If the idea is to not invest $$ at RB...

egn22

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rather than reaching for Gurley or Gordon, or even Coleman,
Why not consider Ajayi who's stock is plummeting since they reported he has a degenerative knee issue.

I can honestly say he hasn't even been on my radar because I just wasn't that excited about him when reviewing clips and reading reports.
But when you consider the fact that he may not require a premium pick and the fact that RBs now are basically used up on their rookie contract and then sent to free agency, it makes sense.

Jay Ajayi
6'0"
221 lbs
4.5 forty

Strengths
Good size and great feet. Former soccer player with sudden feet. Able to string together multiple moves at a time. Varies speeds as a runner and can call on second gear when he sees daylight. Hips and feet always in sync thanks to soccer background. Shows enough wiggle to make defenders miss and can create and improvise if creases aren't offering much. Runs with wide base and generates leg drive to push. Plays with bend and bursts through the hole with low pad level. Reliable yards-after-contact back. Accelerates into contact on second level. True weapon out of backfield with adequate hands and good feel for maximizing each catch in space. Twists and turns and fights to fall forward. Asked to be physical, downhill runner between tackles and he obliged. Shows good blitz recognition. Showed mental toughness and character, coming back from deep in the doghouse for October 2011 arrest.

Weaknesses
Gets too cute at times looking to sift laterally from gap to gap as he approaches line of scrimmage. Needs to run with more urgency to perimeter. Can get out-flanked when opportunity to turn corner was previously available. Average feel through the hole. Runs into defenders he should be able to avoid. Heavy workload in 2014 with 398 total touches (28.4 per game). Ball-security concerns with 11 fumbles over last 597 carries. Pass-protection technique needs improvement. Tore his ACL in 2011. Was arrested for stealing sweatpants in 2011 and faced long road of severe punishment from coach.
 

JoeyBoy718

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I don't know much about degenerative knee issues, but what I do about about Leary's case is that his knee can go at any minute. But there's really no time table. He may not finish out the year or he may finish his entire career before his knee going out. Since RB is obviously not a position that we extend after the rookie contract (considering we let the leading rusher go), I don't really care how long our RB lasts as long as he's successful while he's here. If we can spend a 5th on Ajayi and get a good 3 years out of him, I'd be happy.
 

Beast_from_East

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The risk is that the knee can basically go at any time..............he could play 3 games or he could play 10 years, nobody knows for sure.

So its a roll of the dice..................you feeling lucky?
 
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rather than reaching for Gurley or Gordon, or even Coleman,
Why not consider Ajayi who's stock is plummeting since they reported he has a degenerative knee issue.

I can honestly say he hasn't even been on my radar because I just wasn't that excited about him when reviewing clips and reading reports.
But when you consider the fact that he may not require a premium pick and the fact that RBs now are basically used up on their rookie contract and then sent to free agency, it makes sense.

Jay Ajayi
6'0"
221 lbs
4.5 forty

Strengths
Good size and great feet. Former soccer player with sudden feet. Able to string together multiple moves at a time. Varies speeds as a runner and can call on second gear when he sees daylight. Hips and feet always in sync thanks to soccer background. Shows enough wiggle to make defenders miss and can create and improvise if creases aren't offering much. Runs with wide base and generates leg drive to push. Plays with bend and bursts through the hole with low pad level. Reliable yards-after-contact back. Accelerates into contact on second level. True weapon out of backfield with adequate hands and good feel for maximizing each catch in space. Twists and turns and fights to fall forward. Asked to be physical, downhill runner between tackles and he obliged. Shows good blitz recognition. Showed mental toughness and character, coming back from deep in the doghouse for October 2011 arrest.

Weaknesses
Gets too cute at times looking to sift laterally from gap to gap as he approaches line of scrimmage. Needs to run with more urgency to perimeter. Can get out-flanked when opportunity to turn corner was previously available. Average feel through the hole. Runs into defenders he should be able to avoid. Heavy workload in 2014 with 398 total touches (28.4 per game). Ball-security concerns with 11 fumbles over last 597 carries. Pass-protection technique needs improvement. Tore his ACL in 2011. Was arrested for stealing sweatpants in 2011 and faced long road of severe punishment from coach.

Id actually rather Ajayi (or preferably Yeldon or Abdullah) than Coleman...


Tevin Coleman, RB, Indiana
Coleman's blazing open-field speed allowed him to punish Big Ten defenders, finishing with 2,036 yards rushing at 7.5 yards per carry. In the NFL, running backs are either creators or tackle breakers, and according to STATS data Coleman was neither. Coleman broke a tackle or made someone miss on just 12.2 percent of his carries. Melvin Gordon, Jay Ajayi and Todd Gurley all finished at just over 21 percent, while Duke Johnson clocked in at 19 percent. If Coleman gets in the right scheme, he has a chance to become an electric ball carrier with home-run potential on any given carry. However, if he doesn't show more wiggle or physicality through contact, scheme won't matter.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000488295/article/2015-nfl-drafts-biggest-boomorbust-prospects
 

Zekeats

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Id actually rather Ajayi (or preferably Yeldon or Abdullah) than Coleman...


Tevin Coleman, RB, Indiana
Coleman's blazing open-field speed allowed him to punish Big Ten defenders, finishing with 2,036 yards rushing at 7.5 yards per carry. In the NFL, running backs are either creators or tackle breakers, and according to STATS data Coleman was neither. Coleman broke a tackle or made someone miss on just 12.2 percent of his carries. Melvin Gordon, Jay Ajayi and Todd Gurley all finished at just over 21 percent, while Duke Johnson clocked in at 19 percent. If Coleman gets in the right scheme, he has a chance to become an electric ball carrier with home-run potential on any given carry. However, if he doesn't show more wiggle or physicality through contact, scheme won't matter.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000488295/article/2015-nfl-drafts-biggest-boomorbust-prospects


Maybe its because he had 3 guys meet him at the same time every carry as opposed to 1 like everyone else. If you look hard enough for a stat usually you will find it.
 

egn22

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I'm close to saying *** it, just roll with DMC, Ryan Williams and Joseph Randle.

Joseph Randle is just as good if not better than any of these guys coming out.

Gurley won't be there at 27, and everyone else has holes in their game that make you question what role they'd come in and have in our offense.

We know what the Knocks on Randle are, stupid decisions, questionable character, unknown whether or not e can carry the load.

But Randle can pass protect, can catch passes, has great burst, has experience in our offense, and wouldn't be forced to carry the load withDMC and Ryan Williams on the roster.

You can use a 5th rd pick on a RB and let him battle it out w Randle.
This would allow you to address secondary, Dline AND Oline in the 1st 4 rds.
 

theogt

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I don't think there's a back I like less in this draft than Jay Ajayi, other than perhaps Duke Johnson.
 
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