Darren McFadden was named the top back in the draft by 16 of 17 scouts in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel poll asking them to rate their favorites on a 1-to-5 basis, with a first-place vote worth five points and so on. He totaled 84 points.
Following, in order, were Oregon’s Jonathan Stewart (one first) and Illinois’ Rashard Mendenhall, 56; Arkansas’ Felix Jones, 31; Texas’ Jamaal Charles, 17; Rutgers’ Ray Rice, 7; Central Florida’s Kevin Smith, 2; and East Carolina’s Chris Johnson and South Carolina’s Cory Boyd, 1.
When the 17 scouts were asked which of the top 10 backs had the best chance to bust, the votes were: Johnson, 4; McFadden and Stewart, 2 1/2; Rice and Charles, 2; and Tulane’s Matt Forte, Jones, Mendenhall and Smith, 1.
