2018 Draft RB Thread

[brooks1957]

Like a lot of others, i am all in on Saquon Barkley. Complete back. But another back I have my eye on for this season is senior Kalen Ballage of Arizona State. Nice option for the Browns If Crow flies away in free agency and Saquon is gone by the time they pick.

He certainly fits the term "power back" and he gots himself a set of wheels too!

 

[TheRealMcCoy]

1 hour ago, CalhounLambeau said:

That's very common for young players who are athletic as Saquon Barkley. He's a smart player. I think he'll evolve. It's not a concern for me at all. 

Oh, I know. I'm just saying that is something he can improve on. 

[brooks1957]

Monster night for Ballage against Texas Tech

 

[Mox]

6 hours ago, CalhounLambeau said:

From a true sophomore it doesn't get much better than what I saw last year. 

At the same stage how does he compare to other top RB prospects like Elliot, Gurley, Richardson, McFadden, Peterson, etc.?

[MrOaktown_56]

1 hour ago, Bullet Club said:

At the same stage how does he compare to other top RB prospects like Elliot, Gurley, Richardson, McFadden, Peterson, etc.?

Better than all of them. And I love some of those guys. I thought Gurley could be a potential HOF guy and still think he has that kind of ability in him, provided he gets an OL.

Barkley has no weaknesses that I can see. He has near homerun speed (apparently low 4.3 speed electric). Dude is shifty as hell, is creative in the open field, breaks tackles with strength, can push the pile, can catch the ball, vision is there. I called him a better prospect than Zeke last year and I wasn't kidding. 

Even as a freshman, I thought Barkley was gonna be a top 15 pick. I think he's an easy top 5 pick this year. The only reason to pass up on him is need/if you already have a capable back.

[smokeybandit]

What I want to see out of Barkley this year is consistency.  He put up numbers, but a lot of it in chunks.  Granted, he was in a new offense with a new QB and had 8 different OL start at least 4 games and only 1 OL start every game at the same position.

Now in the second year of that offense with what should be an extremely improved OL, he really has no excuse to put up some of the clunkers he did last year.

[tyler735]

On 8/22/2017 at 1:36 PM, Magnus-Viktor said:

Barkley is the best pure RB I've ever seen in college.  The total package from what I can see.  Physical, fast, all the moves and size.  He's like the pure RB version of Christian McCaffrey, who was the perfect package as far as a receiving back goes.  I haven't seen some of the other guys in college as much as I saw Barkley and McCaffrey, but I can't imagine them being better than Barkley.  Yes, Barkley is a much better prospect than Adrian Peterson and better than Ezekiel Elliott too IMO.  

Wow the amount of hyperbole is pretty impressive. "a pure RB version of Christian McCaffrey" He is nowhere near the receiving talent that McCaffrey was, and if I'm not mistaken McCaffrey ran for over 2,000 yards as a Sophomore..Not bad for a guy that isn't a pure RB lol. He may be a more impressive athlete as far as speed/size/strength, but as far as actual football ability that remains to be seen. McCaffrey was a very unique prospect, and it will be interesting to see how that translates on the field this year for McCaffrey...But then to go and say Barkley is "a much better prospect" than Adrian Peterson. Oh please, when Peterson was coming out of college the only legitimate concern was that he had a couple injuries in college. Outside of that he was about as good as just about any other runningback prospect in decades. To say Barkley is much better is laughable at best. This literally happens just about EVERY single season. Seriously if I had nickel for every time someone said one of the following in the draft forum...Fournette is better than Peterson, Gurley is better than Peterson, Richardson is better than Peterson, Mcfadden is better than Peterson. That said Barkley appears to be very talented and should be a fun one to watch this season.

[Magnus-Viktor]

2 hours ago, tyler735 said:

Wow the amount of hyperbole is pretty impressive. "a pure RB version of Christian McCaffrey" He is nowhere near the receiving talent that McCaffrey was, and if I'm not mistaken McCaffrey ran for over 2,000 yards as a Sophomore..Not bad for a guy that isn't a pure RB lol. He may be a more impressive athlete as far as speed/size/strength, but as far as actual football ability that remains to be seen. McCaffrey was a very unique prospect, and it will be interesting to see how that translates on the field this year for McCaffrey...But then to go and say Barkley is "a much better prospect" than Adrian Peterson. Oh please, when Peterson was coming out of college the only legitimate concern was that he had a couple injuries in college. Outside of that he was about as good as just about any other runningback prospect in decades. To say Barkley is much better is laughable at best. This literally happens just about EVERY single season. Seriously if I had nickel for every time someone said one of the following in the draft forum...Fournette is better than Peterson, Gurley is better than Peterson, Richardson is better than Peterson, Mcfadden is better than Peterson. That said Barkley appears to be very talented and should be a fun one to watch this season.

 

I said pure RB version, meaning as a runner, not a receiver.  So you're reading something entirely different into that comment than I intended.  McCaffrey is my favorite college player of all time, in any sport.  I love that guy.  I'm going to watch the Panthers now just because of him.  They also have the best uniforms and Kuechly, but that wasn't enough to justify spending time watching them much before.  McCaffrey could be an all pro WR or RB either one.  He was the best RB as well as the best WR in this draft in my book.  

Peterson was a 1 dimensional player.  He can only do 1 thing.  Run, and only when the QB is under center.  I've seen every game he's played in in the NFL.  Great runner.  TERRIBLE at everything else.  I would've traded him years ago to get assets to fix other parts of the team, and just rolled with a Chester Taylor.  The team had what, one playoff win with him?  So it really doesn't take much to be a better prospect than him for me.  I'd definitely take Ezekiel Elliot over him as well, because he can contribute in more ways than ONE, plus he's a good runner.  Le'Veon Bell was bad as a rookie, but once he lost weight and re-invented himself, he's been better than Peterson ever was as well.  David Johnson is another guy I'd take over a prime Peterson without any hesitation as well.  Adrian only had elite physical tools and the ability to run the ball well if the QB was under center.  He lacked the intelligence and instincts to read his blockers properly, with no patience to let them develop, running into the backs of his blockers far too often.  But if he got a decent hole and hit the right one, he was a tremendous runner.  

So you and I clearly have a different idea of what we value in RBs and how we evaluate them.  To each his own.

[tyler735]

32 minutes ago, Magnus-Viktor said:

 

I said pure RB version, meaning as a runner, not a receiver.  So you're reading something entirely different into that comment than I intended.  McCaffrey is my favorite college player of all time, in any sport.  I love that guy.  I'm going to watch the Panthers now just because of him.  They also have the best uniforms and Kuechly, but that wasn't enough to justify spending time watching them much before.  McCaffrey could be an all pro WR or RB either one.  He was the best RB as well as the best WR in this draft in my book.  

Peterson was a 1 dimensional player.  He can only do 1 thing.  Run, and only when the QB is under center.  I've seen every game he's played in in the NFL.  Great runner.  TERRIBLE at everything else.  I would've traded him years ago to get assets to fix other parts of the team, and just rolled with a Chester Taylor.  The team had what, one playoff win with him?  So it really doesn't take much to be a better prospect than him for me.  I'd definitely take Ezekiel Elliot over him as well, because he can contribute in more ways than ONE, plus he's a good runner.  Le'Veon Bell was bad as a rookie, but once he lost weight and re-invented himself, he's been better than Peterson ever was as well.  David Johnson is another guy I'd take over a prime Peterson without any hesitation as well.  Adrian only had elite physical tools and the ability to run the ball well if the QB was under center.  He lacked the intelligence and instincts to read his blockers properly, with no patience to let them develop, running into the backs of his blockers far too often.  But if he got a decent hole and hit the right one, he was a tremendous runner.  

So you and I clearly have a different idea of what we value in RBs and how we evaluate them.  To each his own.

I can't say I agree with much of this response. What does "Pure RB" mean? Right now it sounds like a buzzword that lack much meaning to me. McCaffrey is very much so a "Pure RB" he ran for over 2,000 yards as a sophomore and followed that up with another big season as a junior. More importantly than stats he showed rare vision, change of directions, and balance for the position. These are traits that make a RB great, and McCaffrey excels in these aspects. Regardless this isn't a post saying Barkley isn't very talented he is, but the hype seems like it is starting to get a bit out of control for what he's accomplished so far in his career. Lets let him prove it on the field a bit more before getting so carried away. 

Regarding Peterson. So much hyperbole. He can only do 1 thing? Remind me what happened when he had Favre throwing him the ball in 2009? Or in other words the ONLY time in his career he's had an established QB throwing him the ball in his career. Would have rolled with Chester Taylor? Again what a joke of a comment. Barry Sanders had like 1 playoff win, and he's the GOAT. Football is a team sport. By this horrible logic you could essentially say just about every Viking all-time was overrated since they never won a superbowl. Cris Carter...Overrated. Randy Moss...Overrated. John Randle...Overrated. Hope you realize how foolish this sounds when put this way. Elliot, Bell, and David Johnson over prime Peterson? Oh please lets see if any of them put up HOF quality careers then talk to me. At this time, they've put up a total of 5-6 great years....COMBINED. Peterson alone has had more great years in his career. 7-8 great years even despite the time he missed. Obviously that will change going forward, but injuries can happen, suspensions can happen, and even drop in surrounding talent can play a role in production dropping. Again this logic of Peterson only being able to run well is similar to the old fallacy regarding Moss only being good at being a deep threat. Even if it was true, if you can make a Hall of Fame career being good at 1 thing then you must be that much better than all of your peers at that 1 thing. There is a reason Peterson has essentially been the consensus number 1 RB in the league from his rookie season up until this past year. Moral of the story...Yes Barkley is being overrated if people at this point are saying he is "a much better" prospect than Peterson.

[Magnus-Viktor]

46 minutes ago, tyler735 said:

I can't say I agree with much of this response. What does "Pure RB" mean? Right now it sounds like a buzzword that lack much meaning to me. McCaffrey is very much so a "Pure RB" he ran for over 2,000 yards as a sophomore and followed that up with another big season as a junior. More importantly than stats he showed rare vision, change of directions, and balance for the position. These are traits that make a RB great, and McCaffrey excels in these aspects. Regardless this isn't a post saying Barkley isn't very talented he is, but the hype seems like it is starting to get a bit out of control for what he's accomplished so far in his career. Lets let him prove it on the field a bit more before getting so carried away. 

Regarding Peterson. So much hyperbole. He can only do 1 thing? Remind me what happened when he had Favre throwing him the ball in 2009? Or in other words the ONLY time in his career he's had an established QB throwing him the ball in his career. Would have rolled with Chester Taylor? Again what a joke of a comment. Barry Sanders had like 1 playoff win, and he's the GOAT. Football is a team sport. By this horrible logic you could essentially say just about every Viking all-time was overrated since they never won a superbowl. Cris Carter...Overrated. Randy Moss...Overrated. John Randle...Overrated. Hope you realize how foolish this sounds when put this way. Elliot, Bell, and David Johnson over prime Peterson? Oh please lets see if any of them put up HOF quality careers then talk to me. At this time, they've put up a total of 5-6 great years....COMBINED. Peterson alone has had more great years in his career. 7-8 great years even despite the time he missed. Obviously that will change going forward, but injuries can happen, suspensions can happen, and even drop in surrounding talent can play a role in production dropping. Again this logic of Peterson only being able to run well is similar to the old fallacy regarding Moss only being good at being a deep threat. Even if it was true, if you can make a Hall of Fame career being good at 1 thing then you must be that much better than all of your peers at that 1 thing. There is a reason Peterson has essentially been the consensus number 1 RB in the league from his rookie season up until this past year. Moral of the story...Yes Barkley is being overrated if people at this point are saying he is "a much better" prospect than Peterson.

I already told you that I meant a pure runner when I said pure RB.  Then you turn around and ask what it means.  Get a clue dude.  Your Aints will soon find out what he's really like.  Viking fans have seen it for years.  The last few years, many of his fan boys, which is what you are already apparently, even quit defending him.  

Your lack of reading comprehension makes debating with you a waste of time, so have a nice life cheering for that loser.  Enjoy when he fumbles away a big game for you.  

[tyler735]

15 hours ago, Magnus-Viktor said:

I already told you that I meant a pure runner when I said pure RB.  Then you turn around and ask what it means.  Get a clue dude.  Your Aints will soon find out what he's really like.  Viking fans have seen it for years.  The last few years, many of his fan boys, which is what you are already apparently, even quit defending him.  

Your lack of reading comprehension makes debating with you a waste of time, so have a nice life cheering for that loser.  Enjoy when he fumbles away a big game for you.  

Again as I mentioned before...What is a "pure RB"/"pure runner"? These buzzwords get thrown around, but it means very little especially when scouting. Everyone literally can have their own definition of this buzzword, but it says very little regarding the prospects capabilities.

Here's where things get really entertaining for me though. I have nothing on my profile that states what team I root for at this time, so this means you went out of your way to look at my posting history to see where I've recently posted in order to attempt a personal attack to get me riled up. However, I will have you know I'm born/raised in Minnesota...So yes, I am a Saints fan, but I still enjoy watching the Vikings play and have seen just about all of Adrian Peterson's games since his rookie season. Forgive me if I'm wrong on this but didn't Adrian Peterson just win a rushing title 2 seasons ago?? So is it that I acknowledge that he has been one of the best runningbacks to ever play in the NFL that makes me a fanboy? 

Regardless you say I lack reading comprehension, but it appears you have tried to dodge all of the valid points I've made and have resorted to insults...Or at least attempts at insults lol.

"Have a nice life cheering for that loser"...Yes I sure will since he is playing for just 3 million dollars this year for my Saints, and just about all reports out of training camp have stated he is still a freakish athlete at this point in his career So yeah I'll gladly cheer for AP who is now on my "Aints" team that happened to win a Super Bowl in 2009.

 

[tyler735]

Curious to see how Texas RB Chris Warren III has recovered from his season ending injury last year. He has one of the best blends of size/speed in college football as he is about 250lbs and coming out of high school was said to run as fast as 4.46 in the 40 and had a time of 10.67 in the 100 meter dash,  which is insane at his size. 

He had some really productive games splitting carries with D'onta Foreman the past 2 seasons, and could be a sleeper to shoot up draft boards if he's healthy.

[smokeybandit]

Saquon Barkley wasting no time in getting his season started.

 

 

[Danger]

I still think Fournette was the best RB prospect SINCE Peterson, but Barkley is very close IMO.

[IDOG_det]

Barkley and Guice are easily better prospects than Fournette IMO.