, run, throw a pass if you need it. If I had to, I can play defense."
Sleeper
Andre Callender, Boston Coll.: Callender wasn't invited to the combine but got the NFL's attention with a 4.45 40-yard dash at Boston College's pro day. Scouts who stuck around to watch tape discovered a sticky-fingered receiver who could become a third-down back in the NFL. Callender caught 138 career passes, tops on this draft board. He also rushed for almost 3,000 career yards.
Best of Texas
Jamaal Charles, Texas: NFL teams that watched the Nebraska tape love Charles. The Port Arthur product rushed for 290 yards, including 237 in the second half and 217 in the fourth quarter. Charles is a speed back (4.41) with fumble concerns. Draft projection: Late first, high second round.
The rest
2. Justin Forsett, Cal (and Arlington): Draft projection: 4-5 rounds.
3. Marcus Thomas, UTEP: Draft projection: 6-7 rounds. There were only two running backs selected in the first round of the 2007 draft, and there might have been even fewer in 2008 had the juniors not come out. Seven of the top eight runners on this draft board are juniors.
Notable
Fixing a mistake: Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson was the first running back selected in the 2007 draft, taken by the Minnesota Vikings with the seventh overall pick. He went on to rush for an NFC-leading 1,341 yards. Darren McFadden figures to benefit in this draft from Peterson's showing. "With what Adrian Peterson did last season – and all the teams that passed him up – I feel they don't want to let that happen again," McFadden said. "A lot of people try to compare us. He did some great things as a rookie, and I'm going to try to do the same things. I feel I can have the same type of season he had."
Honor roll: Jamar Brittingham (Bloomsburg), Calvin Dawson (Louisiana-Monroe), Mike Hart (Michigan), Tim Hightower (Richmond), McFadden (Arkansas), Kalvin McRae (Ohio), Xavier Omon (Northwest Missouri State), Ray Rice (Rutgers) and Kevin Smith (Central Florida) all left campus as the all-time leading rusher in school history. Rice also finished as the Big East's all-time leading rusher.
Impressive numbers: Hart twice rushed for 3,000 yards in a high school season. Jehuu Caulcrick (Michigan State), Jamaal Charles (Texas), Justin Forsett (Cal), Peyton Hillis (Arkansas), Felix Jones (Arkansas), Kregg Lumpkin (Georgia), McFadden, Jonathan Stewart (Oregon) and Tony Temple (Missouri) all rushed for 2,000 yards in a season as preps. None were able to duplicate the feat in college, though. But there are three 2,000-yard college backs on this board in Kevin Smith, Rice and Matt Forte, who all accomplished the feat in 2007.
Hands of glue: LSU fullback Jacob Hester finished his college career with 351 consecutive carries without losing a fumble, dating to 2004. He fumbled once during that stretch. "We used to watch films of Tiki Barber and Brian Westbrook – different guys with good ball security," Hester said. "You didn't want to fumble. We had to do 200 yards of up-and-downs if any running back fumbled. That's something we sure didn't want to do."
Two-sport threat: This will be the second draft for Oregon State's Yvenson Bernard. Coming out of high school, he was a 30th-round selection in the baseball draft by the Minnesota Twins. Now he enters the NFL draft in April as the sixth all-time leading rusher in Pac-10 history with 3,862 yards.
Two-school threat: Benjarvus Green-Ellis led Indiana in rushing as a freshman and sophomore and led Mississippi in rushing as a junior and senior. He sat out the 2005 season during his transfer. He rushed for 200 yards in a game for both schools, blitzing Penn State for 203 yards on 43 carries in 2003 and Missouri for 226 yards on 33 carries in 2007. Other backs on this draft board who transferred are Tashard Choice (Oklahoma to Georgia Tech), Bruce Hall (Wake Forest to Mississippi) and Chad Simpson (South Florida to Morgan State).
Carrying the load: The NFL's all-time leading rusher, Emmitt Smith, didn't spend all of his carries at the college level. Smith left Florida after his junior season with 700 career carries. There's a belief that running backs only have so many carries in their bodies, so many of the best ones leave school after their junior seasons to start the meter running as NFLers. Workload is one of the biggest raps on Hart and Rice in the 2008 scouting process. How much juice is left in the tank? Here's the backs with the most college carries on the 2008 draft board:
Player School Car.
Mike Hart Michigan 1,015
Benjarvus Green-Ellis Miss. 920
Ray Rice Rutgers 910
Kalvin McRae Ohio 909
Jamar Brittingham Bloomsburg 908
Kevin Smith C. Florida 905
Yvenson Bernard Oregon St. 876
Matt Forte Tulane 833
Lex Hilliard Montana 806
Family affair: Washington's Louis Rankin is a nephew of former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Webster Slaughter. Rankin is coming off a 1,200-yard rushing season and is an elite kick returner.
King of Florida: Kevin Smith rushed for more college yards than any back in the state of Florida's history. Among those below him on that list are Emmitt Smith and Edgerrin James. Not bad for someone who was projected as a safety by the big universities. Smith was a 1,100-yard rusher as a junior at Miami Southridge High. But when he moved to safety as a senior, Florida, Florida State and Miami fell off his recruitment trail, unimpressed with his play at that position. Akron and Rutgers offered him scholarships to play safety. "I never planned to be a safety, and I told them all that," Smith said. "I just waited for that running back offer." Only Central Florida offered him a chance to be a ball carrier. He rewarded the Knights with an NCAA rushing crown in 2007.
In the shadows: Felix Jones exploded from the shadows of McFadden to establish himself as a first-round talent in the 2008 draft. Sharing the workload with McFadden, Jones rushed for 1,162 yards and averaged an NCAA-leading 8.7 yards per carry in 2007. He doesn't waste his idle moments wondering what life would have been like without McFadden as a teammate. "I was put there for a reason," Jones said. "I don't think in terms of woulda, coulda or shoulda. I just keep moving forward. We were a tremendous tandem, but I look forward to creating a name now for myself."The best
THE TOP 15
Player School Ht. Wt. Noteworthy
Darren McFadden Arkansas 6-1 211 4.33 speed in the 40
Rashard Mendenhall Illinois 5-10 225 6.4-yard average in '07
Jonathan Stewart Oregon 5-10 235 1,722 yards rushing in '07
Felix Jones Arkansas 5-10 207 11 TD runs as part-timer
Chris Johnson East Carolina 5-11 197 4.24 speed in the 40
Jamaal Charles Texas 5-11 200 18 TDs in '07
Kevin Smith Central Florida 6-1 217 NCAA's leading rusher
Ray Rice Rutgers 5-8 199 49 career rushing TDs
Matt Forte Tulane 6-1 217 103 career receptions
Chauncey Washington USC 5-11 211 Led USC in rushing in '06 and '07
Tashard Choice Georgia Tech 5-10 ½ 215 18 career 100-yard games
f-Jacob Hester LSU 5-10 ½ 226 4 100-yard games in '07
Thomas Brown Georgia 5-8 204 5.0-yard career rushing average
Mike Hart Michigan 5-8 ½ 206 Four-year starter
Justin Forsett Cal 5-8 194 School-record 305 carries in '07
