Pre-Combine RB Board

[RightlegTucker]

Glad it helped! I'm sure Dyno will be more than happy to offer his 2 cents as well when he returns to the board. The last thing I would suggest is when push comes to shove, in this case meaning when your personal evaluation is at odds with the majority or another evaluator to always side with what you see. If you're high on Tevin Coleman you shouldn't let my opinion of him dissuade you. However, if you're curious as to why people have an opposing view point that runs counter to your own it's a good idea to revisit the tape and keep and eye out for what they're evaluation indicates to see if it is founded or not. Cross checking is always helpful when 'scouting' college players as it were, I've been wrong about several prospects in the past as I'm sure everyone has. We are all fallible to an extent, and hearing different viewpoints and perspectives can always be beneficial. At the same token however, if you personally don't see what someone or everyone else is claiming is there stick with your gut. I've found it's much easier to stomach 'missing' sticking with 'my guy' than it is acquiescing and conforming with popular demand and missing that way. If you're interested in watching tape you could check out draft breakdown, which has a more extensive catalogue of game tapes than what is available on youtube. Goodluck my friend!

[Vendetta]

I'm personally high on Yeldon because he has great balance, vision, patience, and power. One of the things I look for in College RB's is the ability to create their own yardage, or getting yards that aren't blocked in other words, and this is something I routinely saw in Yeldon's game with his short area quickness and his ability to break tackles. Ajai has also demonstrated this as well, and probably has the most impressive highlight reel out of the 2nd tier backs along with the highest ceiling. The reason I have him at 7 is that he bounces his runs to the outside too much for my liking and does not seem to possess the vision, patience, or nuisance that I have seen in guys like Yeldon or Abdullah.

I'm lower on Coleman than most because I feel for a bigger back he goes down to easily at time times, he doesn't seem to possess the leg drive that even smaller guys like Abdullah have. Furthermore, he doesn't seem to have the lateral quickness requisite of the position in the NFL. Even 'big backs' in the NFL have the ability to side step and move laterally with relative ease, you can seen this ability in guys like Eddie Lacy, Lev'eon Bell, and Jeremy Hill. Coleman seems too tight in the hips for me to ever develop this skill, and on top of that the bigger runs he has had seem to be blocked for him, or to revisit one of my original points I do not see the same ability to create his own yardage that I saw from Yeldon and Ajayi.

To give an example from last year, Andre Williams routinely faced stacked boxes while playing on a bad team but still ran for over 2,000 yards. Despite this gaudy production, I saw a lot of the same problems in his game that I see with Coleman, and although he performed admirably well in his rookie campaign his paltry YPC seems to reflect what I've seen on film. His vision is below average and he does not have the agility to make moves in the hole consistently. He rarely got more than what was blocked for him in college and this trend seemed to continue in the NFL. He is a long strider that goes down to easy upon first contact than he should as a power back because it takes him a couple steps form him to get up to speed. He is not exactly equivalent to Coleman, as no prospect ever is, but I see many similarities between the two.

Again, this is purely my evaluation, and I'm sure DynoScout can offer some further insight on the subject and a different perspective. But as to things I'm looking for specifically when evaluating college RBs: Vision, Short Area Quickness, Lateral Agility, Burst, Balance, and Leg drive. This is my baseline checklist more or less in descending order and all contribute to the ability to be able "to create yardage". I adjust it depending on what type of prospect I'm evaluating (e.g. I don't evaluate a smaller elusive back like Abdullah in the same manner that I evaluate a power back like Mike Davis) I'm relatively new to college scouting, but the first four attributes I have listed I have found to be absolutely imperative for guys at the next level. Even big backs need the ability to side step guys and move laterally in the NFL, or to be able to "negotiate their way through traffic".

Dude, this is a fantastic post - really appreciate the insight. You've given me a lot to think about!

Agreed. Phenomenal post, thanks for the detailed analysis.

[DynoScout]

I'm personally high on Yeldon because he has great balance, vision, patience, and power. One of the things I look for in College RB's is the ability to create their own yardage, or getting yards that aren't blocked in other words, and this is something I routinely saw in Yeldon's game with his short area quickness and his ability to break tackles. Ajai has also demonstrated this as well, and probably has the most impressive highlight reel out of the 2nd tier backs along with the highest ceiling. The reason I have him at 7 is that he bounces his runs to the outside too much for my liking and does not seem to possess the vision, patience, or nuisance that I have seen in guys like Yeldon or Abdullah.

I'm lower on Coleman than most because I feel for a bigger back he goes down to easily at time times, he doesn't seem to possess the leg drive that even smaller guys like Abdullah have. Furthermore, he doesn't seem to have the lateral quickness requisite of the position in the NFL. Even 'big backs' in the NFL have the ability to side step and move laterally with relative ease, you can seen this ability in guys like Eddie Lacy, Lev'eon Bell, and Jeremy Hill. Coleman seems too tight in the hips for me to ever develop this skill, and on top of that the bigger runs he has had seem to be blocked for him, or to revisit one of my original points I do not see the same ability to create his own yardage that I saw from Yeldon and Ajayi.

To give an example from last year, Andre Williams routinely faced stacked boxes while playing on a bad team but still ran for over 2,000 yards. Despite this gaudy production, I saw a lot of the same problems in his game that I see with Coleman, and although he performed admirably well in his rookie campaign his paltry YPC seems to reflect what I've seen on film. His vision is below average and he does not have the agility to make moves in the hole consistently. He rarely got more than what was blocked for him in college and this trend seemed to continue in the NFL. He is a long strider that goes down to easy upon first contact than he should as a power back because it takes him a couple steps form him to get up to speed. He is not exactly equivalent to Coleman, as no prospect ever is, but I see many similarities between the two.

Again, this is purely my evaluation, and I'm sure DynoScout can offer some further insight on the subject and a different perspective. But as to things I'm looking for specifically when evaluating college RBs: Vision, Short Area Quickness, Lateral Agility, Burst, Balance, and Leg drive. This is my baseline checklist more or less in descending order and all contribute to the ability to be able "to create yardage". I adjust it depending on what type of prospect I'm evaluating (e.g. I don't evaluate a smaller elusive back like Abdullah in the same manner that I evaluate a power back like Mike Davis) I'm relatively new to college scouting, but the first four attributes I have listed I have found to be absolutely imperative for guys at the next level. Even big backs need the ability to side step guys and move laterally in the NFL, or to be able to "negotiate their way through traffic".

Great post here Rightleg. Thanks for keeping the convo going and I'll weigh in shortly.

[DynoScout]

Great thread, glad to see it!

One thing I'd like to know (I'm Canadian and as a result I don't get the same volume of US college coverage here) is why you value a certain RB above another. For instance, both DynoScout and RightlegTucker rate Yeldon highly...why is that? What does he bring to the table that you think will translate well into the pros?

I'm high on Coleman for no other reason that he played behind a predictable offense on a bad team and still got his yards. There's real aggression and effort there. He didn't catch a lot of passes in my mind only because the QB play was so horrible that he wasn't asked to. I can see the argument that he doesn't run "loose" but to me the production in a bad circumstance makes him an attractive draft target.

My case for and against Yeldon:
Yeldon looked legit earlier in his college career when they asked him to do slightly different things (which I believe a smart NFL coach would go back to). He possesses a few baseline traits I'm looking for (like those Rightleg pointed out, but specifically burst and short area quickness in Yeldon's case). Yeldon projects to be someone similar to Rashard Mendenhall. Just enough wiggle to survive and good enough in other areas, but not a true power back nor a true speed back. The biggest weakness I see in my Yeldon eval is that at times his footwork is a little sloppy/loose and it affects his balance/power when it shouldn't. I'm also not sold on his vision. His tape gives the impression of plus vision but maybe he just ran to the hole he was told to and his OL executed better than the defense. I can't rule it out.

My case for and against Coleman:
He generated lots of big plays with good buildup speed as the focal point of an offense even when defenses knew he was coming. I question whether the big plays Coleman routinely ripped off in college will translate to the pros. If not (and I can't assume they will), he has to become a better runner on the average play. I don't see the hip flexibility/change of direction, vision, or consistent short area explosion/power that I feel is necessary to be a full-time grinder in the NFL. He churned a lot of yardage at Indiana and I give him credit for that. However, his production doesn't outweigh the concerns I have about his projection to game situations where the contact will be more forceful, the lanes will be narrower, and the holes open/close more quickly. He was the only show in town at IU, but was still afforded more opportunities to generate his buildup speed than I can assume he will get in the NFL, where defenses are more disruptive than in the B1G.

[DynoScout]

gordon gurley


ajayi although the fumbling will be an issue & I have to do more work on his pass blocking but electric with the ball in his hands
coleman but he looks very ordinary about 75% of his carries and then BOOM !

duke johnson like what I see but injury risk

josh robinson - watch the kentucky tape and tell me whats not to like
yeldon - frosh tape looks best but miscast as a power runner in bama system



allen - work horse type guy never a star likely a solid 2nd or 3rb
abdullah - prolly too small to be more than a gimmick / 3rd down guy
david johnson - love to see steelers draft him as a compliment to bell his recc skills are terrific
langford really think he is underrated no flashy just effective
cant see myself drafting any guys from here on down - would trade out or pick wr/te but its a long ways to draft day
cobb - looks really ordinary
artis-payne- ben tate lite .... pass
davis - also has gotten worse every year - don't like spurrier rbs at all

Thanks for posting your thoughts Contrarion. As it relates to the discussion around Coleman and Yeldon, it seems we see many of the same pros/cons.
As I continue to look at guys who emerged this year, I am starting to feel like I underrated Josh Robinson in my original post. I stand by it for now but on the post combine board he could be primed for a rise up the ranks.

[clarion contrarion]

hey just my.02 but urw ... I have enjoyed the stuff you have put up in your brief time , so carry on .