Rookie RB Scouting Report

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Rookie RB Scouting Report 2013


Eddie Lacy (Bama)
Strengths – Explodes through the hole and finds the hole quickly, always falls forward on every play which nets him 2 or 3 yards, Georgia and LSU (including Jarvis Jones 1st rounder) had trouble tackling him, has a good spin move that makes most tacklers miss, good blocker, has a nose for the end zone, consistent, can play from any formation, breaks tackles
Weaknesses – His hands are just ok at best (drops very catchable balls), whiffs on some plays where he is asked to block, occasionally fumbles, has some minor injury issues, had turf toe in 2011, tweaked hamstring in 2012 causing him to miss combine and delay pro day


Giovani Bernard (UNC)
Strengths – Always fights for extra yards, above average at blocking, has good hands, does not give up on plays (fumble recovery in the duke game for a td), after catching the ball he is always looking downfield trying to make plays, good return man, consistent, good balance, breaks tackles occasionally
Weaknesses – Plays out of the shotgun a lot except the occasional pistol and the goal line formation, seems only adequate at finding the hole and bursting through, nothing he does makes me say wow, tore acl in 2010, missed two games in 2012


Johnathan Franklin (UCLA)
Strengths – Can catch, runs well, occasionally breaks off a big run, good speed, blocking is above average, fights for extra yards, durable, finds the hole and explodes, somewhat elusive, all around back
Weaknesses – 865 career touches so far, lacks power to push people or break tackles, kind of small


Le'Veon Bell (MSU)
Strengths - Always pushing forward, tends to break off from the initial tackler, decent spin move, durable, pretty good at cuts, finds the hole fairly well, played in a pro style offense, can catch, carries defenders with him
Weaknesses - Just average at blocking, does not get a lot of passes, not really elusive, does not have top end speed, not impressive with his catching ability, plays through pain


Montee Ball (Wisconsin)
Strengths – Finds the hole and plows through, legs keep churning for more yards, when he sees open field he looks as if he is shot out of a cannon, plays in all formations, above average spin move, breaks tackles, durable, above average juke move, smart guy, matured and improved his work ethic while at Wisconsin, great balance, breakaway speed, durable
Weaknesses – Inconsistent when blocking, does not get a lot of pass receptions outside of 2011 with Russell Wilson, 650 carries between 2011 and 2012


Andre Ellington (Clemson)
Strengths – Explosive and fast, finds the hole without issue, good balance (auburn game), he can catch, he gets separation fairly easily, above average at juking, would be great on a high octane offense, lots of upside, above average at breaking tackles, fairly elusive, good cuts, very high upside
Weaknesses – Blocking is below average, would need time to develop as a blocker, fumbled unnecessarily against LSU, LSU made him look very average, already 24, missed 5 games in 2010 with injured foot, missed 1 game in 2011 from nagging hamstring injury


Joseph Randle (Oklahoma State)
Strengths – He can come out of the backfield and catch well, picks up blockers fairly well and is an above average blocker, above average runner, he is an all around back who can do everything but nothing exceptional, above average at finding holes, is not injury prone, fights for more yards, pretty good ball carrier vision
Weaknesses – Fumbled against Arizona, does not break many tackles, decent speed but tacklers chase him down, nothing he does makes me say wow


Mike Gillislee (Florida)
Strengths – Takes what the blockers give him, only 412 touches his entire college career, played in a pro style offense, plays through pain, likes to tiptoe along the sideline into the end zone, pretty good blocker, real team player, played against SEC defenses, consistent, follows his blockers well
Weaknesses – Only average speed, nothing makes me say wow, not much of a receiving back, fumbled against Missouri, couple of minor injuries but he played through them


Zac Stacy (Vanderbilt)
Really impressed when watching the second time.


Kerwynn Williams (Utah State)
Strengths – Can catch, takes off with open field, played in pro style offense, blocks well for his size, explosive as a pass catching back, home run hitter
Weaknesses – Only 5 foot 7 inches, cannot find an injury history for him, only a decent runner, only an average blocker overall, fumbled against UNLV


Marcus Lattimore (SC)
Strengths – Can cut and juke really well, hits the holes quickly, can block, big back, explosive, can catch, high character guy, looked like he was better than Bernard prior to injury, pretty elusive
Weaknesses – Very injury prone, fumbled against Vanderbilt, injuries have made him lose some of his burst, that leg injury against Tennessee was brutal


Stepfan Taylor (Stanford)
Strengths - Ran in a pro style offense, has never missed a game, pretty elusive, can catch and run screens, makes good cuts/jukes, powers forward when tackled, pretty good blocker, patient, follows blockers, finds the hole pretty well,
Weaknesses - 843 carries so far, not that fast, fumbled unnecessarily against Oregon, is not explosive, only had one play that made me say wow


Kenjon Barner (Oregon)
Strengths - Speedy outside of the tackles, above average elusiveness, can catch, follows his blockers pretty well, separates himself in open field, good balance, looked better in fiesta bowl
Weaknesses - Not the most durable, does not break many tackles, often he does not fight for extra yards, did not get a lot of catches in college, played mostly out of the shotgun, does not run between the tackles often, avoids contact and runs out of bounds when available


Dennis Johnson (Arkansas)
Strengths – Played in pro style offense, reads the D pretty well, patiently follows blockers, catches the ball without issue, above average speed, fights for more yards, good balance, typically shakes off the first tackler
Weaknesses – Had a season ending injury in 2010, missed two games in 2011, scouts are a tad worried about his maturity, only adequate blocker, fumbled against Ole Miss 2011


Knile Davis (Arkansas)
Strengths – Played in pro style offense, finds the hole without issue, fast when he has open field, cuts well, slippery, can catch, has a good quick initial burst, good balance, knows how to tiptoe down the sideline, Kiper says he can block
Weaknesses - Fractured his collarbone during his junior year of high school, suffered an ankle injury during 2009 spring practice, in 2011 he missed entire season after suffering a fractured left ankle during preseason scrimmage, fumbled three times against Texas A&M (2012) but recovered it once, almost fumbled a fourth time but the ground caused it, had issues with coaching staff
(Only have 1 game from 2012, rest is from 2010)


Christine Michael (Texas A&M)
Strengths - Has speed to separate, occasionally explosive, played in pro style offense, finds the hole well, above average spin and cuts, can run over defenders
Weaknesses - 2010 and 2011 suffered season ending injuries, only 88 carries in 2012, fumbled against Arkansas, does not get a lot of passes, fell out of favor in 2012 with the coaches, suspended from 2 games in 2012, slept through 2 meetings with scouts at the combine


Jawan Jamison (Rutgers)
Strengths - Played in pro style offense, good blocker, good pass catcher, kind of elusive, above average speed
Weaknesses - Small frame, hamstring injury in 2011, injured ankle in 2012


Miguel Maysonet (Stony Brook)
Played for a small school but looked good.


Latavius Murray (UCF)
A good pass catcher and looked above average, also ran a 4.45 40 time at his pro day. Surprisingly good.


DJ Harper (Boise St)
Strengths – Considered by scouts to be a high character guy, squeezes through small holes, pretty fast, above average hands, gets up to top end speed quickly, good ball security
Weaknesses – Season ending torn ACL in 2009, tore same ACL in 2010 and missed 10 games, will turn 24 at the start of the 2013 season, needs to show more patience for blockers, takes too many big hits


Rex Burkhead (Nebraska)
Looked good against Georgia in bowl game.


Cierre Wood (ND)
Just looked real average and had nothing special about him.


Stefphon Jefferson (Nevada)
Strengths – Can catch, has above average speed, can handle a heavy load, waits for blocks to develop, has no known injury issues
Weaknesses – Three fumbles in two games, only started one season, not great with cuts, not a good pass protector


Theo Rid**** (ND)
Strengths – Pretty good blocker, breaks tackles, pretty good route runner
Weaknesses – Missed 6 games between 2010 and 2011, not real fast, slow to regain speed after cuts, drops some easy passes


Ray Graham (Pitt)
Strengths – Good cuts, can catch, can block, gets to top end speed quick but gets chased down by defenders, is good in the open field
Weaknesses – Won’t break many tackles, has some issues with fumbilitis, suffered ACL injury in 2011, small in size


George Winn (Cincy)
Strengths – Durable, power runner, patient while following his blocking
Weaknesses – Is not a pass catching back, is not fast, just average


Chris Thompson (Florida St)
Pretty good pass catching back who can’t handle a lot of carries in one game. Injury prone including ACL tear this past season.


Robbie Rouse (Fresno St)
Undersized back with nothing that made him stand out


Mike James (Miami)
Did not see anything special from the limited game tape.


Michael Ford (LSU)
Strengths – Durable and low tread, speedy outside of the tackles, great combine
Weaknesses – Very rarely runs between the tackles and when he does he hardly gets anything, one trick pony, misses opportunities for bigger plays by running east and west instead of north and south, only 8 catches in 3 seasons, does not tend to run through defenders

To watch tape of these players just youtube the players name and vs
Ex. Eddie Lacy vs
 

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