DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2013 NFL Season NFL Draft (2013) Blackmon, Richardson, or trade down

Wow we reached the "I have nothing better to say so I'm just going to insult you" point really quickly...

What's more stupid than making up some random stat based on college statistics?

Browns fans are well aware that Thomas and Rubin don't score points.
At just under 13 points per game, Browns fans are well aware that we don't have anybody who scores points.
The coach puts them in position to fail.

This game is fun!

Adrian Peterson - 1 point per 3.83 touches
Braylon Edwards - 1 point per 1.47 touches

One of these guys is having a really hard time finding a job in this league....

It's almost if that stat doesn't prove anything!

How many people think Pittsburgh would have won the Superbowl ( and games leading up to it ) without Jerome Bettis ? Yet the receivers and Ben made the BIG plays. Doesn't happen without him. Teams STILL have to be balanced with threats everywhere to make them truly effective. Some teams suck at defending the run and some suck at defending the pass.

Right now teams don't have to worry about EITHER with us. If we get the chance I say fix at least one THIS year with the best RB to come out in a long while. It's the least risky, the quickest and should give us INSTANT credibilty in at least one aspect of our offense.

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I think we need a threat at WR. Backs are a dime a dozen and you can find a serviceable RB or RBBC in this league easier then you can find that Threat at WR.

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In the end we need both a quality RB and a threat WR.. and we need the whole package of OL and QB play to elevate its game before either is going to be really effective... so the question becomes which holes are most effectively filled this year.. and I think we should be able to fill 3 holes with pretty good players.

Some of your post I agree with. Some I disagree with.
Look at last years top 6 rushers
Maurice Jones Drew 2nd rounder
Ray Rice 2nd rounder
Michael Turner 5th rounder
LeSean McCoy 2nd rounder
Arian Foster undrafted
Frank Gore 3rd rounder

top 6 receivers
Calvin Johnson 1st
Wes Welker undrafted
Victor Cruz undrafted
Steve Smith 3rd
Roddy White 1st
Jordy Nelson 2nd

There are a lot of busts at both in the first as well. so the moral of the story, you can find elite at any level in the draft, just draft the right guy for the right system.

I go Richardson.


He is the best back in the draft. I am not sure Blackmon is the best receiver.



Add in the fact we have a suck ass QB, give him someone to hand the ball.

I go Richardson.


He is the best back in the draft. I am not sure Blackmon is the best receiver.



Add in the fact we have a suck ass QB, give him someone to hand the ball not named Ogyyboyonyanna or Hurtesty.

Yea but it WAS funnier the 2nd time.

..I've had several seneros that appeal to me..I know we need instant impact immediately and would like to stay @ 4..but there's a part of me that wants them to trade back a bit secure a extra 2nd and 3rd..then they can target a lot of positions early on.

But I never try to predict trades so staying at 4..

1-Richardson
2-WR/or OT
3-Weeden

or

Blackmon/Claiborne
Martin(rb)
Weeden

Something along those lines..however they need to grab a OLB somewhere in this draft and if they don't ,they'll have a huge need there.

J/C

I say the pick is Justin Blackmon just by this alone. When Shurmur was asked about running the ball on 3 and 1's he said he will be throwing the ball everytime. So just by these statements last season, I assume he will get to voice his opinion about what he wants and I'm thinking it wouldn't be a RB at #4.

I wouldn't think H & H would draft a RB so high knowing your Head Coach won't utilize him as much as a WR you drafted.

I'm torn either way, I wanted Blackmon in last years draft had he come out, I would love to have a stud RB, then RB is not a need in the draft anymore and you now have 12 more picks. And with the #22 pick you will still have a few decent wr's to pick from.

Would you rather have:
Blackmon and L Miller, D Martin, D Wilson or <<<<<<<<<< my pick
Richardson and A Jeffrey, K Wright, M Sanu, S Hill

I believe we will target Tannehill at 1a
I also believe 1b primary would be a RT if Glenn, Reiff or Martin is there.

If they are gone, Stephen Hill is the freak and if you look at Heckert's history he loves the combine freaks like Greg Little.

Now if we get our RT at 22. 37 and a trade up from 68 should get our WR and RB.

Trent Richardson a 'sure thing' along with top two QBs, says Bill Polian

Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 9:16 AM

The two quarterbacks expected to be selected in the top two picks in the 2012 NFL draft—Stanford's Andrew Luck and Baylor's Robert Griffin III—are seen by many scouts and talent evaluators as "can't-miss prospects." One notable former team executive thinks one more notable offensive prospect belongs in that category.

Appearing as a guest on Sirius XM NFL Blitz on Sirius XM Radio on Monday, former Indianapolis Colts vice chairman Bill Polian—now an analyst for ESPN—called Luck, Griffin and Alabama running back Trent Richardson the "three sure-thing players" in the class of 2012.

The Colts are expected to take Luck with the first overall pick on April 26, in their first draft without Polian since 1997—the year before they took Peyton Manning in the same No. 1 spot. The Washington Redskins also are very confident that Griffin can be a franchise QB and are set to take him No. 2 after trading up with the St. Louis Rams.

As for where Richardson goes, that's up in the air. Even with feature back Adrian Peterson coming off a major knee injury, the Minnesota Vikings are in greater need of an offensive tackle (such as USC's Matt Kalil) and a cornerback (such as LSU's Morris Claiborne).

Picking in the two spots after Minnesota, the Cleveland Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are viewed as potential landing spots for Richardson. So while he won't be right behind Griffin and Luck again—like he was in the 2011 Heisman Trophy race—he might be ahead of them with his potential to provide an immediate impact to the team that makes him a top-five pick.

I tell ya, after watching some of the "On the clock" special last night on bSPN, I'm more than sold on TR. He looks built to absorb the pounding that an AFCN runner will take. Built like a tank and exceptional vision.

I'd have no issues with the Browns drafting this guy. Or Blackmon.

Both are immediate improvements.

This is the only thread w/ Richardson in the title . . .

RB Trent Richardson exception to the rule as positional value keeps sliding

By Jason Cole | Yahoo! Sports – 18 hours ago


It appears that just about anybody who plays running back is the new Mr. Irrelevant of the NFL draft.
Even someone as good as Trent Richardson of Alabama.

"I love Trent Richardson, everything about him," a personnel executive with an NFC team said in March. "Great football player, loves the game. Great kid, very mature, a leader. Physically, he reminds me of George Rogers and I mean the good George Rogers …"

[ Video: Trent Richardson's preparation for the NFL draft ]

That's high praise considering that Rogers was the No. 1 pick of the 1981 draft, was the 1980 Heisman Trophy winner and later helped the Washington Redskins win Super Bowl XXII.

Of course, all of that was build-up to the eventual, "But …"

"If you're asking me if I'd take him in the top 10 picks, the answer is no. Not the way the game is played today," said the executive, who is also a former NFL player. "It kind of hurts me to say it, but that's just reality. Look around the league: It's not a running back league anymore."

The 2012 NFL draft figures to further illustrate the accelerating decline in the value of running backs. In 2011, Mark Ingram was the only running back selected in the first round. The only other time that happened since the NFL and AFL merged drafts was in 1984.

This year, it may happen again. Richardson is the only running back considered a lock to go in the first round. Many people believe Richardson will go either No. 4 to the Cleveland Browns or No. 5 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sources with both teams strongly hinted that Richardson is a consideration at those spots.

Then again, if he doesn't go one to one of those teams, Richardson could be on the board for awhile. After the Bucs, no team has an overwhelming need for a running back until the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 17. And even if Richardson is joined by Boise State's Doug Martin in the first round, this will mark the fewest running backs to go in the opening stanza in back-to-back years.

In other words, one of the most dominant positions in the game's history has become little more than an afterthought.

"You spread people out, try to get the defense out of position, look for a mismatch and then try to hit a crease," said St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher, who coached Chris Johnson in Tennessee when Johnson ran for 2,006 yards in 2009. Johnson, only 195 pounds, excels in large part because of his exceptional quickness and speed.

"We don't line up and run out of I-formation that much anymore" Fisher said. "The days when you lined up with the running back deep in the backfield and let him watch the blocking develop, that's done. Maybe once in a while or after you've been lucky enough to build up a lead and you're grinding it out in the second half. But that's situational stuff, not your base offense."

The evolution of the NFL as an elaborate seven-on-seven league has been obvious by the explosion of passing numbers. Not only did New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees obliterate the single-season record with 5,476 passing yards (breaking Dan Marino's mark of 5,084 in 1984) in 2011, but Tom Brady (5,235) would have and Matthew Stafford (5,038) was close. Until last year, Marino and Brees were the only passers to eclipse the 5,000-yard mark).

"The idea that you throw to score and run to win has been taken to the extreme," said Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith, whose cowbell rusher Michael Turner finished third in ground yards (1,340) last season. "It's hard, especially for a defensive coach like me, to sometimes accept that, but that's the nature of the game. It's four and five wideouts, and the short passing game has become the running game."

Receivers such as Wes Welker, Roddy White, Brandon Marshall and Marques Colston have become the extension of the running game. That is particularly true in the regular season, when the officiating tends to tilt toward the passing game.

"You throw it up there and you either get 15 or 20 yards or you get a pass-interference call half the time," New York Jets coach Rex Ryan said, half-joking.

All of that means the running back has become an endangered species, the in-line blocking tight end is no more than a reserve and the true fullback is all but a dinosaur.

During the five drafts from 2007 to 2011, only 14 first-round running backs were selected and just 28 total drafted in the first two rounds. Only Darren McFadden in 2008 was taken with one of the top five picks.

By comparison, from 1988 to 1992 – when eventual Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith were chosen – 21 running backs were taken in the first round and 38 in the first two. From 1978 to 1982, the numbers were 26 in the first round and 44 overall. Both of those five-year periods came when the NFL had only 28 teams rather than the current 32.

While teams shy away from drafting workhouse-type backs, they're also very protective of their veteran rushers.

"If you have a good running back, you don't want to burn him out. It's all about keep him fresh now," said San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, who limited bullish running back Frank Gore to 282 carries last season. "Frank wants the ball every down and I love that mentality. But you have to be smart, too, and it's my job to make sure he's healthy all season."

Which gets back to Richardson. He's a fabulously talented runner who might have been an overwhelming candidate to be the No. 3 overall pick … 20 years ago.

"Even 10 years ago, you see a player like that and you don't think twice about him," an AFC executive said. "You watch the way he played in those two games against LSU last season [including the national title game] and that's all you really need to know about him. He was everything for Alabama. He was their whole offense. LSU knew it, all the fans knew it and it didn't matter. He was the best offensive player on the field."

For all that praise, the executive stopped short of saying Richardson was a lock to go in the top 10.

"It really just all depends on how you want to build your team," the AFC executive said. "If you're in the minority and you try to build around the running game and defense or you're trying to protect your quarterback because he's limited, then maybe you do it. But there's a lot of thinking that goes into it."

General managers such as Cleveland's Tom Heckert and Tampa Bay's Mark Dominik have to weigh the value of a running back that high in the draft against players who might help the passing game.

Or help defend against it.

"You have to look at all the angles of how a player can help you today versus over the long haul," Dominik said. "I think that one thing that helps is the new structure for rookie contracts. Without the burden of the big signing bonus and making sure that player is going to be with you for five or six years because of the money, you can focus a little more on today."

So, that means the pick is Richardson?

Dominik flashed a wicked grin and walked off without even a hint of an answer.

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"I love Trent Richardson, everything about him," a personnel executive with an NFC team said in March. "Great football player, loves the game. Great kid, very mature, a leader. Physically, he reminds me of George Rogers and I mean the good George Rogers …"

That's high praise considering that Rogers was the No. 1 pick of the 1981 draft, was the 1980 Heisman Trophy winner and later helped the Washington Redskins win Super Bowl XXII.

Of course, all of that was build-up to the eventual, "But …"

"If you're asking me if I'd take him in the top 10 picks, the answer is no. Not the way the game is played today," said the executive, who is also a former NFL player. "It kind of hurts me to say it, but that's just reality. Look around the league: It's not a running back league anymore."

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Lol so is it Ozzie or Elway? My guess is Ozzie.

Mayock says Browns need to take Trent Richardson

Posted by Evan Silva on April 19, 2012, 3:09 PM EDT

The top three picks in the draft are expected to be Andrew Luck (Colts), Robert Griffin III (Redskins), and Matt Kalil (Vikings). The Browns pick fourth, and G.M. Tom Heckert stopped well short of tipping his team’s hand in a Thursday afternoon pre-draft presser.

NFL Network’s Mike Mayock held a pre-draft conference call of his own on Thursday. And he knows who the Browns’ pick should be.

“If you’re not gonna take a quarterback, I think you have to take Trent Richardson,” Mayock said, referring to Alabama’s Heisman-finalist running back. “I don’t think those receivers should be in this conversation [at No. 4]. … I think Richardson’s the guy at four.”

Mayock has explained on Path to the Draft that the Browns simply must find a way to begin moving the chains on offense. Richardson would be their best bet.

“If you take [receiver] Justin Blackmon,” Mayock said on Wednesday night, “you might not even be able to get him the ball on a windy day in Cleveland.”

If we go offense Richardson is the obvious pick.

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General manager Rick Spielman said at a press conference Thursday that the team will choose between Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon, LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne and USC T Matt Kalil. Spielman, via Jeremy Fowler of the Pioneer Press, said that the front office has given all three players equal grades and they are now sifting between them to figure out which one will be on the card they hand to Roger Goodell.

“What you’re saying is, ‘All these guys have equal ability. What do you want? Do you want the receiver? Do you want the tackle? Do you want the corner?’”

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Link

I think there is a 0% chance the Vikings take Blackmon. But if they did, wow, that would give us a whole lot of options.

I would have no issues with Richardson at 4 whatsoever. I think what it boils down to if they do go offense is who is available at their 2nd pick. Thus the comment from Heckert about if you can get a similar player further down.

If they have(just an example)
Richardson rated at 95
Blackmon at 94
Doug Martin at 91
Stephen Hill or Sanu or Wright at 89

I would think they would go with Blackmon and Martin with a 185 value over Richardson and one of the other receivers. Of course I don't know their grades but this would make the most sense to me.

That was my thinking Loyal.. hypothetically if you have Blackmon and Richardson in consideration for #4, I would take a look at what I thought I could get at #22 at the RB and WR spots and what the drop off is.. to get the best combination of players...

The more I watch of Doug Martin the more I am okay with going Blackmon. The guy has a second gear that is impressive..Blackmon can be criticized all over but when you turn the tape on he is a player. I would be more than happy with him at 4. Heckert has an eye for receivers so if he see's something further down but I just don't see anyone that comes close to Blackmon or the type of production he gives you. Add that Heckert said that taking Hardesty plays a roll in the selection, it seems they would be fine going with a Doug Martin. Plus the whole Stadium can do the "Dougie"!

j/c.

I think, and this is just my opinion, that the choice is between Claiborne and Richardson.

If it were between Blackmon and Richardson, I take Richardson 10 times out of 10. I have done a complete 180 on Richardson. There are worse things in life than having a top 5 RB in the NFL for 7 years. Just ask the Chargers.