Spotlight #1: Arkansas DE Jake Bequette

Spotlight #2: Arkansas WR Joe Adams 

1^st quarter

12:18: Bequette pancaked on a bull rush.

11:41: Bequette blocked off the play for a big gain to his side.

10:30: Bequette with a sack. Unblocked, missed assignment by the line.

9:50: Bequette with a pressure, forces a hurried throw and an incompletion.

2^nd quarter

13:23: Jonathan Banks with a strip sack in the red zone, returned 52 yards by big defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.

6:32: Adams with his first catch of the game, a check down in the flat, surrounded by 2 guys who bottle the play up immediately for a loss and a fumble, recovered by Arkansas. Loss of 13.

5:01: Fletcher Cox with a blocked field goal. The junior defensive tackle has 9.5 tackles for loss and 4 sacks on the season at 6-4 300 and would be one of the top defensive tackles in this weak draft class should he declare early.

2:40: Greg Childs has been hurt, but he was once a potential 2^nd day pick. Here he has 3 consecutive catches before leaving the field. All 3 were impressive. The 2^nd was a nice pluck against tough coverage and on the 3^rd he caught it short and laid out for extra yards.

2:16: Joe Adams with a catch along the sideline for 8 yards.

2:04: Joe Adams burns a safety deep for a 32 yard touchdown, nice catch in the end zone. The safety was playing deep, but took one misstep up and Adams burned him. Still a nice over the shoulder catch by Adams as he didn’t have a ton of separation. He wasn’t completely wide open, but overall a great play that shows his speed and pass catching abilities.

1:00: Joe Adams showing nice abilities in the open field for a 29 yard gain after a dump off, but called back after a facemask penalty by a teammate.

3^rd quarter

5:30: Joe Adams, who was taken out of the game earlier after being hit in the eye with the ball on a low bounce, doesn’t have his helmet on on the sideline. He doesn’t look like he’s coming back in up 31-10. I’ll be focusing a little bit on Jarius Wright for the remainder of the game. Wright has 7 catches for 90 yards to this point.

4:18: Wright with a reception for about 7 or 8 short of the first down sticks.

3:06: Greg Childs looking a little slow still trying to catch up to a deep ball in the end zone. He’s still not 100%.

1:16: Tramain Thomas almost got his 5^th pick of the year, but bobbles and drops it.

4^th quarter

11:42: Bequette with a good pass rush move, could have gotten pressure had it not been a screen play.

10:25: Bequette just misses a sack, forces the quarterback up where he’s sack by a rusher from the other side.

8:44: Bequette with a sack fumble. He was unblocked as Arkansas’ blitz on 4^th and 9 just confused Mississippi State’s offensive line.

0:00: Bequette has really been coming on in recent weeks, especially as a pass rusher and he continued that tonight. Bequette, who had 7 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss in 2010, is now had 8 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss on the season in 2011, despite missing 3 games with injury. He now has 7 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss in his last 5 games, playing Mississippi, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Mississippi State.

Bequette also held up well against the run for the most part. Arkansas held Mississippi State and Vick Ballard to 84 yards on 32 carries. Ballard rushed for 54 yards on 13 carries, in what wasn’t his best game of the season. He still looks like a mid rounder. Bequette has good size at 6-5 270, runs a 40 in the 4.7s, has a good motor and has really come on in these last few games. He’s a 3 year starter, a 4 year contributor, and an all-around high character guy. He looks like he could end up in day 2 of the NFL Draft if he keeps this up.

Offensively, Arkansas has 3 great wide receivers. Joe Adams is the speedy one. Jarius Wright is the possession receiver. Greg Childs is the biggest of the 3, but he hasn’t been healthy this season. Let’s start with Adams. Adams only played 2 and a half quarters, leaving with an eye injury that probably won’t cost him any games moving forward. He might have come back in this one had Arkansas not been blowing Mississippi State out.

Adams had 3 catches for 29 yards, including an impressive deep touchdown. On the season, Adams now had 46 catches for 595 yards and 3 touchdowns on the season, as well as 3 punt return touchdowns. He has three years of good production and is amazing in space, as he showed in this one on a 29 yard gain on a dump off, in which he reversed field and turned nothing into yards. It was called back by penalty, but it still showed his ability in space.

He should run in the 4.3s, and combine that with his ability in space, his special teams ability, and his 3 years of production, he could be a day 2 pick as a speed receiver/special teamer. NFL teams are always looking for the next DeSean Jackson or Mike Wallace and they may see Adams as potentially that guy.

Jarius Wright could also be a day 2 pick. He’s not very big (5-10 180) or fast (4.4/4.5), but he is very productive and he has great chemistry with Tyler Wilson. He has 3 years of good production and is currently Arkansas’ all time leading receiver. This season, he has 61 catches for 1002 yards and 10 touchdowns in 10 games. He looks like a slot receiver or a possession #2 receiver at the next level.

Childs had 48 catches for 897 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2009 and then had an awesome 2010, with 46 catches for 659 yards and 6 touchdowns in just 8 games, missing the last 5 with injury. That injury was a torn patellar tendon and it has slowed him this season as well. He’s missed 4 games, in 3 different stints, but even when he’s played, he hasn’t looked right and he hasn’t been on the field very much. He had a very good 3 catch stretch in this game that showed what he can do when he’s right, but on the season, he has 13 catches for 152 yards and no scores. Once a potential day 2 pick, the 6-3 215 pound Childs looks like a mid-late round flier.

The guy throwing to all of these receivers was Tyler Wilson. Wilson is having a fantastic season in his first season as a starter, completing 63.1% of his passes for 8.4 YPA and 21 touchdowns to 5 picks. He’s clearly got a great arm and is showing good leadership and intelligence, running Bobby Petrino’s Pro Style offense.

There were times in this one when his awesome receiving corps really helped him out, catching not the most accurate passes, so it’ll be interesting to see what he does next season, assuming he comes back (he most likely will as he only has a year of starting experience), without Childs, Wright, and Adams. If he plays well next year, he could be an early draft pick, competing with the likes of Aaron Murray, Tyler Bray, Robert Griffin (should he return), to be the first quarterback off the board.

On the Mississippi State side, they have two stud juniors on their defense, Jonathan Banks and Fletcher Cox. Both had a big part in a big fumble recovery for Mississippi State. Banks, a cornerback, forced it on a blitz and Cox recovered it, looking very good in the process returning it 52 yards. He certainly didn’t look like a 6-4 300 pound defensive tackle on that one. Cox has 44 tackles, 10.5 for loss, and 4 sacks on the season. Banks has 12 picks in 3 seasons, including 5 this year. At 6-2 185 pound cornerback also has 3 sacks and a punt return touchdown on the season. Both would likely be 2nd round picks if they declared this year, but could be 1st round picks if they returned for their senior seasons. 

Debate the Vikings’ offseason needs in The Football Fan Forum 

2010 Preview:

8/6/10: Hey, you know that whole Brett Favre retiring thing. Turns out it was pretty much a hoax. Even though no one in the media heard it straight from his mouth that he was retiring, the entire world went into a panic and assumed he was retiring because of some alleged text messages. 

8/3/10: It appears Favre is retiring. With Tarvaris Jackson, they are a 8-8 team. They won 10 games with Jackson in 2008, but the division is significantly better since then. 

I touched on the Vikings a bit in Green Bay’s write up, but I’ll elaborate here. These are Brett Favre’s 2009 stats. 4202 yards, 363 completions, 68.4 completion percentage, 7.9 YPA, 33 touchdowns, 7 picks, a 107.2 QB rating. Those yards were his 3^rd highest total of his amazing career, those completions the 2^nd highest (tied) total of his career, the completion percentage was a career high (by a whole 1.9%), the YPA also a career high, and those picks were a career low, by a lot. He threw 6 fewer picks last season than he had in any 16 game season of his career. That QB rating, 7.7 points higher than any season of his career.

Let’s not talk about whether or not Brett Favre is coming back. He is coming back. There is no arguing that. He hasn’t retired yet, as he does most off seasons, so I don’t even know why we’re talking about whether or not he’ll return. He had ankle surgery which was necessary for him to play in 2010. That’s not something someone does if he’s not planning on playing. He jokingly said he would return if Southern Miss’ baseball team made the College World Series. He wouldn’t have done that if he hadn’t made up his mind about returning. Brett Favre is coming back. 

But, even though he is coming back, to expect a soon to be 41 year old quarterback to match a season in which, arguably, was the best season of his amazing career across the board, is crazy. That and the Packers being a better team, as well as the possible suspensions of Pat and Kevin Williams, make this team slightly worse overall than last year, and my projected record will show that.

Projection: 11-5 2nd in NFC North

Power Ranking: 7

Last season: 12-4

Draft:

#34 CB Chris Cook (Virginia)

Cook fills a bit of a need as the Vikings probably would be best served bringing in another starting caliber cornerback, in this pass heavy league, with Cedric Griffin being average and injured and Antoine Winfield getting up there in age, but he’s a slight reach here and Jimmy Clausen would have made a lot more sense. What happens when Favre retires?

Grade: C

#51 RB Toby Gerhart (Stanford)

They needed a backup for Adrian Peterson with Chester Taylor leaving for Chicago and Gerhart is a good player who fits the range, but I would have rather have seen them take a guy who can catch more passes out of the backfield in the way Taylor could.

Grade: B-

#100 DE Everson Griffen (USC)

Ray Edwards is a free agent in 2011 and even if he returns, they could still use some more pass rushers. In terms of pure value, this may have been the steal of the night, up there with Clausen at 48 and Damian Williams in the mid 3^rd to the Titans. If Griffen pans out and capitalizes on his upside, there would be no stopping this line at all. Forget about protecting your quarterback. It wouldn’t even matter. Running backs getting holes? Forget about it. Not happening.

Grade: A

#161 G Chris Degeare (Wake Forest)

A slight reach in the 5^th, but in the 5^th, a slight reach is alright. It’s very possible they just saw something more in him than I did. He has great size and fits their blocking scheme well and they needed more interior linemen. Adrian Peterson actually struggled late last season running the football because of their interior line and we’ve certainly seen plenty of starting caliber guards come out of the mid rounds before.

Grade: B

#167 MLB Nathan Triplett (Minnesota)

They may have had bigger needs, but there is nothing wrong with taking a guy who fits the draft range, from in state. Plus, if EJ Henderson is not ready to go next season or gets hurt again, Triplett could step in. Jasper Brinkley was a real liability in coverage last year as he insisted on biting on every play fake ever.

Grade: B

#199 QB Joe Webb (UAB)

In 2000, the Patriots drafted a quarterback with the 199^th pick by the name of Tom Brady. In 2010, the Vikings used the same pick on a quarterback, Joe Webb. Coincedence. Probably, but hey, you never know. Maybe he’ll be the next Brady. Or more likely he’ll end up at wide receiver and provide solid depth.

Grade: B-

#214 TE Mickey Shuler (Penn State)

They have a good solid tight end, but they lacked depth behind him. Shuler provides that, though they had bigger needs.

Grade: B-

#237 MLB Ryan D’Imperio (Rutgers)

Another middle linebacker? I know Jasper Brinkley was bad, but they most likely are going to have EJ Henderson back for week 1 next year. I guess D’Imperio could play special teams or another position and he does fit the draft range, but I would have prefered they had taken some depth at center, defensive tackle, outside linebacker, or safety.

Grade: C-

Overall:

This was a fairly solid draft and the steal of a borderline 1^st round prospect in Everson Griffen in the top of the 4^th was great for them. Chris Cook does fill a need and both Gerhart and Degeare will fill valuable roles for them. However, they left a few too many needs untouched, safety, center, defensive tackle, outside linebacker. Also, if Brett Favre retires either this offseason or next, they’ll either not have a solid backup or have to start a rookie. Taking Clausen in the 2^nd would have allowed for a pretty seemless transition at the quarterback position, especially if Favre was able to play at least one more year. If Favre retires this season, I know, they have a strong supporting cast, but they won’t have a good quarterback. Tarvaris Jackson is average at best and Sage Chokesenfels is the only quarterback I know who can blow a 17 point lead with 4 minutes left AND the ball. In this division, which has quickly become one of the best in football, that could mean 7-9 wins and 3^rd or even fourth (depending on Matt Stafford’s development) place.

Grade: B

Key undrafted free agents:

QB Ryan Perrelioux (Jacksonville State)

G Thomas Austin (Clemson)

WR Ray Small (Ohio State)

OT Marlon Winn (Texas Tech)

Positions of need:

Defensive Tackle:

Pat Williams says he’s 50-50 about returning next year. Even if he does return, he’ll be 38 in October and could retire after 2010. They don’t have very much depth behind the two Williamses. The defensive tackle position has been the strength of their team for years and they can’t risk losing that. They need to acquire a talented young defensive tackle to throw into the mix and to groom to be Pat Williams’ future replacement. Brian Price and Jared Odrick will be options at 29.

Quarterback:

Brett Favre could literally retire any minute between now and forever and maybe one of those times he might not come back. Tarvaris Jackson could be a decent quarterback on this team with this supporting cast and get them into the playoffs, but with all the talent they have, they are going to want a quarterback in the future with the talent to lead this team to good things. Unfortunately, I doubt any franchise quarterback will fall to them in the draft. They could look for a talented backup quarterback on one of the other teams and trade for him, the way Houston did when they traded for Matt Schaub. Kevin Kolb could be an option.

Drafted Joe Webb (#199) 

Offensive Guard:

How did Adrian Peterson struggle late in the season? Well, awful interior blocking had something to do with it. They look for big lineman so they could target a big guard in the middle rounds. Maurkice Pouncey and Vlad Ducasse could be options in the 2^nd and John Jerry could be an option in the 3^rd.

Drafted Chris Degeare (#161)

Cornerback:

Antoine Winfield is losing some of his speed at 33 and he has had some recent injury issues as well. Asher Allen was drafted in the 3^rd last year and he has some upside, but more as a kick returner than a defensive backs. Cedric Griffin just had a nasty ACL tear in the NFC Championship game loss and he wasn’t much above average even before his injury. They need some depth at the position, at the least.

Drafted Chris Cook (#34), Signed Lito Sheppard

Outside Linebacker:

Ben Leber isn’t great and he’s also over 30. He’s also in his contract year. If they have a talented outside linebacker drop into their laps, I could see them taking him.

Defensive End:

This becomes a bigger need if Ray Edwards isn’t brought back. Even if he is brought back, they could use some defensive end depth. Ray Edwards did have 8.5 sacks last year, but 4 of those came against Green Bay and Detroit, who have awful offensive lines.

Drafted Everson Griffen (#100) 

Safety:

They never did replace Darren Sharper. Both of the guys they have at the safety position right now are pretty average and there is little depth at the position either.  

Running back:

If Chester Taylor leaves as a free agent, they’ll need to bring in a capable backup for Adrian Peterson.

Drafted Toby Gerhart (#51), Signed Ryan Moats

Free agents:

QB Tarvaris Jackson (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.1 million

RB Chester Taylor- signed with Bears 4 years 12.5 million

FB Naufahu Tahi (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.1 million

OT Artis Hicks- signed with Redskins 3 years 9 million

OT Ryan Cook (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.1 million

DT Jimmy Kennedy- resigned 3 years 6 million

DT Fred Evans (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.7 million

DE Ray Edwards (restricted)- resigned 1 year 2.5 million

CB Benny Sapp- resigned 2 years 

CB Karl Paymeh (restricted)- not tendered, signed with 49ers 1 year

S Eric Frampton (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.1 million

Offseason moves:

Vikings claim WR Marko Mitchell

Vikings re-sign DE Ray Edwards 

Vikings sign RB Ryan Moats 

Vikings sign CB Lito Sheppard

Vikings re-sign QB Tarvaris Jackson 

Vikings re-sign DT Fred Evans

Vikings re-sign OT Ryan Cook

Vikings re-sign S Eric Frampton 

Vikings re-sign DT Jimmy Kennedy

Vikings sign CB Benny Sapp

Vikings sign K Rhys Lloyd

Vikings tender QB Tarvaris Jackson

Vikings tender FB Naufahu Tahi

Vikings tender DE Ray Edwards 

This move is in no way significant, but I will use this opportunity to make fun of Mike Williams, and through doing so, also make for of the Seahawks for signing him. Mike Williams joined the 2004 NFL draft class as a true sophmore after a judge ruled that the NFL could not prevent people from declaring for the draft based on how many years they were removed from college. However, the ruling was overturned and Williams could not enter the NFL, but because he had already hired an agent, the communist NCAA would not let him back in. So he sat out a year and by the graces of Matt Millen, he was drafted with the 10^th pick in 2005 despite being out of shape after a year. He had a decent rookie year in 2005 with 29 catches for 350 yards and a score, but he dropped a ton of passes and looked out of shape. He only caught 8 passes in 2006 and then was traded to the Raiders for a 4^th round pick. In Oakland in 2007, he caught 7 passes and then he signed with the Titans, despite being 271 pounds at the time. He never saw action with the Titans and has been out of the league ever since and I never thought I’d see him again. The Seahawks have brought back him and I can only laugh. Seriously, I thought it was a joke when I first heard.

Grade: F

Wide Receiver 

Syracuse

6-1 221

40 time: 4.49

Draft board overall prospect rank: #187

Draft board wide receiver rank: #21

Overall rating: 55*

                10/22/09: I gave Williams a fairly good grade on my last big board, but that will change on my next edition. Before, I talk about Williams’ attributes and his skills, I am going to take about his character issues because I think those will be more important to NFL scouts. Williams started as the best prospect on the Syracuse football team. He jumped onto the scene right away as a freshman he led the team with 461 receiving yards and followed that amazing freshman year with an even better sophomore year, in which he had a school record 60 catches for 837 yards and 10 touchdowns and he made the All-Big East 2^nd team. He had an amazing future. He had NFL size (6-2 200) and could run a 40 in the low 4.4s and he had two more seasons to display himself as a big time NFL receiver. He could have gone in the first round. However, he was suspended for his entire junior season and kicked out of the university for academic reasons. There were strong accusations that he was cheating in multiple classes. He was off the team and forced to take classes at a local community college. However, he earned his way back on the team and into the university as his grades improved and he regained his scholarship. He responded with his most productive season. Despite only playing in 7 games, he missed one due to injury, he led the team with 49 receptions, 746 yards, and 6 touchdowns over his team’s first 8 games, despite the fact that his quarterback was a former Duke point guard. He was back in the scouts good graces and as you could see, he earned a 2^nd round grade from me. There was a very good chance that he went in the 2^nd round and possibly in the first. However, on November 3^rd, he quit the team unexpectedly and scouts were left puzzled. It later came out that he quit the team to avoid a suspension due to an unspecified violation of a team rule involving a car accident and likely alcohol. First he was seen as a quitter, and then he was seen as something that wasn’t much better, a thug that tried to run from his problems. I think he can be a good NFL receiver because I know he has talent. He has elite NFL size, elite NFL strength, he runs extremely well, he has good hands, he has posted great stats despite bad quarterback play, and he plays in a pro style offense. I think that, as bad as it is, the reason why he quit the team is not as bad as quitting the team by itself. If he has just quit the team because he didn’t like football or because he was tired of losing, that would have hurt him more. He’s still a 4^th round prospect in my book, but plenty of kids have gone from doing stupid stuff as kids in college to being capable NFL players. Williams declared for the draft about 3 weeks after quitting the team and I think that someone could draft him in the 3^rd round, someone who doesn’t care about character (Cincinnati? Minnesota?) or someone who loves speed size combinations (Oakland?). I am comparing him to Mike Sims Walker for two reasons. One, their skill sets matchup well, both have good height, good speed (MSW had a better 40, but that barely matters), and are physical. Also, both, in spite of these skills, did not make a huge splash in the draft. MSW had a history of nagging injuries and despite good production, good height, and a good 40 time, he went in the 3^rd round. Replace nagging injuries with questionable character decisions and you have Mike Williams.

NFL Comparison: Mike Sims Walker 

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here

Tolbert was announced as a fullback, but will probably end up getting a good amount of carries at running back. The Panthers will either trade DeAngelo Williams in order to resign Jonathan Stewart, a free agent after next season, long term. Or, if Williams’ contract is too tough to move, they’ll move Jonathan Stewart.

Tolbert is expected to get a good amount of the carries behind whoever is left and even if he stays at fullback, he’ll be a key 3^rd down weapon. It’s kind of confusing why Tolbert took less money and a smaller role in Carolina over San Diego, but the Panthers got a solid deal (10 million over 4 years with just 2.7 million guaranteed)

Grade: A

Mike Sims Walker is injury prone and has had some problems with his coaches in the past, but at 3.7 million for year just one, this is a fairly low risk deal. The reason I don’t like this deal is that St. Louis already had 6 receivers under contract (Greg Salas, Austin Pettis, Mardy Gilyard, Danny Amendola, Donnie Avery, and Danario Alexander) so now they have 7. That means it’s fairly unlike that they resign Mark Clayton given that most teams don’t carry more than 6 receivers on their roster. I’d rather have Clayton, who caught 23 passes for 306 yards and 2 touchdowns in just over 4 games last year before he got hurt, than MSW. If they were to sign a receiver this offseason, I’d want him to be significantly better than Clayton (Sidney Rice, Braylon Edwards).

Grade: D

Guard/Center

Florida

6-5 303

Draft board overall prospect rank: #45

Draft board overall guard rank: #4

Overall rating: 78 (2^nd round)

40 time: 5.12

3/23/11: Mike Pouncey is going to draw the obvious comparisons to Maurkice Pouncey, the Steelers Pro Bowl rookie center, simply because they have the same DNA. They are twin brothers. However, they do have some differences. Mike struggled with snaps at center when he attempted to play the position in college and for this reason he probably won’t be looked at as a center prospect.

Maurkice’s greatest strength might be his intangibles, his ability to bond with a quarterback. However, Mike is the more athletic prospect and, as a guard, I actually rate him higher than I did Maurkice last year, who I was not fond of (my bad…). Maurkice impressed me with his maturity as a rookie center, but this was just something that didn’t really show on tape at Florida. For this reason, and Mike’s better athleticism, I am giving Mike a better grade than I did Maurkice.

For another thing, Mike is, of course, another year older, another year more athletic, and another year more experienced than Maurkice was coming out. Mike’s arm length is a bit troubling, even for an interior lineman. He’s good got strength and good technique and is quick off the snap. He’s scheme versatile and can pass block as well as he can run block. He’s an elite blocker at the 2^nd level as well.

He has several weaknesses and inconsistency on tape is a real problem, as, actually, was the case with Maurkice in 2009 at Florida. He can be beaten by quicker interior pass rushers, which could end up being a problem with all of the athletic interior linemen in the NFL. He can play center, but he’s going to need more coaching at the position and he’d be a project as a center, so I wouldn’t necessarily call versatility a strength of his.

NFL Comparison: Ben Grubbs

3-4 Defensive End/Defensive Tackle

Purdue

6-3 294

40 time: 4.86

Draft board overall prospect rank: #42

Draft board 3-4 defensive end rank: #6

Overall rating: 79* 

            3/28/10: Mike Neal is a very impressive defensive lineman prospect from the Purdue Boilermakers. He’s had 10 sacks in the last 2 years against a higher level of competition than he is given credit for (Big 10). He has amazing quickness and a very good set of pass rushing moves. His straight line speed is athleticism are very good for his size. He is a bit undersized, but he’d be a perfect fit as a 3-4 defensive end because of his pass rushing moves and his agility and athleticism. He gets into the backfield with great ease and gets his way around bigger offensive linemen with sneaky quickness. He is a very smart pass rusher and has good size against the run, though he can be run at a bit. He’s very fundamentally sound and hits hard with good wrap up and doesn’t often miss. He was again impressive in the Senior Bowl, but the necessary hype around him is not there yet, likely because of the lack of national attention Purdue gets, despite being a part of the Big 10. He probably will go in the 3^rd round, but some smart GM may take him in the 2^nd as a 3-4 guy. He deserves to be a 2^nd round prospect, that 3^rd tier interior rusher after Suh/McCoy and Odrick/Price.

NFL Comparison: Darnell Dockett

*For a breakdown of what this means, click here

Running Back

Illinois

6-0 232

Draft board overall prospect rank: #23

Draft board overall running back rank: #2

Overall rating: 84 (late 1st)

40 time: 4.56

4/23/11: Mark Ingram is the best running back in this class. I think that’s the general consensus. However, Mikel Leshoure is the reason he could slip in the first round. A lot of people think that you can get better value with Leshoure in the 2^nd round than you can with Ingram in the first, especially in the wake of the concerns over Ingram’s here. I would have to agree with that and given the devaluation of the running back position in recent years, that could hurt Ingram’s stock.

But enough about Ingram, let’s move onto Leshoure and what makes him a dynamic running back. He burst onto the scene this year with 281 carries for 1697 yards and 17 touchdowns. Now, burst onto the scene should give you some pause. He’s basically a one yard wonder. He rushed for just 734 yards on just 108 carries in 2009.

However, one year wonders at running backs are less of a concern that one year wonders at other positions because of how short a running back’s shelf life is. Running backs seem to have a total amount of career carries where they just hit the wall and fall off the face of the Earth and carries in college factor into that. Look at Kevin Smith. He was a great college back, but he was overworked and now he can’t stay healthy in the NFL. So, while his lack of experience is a bad thing, it’s also a bit of a good thing. He only has 424 career college carries on his tires. That’s not a lot.

Plus, given that he rushed for an average of 6.8 yards per carry in 2009, I think it’s safe to say that he didn’t lack talent. He just needed an opportunity. Look at a guy like former Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall. He was a bit of a one year wonder in college, but he was so impressive in that one year that he went in the first and now he’s one of the ten best running backs in the league. Leshoure is similar to Mendenhall in that way.

Leshoure is a big, explosive running back who runs with great pad level and doesn’t go down easily. He’s tough and well rounded and could be a feature back at the next level. He wasn’t a huge part of the passing attack at Illinois, but he’s shown good hands in drills so he can be a factor on 3^rd down in the NFL. He also hasn’t fumbled once in his college career on 424 carries. That’s pretty impressive.

He has great vision and he’s elusive, but he isn’t overly fast. He’s not an outside the tackles runner. He’s a north/south runner that’s going to fit best in a cold weather city, much like where he played his college ball. Character concerns are minor with him, but present. He got into a fight with a teammate in 2008 and in 2009 he was suspended for violating a team rule. There have also been some concerns that he’s got attitude problems and he’s not a great locker room guy. It is worth noting that he has been praised for getting his act together before this season, improving his attitude and his work ethic, and that’s shown on the field this year.

NFL Comparison: Larry Johnson