2018 Running Back Class

Added today -

Rashaad Penny
Myles Gaskin
Terry Swanson
Mark Walton

 

No Martez Carter yet?

 

I can add him today. I gave him a quick glance when we were discussing it last week but I never put his name on a card.

 

The lazy comparison is a better Tarik Cohen, for anyone that wants to know.

 

lol, or a poor man's Bobby Rainey?

 

Carter has ST value as well.

 

Just a bit less lazy since you went back more than a couple years.

 

Just digging at ya. I know you like Martez quite a bit.

I have some time this evening that I will put in on getting him an opening score. I already found a couple links to Grambling games.

 

I like him but not that much. He is a guy off most radars that caught my eye. I still need to see more. But he looks like an NFL talent.

 

Added today -

Martez Carter
Bryce Love

 

Miami's RB Mark Walton Jr is foregoing his final year to become eligible for the NFL draft in 2018.

 

We'll miss him. Poor guy didn't even get to play for a good team, beyond the start of this year, and even then that means he didn't get to really enjoy it.

I just hope he recovers well enough to be in top shape for the combine and pre-draft stuff. Best of luck, guy.

 

Just putting this down for future discussion...

Chase Edmonds is going to make a serious leap in the RB rankings. I have to finish up the rest of the scores but his second number is pretty effing dynamic. He's locked somewhere in the top 10 after this round.

I should have the new ranks out for Tuesday.

 

Running backs that have accepted invites to the Senior Bowl:

Kalen Ballage - Arizona State
Royce Freemn - Oregon
Rashaad Penny - San Diego State
Akrum Wadley - Iowa

 

Added today -

Josh Adams
Kerryon Johnson
Jordan Chunn
Phillip Lindsay
Kyle Hicks

 

I have a private convo going about some of these early rankings and one part of it applies to this update so I got permission to share it -

To put this in context, the question was asked prior to my latest change in scores...

There are a combination of factors but the thing that continues to drag down his overall score is the combination of his body type, body build, height and weight. The combine weigh-in may change this significantly giving him an immediate jump up the board, but right now he hits under a certain marker that I have set that coincides with style of play (running style, receiving style, overall game), overall body build and specific body lean as it applies to potential 3 down backs.

 

Happy to see Penny jump up to #3. IMO, he is the most intriguing RB of this class. He is energetic, electric, hits hard, runs people over, has quick burst ability and speed. He also has GREAT hands. Makes one-handed catches effortlessly, has special teams value, where he consistently runs KOs for TDs. Good luck with Barkley, he's the popular horse most are looking at as the top RB. I'm sure he will do well, but my money is on Penny as the RB star of 2018 draft class.

 

Some other quick notes -

Jordan Chunn is just fun to watch. He is more of a niche player at the next level but I can see him becoming a short yardage and goal line fan favorite. Something, something, Wang Chunn tonight?

Rashaad Penny, Chase Edmonds and James Butler are being severely undervalued in the very early start to this draft class with Edmonds representing the best potential bargain on draft day.

Damien Harris' downward trend may continue. The last bit of pre-combine scoring has a couple factors in it that stick out as potential negatives for his game.

 

My personal favorites for value and three down potential are Penny, Ballage and Edmonds, and interestingly enough they are all very different backs.

Barkley's biggest negative is his lack of clear negatives, if that makes sense to anyone but myself...

Saquon is a horse of a back with ideal body lean, a solid height/weight ratio, speed, agility, hands, blocking ability, solid vision, good tackle breaking ability and obvious 3 down potential. My biggest issue with his game is that I don't see one specific factor really jumping out, which would be creativity. He lacks it, which lends to the real possibility that he may be slightly more athlete than natural runner.

With all that being said, he still scores out at a very high level across everything on the board and he will probably continue to do so through the next round, which all but guarantees he will be the #1 back on my board going into the combine process.

 

I think Penny's biggest knock is his height (5/11). He carries 220 lbs though, which is adequate. I hope he doesn't become another Jaquizz in the NFL.