QB RB WR TE OT G C NT DT 3-4 DE DE RLB OLB MLB CB S K P
Updated: 4/17/10
Scoring System:
100 Once in a decade prospect
95-99 Elite talent
90-95 Solid top 10 pick
85-90 Solid first round pick
80-85 Late 1st-early 2nd
75-80 Solid 2nd round pick
70-75 Solid 3rd round pick
65-70 3rd-4th round pick
60-65 4th-5th round pick
55-60 5th round pick
50-55 6th round pick
45-50 7th round pick
40-45 Undrafted, invite to training camp
30-40 Career practice squader
20-30 No NFL future
0-20 No football future
1. Jahvid Best (California) 87
2/28/10: Jahvid Best just ran faster than CJ Spiller (4.35 compared to 4.37). Now what is Spiller better at? Best is the more complete back of the two, the only thing that Spiller could really say was that his speed was on another level. Now that doesn’t appear to be the case. Best is a better between the tackles runner, he’s more explosive. The only real thing Spiller does better is catch passes. I have compared Spiller to a gimmick weapon type guy like Reggie Bush all along and Best to a speed feature back like Jamaal Charles. In a few years, when Best is the better runner, you heard it here. Yet despite all this, Spiller is getting more hype because of his “unofficial” 4.27. It’s unofficial for a reason.
He could fall below CJ Spiller in the draft because of his concussion late in the season, but he’s a more complete player than Spiller. He’s got more explosive legs, he’s a better runner in between the tackles, and his 40 time is probably going to be faster. They are comparable players in terms of pure speed, but Spiller is more of a straight line runner while Best has better running back skills like initial explosion and good change of direction.
2. CJ Spiller (Clemson) 84
Has had trouble staying healthy in college and his career YPC does not suggest good running back skills, but he has a place in the NFL. He’s way too fast and agile to not have one. He can return kicks, return punts, and can serve as a 3rd down back or wildcat, but unlike Best I don’t think he’s a feature back at the next level.
3. Ryan Matthews (Fresno State) 81
2/28/10: Matthews would have moved up anyway given Jonathan Dwyer’s stink bomb because the two are compared often because both are considered future feature backs. However, that’s not the only reason he’s moving up. A 4.41 40 at 6-0 218 turned a lot of heads. He’s a good pass catcher and a great pass blocker for his age and he also runs extremely well. He could go 28th to San Diego because he has everything they look for in a back.
He’s a bit of a one hit wonder but with 1808 yards and 19 touchdowns on a 6.6 average, some teams are going to look past that like they did with former one hit wonders Donald Brown and Rashard Mendenhall, who both went in the first round. He runs a bit upright, but he has very refined pass blocking and pass catching abilities for his age and doesn’t fumble often. He has all the makings of a future feature back, though admittedly I’d like to see one more great season on his stat sheet just for him to prove that he can do it again and again, though you can’t really blame him because he was mostly a #2 back or goal line back throughout his first two years at Fresno State.
4. Toby Gerhart (Stanford) 77
2/28/10: Gerhart proved that just because he’s white, doesn’t mean he’s not athletic. Gerhart ran a very impressive 4.53 at 6-0 231 and also had a 38 inch vertical and 22 reps of 225 pounds. He likely shot himself ahead of a plummeting Jonathan Dwyer.
He’s a Heisman runner up, but, contrary to popular belief, that does not make him a future star at the next level. He is very slow and doesn’t change direction and he runs really upright and isn’t going to break nearly as many tackles next year against linebackers with refined tackling abilities. He does have good size though and runs with a lot of force and explosion so he should be a solid change of pace back, goal line back, or even fullback if his lead blocking improves, so he has a spot for him at the next level. It just won’t as a feature back or a star.
5. RB Jonathan Dwyer (Georgia Tech) 76
2/28/10: Dwyer’s workout today proved what his weigh in showed and what people all around the NFL have been saying all week. He’s out of shape. At 5-11 229, Dwyer ran a 4.59, which isn’t awful, but when you consider his second time was 4.69, it looks a lot worse. He also only benched 15 reps, 3rd fewest of all RBs.
2/26/10: He just looked like a fat guy at his weigh in. He was 5-11 229 which sounds good, but he did not look in shape at all.
Excellent size, but he put on a lot of weight from last season to this season and looked a lot more sluggish this year as a result, though his stats don’t suggest he struggled. He also played in a weird offense that just isn’t used in the NFL so you have to wonder how he would have fared statistically being overweight and in a normal offense. However, he’s got all the physical tools and is still projected to run a mid 4.4 40 at 235 pounds which is amazing so someone is going to snatch him early on upside alone.
6. RB Joe McKnight (USC) 75
The possible NCAA violations that came up late last season because of a possible incident in which he drove a car that belonged to his girlfriend and not him should not effect his draft stock because he’s simply never going to have anything close to that situation in the NFL. He’s a good kid and I don’t buy that he has character issues. I do buy that he’s not a starting running back at the next level. He’s fast but he’s not Chris Johnson fast and he doesn’t have elite explosion or change directions very well. He’s not elusive. However, he does have good speed and finally put together a good season in college this year after being a top recruit in 2007 and will be a welcome addition to many of the running back committees in the NFL today.
7. Anthony Dixon (Mississippi State) 74
Not the most mobile guy, but he’s agile for his large frame, 240 pounds, and is a very strong and physical runner and he gets his pads down low to the ground when he runs unlike Toby Gerhart and should be able to be a decent running back at the next level and break tackles. However, he’s slower than Gerhart and doesn’t have much upside at all. In fact, one can argue that he ran the ball too much in college, 910 attempts in 4 years, and that will shorten his NFL career. He also has a DUI to his name and that is a bit of a red flag. He’ll be drafted in the 3rd round range as a kind of, you know what your getting type guy. I don’t see him as a feature back at the next level.
8. Dexter McCluster (Mississippi) 73
2/28/10: Surprisingly, his 4.55 40 at 5-9 173 doesn’t hurt him that much in my book, but it has to hurt him some considering we were expecting a high 4.3, maybe low 4.4 at worse. However, this is one of those guys who is faster in pads than he is timed and stronger than his size. He should still catch on somewhere in the NFL as that Percy Harvin type player.
2/27/10: How do you bench 20 reps of 225 pounds when you are a mere 173 pounds? That is crazy! This little guy may be small, but he is tough, he is strong, he is committed, and he is damn fast as well.
A blur of a football player who is a bit undersized. He has lined up at both running back and wide receiver in his career and had 1169 rushing yards and 520 receiving yards last season. He has also lined up as a wildcat so there’s going to be a spot in the NFL for him, though it is not going to be a conventional one. He will play the Percy Harvin role for a team, a slot receiver, return guy, and occasional 3rd down back and wildcat and will be plenty valuable doing so.
9. Montario Hardesty (Tennessee) 68
2/28/10: Hardesty is a favorite sleeper of mine. He could be that mid round running back who takes over a starting job in the NFL. He has good hands as a pass catcher and as a pass blocker and a good combination of size and speed. He has all the things you look for in a feature back. He just needs to put them together. On a day of slow 40s, a 4.49 at 6-0 225 is great. He also led all running backs in broad jump, 10 feet 4 inches, and vertical leap, 41 inches and had 21 reps of 225 pounds.
One of my favorite running back sleepers, a good size, speed combination, and very good hands, both in pass catching and pass blocking. He has everything he needs to be a factor right away and a 3rd down back at the very least. I see him having the upside as a future starting running back.
10. Ben Tate (Auburn) 63
2/28/10: Quietly had a very impressive day with a 4.45 40 at 5-11 220, along with a 40.5 inch vertical, a 10 foot 4 inch broad jump and a position leading 26 reps of 225 pounds. He’s always had the athleticism, but he’s been plagued by inconsistencies in the past so it’ll be interesting to see if he puts it together at the next level because if he does, he’s going to be a good player.
He has the athletic tools, size and speed, to be a good running back and finally had an impressive statistical season this year, but he has a history of inconsistency, even this year and scouts hate players who are inconsistent. He’ll probably get drafted with a mid round pick but I don’t see much of anything special in him.
11. Jarrett Brown (West Virginia) 61
2/28/10: 40 times don’t matter a ton to quarterbacks, but a 4.54 will get you noticed, especially when you’re someone who may have to play another position at the NFL level. He’s a project, but he has upside at multiple positions including quarterback and running back.
1/30/10: He didn’t have the best game overall, but he showed a lot of potential and physical tools. He’s an excellent athlete and has a running back’s frame, as shown in his weigh in, but he also showed a very good strong arm in the game. He really struggled with his touch and his footwork is very poor, he missed a wide open guy downfield because his feet weren’t set when he threw it, but overall, I like his upside a lot more now that I did before this week, when I saw him as a wildcat only.
1/26/10: Very athletic frame, measurables suggest a move to running back is possible. That’s good because he wasn’t going to make it as a quarterback in the NFL.
He’s certainly a project, but he has upside at two positions. He has the athleticism to play running back, but he also has a strong arm to play quarterback. His mechanics are an issue and he doesn’t have a lot of experience playing the quarterback position and even last year he struggled at times, but the upside is there.
12. James Starks (Buffalo) 61
2/28/10: He lost his 2009 season due to a shoulder injury, but before that he had two straight season of 1000 yards, 3000 career yards, and 53 catches in 2008. He looked very healthy today running a very impressive 4.48 at 6-2 218. He’s a big back that runs well and can catch passes and reminds me a lot of a Tim Hightower type guy.
He has some questions to answer after his shoulder injury, but he was a very productive back before the injury, with good hands for his size. He reminds me of a Tim Hightower type 3rd down back.
13. LeGarrette Blount (Oregon) 60
1/30/10: He probably had the most to prove in Mobile this week, after the incident in which he punched an opposing player earlier this season, but he flashes a lot of what made him an NFL prospect in the first place. He ran with great pad level at 245 pounds and also made nice plays in the open field. He scored once on a very nice 14 yard run, on which he leaped through a defender from about the 4 yard line to get into the end zone, and he almost scored again on a play in which he dragged pretty much the entire South’s defense from about the 5 yard to almost the goal line, setting up a 1 yard quarterback sneak on the next play. The character concerns are clearly there, but he is a load to take down in the open field and he moves well and runs with great pad level for someone of his size. He is, at the very least, a goal line back at the next level if he can control himself on and off the field.
Blount is a big back who plays with a low pad level, but after punching an opposing player last season and getting suspended, he certainly has some questions to answer, but I think, at the very least, that he’ll be a solid goal line back, which teams always need.
14. Keith Toston (Oklahoma State) 59
3/15/10: Normally I don’t pay much attention to improved 40 times, but Totson also lost 8 pounds, from 213 to 205, and as a result of that ran a tenth of a second faster. I like the work ethic and discipline so I’ll move him back up a little.
2/28/10: When he woke up this morning, running a 4.70 at 6-0 213 was probably not on his to do list. That’s pretty ugly.
Finally had a good year this year in his senior season after splitting carries throughout most of his career. He had 1218 yards and 11 touchdowns on a 5.4 average, though it was in Oklahoma State’s weird offense. His 40 time for his size is not expected to be great, but you can’t deny he has produced good numbers and he’s a very good pass catcher with 22 passes caught this season. He’ll fit into a running back rotation somewhere in the NFL, maybe as a pass catching back.
15. Deji Karim (Southern Illinois) 56
3/15/10: One thing I do like about Pro Days, watching guys I’ve never heard of. Southern Illinois’ Deji Karim had 1694 yards on a 7.4 YPC and 18 touchdowns last year, albeit for a small school, and then he came out and ran a 4.37 at 5-9 210 and then looked very good in his positional drills. He’s an interesting late round prospect with his combination of size, speed, and production. He also caught 17 passes last year, another plus.
Small school, but big upside because of the big power in his legs. Short and stocky at 5-9 210, but runs with a great low pad level, extremely powerful bulldozing over linebackers and has legit 4.4 speed. He was one of the best rushers in the country last year, albeit at a tiny school against weak competition, but we’ve seen many times in the past, backs from small school go on to do big things on the big stage. If you can run, you can run anywhere and this guy can run. I love his upside.
16. Andre Anderson (Tulane) 55
A decent runner, but not a great one with 1880 yards and 15 touchdowns on 412 carries over the last 2 years, and if he gets drafted in the first five rounders, it’ll be as a runner second and a pass catching back first. He has caught 55 balls over the last two years and reminds a lot of people of a poor man’s Matt Forte, who was drafted in the 2nd round out of Tulane two years ago.
17. Joique Bell (Wayne State) 54
He was the pride of Wayne State for the last 4 years, returning kicks, running the ball, catching passes, en route to having over 6000 career rushing yards. He broke the Wayne State rushing record midway through his junior year and then added an NCAA leading 2084 yards as a senior. However, he may have been overworked as a collegiate back and he lacks speed. His 40 times ranged from 4.65-4.68 and he really looked slow running the ball in the Senior Bowl. He lacks explosiveness and runs too upright to break the amount of tackles he broke in college. At an NFL level, his size, his best asset, will be nothing special, 5-11 219.
18. John Conner (Kentucky) 49
19. LaMarcus Coker (Hampton) 47
20. Andre Dixon (Connecticut) 47
21. Charles Scott (LSU) 46
22. Brandon James (Florida) 46
23. Toney Baker (NC State) 45
24. Rashawn Jackson (Virginia) 44
25. Manese Tonga (BYU) 41
26. Conte Cuttino (Stony Brook) 40
For my interview with Conte Cuttino, click here.
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