How much of an upgrade wouldd he be? Well for one he's bigger and taller than Leon, and also much more powerful as a runner...making him a candidate for more inside carries and long term as a franchise back. Secondly due to his superior size he can be a much better pass blocker. Face it, Leon is a great 3rd down RB/scat back/ Kick returner...but he does not project as a feature back. DMAC does.
He is a monumental upgrade to Leon as a RB. Leon is a third down back and a damn good one. You don't pass on a talent the likes of McFadden for Leon Washington. They can be used together and would complement each other really nicely into the future. Imagine having two guys on the field at the same time than can take it the distance any time they touch the ball?
Everyone wants to see home runs, but I think people are missing something here. We don't want to be a "quick strike" team. We want to be a football team that controls the clock, is dominating on defense and takes maybe one or two shots in the game to get a big play. Like it or not, that formula works more often than the sexier "go for a TD whenever you touch the ball". McFadden is a lot like Reggie Bush in that regard. He's a home run hitter who'll strike out a bunch of times and even ground into a bunch of double plays (fumbles). What we need is a guy that'll grind out yards and take what the defense gives him. We already have two guys that do that very well in TJ and Leon. I'm hoping we draft Gholston or one of the Longs. That's a FAR better option, IMO. The football that this regime wants to play requires that we get really good defensive playmakers and just a road-grating offensive line. We have a few really good defensive players (Jenkins, Rhodes, Revis, Harris, Pace?) but we need 2-3 more if we're going to have a dominating defense. We have a decent o-line, but we need more depth given the football we want to play. It just doesn't make much sense for us to take a RB at this point. Once we get a pass-rushing LB, a starting-calibre CB, hard-hitting SS and depth at OL, then we can talk about RB or WR or QB.
We want a football team that controls the clock? Speak for yourself. I want a team that exploits the clock and scores 30 a game. I want exciting and dominating football.
WHo's to say if we add DMAC that we arent a "Ball control" kind of team? If anything doesnt that FURTHER our ability to be a ball control kind of team? It adds another potentially elite ball carrier to throw at other teams, keeping bodies fresh, giving D's yet ANOTHER different style of running back to adjust to, and raises the competition across the board. I still don't understand the comparisions between Bush and DMAC aside from them both being considered elite RB prospects. DMAC was used ENTIRELY differently than bush was in college, he's a different STYLE of back and is considerably bigger. As for the other players you'd prefer to take....that's fine. Perhaps those players fill bigger needs...but at the same time, most of this debate is under the assumption that all those guys are GONE and DMAC is the best player left on the board at 6. Anyway you look at it, at this stage of the franchise we have an obligation to take the best player available at our spot regardless of position. If it's a guy that fills a core need...fantastic...if it's a guy like Dmac...sure, perhaps RB isnt our biggest need, but he still contributes from day 1 on, and we can rest assured that we took the best player available at our draft slot..which is important.
Remember when Pennington could bootleg better than any QB in the league? Nobody ever knew where the ball was, including the cameramen. That was because Curtis Martin was a real threat at RB. I don't know who the QB will be this year but I do know McFadden would make Pennington much better once again just by being on the field. We haven't had that threat since he left and if anything McFadden is even better. He is certainly faster.
I'm not buying what you're selling. The goal of every offense is to score touchdowns. We haven't had a quick strike offensive player in years(ever) and that is one of the reasons we can't score touchdowns. I'm also not believeing that this CS doesn't want that capability on offense. The fact that they were interested in moving up for Bush in their first draft and the amount of interest they have shown for McFadden supports the opinion that they do want some quick strike capabilty in the O. McFadden is really not similar to Bush as a RB in any way, besides the fact that they are both fast as can be. McFadden is much bigger and stronger and runs with way more power than Bush ever did. McFadden has the talent to be a feature RB and a damn good one too. I'm not sure Bush ever had that capabilty.
Nobody ever said that he would swtich to WR full time...not even 50/50 It would be an added dimension to our offense to be able to split our RB out at WR though. Curtis Martin lined up at WR sometimes in 4 and 5 WR sets and had good success with it. I would like to see my RB be able to do something similiar.
McFadden isn't even the best pass catcher out of the backfield out of the big 3 (now 2?) RBs, and you can line up most/any competent RBs at QB or WR. Tomlinson never threw a pass in college, but it hasn't stopped the Chargers from asking him to do it. We even had Leon throw a pass, and it didn't seem to throw off his life. To me his versatility is overblown because any intelligent and talented RB can do it...he just got into a program that actually had their RB do it.
Yes but his height (Almost 6'2) allows him to be a mismatch for alot defense's in the passing game. He essentially becomes another well sized WR w/ an RB's ball carrying ability after the catch. Mendenhall( 5'10) and Stewart(Not quick enough) don't offer that type of ability. Sure they're able to catch balls out of the backfield, but they dont become another WR in the slot like DMAC can.
Curtis and Tomlinson were like 5'10 and Martin was never considered an explosive back. Honestly, I still lean Mendenhall because I believe he can do everything McFadden can do but he'll last longer doing it.
Im not comparing DMAC to Martin/Tomlinson as recievers out of the backfield...I'm stating DMAC can do something completely different that has rarely been used in the past as an RB that can line-up in the slot and can actually become like another wide reciever w/ his size and skills. As for Mendenhall...I like him alot too..the only reasons I'd prefer DMAC is the fact that he relies less on power than mendenhall, and is faster, which means less collisions(which equates less injuries) and more potential for big plays.
