2017 NFL Draft: Top 3 Running Back Prospects
By jonfox
- Leonard Fournette, RB LSU
He’s the top runner and the top prospect for this draft. He could be the next coming of Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell and Adrian Peterson. And he seems like a good guy on and off the field(ask the South Carolina Gamecocks). The only question I have with him is how Alabama was able to bottle him up so completely. And I think that a lot of it had to do with disrupting him before he turned the corner.
But outside of that question, it’s hard to find any flaws in his game. He has an amazing combo of speed and power, rarely fumbles and isn’t afraid to pass block. Scouts will be watching to see if losing Alexander and Hawkins to the NFL affects his production, but if he shines again in 2016, then it’s hard to see him not as a top 3 pick in this draft.
As for a pro comparison: I prefer Dickerson to Peterson. Fournette pass blocks better than Peterson does.
- Christian McCaffrey, RB Stanford
Some pundits have him ahead of Fournette because of his multi-dimensional threat and the more pro-style system he plays in with David Shaw. I can see why he’s seen so highly but in a vacuum I’d rather have Fournette. McCaffrey would be perfect for a passing offense in the NFL: he wouldn’t rack up a ton of rushes and could contribute like Le’veon Bell does for the Steelers.
In any other draft, he’d be in consideration for a top 5 pick but with Fournette and a number of other quality runners available later, he might drop somewhat: fair or not. But a team should get themselves a running back who can fit in with every system.
The Reggie Bush comparison is pretty lazy if you ask me. I would compare him to a bigger Brian Westbrook. And I have him graded as a top 15 pick.
- Dalvin Cook, RB FSU.
Cook plays in an I-Form base set for his running plays and he would be quite effective in this set in the NFL. He has good vision, speed, quickness and a nose for turning the corner at full speed. In almost any other draft, he would have been the top running back available but he can’t compete with the freakishness of Fournette and McCaffrey.
His problem is that he doesn’t have elite balance or power nor does he have McCaffrey’s elite athleticism. Unless he takes some major steps forward in his development in 2016, what a team would be getting would be a much lesser talent Curtis Martin: a guy who’ll grind out 1200 yards seasons at best but he’s not going to regularly overwhelm NFL defenses.
He often gets compared to Jamaal Charles, but I just don’t see it. He doesn’t have that athletic ability to blow away a defense. A better pro comparison for me would be Lamar Miller.
Grade: Top 20 pick.