2008 draft is full of declaring Running Backs
If you were a college running back and graduated in 2007 you would have thought you had a good shot of hearing your name called fairly early in the upcoming draft. Those thoughts would have been crushed lately by the announcements of numerous junior running backs who are declaring for the draft. If I’m Mike Hart at Michigan I’m not too happy about this if you know what I’m saying.
Darren McFadden: Arkansas junior had an amazing college career. Runs a 4.4 with a good build and is very elusive. Great breakaway speed and will be a top 5 selection in the upcoming draft.
Jonathan Stewart- Oregon junior who isn’t as fast as McFadden but performed very well in a tough conference. Stewart weighs nearly 235 pounds so he isn’t small but he carries the weight well and runs very low to the ground. I think he’s a sure fire first round pick in the upcoming draft but I can’t predict where.
Rashard Mendenhall- Illinois junior who was the lone bright spot in the Rose Bowl for the Illini running for 160 yards and showing a great ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. I’m an ILLINI fan so I’ve seen him play every game for the past two years and I really like him. He is a guy that accelerates very quickly and has some breakaway speed. Anytime you see a player run away from a defense like he did against USC you gather how fast the kid is. He played in the spread offense but he’s had great success at every level and rarely gets tackled by one player. Late first round early second for Rashard.
Felix Jones- Arkansas back played behind and with McFadden and many scouts feel that Jones is just as good or better. I don’t personally but i’m no scout. Jones averaged nearly 9 yards a carry this year in a tough tough conference against teams that knew exactly what Arkansas was going to try to do. Jones had two straight 1000 yard seasons and will make some team very happy. When Auburn had Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams it was Cadillac who got the pub but Brown was drafted higher. Here, McFadden will go higher but the jury is out on who’ll be the better pro. Late 1st early 2nd.
Ray Rice- Rutgers junior has made a name for himself since he got into school. Rice is a shorter back but is very elusive and strong. Showed he can carry the load against teams who knew that Rutgers would run. I like Rice because i think he has the intangibles to be successful. He’s a sleeper choice for me because I don’t think he’ll get picked as high as maybe he should. I think he’ll go in the second round which is incredible but it wouldn’t surprise me if he turns out to be one of he better backs in the draft.
others worth mentioning: Steve Slaton (WVU), Jamaal Charles (texas)-probably the fastest one, Kevin Smith (Central Florida)
Overall it is a great group of prospects and one that could be remembered for years.
