Comments on: Trent Richardson a Top 10 talent, maybe not a Top 10 pick

By: hijackthemic

hijackthemic — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 20:48:07 +0000

Adrian Peterson is the best running back in the league, how’s his team doing? The way football is played currently makes the difference between a transcendent talent and an average replacement almost too small to notice. All that can get you wins now is a passing game and a defense that can disrupt somebody else’s passing game.

By: brownoholic

brownoholic — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:48:32 +0000

I agree, that you can get great backs in the later rounds. I don’t really want my Browns to draft him.

However, with his talent, and our division, if they took him pick 4 or, even better, after trading down a few slots, I just couldn’t argue.

By: jbro3169

jbro3169 — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:11:16 +0000

Come on to the ‘natti!! WHO DEY!!

By: hnrqoliv

hnrqoliv — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 06:38:12 +0000

For every Arian Foster there’s a million UDFA that don’t work out. Yeah, there are some that are more productive than first round picks, but it’s much easier to consistently hit in the first round.

By: plum13sec

plum13sec — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 01:21:32 +0000

chiefs or bengals

By: kal5279

kal5279 — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 22:40:26 +0000

I’d be happy as hell to se him in a Lions uniform. RBs may not have the value they did in the past but Richardson is an exception to that rule. Given a decent offensive situation I could see him winning a rushing title as a rookie, and many more to come.

By: bungalsfan101

bungalsfan101 — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:29:55 +0000

he’s going to be a bengal

By: andyo102

andyo102 — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:47:39 +0000

he is going to be nasty. will have an AP like rookie year if healthy

By: mrstinkypants

mrstinkypants — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:34:40 +0000

Everyone at Bama knew that Richardson was a better RB than Ingram was. There is no way Richardson drops down in the draft. A RB like Richardson comes along only so often- a rare combo of speed, agility, quickness, hands, and unbelievable strength- especially for a RB. He is NFL ready, disciplined, and will be a pro.

By: Deb

Deb — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:30:56 +0000

Trent is a beast, and will be a blessing to whatever team gets him. I’d give anything if it could be my Steelers, but that is highly unlikely. Hope he doesn’t go to the Bengals–it’s tough enough having Mt. Cody with the Ravens. But last year I was thrilled the Saints picked up Ingram thinking he’d be in good hands. Sheesh. Would rather now he’d gone to Marv.

Backs may not be as valuable to teams as they once were, but nothing beats watching a great one plowing through the other team as Trent’s done so many times for Bama. Roll Tide!

By: forthelove

forthelove — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:26:12 +0000

I actually think RBs are a better value now than they were before the adjusted rookie salaries. Ofcourse that goes for each of the positions, but I think even moreso for RBs since they peak earlier than other positions. I also completely agree with the previous post’er that guys like Arian Foster and Dominik Cruz almost create an illusion that there’s nothing but gold to be found in the later rounds. Simply not true that you can get just as good of a guy by waiting.

Also, per Mayock…

“The last Top 10 pick for a running back that has paid off in my opinion has been Adrian Peterson, who went No. 7 to the Vikings.”

And the only reason he went No. 7 is cause of injury concerns. He would’ve went 3 or 4 if he didn’t get those two big injuries in college. Apart from that, he was being touted as the best RB prospect in ages. Next he’ll be saying ‘the last top 10 WR to pay off was Calvin Johnson’. Well yeah, duh, cause he (and AP) are friggin beasts.

By: tluke25

tluke25 — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:16:07 +0000

Franchises will never learn. So many wasted first round picks over the last 8-9 years. I think only three of them turned out to be worthy of a first round pick, and if you do get a great one you are looking at maybe 5-6 really good seasons when you can draft a player who could be really good for 10-12 seasons. Besides, your number 1 RB is probably only on the field for 60 percent of your offensive plays. It just makes no sense. Draft your RB’s in the mid to late rounds. Most of those guys will have the same yard per carry as the guy you would have taken in the 1st anyway.

By: granadafan

granadafan — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:14:51 +0000

Building a dominant offensive line is more important so they can a) protect the team’s most asset: the QB; and b) open holes for a running back. The only back in modern history who could overcome a terrible line was Barry Sanders, and he was a once in a generation player. Sorry, Richardson is good by all accounts, but no Barry Sanders.

By: samoanjungle

samoanjungle — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:11:40 +0000

I completely disagree that RBs aren’t all that important. A good one can both eat up the clock, keeping the other team’s offense off of the field and salt away a game in the 4th quarter.
And, if Richardson is as good as everyone says, he should be good for some big plays, wear down a defense and keep defensive players closer to the line to help open the passing game.

I hope he lasts until 17 because he probably won’t get past the Bengals unless someone better falls that far.

By: asw1028

asw1028 — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:10:16 +0000

I agree with Mayock, using a top ten pick on a RB is foolish because the drop off in talent after Richardson is not that significant. Doug Martin, Chris Polk, Lamar Miller and Robert Turbin are all very solid prospects. I would much rather draft one of them with a later pick and use that top ten pick on someone like David Decastro from Stanford–heck, a road grater lineman like that could make those other RB’s look even better than Richardson.

By: ziggy26

ziggy26 — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:54:42 +0000

It’s completely false to say that running backs are a dime-a-dozen. First of all, LeSean McCoy and Ray Rice were both considered “first-round” talents that slipped down the draft board into round two. There are plenty of teams that wish they used their first rounder on those guys.

Everyone forgets that Arian Foster was a lock as a first or second round pick after his junior season at Tennessee. Only Phil Fulmer convinced him to return to school for his final season, and then completely mismanaged Tennessee’s backfield. Fulmer killed Foster’s draft stock.

Of the NFLs Top 15 leading rushers last season, 8 were first round picks. Three were second-round picks (McCoy, Rice and MJD). Two were third-round picks (Shonn Greene and Frank Gore). Then you have Michael Turner and Foster. Gore and Foster were both considered high-round talents at one time, but saw their stock plummet for one reason or another.

So, really, out of the top-15 rushers last season, only one, Michael Turner, was a little regarded draft pick from his draft class.

By: InFact

InFact — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:45:53 +0000

Michael:

Excellent writing, but how many readers know the meaning of fungible?

By: 2sloweggroll

2sloweggroll — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:41:56 +0000

What does this have to do with bounties?

By: ebeg420

ebeg420 — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:38:27 +0000

If the Bengals draft him, that’s all we need to know….

By: buckeye4278

buckeye4278 — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:27:57 +0000

As as bengals fan, I will be watching the first round with fingers and toes crossed hoping this kid falls to a point where we can move up by trading a 3rd rounder to get him, or the ultimate joy, staying at 17 and getting him. Backs like this guy aren’t available every year. Plus, he comes from a pro system where he has to make pro runningback reads, not just outrunning everyone to the edge, which doesn’t happen in the NFL.

By: jollyrob68

jollyrob68 — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:25:00 +0000

If he slips he wont get past Jets or Bengals.

By: pappert

pappert — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:22:05 +0000

if he starts to drop then someone will move up for him.. count on it

By: thraiderskin

thraiderskin — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:21:31 +0000

That sucks… All that talent and no appreciation because of position.

By: whatnojets

whatnojets — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:18:36 +0000

The New York Jets have “no comment” at this time!

By: We'reFineThere

We'reFineThere — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:16:22 +0000

You guys are hating. I always support the stance that RB’s are interchangeable but this guy is clearly a cut above. I think he would be a perfect fit on a team like the Bengals who are probably better of than most people realize. I also think the Jets should consider him even though they have more holes. They need to stop trying to ‘ground and pound’ without guys who can do it.

By: trojanfan365

trojanfan365 — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:13:13 +0000

i realize rb’s are not viewed to be as important as they once were due to the rise of passing games, but an elite back who can run, catch, AND block is so valuable. go ask the bucs, bengals, and jets what an everydown back could do for their offense compared to the one dimensional guys they have had in there. and if you think an arian foster is just super easy to come by, then good luck i guess. richardson is for real…

By: rolltide510

rolltide510 — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:11:52 +0000

Every year, almost every team finds gold in the late rounds. I think this leads to a misconception that a team can consistently and reliably wait until later rounds to build the core of their team.

If I’m wrong, why doesn’t every team have an Arian Foster, a Tom Brady, a Victor Cruz, etc?

I agree with Mayock that top 10 talent doesn’t equal top 10 pick, but no, Trent Richardson is not a “dime a dozen”, sorry.

By: packerbackernj

packerbackernj — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:11:29 +0000

If he is still around at #20, Tennessee
should draft him and cut CJ…
_____
Cj just needs to take off those 24k gold socks he bought with that big contract and he’ll be al right.

By: cannonballdookie

cannonballdookie — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:10:57 +0000

If Tampa doesn’t draft him, which they shouldn’t because that’s too high to take a RB, I can see Cinci and Pittsburgh getting heavily involved looking to trade up for him. They can each use a quality back right now and Cinci would have a dynamic core for years with him, Dalton, Green, and that defense.

By: trbowman

trbowman — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:08:35 +0000

“The good news for some running back-needy team is that means Richardson could end up being a steal.”

An even bigger steal being yet ANOTHER round of late/UDFA RBs that turn out to be just as productive as the ones drafted in the early rounds!