RBs and Mike Davis (South Carolina)

[xwalker]

It seems that people's opinions are all over the map on RBs this year.

One guy that have not seen mentioned is Mike Davis. I like him as a mid/later round guy. He has kind of an Emmitt Smith build at 5-9, 217. He does not have great top speed but he has a nice burst. The combine numbers support what I saw in game footage with a 1.58 ten yard time which was the 2nd best, but only a 4.6 forty. He runs with good power and balance.

I like how he keeps his feet after contact. Some of the other mid/later round guys seem to just hurl themselves into the fray and fall down. I like the guys that keep their feet after initial contact.

Another guy I like is TJ Yeldon. He also run with good balance and runs well through contact. He's not a deep speed guy either, but he has a decent burst. Similar to Davis, he had good ten yard time of 1.63 despite a slowish forty of 4.65. That's the same ten yard time as Gordon.

Current NFLDS rankings:
21 *Melvin Gordon
22 *Todd Gurley
47 Ameer Abdullah
52 *Jay Ajayi
56 *Duke Johnson
60 *Tevin Coleman
77 *T.J. Yeldon
80 *Mike Davis
88 David Cobb
93 David Johnson
112 Jeremy Langford
118 *Javorius Allen
128 Cameron Artis-Payne

 

[xwalker]

http://draftbreakdown.com/video/mike-davis-vs-kentucky-2014/

 

[Awakened]

I prefer Javorius Allen as a mid-round guy. Perfect fit for the Cowboys zone blocking scheme. Speed and size very similar to Murray. Also a one-cut back, an excellent receiver, and right kind of guy.

 

[Alexander]

He is definitely getting lost in the shuffle. But this is a talented class. He will be a contributor soon, and I am not just saying that because I stole him in the Kiper mock.

 

[Alexander]

I prefer Javorius Allen as a mid-round guy. Perfect fit for the Cowboys zone blocking scheme. Speed and size very similar to Murray. Also a one-cut back, an excellent receiver, and right kind of guy.

I like Allen as a Cowboy fit, as you stated ZBS back. Not everyone is a fit. Davis, not really the same kind of back, at least for Dallas.

 

[xwalker]

I prefer Javorius Allen as a mid-round guy. Perfect fit for the Cowboys zone blocking scheme. Speed and size very similar to Murray. Also a one-cut back, an excellent receiver, and right kind of guy.

Yes, I've spent some time studying Allen. I like him as a 4th/5th round type. He had a lot of success running without being touched going past the line. That's not going to happen in the NFL. I have similar concerns about some higher rated guys like Tevin Coleman. I would like to have seen Allen run with a little more power and balance through contact considering that he is 221 pounds.

 

[TheFinisher]

Tevin Coleman is a great fit for our scheme, very similar player to Murray. Decisive one-cut runner who can get tough yards but also the 2nd gear to separate from defenders in the open field.

He didn't run at the combine, which is a shame because his tape says he would have been among the fastest backs there.

 

[xwalker]

Tevin Coleman is a great fit for our scheme, very similar player to Murray. Decisive one-cut runner who can get tough yards but also the 2nd gear to separate from defenders in the open field.

Most of what I saw from him was running untouched for big plays. He will not be running untouched in the NFL. I don't think he runs that well though contract. I'm not saying that he is terrible or anything, but maybe a little overrated by some.

 

[TheFinisher]

Most of what I saw from him was running untouched for big plays. He will not be running untouched in the NFL. I don't think he runs that well though contract. I'm not saying that he is terrible or anything, but maybe a little overrated by some.

His physicality as a runner is one of his strengths, so I'm kinda surprised you think that. He's known as a runner who likes to dish out the punishment rather than take it, similar to Murray.

Indiana was also a terrible team this year and Coleman was the only pulse they had on offense, yet he tore up every opponent besides Penn State. Went 27-228 against the national champs.

Maybe go back and rewatch, the kids a stud.

 

[xwalker]

His physicality as a runner is one of his strengths, so I'm kinda surprised you think that. He's known as a runner who likes to dish out the punishment rather than take it, similar to Murray.

Indiana was also a terrible team this year and Coleman was the only pulse they had on offense, yet he tore up every opponent besides Penn State. Went 27-228 against the national champs.

Maybe go back and rewatch, the kids a stud.

I didn't say that he was terrible. He was a terrific college RB with good vision and speed.

My point is that he had a lot of highlight plays where he ran well past the line of scrimmage before being touched and that will not happen often in the NFL. His ability to grind out difficult yards after first contact seems limited.

Sturm had a similar opinion:
What I did not like: He is a very big target, and the run directly above was one of the few runs where I actually saw him get between the tackles and break through to the other side (that is Carl Davis he runs through from Iowa). He has so many short runs and then explodes for one giant one like Barry Sanders or Chris Johnson made a living doing over the years (although neither of those were very upright targets). I am not a huge fan of this type of production as I might take fewer home runs for more consistency from play to play, but we all know, Sanders and Johnson were both amazing NFL running backs. You wonder about the zone read allowing for some of his production as he had a QB who was a threat and the deployment of troops against the Indiana spread allowed him to get into space. What is he like in 12 personnel as Dallas prefers? That is speculative at this point, but I didn’t see him running against 8 or 9 man fronts very often. Short yardage is also a bit of a question as I watch him as well. He is big and strong, but he just wasn’t used in that way and like I said, he doesn’t make people miss inside that much.

 

[CATCH17]

I like Allen as a Cowboy fit, as you stated ZBS back. Not everyone is a fit. Davis, not really the same kind of back, at least for Dallas.

Looks clunky and not explosive at all to me.

 

[Oh_Canada]

Looks clunky and not explosive at all to me.

I'm with you Allen looks like a rotational type to me, no explosion, ok finisher. To me Coleman is neck and neck with Ajayi as the third best back in the draft and are both very close to Gordon.
Davis intrigues me, I think he had some injury issues this past season. Didn't look quite the same, but he runs hard and good between the tackles as Walker suggested.

 

[TheCoolFan]

Huge fan of Mike Davis. And if we can get him in the same range that we got Randle, he'd be a steal