NFL DRAFT PREVIEW
Running backs’ speed not a strong suit
This is the fifth of a series of stories on players eligible for the April 25-26 NFL draft. Today’s installment deals with running backs.
Published: April 16, 2009, 12:30 am
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The 2009 running back draft class does not have the blazing speed that characterized the best backs in last year’s draft.
The top seven backs drafted in 2008 all ran faster than 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash. They were led by Chris Johnson, who ran 4.24 seconds and was drafted by Tennessee, and Darren McFadden, who ran 4.33 and was drafted by Oakland. Five backs overall were taken in the first round.
This year six of the top eight highest-rated backs failed to crack the 4.5 mark and no one matched the times of either Johnson or McFadden.
Nevertheless, there is good depth at running back, as always.
“You can always find running backs in every draft that are seventh-rounders or fifth-rounders who can play as well as guys going early,” said ESPN analyst Mel Kiper. “You find that every year. People think that’s a ridiculous statement. It’s an accurate statement. It happens every year where fifth-round running backs play very well. Some undrafted running backs play great in this league.”
“Running back is a lot about flavor,” said analyst Mike Mayock of NFL Network. “What are you looking for? Are you looking for a big guy? Are you looking for a receiving threat? That will determine where a lot of these guys go.”
The top back arguably is Georgia’s Knowshon Moreno, a 5-foot-11, 217-pounder who is leaving college a year early. Moreno, who ran 4.50, is the only Bulldog besides Herschel Walker to run for more than 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. He’s an average sized back, not a big back. But he plays like a big back.
“His lateral quickness and explosion is amazing,” Mayock said. “But what really separates him for me is I’ve seen a lot of quick running backs, but I’ve never seen a guy in the last 10 years who finishes every run the way he does. Dropping the shoulder. Not running out of bounds. I love the kid’s toughness.”
Moreno said he developed his take-no-prisoners style by watching tapes of his hero, Walter Payton.
“I used to play defense when I was in high school,” Moreno said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “I think that kind of mentality came from high school.”
Some teams will have either Ohio State’s Chris “Beanie” Wells or Connecticut’s Donald Brown atop their RB list.
Wells is 6-1, 235 and ran 4.52. He is a downhill runner who some have compared with Kansas City’s Larry Johnson. He rushed for 3,382 yards in 36 games for the Buckeyes. He has a history of nagging injuries, so durability is a question. However, he missed only three games the past three years.
Brown ran for 261 yards on the University at Buffalo in the International Bowl in Toronto. That capped a 2,083-yard rushing season, best in the nation. NFLDraftScout.com compares him to former Giant Tiki Barber.
Pittsburgh’s LeSean McCoy scored 36 touchdowns in 25 games and entered the draft after two college seasons. He has good cutback ability and runs with a good lean. He’s an interesting prospect because while his production is excellent, his testing numbers suggest questionable lower-body power and insufficient explosiveness at the NFL level. His broad jump (8 feet, 11 inches) and vertical jump (29 inches) were poorer than any other back at the combine.
North Carolina State’s Andre Brown is one of the bigger backs in the draft. He’s 6-foot, 224. He had a good Senior Bowl and has some receiving ability. He was a bit inconsistent in college and projects as a late second-round pick.
Another second-round prospect is Liberty’s Rashad Jennings, who opened his college career as a 265-pounder at Pitt, where he started as a freshman. He trimmed down to 231 at Liberty and finished with 4,044 career yards.
NEXT: Wide receivers
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