Three and Out with With the First Pick
Time for the weekly segment of three and out with our sister site www.withthefirstpick.com ‘s editor Ty MacDonell. It’s getting out a little late because I had some work things to take care of, but still worth the read.
Take your pick:
Q: Landry Jones or Matt Barkley?
A: Tough call but I am going to go with Barkley at the moment. That however could change after I evaluate Jones more closely on Saturday night against Florida State.
Q: Alshon Jeffrey or Justin Blackmon
A: Jeffrey for me. I actually just finished breaking down Jeffrey’s game film from last weekend and I think he has all of the tools to be special at the next level. He has the size and speed to make the transition, and his hands are exceptional. My only knock on Jeffrey is his effort away from the ball and in his route running.
Q: Devin Taylor or Brandon Jenkins?
A: Another tough call! I am going to go with Jenkins on this one. He is another player that I am looking forward to studying on Saturday night.
Q: What Game has you most excited for this weekend?
A: I think it is pretty clear that I am very excited for the Oklahoma/Florida State game on Saturday night. I absolutely love watching two teams who are challenging for the National Championship and who both have players on each side of the ball that are highly touted prospects. This is a great scenario as a fan and as a scout. And as a scout you always like to watch prospects perform against stiff competition and this match up should be a very good test for them.
2) Quinton Coples struggled vs Rutgers. Is he still a lock for the top 10?
A: I try not to over react to one bad performance, but that being said I will be writing his name into my top ten in pencil rather than pen until he proves me otherwise. Coples has all of the tools and I do think he will get his game back on track. That being said, his game against Rutgers was troubling.
3) What’s your philosophy of drafting running backs in the first round…and Where do you put Alabama’s Trent Richardon?
A: I think running backs should always be regarded as a luxury. I have always looked at building an offense the same way you would build a car. You need to start with the body, the engine and the break pads before you move onto the tinted windows and the stereo. To me running backs are the stereo because it doesn’t matter how loud and sexy the stereo is, if you don’t have the break pads and the body, the car wont run and all you will be left with is a hunk of junk and a really nice stereo that will be outdated by the time you get your car back on the road.
I also think a lot of teams draft running backs early in the draft because they are easy to get excited about, and easy for a fan base to get excited about too. For instance, Buffalo should have never taken CJ Spiller in the first round two years ago. They had holes all over that line-up, especially on offense. But they needed someone for the fans to get behind and it is easy for a fan to go onto Youtube and watch Spiller highlights and get excited and purchase tickets, more so then it is to watch highlights from an offensive linemen. The potential for bust at the running back position is huge, and there always seems to be guys taken in the later rounds or who go un-drafted who are just as successful or even more successful at the pro level. Not to mention the risk of injury at the position is high and the average career is short.
But if I was a really solid team who was just a few pieces away I would draft one in the first round or trade up and take the chance of getting one that I think is special. Some teams can afford to take this chance, but unfortunately the teams drafting in the top ten aren’t very good and need to get the fanbase excited after a poor year, so they take skill position players without building the trenches- where their biggest needs are. Usually teams that do that will end up picking in that same spot the next year. Detroit has been a perfect example of that for over a decade until they finally started building that team the right way.
Trent Richardson to me is a very good running back who should be able to make a seamless transition at the pro-level and become a bell cow for someone. He will probably be taken in the top ten because he will challenge for the Heisman and National Championship and everyone will be excited about him leading up to the draft. Some team will take him earlier then they should for the reasons I listed before. But does Trent Richardson have top ten talent? Absolutely, and if a team with a solid foundation trades up into the top ten to get him I would fully support it; for Richardson’s sake I hope that happens.