Yup. LolNFL.

there have been 3 RBs taken in the first round total in the past 4 drafts. seems like this meme is getting a bit exaggerated

I think when no RBs went in the first round in 2013 or 2014 everyone decided "the NFL figured out that running backs are completely replaceable," which isn't true and is a big stretch from "you can get running back production with later picks and undrafted players."

GM's and FO in general are pretty dumb but not for drafting players like Fournette in the first round. They're dumb for valuing Ameer Abdullah more than David Johnson. I don't know what they're looking at when they make calls that bad.

Really weird example.

Did anyone have DJ as a 2nd Rd guy?

He was the 2nd best RB prospect in that draft and it seemed obvious but I really don't know what these scouting departments are looking at. This isn't really hard either.

If you go to the combine and a prospect does this.

6'1 - BIG
224 - BIG
40- 4.5 - FAST
Vert 41.5- Are you serious - Explosive
Broad Jump- 10'7
BP- 25 reps - LOL Strong
3 cone- 6.82 - OMG Twitchy

He has elite hands and runs routes like a receiver.

You need to go back home and look at the tape. If you see this on tape. 4 sec mark is ridiculous.



You can go ahead and put a 1st round grade on a player like that.

How do you miss that if you are a NFL franchise and have unlimited funds to scout players?

As I recall, there were concerns Johnson didn't really understand running between the tackles. His athleticism was never in question.

Abdullah has been largely hurt so it's difficult to get any definite read on his play.

Obviously there's a lot of luck involved. However, Abdullah being "largely hurt" was not exactly unforseeable and it was certainly more likely to be an issue for him than DJ.

Was it foreseeable? The only record of injury I could find from college is a sprained MCL against Purdue, and he played in the team's next game two weeks later.

Fumbles were probably more of a legitimate concern, but he did fumble less as his college career went on. Anyway, he's really talented, so I'm not giving up on him yet.

If Titans draft a WR1 (Davis or Williams) at 5 and pick right at CB (which is deep this year) at 18 they are probably one of the better teams in AFC next year along with Pats and Raiders. Feel like Steelers will take a step back.

I might like flipping the order myself. I think Marshon Lattimore is the clear CB1 in this class; the WR question is less clear and whichever one of the three is available at 18 should be fine.

The zeke parallels with fournette don't make much sense to me.

Zeke was the best rb prospect as a whole since like AP.

The biggest difference is he has THE BEST pass blocking grade of any draft eligible rb in the country and was a very effective receiver. Zeke is built for the modern nfl and had no on field redflags.

Fournette would've been perfect for the nfl 10 years ago. An absolutely viscious bowling ball who is thirsty for contact but can't pass block or catch a football. AP was never a 3 down back and he was a huge outlier on what he overcame injury wise.

I was one of the first people to say cook>>>fournette and I've actually since swapped that position but only because do how terrible cook has looked since his bowl game.

I would not touch fournette before pick 15-20 and I would only use him if I was a power running scheme. Which is what like 5 teams in the nfl? Zeke is plug in and play on 32 nfl teams.

Also people need to be very cognizant of the financial aspect.

Zeke signed a 4 year 25 mil contract at #4 overall. He is making over 6 million a year.

The highest paid rbs in the nfl make 6-8million a year. So if you draft a rb and he becomes the 3rd best rb in nfl then you have essentially broken even.

Let's say you draft the #3 cb in the nfl and the same outcome happens and you will only be paying him 50-60% of his market value in salary. Same goes for de or ot and obviously qb.

Tldr; I would only draft a transcendent rb talent in r1.

Dallas absolutely made the wrong pick last year at #4. The best CB in the draft last year Ramsey is significantly better than the best CB in the draft this year and is the type of defensive player you build around.

wut. get out of town and i'm an anti RB guy all the way.

"just take players who end up the best" sounds good, looks like yall have solved the draft!

Big mistake. Having the best CB in the league on a rookie deal is so huge......plus Zeke's numbers are so inflated. Dak is legit. OL is best in football. Dez........lol there's 20 RB in the league that could have done what Zeke did.

Ramsey was playing like a shut down corner last year and is only going to get better. They should have taken Ramsey at #4 and then taken Derrick Henry at #34. They absolutely would have been a better football team last year. That's scary to say too.

I was intrigued by your Ramsey / Henry idea but you lost me at "there's 20 RB in the league that could have done what Zeke did." There might be three.

I think Fournette really is that talented, though. Unfortunate circumstances of being a throwback player in a modern game aside. I just think the guys with the superlative talent generally work out and you gotta get them when you can. There's a realistic shot he's basically the next Eric Dickerson.

As an Auburn fan I'm well aware of Fournette's super human capabilities but his struggles against Bama concern me and it seems like they crushed his soul.

I definitely think he's still worth taking in the 20-32 range and if this was 25 years ago he'd be a top 2 pick for sure.

Jaylon Smith at #34 is gonna be a huge steal if he recovers. Last I heard he was gonna play next season, so I definitely am not subbing him out for D. Henry regardless of taking/passing on Zeke.

DAL should let Zeke tear it up for 1-2 more years then trade him like DEN did with Portis.

Well there's two on the Titans alone lol. My statement might have been a little hyperbole but put Doug Martin behind that line and you get the similar results. McCoy, D. Murray, Bell, DJ, Ingram, Hyde, Ware, West, Powell, Ajayi, Gurley, Dixon, Lacy, Crowell, Burkhead, Zenner, Ivory, hell Dwayne Washington would have run for 1200+ behind that line.

Let's see who commands a bigger contract after their rookie deals......Zeke or Ramsey. That will at least show who the league thinks is more valuable......The Cowboys are likely to let Zeke walk after his rookie deal because they'll be paying Dak 25+ million a year.

Wait, is the question "would have run for 1200+" or "would have had the season Zeke had"? Funny how you keep shifting the goalposts like this.

Zeke had 1,994 yards from scrimmage in 15 games. You think 20 RBs would have done that for Dallas?

I don't know. Dallas says they're optimistic about him playing but supposedly the nerve that's injured is dead and won't fire. They just think he can play anyway. I'm much less optimistic.

Some of them would have done better some a little worse. The point is Zeke is good not special but he's in a special situation so he's fraudulently being portrayed as elite. Ramsey is elite/special at a more valuable position and should have been the pick.