Jonathan Taylor is your 1.01 now.

[Ice]

Why are the Chiefs using their RBs at a lower rate than before? Is it driven by a sudden philosophical change to the offense or is it driven by the talent in the backfield not demanding touches? Why did the Chiefs look to add RB help during the season (Fournette, Bell)? What has CEH done to give people so much faith that the Chiefs are content with the RB position and won't add competition this off-season?

The answer to your question should be obvious given you seem to know something about football.

The Chief's have the best QB on the planet and all the rules favor the passing game. One look at the roster and one can easily see why they added Bell and Tampa added Fournette. Teams still need depth due to Covid and injury concerns more this year than ever. They were not expensive adds at all.

Depth is a fair point.. but re: Mahomes/NFL favoring the passing game... was all of this not true in 2018, as well? Or was Mahomes not good enough for this to apply when he threw for 5,100 yards and 50 TDs?

That doesn't even make sense to me.

You do realize Mahomes threw more passes this year and completed more in one less game than in 2018.

[Sriracha]

The answer to your question should be obvious given you seem to know something about football.

The Chief's have the best QB on the planet and all the rules favor the passing game. One look at the roster and one can easily see why they added Bell and Tampa added Fournette. Teams still need depth due to Covid and injury concerns more this year than ever. They were not expensive adds at all.

Depth is a fair point.. but re: Mahomes/NFL favoring the passing game... was all of this not true in 2018, as well? Or was Mahomes not good enough for this to apply when he threw for 5,100 yards and 50 TDs?

That doesn't even make sense to me.

You do realize Mahomes threw more passes this year and completed more in one less game than in 2018.

I don't believe quantity of completed passes matters all that much; but I didn't say Mahomes isn't a better QB now than he was in 2018. I asked if you believed he wasn't good enough in 2018 for those statements to also be true?

[Ice]

Depth is a fair point.. but re: Mahomes/NFL favoring the passing game... was all of this not true in 2018, as well? Or was Mahomes not good enough for this to apply when he threw for 5,100 yards and 50 TDs?

That doesn't even make sense to me.

You do realize Mahomes threw more passes this year and completed more in one less game than in 2018.

I don't believe quantity of completed passes matters all that much; but I didn't say Mahomes isn't a better QB now than he was in 2018. I asked if you believed he wasn't good enough in 2018 for those statements to also be true?

You're now being ridiculous .....Think you're losing it... carry on.

[Pac_Eddy]

As high as I was on Taylor, man, it’s easy to imagine a world where the Chiefs draft Swift and he’s the real consensus 1.01.

Can you imagine what somebody with Swift’s talent could do in that KC offense?

Andy Reid can. Then he chose CEH.

[Jigga94]

As high as I was on Taylor, man, it’s easy to imagine a world where the Chiefs draft Swift and he’s the real consensus 1.01.

Can you imagine what somebody with Swift’s talent could do in that KC offense?

Hell, imagine Taylor and his speed getting wider lanes with a deeper 2nd level and catching the ball in space with the D spread so far out. Either scenario is frightful.

Swift to KC was always the dream 1.01 scenario pre draft. JT and Dobbins and even Akers would've been in the conversation for 1.01 if they went to KC. I mean CEH leapfrogged all 4 of them as I didn't see anybody say they had him top 4 pre draft

[Hottoddies]

Swift to KC was always the dream 1.01 scenario pre draft. JT and Dobbins and even Akers would've been in the conversation for 1.01 if they went to KC. I mean CEH leapfrogged all 4 of them as I didn't see anybody say they had him top 4 pre draft

Got around to some more tape sessions, wanted to post my thoughts on one of my favorite players in this year's draft class:

Clyde Edwards-Helaire - What a baller. He's everything you could want in a RB and fits the modern NFL so perfectly. I think he's the best pass-catching RB in this class, and it isn't even close. He runs legitimate routes out of the backfield, and is an absolute nightmare against LBs, particularly on diamond or option routes. Some might think he's "undersized", but he's built with a thick lower body and his BMI is more than high enough. He actually uses his diminutive stature to his advantage, displaying a ridiculously low center of gravity that allows him to maintain balance through contact. He has enough leg drive & strength to push defenders forward, yet enough lateral agility to make them miss in space. He has a full arsenal of moves, including a nasty spin move and a great jump cut in between the tackles. He moves with suddenness with very little wasted movement. I think his one *weakness* is his long speed. While he has great quickness and acceleration, I think his top-end speed is pretty capped and will be noticeable at the NFL level. He's plenty athletic, I just don't expect him to break away from secondaries and destroy pursuit angles against NFL speed.

Player Comparison: Christian McCaffrey. That's right, I said it. This is more about CMC the prospect coming out of college, as I recognize that he's continued to get bigger, faster, stronger, and better at the next level. I'm not projecting CEH to immediately be a top3 fantasy RB, but I think their games are very similar as surprisingly above-average runners and elite level pass-catchers. Only difference might be CEH's lack of long speed compared to CMC.

I came away from watching his film with the same impression. I now have him in my top 4 RB prospects ahead of Taylor and behind only Swift & Dobbins. He may not have the same top end speed of the other 3 RBs but I don't see that as a major handicap to his success at the next level. Top end speed rarely comes into play for RBs. It's more about short area burst.

Taylor is by far the superior prospect. I love CEH, but I disagree with the ranking. It's fine to have him there, it's your rankings, but "film watching" is literally the only reason one can have him there, and even then, I don't know what you are seeing.

These are my preliminary impressions of the prospects to this point. I try to watch as much film as I can before the combine to reduce as much bias as I can. Although I do admit that I view highly ranked players with more skepticism then others. I do revisit the film after the combine and the NFL draft. And I certainly will take draft position, landing spot, and athleticism into consideration.

Jonathan Taylor certainly was a highly productive player running behind a dominate offensive line. He's a very big strong straight line bruiser that can be a load to bring down. And I'm sure he possesses great long speed thou his speed only comes into play if he breaks through the second level. The only reason I have him currently ranked behind 3 very special RBs is that he isn't quite as natural of a receiver as the others and he's not very elusive. In the dozen or so games I watched I saw only 2 or 3 spin moves with minimal effect and 1 stiff arm. The most he ever does to avoid tacklers is a slow speed side step. I still think Taylor is a great prospect, just not as special as Swift, Dobbins, and Edwards-Helaire.

[CGW]

There were definitely some who had CEH up there pre draft, but most of the argument was between Taylor, Swift, and Dobbins.

For the prices I see CEH at, I'd be buying. I've been saying this for weeks/months now but it's even more evident after that SB performance by the KC coaching staff. Mahommes got obliterated in the superbowl. Hes lucky he didnt leave the field on a stretcher. Hopefully, they watch tape and realize they need to incorporate a rushing attack and screen game to protect their most valuable asset.

[Jigga94]

Do you still have the other 3 ahead of JT? I mean, good for you for having CEH in your top 3, but I still think these 4 and even Akers, Gibson and JRob are all very close still. My $ is still on JT and Swift/Dobbins long term but I have let CEH climb my ranks and he is now closer to them post draft (he was 5th predraft).

The difference of using spin moves doesn't matter as much to me as running a 4.39 vs a 4.6. I'll admit I'm partially more analytical, especially when it comes to RB. I understand the knock that JT had a strong OL in college, but RB success is pretty dependant on having a good OL (look at Gurley for example a few years back). The other knock I saw a lot was fumbling, but lots of backs have had little to no issues with it after having issues in college. Of course, 40s aren't the end all, but JT had the size, production (6000 yards in 3 years and a good amount of receptions) and tape to warrant him being my 1.01 after he ran a Saquon-esque time. Check the 4th post in this thread.

Do you still not view JT as much of a "natural receiver" as the others? To be fair, if I were calling the rookie RB Natural receivers, I'd stop after Swift and Dobbins. I think JT and CEH were both pretty even in that part of their game. JT just has the speed that allowed him to break some long ones that CEH wouldn't have.

[Bronco Billy]

Bunch of self-quoted stuff

What was the point of bumping your own response? A rebuttal to J94, showing us that you significantly overrated CEH, an admission that you underrated Taylor, or some combination of the 3?

[Bronco Billy]

There were definitely some who had CEH up there pre draft, but most of the argument was between Taylor, Swift, and Dobbins.

For the prices I see CEH at, I'd be buying. I've been saying this for weeks/months now but it's even more evident after that SB performance by the KC coaching staff. Mahommes got obliterated in the superbowl. Hes lucky he didnt leave the field on a stretcher. Hopefully, they watch tape and realize they need to incorporate a rushing attack and screen game to protect their most valuable asset.

Will you feel the same way if Damien Williams is on the KC roster in 2021?

[bjd5211]

There were definitely some who had CEH up there pre draft, but most of the argument was between Taylor, Swift, and Dobbins.

For the prices I see CEH at, I'd be buying. I've been saying this for weeks/months now but it's even more evident after that SB performance by the KC coaching staff. Mahommes got obliterated in the superbowl. Hes lucky he didnt leave the field on a stretcher. Hopefully, they watch tape and realize they need to incorporate a rushing attack and screen game to protect their most valuable asset.

Will you feel the same way if Damien Williams is on the KC roster in 2021?

Why would anyone be worried about a 29 year old RB with less than 1,300 career rushing yards? Yes he had a nice run at the end of the year and SB performance last time we saw him, but so have many completely average players at numerous positions over the years.

[Jigga94]

There were definitely some who had CEH up there pre draft, but most of the argument was between Taylor, Swift, and Dobbins.

For the prices I see CEH at, I'd be buying. I've been saying this for weeks/months now but it's even more evident after that SB performance by the KC coaching staff. Mahommes got obliterated in the superbowl. Hes lucky he didnt leave the field on a stretcher. Hopefully, they watch tape and realize they need to incorporate a rushing attack and screen game to protect their most valuable asset.

Will you feel the same way if Damien Williams is on the KC roster in 2021?

Why would anyone be worried about a 29 year old RB with less than 1,300 career rushing yards? Yes he had a nice run at the end of the year and SB performance last time we saw him, but so have many completely average players at numerous positions over the years.

Yeah I wouldn't worry about him too much either. Especially after a whole year off. I'd be more worried about Darrel but even that isn't cause to knock CEH down the ranks. If Darrel is the backup, they like him in passing situations a lot. Hines is just a big of a threat to JT though. I support JT but I'm not blind to Hines being one of the best pass catchers in the league

[Bronco Billy]

There were definitely some who had CEH up there pre draft, but most of the argument was between Taylor, Swift, and Dobbins.

For the prices I see CEH at, I'd be buying. I've been saying this for weeks/months now but it's even more evident after that SB performance by the KC coaching staff. Mahommes got obliterated in the superbowl. Hes lucky he didnt leave the field on a stretcher. Hopefully, they watch tape and realize they need to incorporate a rushing attack and screen game to protect their most valuable asset.

Will you feel the same way if Damien Williams is on the KC roster in 2021?

Why would anyone be worried about a 29 year old RB with less than 1,300 career rushing yards? Yes he had a nice run at the end of the year and SB performance last time we saw him, but so have many completely average players at numerous positions over the years.

Because Reid adores him, he’s been highly productive as a do-it-all RB for stretches in the KC offense, and he’s a hell of a lot better pass protector than CEH will likely ever be.

Seems rash to simply ignore him if he’s with KC this coming season given how the HC views his value.

[Jigga94]

Bunch of self-quoted stuff

What was the point of bumping your own response? A rebuttal to J94, showing us that you significantly overrated CEH, an admission that you underrated Taylor, or some combination of the 3?

I did say that I didn't see "anyone" so he was just bringing that up. I am curious to hear how he feels about those rankings after the rookie years though

[bjd5211]

Will you feel the same way if Damien Williams is on the KC roster in 2021?

Why would anyone be worried about a 29 year old RB with less than 1,300 career rushing yards? Yes he had a nice run at the end of the year and SB performance last time we saw him, but so have many completely average players at numerous positions over the years.

Because Reid adores him, he’s been highly productive as a do-it-all RB for stretches in the KC offense, and he’s a hell of a lot better pass protector than CEH will likely ever be.

Seems rash to simply ignore him if he’s with KC this coming season given how the HC views his value.

Like the first RB he ever spent a 1st round pick on?