How do you know he's a pro bowl talent? Has Cedric Benson been there yet? How about Cadillac Williams? Have Ronnie Brown and Adrian Peterson already shown signs of not being able to stand up over the long haul? Did Ricky Williams go to the pro bowl with his first team? You are making so many assumptions in your statement that it's just silly to try to argue them out with you. Leon Washington is going to be just fine as a 15-20 carry a game back and there have been a half dozen running backs in all of NFL history who could stand up for more than a season or two to 25-30 carries a game. To suggest that Washington is not already a great prospect, given what he's shown us, because he can't stand up to some mythical barrier that almost nobody can stand up to is ridiculous. If I told you that Joba Chamberlain wasn't as good as the best college pitcher right now because he wasn't going to be able to pitch 250-300 innings a season how stupid would I look?
i think everyday i flipflop on whether or not to take McFadden if he's available. the only reason i don't like selecting a RB that high is because you invest so much and he has the most likely chance to get injured out of every other position, along with already having two RB's who'd do very well with a better OL and an improved passing attack. my reasoning for not taking McFadden is not becaus of the OL; i truly believe that will be addressed this Offseason and therefore McFadden would have holes to run through next year. McFadden is the most alluring pick because of his gamebreaking skill, combined with the fact that the Jets haven't had a player like that in who-knows-how-long. but with so many different needs, it's hard to pick him. the question i have is, if the Jets can't trade down and McFadden is sitting there waiting for his name to be called, then what?
I've seen him play for 3 years now, that is how I know he is a pro bowl talent. He is a better prospect than any of the RBs you mentioned with the possible exception of Peterson, who had injury/durabilty concerns coming into the league. I guess the part I am missing is what exactly has Washington shown us that suggests he is already a great RB prospect?
Interesting points. Again, I'd rather trade down. I agree that the top priority right now should be enhancing the o-line and d-line. That being said, top 5 picks really should be reserved for offensive playmakers (and the occasional defensive superstar). And McFadden seems like the best playmaker potentially available there.
BS. This guy is an UNKOWN NFL talent. He will remain that way until he proves otherwise. Reggie Bush had been said to be the best RB to come out of college in 20 years. Give me a break.
I think you're selling Leon a little short. Sure he's a gadget player, with that kind of juking ability and speed-burst, you've got to use him for that. But I'd love to see what he can do behind some huge lardasses that turn nose tackles into human bowling pins. I've often watched Schottenheimer run Leon up the middle for no (or little) gain and I'm swearing like everybody else, but often our O-line isn't making the holes either, not even for a more power runner like Jones. But yesterday, there were a couple of glimpses of daylight that Leon found and he was within a half step of breaking it a couple of times because the O-line was actually blowing some small holes on some of those plays. So no, I think we're all still not getting what a strong O-line could do for the entire game, passing game included. If Clemens gets another half-second he looks like he could torch you real bad. Now that's what I'M talkin' about... I'll say it again and all spring if I have to... If we don't do anything else this offseason but build the biggest, meanest, most meanspirited masters of destruction on both lines that has ever been seen on one team, we will have accomplished WAY more than I could ever hope for, and I'd be tickled pink without the addition of even one more player for now.
yeah, there are times when Clemens holds the ball too long. but most of the time, the WR's don't even have enough time to run their routes before the pocket collapses on Clemens. in my opinion he's smart enough to make good decisions with the ball when both he AND the WR's are given time.
You've seen him play at the NCAA level. He's been getting tackled mostly by guys that are going to be working construction in two years not NFL players. Washington played at Florida State. This is a school that always rotates two or three backs and has going back to the mid 90's. They almost never have a 1,000 yard rusher (Warrick Dunn being the only person who has rushed for 1,000 yards in back to back seasons since 1980) and they use their backs situationally. The thing that shows us that Washington is a great prospect is that not only did he perform at high levels in college in the role he was assigned, but he has performed at high levels with the Jets in the roles he has been assigned. He's not just a great kick returner, he's a great third down back. These are the roles the Jets have given him to play. However, when he gets a lot of carries he also produces. His two 20+ carry games produced 101 and 129 yards respectively. For his career when he gets double digit carries in a game he is: 107 carries for 482 yards rushing, 5 TD's and 1 fumble. That's in 7 games which averages out to 244 carries for 1,102 yards and 11 TD's with 2 fumbles over the course of a 16 game season. His YPC when he is used aggressively is 4.5. Behind this crappy line!
I agree 100%. D'Brick at #4 would appear taken at too high a price. He is not #4 talent. Mangold at #29 was reasonable.
People see Washington as too small to be an everydown NFL back but he's actually just 3 pounds lighter than McFadden and 6 inches shorter. It's impossible to predict injuries with runningbacks, but I'd much rather take my chances with somebody of Leon Washington's build than somebody with McFaddens. Getting to the ground effectively at the end of a carry is probably the key element in how durable an NFL runningback is and I'm guessing Leon is there quicker than any of the 6'2" guys running right now.
I think you are right. If we give our backs (today) holes to run through by improving our Offensive line, and increase the times they can get to the second line of defense (defensive backfield) or secondary, we will see some huge plays from them; simply by using the law of averages. Currently, they do not have the supporting cast to accomplish what they are capable of.
I'm with you on that. And a shorter RB is harder to tackle (or I should say, wrap up) because you can't get low enough on him, so they have to resort to a high tackle or, in his case because of his unbelievable juking skills, an arm-tackle at best sometimes, and that doesn't always work with Leon, which explains his success in returns. But let's not also assume that Leon donesn't have power just because he's short. Take a look at that Dolphins game video BlairThomasFumble posted and specifically that one TD Leon had yesterday along the left sideline, where he's gt a defender on him and he pretty much bowls over the second defender to get it into the end zone. All of these are arguments against taking McFadden, I'm sorry to say. We don't need him, IMO, but hey, I sure do hope he's there when we're on the clock, because I'd put a gun to whoever wants him real bad and wind up with a nice bundle of picks. Then we could drop a little and draft for need, like a really fast, physical, stereotypical WR in the mold of a TO or Keyshawn or a Plaxico or Moss. That would round out our offense a lot more than taking a RB, IMO.
Peterson is a great back, but he has blockers. The Tandem of Thomas Jones and Leon Washington can be super - if they had above average if not really good blocking up front. As good as McFadden is, what we need is help on the lines again. Both lines need upgrades.
I think everybody can come up with reasons not to draft DMC or to get him, and nobodies mind is really going to change. But simply put I feel you get your stars when you are bad. You don't become mediocre and find your stars being a 10-6 9-7 team every year, because you are not in the position to Draft these type of guys. Oddly enough you are in position to take very good Line men, which is why this is funny. The Line are going to come, they always do. The Jets aren't going to be superbowl contenders next year. They could be good or solid, but the team has little chance to be a contender in this conference no matter what the lines look like next year. So It's definitively going to take two years to be Elite at the earliest. So what does it matter if this year we get DMC and Line completely built over getting our Line completely built then trying to find a DMC tatlent at pick 16-22 next year???? I really don't see what the Beef is about, if he is there we got to take him. If you took Washington, Jones and Brad Smith and mixed it up in a bowl, you would probably get a player that can do what McFadden can come on this team and do. I would love to see him in our back field.
Umm, if we wait to beef up the line, we get Clemens' ripped to pieces. Then we're looking for a QB in '09, and we're once again 3 years from a Super Bowl. Eventually you have to take care of the line. Considering it takes at least a few months (if not a year) to really gel, we may as well get it done, and hope we can compete in 2 years. There are far more (and better) reasons not to draft McFadden. But of course, this is the same board that swore Reggie Bush would take the NFL by storm.
Come on, what is that a homeland security tactic. If we draft DMC, Kellen will die???LOL Can we add a guard after we draft DMC or is it the running back on one end and Kellen getting sacked 80 times in 08???
Is KC getting hit or scrambling too often right now? The answer is yes. Will that get any better if we don't improve the OLine? No. Will our defense get any better without improving our DLine? No. Will either improve by drafting McFadden? No. So how does McFadden improve the NY Jets? The answer is, he doesn't.
If you think other guys will improve the Jets MORE then so be it. But to think that a guy of DMac's talent level doesn't improve the Jets at all is just lying to yourself.
