Jonathan Taylor is your 1.01 now.

[Hottoddies]

Glad to hear that I'm not totally alone on a island when I have 3 RBs ranked ahead of Taylor. I don't think he'll bust, but I do prefer others(including CEH) ahead of him. I do have to warn you though that this will be a VERY unpopular take.

[FantasyFreak]

Who is the DH you included as a bust? Derrick henry the NFL rushing champ and number 3 fantasy RB?

also taylor caught more balls than swift, it's a myth he can't be used in the passing game

Henderson.

I'm pretty much captain of the "DON'T DRAFT HENEDERSON IN THE FIRST ROUND" club, but even I think it's ridiculous to call him a bust, especially now that Gurley has left

Not arguing that.

[PR0v3]

The fantasy community has been and still is way higher on Taylor than the draft/scouting community. It is not even clear if Taylor will be the first RB off the board, as many mocks still have him in the round two range.

I do not find this take surprising, given OPs history, as it seems to break from the casual fantasy footballer opinion and fall more in line with the professionals.

I’m always skeptical of commonly held opinions by amateurs that don’t align with the professionals.

[kadun2]

Thanks Mike,
This was perfectly timed.
It was getting quiet around here. I always appreciate your write-ups.

[FantasyFreak]

The fantasy community has been and still is way higher on Taylor than the draft/scouting community. It is not even clear if Taylor will be the first RB off the board, as many mocks still have him in the round two range.

I do not find this take surprising, given OPs history, as it seems to break from the casual fantasy footballer opinion and fall more in line with the professionals.

I’m always skeptical of commonly held opinions by amateurs that don’t align with the professionals.

So Bucky Brook saying Gurley will be an MVP candidate this year is a lock? He has JT as his RB5. Then again, at the end of February last year, he had Riley Ridley as a first round WR, and a lot of people that weren't involved in his industry sure didn't. I understand what you are saying, but most of these guys lost their jobs years ago as scouts or whatever their role was in an organization, and simply watch film, don't utilize metrics, or any newer and useful form of information. I never hear anything about metrics in the draft scout community. It remains to be seen where Taylor goes, but regardless, he's a lock to be a top 2 round RB, and many players in the 2nd round end up being better than players drafted ahead of them. MT, AJ Brown etc. etc.

The difference with Taylor, compared to a lot of other situations, is analytically, he's an elite prospect. So it will be interesting to see what ends up happening.

[MEuRaH]

So having said all this, what qualities/makes Swift a better prospect? Because I love Taylor’s combination of speed/power/hands. I dont think he has a ton of wiggle, but I didn’t think Chubb did either at Georgia. He can make subtle cuts in the hole to find cutback lanes. I have Taylor and Swift at 1 and 2 and keep switching them around constantly.

Fair question, but I wouldn't go on to compare JT to Chubb, who I argue has better vision, proper stop-and-go technique, and can play on third downs. There's a difference between talent and skill. Talent is something you're born with like great strength and agility, and you can work on those things to improve but your genes gave you an edge. Skill is something you have to create from scratch and work on improving over time. Throwing a football, tackling, etc. Chubb came out of college with far better skills than JT (imo).

Simply put for Swift: He has it all. He's not on the elite level as I had Zeke or Barkley, but he's has the perfect combination of talent and skill combined into one. He's far more polished than Jonathan Taylor and it's not close.

Mike, do you have a link to your initial report for 2020?

It's not out yet.

I'm pretty much captain of the "DON'T DRAFT HENEDERSON IN THE FIRST ROUND" club, but even I think it's ridiculous to call him a bust, especially now that Gurley has left

Opportunity means he's not a bust? Joking aside, I agree that he's not a bust..... yet. He was a 2019 bust is what I should have said.

Glad to hear that I'm not totally alone on a island when I have 3 RBs ranked ahead of Taylor. I don't think he'll bust, but I do prefer others(including CEH) ahead of him. I do have to warn you though that this will be a VERY unpopular take.

I'm not new to unpopular takes. BTW, I've noticed that you and I have had similar opinions for quite a while. Every time something is said on these forums that I agree with I look at the author and your name pops up more than most. Nice.

I do not find this take surprising, given OPs history, as it seems to break from the casual fantasy footballer opinion and fall more in line with the professionals.

On the contrary. I am the sole ranker that does not have him as #1 or #2. I would say I'm not in line with the professionals at all: https://dynastyleaguefootball.com/2020- ... -rankings/

EDIT: Turns out that Jeff H also doesn't have him in the top 2, so I'm not the "sole ranker".

The difference with Taylor, compared to a lot of other situations, is analytically, he's an elite prospect. So it will be interesting to see what ends up happening.

Yep, and this is exactly why I said that I would avoid him in 2020 and buy low for next year. It's because of the analytics. I think he's a project player, and it will remain to be seen if he'll ever catch on or not. I'd rather not take the risk. If he became an elite prospect I wouldn't be shocked. If he failed I wouldn't be shocked.

If he took the NFL by storm and dominated 2020, I'd be shocked.

[Pac_Eddy]

JT didn't play on third downs. That doesn't mean he can't. One of the knocks on Chubb was that he didn't play on thirds, so it's interesting that you say he can now (no idea if you thought he could it not predraft).

Thanks for posting. Interesting opinion. Keep them coming.

[FantasyFreak]

JT didn't play on third downs. That doesn't mean he can't. One of the knocks on Chubb was that he didn't play on thirds, so it's interesting that you say he can now (no idea if you thought he could it not predraft).

Thanks for posting. Interesting opinion. Keep them coming.

When the guy is getting 300 plus touches every year on mostly first or 2nd down, I think it was as much giving him a breather as anything. The guy can't be on the field every play and take that workload, too. They wanted to maximize his usage for what worked for their system. Gordon was even less off a receiver than JT in his time at Wisky, and became a very good PPR back at the next level. JT caught more passes this year than Swift, despite not playing third downs nearly as much. I really don't care about JT playing on every 3rd down, if he's catching some passes on first and 2nd down his first few years, and getting 250 plus carries, including goal line work.

[DJB]

While I've been on the Dobbins is the best RB in this draft train for a while, I have had JT as the 3rd best, I do have a tough time not taking him in the top 6 like you mentioned Mike.

Had you said top 5 I could be inclined because it likely means you have Akers ranked higher which wouldn't be outrageous.

I love CEH as a prospect hes one of my guys I really like but even I cant put him ahead of JT and I'm assuming hes the 5th guy you have ahead of JT.

I am interested to see where your guys are ranked overall at least up until JT if possible.

[Shankopotamus]

Glad to hear that I'm not totally alone on a island when I have 3 RBs ranked ahead of Taylor. I don't think he'll bust, but I do prefer others(including CEH) ahead of him. I do have to warn you though that this will be a VERY unpopular take.

Ha, my top 3 are Dobbins, Akers, and CEH in that order. They all look good though.

These receivers are absurd too.

[Hottoddies]

While I've been on the Dobbins is the best RB in this draft train for a while, I have had JT as the 3rd best, I do have a tough time not taking him in the top 6 like you mentioned Mike.

Had you said top 5 I could be inclined because it likely means you have Akers ranked higher which wouldn't be outrageous.

I love CEH as a prospect hes one of my guys I really like but even I cant put him ahead of JT and I'm assuming hes the 5th guy you have ahead of JT.

I am interested to see where your guys are ranked overall at least up until JT if possible.

I don't want to speak for someone else, but he didn't say that he had 5 RBs ranked ahead of Taylor. What he did say is that he would not draft Taylor in the top 6 and that he would rather draft someone like Dobbins or a top WR.

[FantasyFreak]

While I've been on the Dobbins is the best RB in this draft train for a while, I have had JT as the 3rd best, I do have a tough time not taking him in the top 6 like you mentioned Mike.

Had you said top 5 I could be inclined because it likely means you have Akers ranked higher which wouldn't be outrageous.

I love CEH as a prospect hes one of my guys I really like but even I cant put him ahead of JT and I'm assuming hes the 5th guy you have ahead of JT.

I am interested to see where your guys are ranked overall at least up until JT if possible.

I really don't think they are comparable talents, TBH. I like CEH a lot, but it's not really close IMO. Rookie drafts should be interesting this year, so many different views.

[AussieMate]

While I've been on the Dobbins is the best RB in this draft train for a while, I have had JT as the 3rd best, I do have a tough time not taking him in the top 6 like you mentioned Mike.

Had you said top 5 I could be inclined because it likely means you have Akers ranked higher which wouldn't be outrageous.

I love CEH as a prospect hes one of my guys I really like but even I cant put him ahead of JT and I'm assuming hes the 5th guy you have ahead of JT.

I am interested to see where your guys are ranked overall at least up until JT if possible.

I don't want to speak for someone else, but he didn't say that he had 5 RBs ranked ahead of Taylor. What he did say is that he would not draft Taylor in the top 6 and that he would rather draft someone like Dobbins or a top WR.

That's how I took it as well. My top 6 in no particular order is Dobbins, Swift, Taylor, Lamb, Reagor, Jeudy. still not on board witht he CEH love but Akers is growing on me, been looking into him a lot more and I can see the potential and appeal.

[Hottoddies]

Glad to hear that I'm not totally alone on a island when I have 3 RBs ranked ahead of Taylor. I don't think he'll bust, but I do prefer others(including CEH) ahead of him. I do have to warn you though that this will be a VERY unpopular take.

Ha, my top 3 are Dobbins, Akers, and CEH in that order. They all look good though.

These receivers are absurd too.

This island is getting more crowded all the time. LOL. I personally keep flipping between Swift and Dobbins for the top spot. I also have the top 6 or so prospects fairly close this year so landing spots will play a big role in my final choice.

[MrUbuto]

I think it's really unfair to say JT cant catch balls and be a third down back. As another poster mentioned that was the big knock on chubb too. Wisconsin is the absolute definition of a power back system they just don't use RBs that way, and chubb suffered from a similar system.

All you can really do is look at the small sample size of when he was asked to catch a few how did he do? He did great, there is no reason that should be a narrative. He is a prototypical 3 down back if you ask me and in the NFL you have to do that kind of work.