i know, I know. I already know what many of you guys are saying. "Are you crazy?!" "Dude is a bust!" "Worst running back ever!"
And before anyone asks, yes I have seen those pics floating around the internet which report to show that Richardson can't see the biggest holes on the field. And to that I say hogwash! A load of bull! Misrepresentation!
Those pictures don't begin to tell the whole story when it comes to this player. They don't tell anyone what the play design was, they don't tell you what kind of freedoms the running back did or didn't have on that particular play, and in most cases, what you saw from the coaches' view was totally different from what those photos actually showed.
In looking at the player, I can't help but see a young man whose NFL career has been mishandled from the second he was drafted. Do we need a refresher course on what the Cleveland franchise has done to its first round picks since they've returned to the league? Just having the misfortune to be exiled there is already a strike against success for any player entering the league.
Many around these parts like to give Darren McFadden a 'mulligan' for a disappointing 7-year career to date. Why? "Oakland" is the one word response. Well, I ask you, is Cleveland at least as good of an excuse for Richardson? I'd say yes.
People can then rightly point to his disappointing run in Indianapolis, providing little return for the 1st round pick the Colts gave up for him. And they can also say "how could he not succeed in an offense with Andrew Luck and that passing attack?" My answer? As in Cleveland, he was a round peg in a square hole. Since entering the league, Richardson has been miscast in a power running attack, while in college at Alabama, he was having all of his success in their zone rushing attack. Does anyone else find it maddening that people are skewering Richardson while placing no blame on teams that repeatedly miscast him? How can you ask a player to do something he's never done and then be upset when he fails to do it?
And please don't mistake these points as an attempt to absolve Richardson of any blame for where his career has turned, he's certainly played a part in things. And these reasons aren't cited to exonerate him for where he is at this point.
But, in reviewing this player, I can't help but be intrigued at the thought of finally pairing a player who was the #3 pick of the 2012 draft and viewed as "the best running back prospect since Adrian Peterson" with a quality offensive line running the same type of scheme in which he was so successful in college.
I can't help but wonder if Jason Garrett is contacting his good friend Nick Saban for a personal scouting report on his character and work ethic, much like what was done for another former Alabama player labeled a bust?
And I have to wonder what Gary Brown, Richardson's running back coach for his rookie year in Cleveland thinks about him?
Given this team's question marks that still exist at the running back position, I can't help but be intrigued by the thought of taking a look at Trent Richardson - at no cost - with the possibility of adding what was, not too long ago, a "can't miss" first round prospect.
Feel free to sling your arrows and sharpen your pitchforks!
