My hot take, don't ever draft a running back in the 1st rd.

[UCFBfan]

Apparently? Look, NFL teams have every right to balk at drafting Shedeur for any legitimate reason but their reasons appear petty and vindictive and will ultimately prove to be misguided.

If this "apparently" is true and he refused to run a coaches requested package at a tryout, I would never draft him if I was that organization. There's nothing vindictive but a concern of what happens when you do draft him and ask him to do certain things and he refuses then? That's millions you've dumped into a player who isn't coachable.

I'm not saying he's uncoachable, but to blowoff the apparent situation mentioned as being a misguided reason, is silly.

It'll be an interesting situation in the Brown's QB room. Not all 4 QBs will still be there come Kickoff.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Wasn't Quinn Ewers at one point in the center of a bidding war and the transfer portal? Instead he was a 7th round draft choice. Would've made a lot more money staying in college.

 

[Husky25]

It’s actually an accurate take. Now tell me just how much you trusted your 32 Pro franchises about Brady? (Bad example? Maybe, but there are lots of others.) There’s a group mentality that permeates the crowd. It takes a resolute owner and a GM with balls to take on the “circus”—but I say it’s worth it for Shedeur. Let’s see who drafts him and which of us are closer to being right.

It's not accurate. By all accounts, Brady didn't do the self promotion tour or bomb the interview process and he split time with Drew Henson his senior year at Michigan. He also didn't look the part at the Combine and was picked where he was picked. The Patriots saw something but nothing indicated he would lead his team to roughly half of the next 23 Super Bowls or win 7 of them.

The gameplay looks super realistic and it has included a GM feature for decades, but Madden is not the NFL and the NFL is not a video game. Personalities matter in real life and for nearly 4 rounds, the juice was not worth the squeeze, even for the Browns.

 

[Deepster]

I love the comparison to Brady any time a guys slips a little bit.

Maybe just maybe the guy they’re comparing is actually closer to any of the other guys that appropriately slipped in the first six rounds and flamed out.

 

[Husky25]

First RB picked by year. Lots of good one and gold jackets.

• Year	Pick	Player
  1970	8	Larry Stegent
  1971	6	John Riggins
  1972	13	Franco Harris
  1973	9	Otis Armstrong
  1974	2	Bo Matthews
  1975	4	Walter Payton
  1976	3	Chuck Muncie
  1977	1	Ricky Bell
  1978	1	Earl Campbell
  1979	8	Ottis Anderson
  1980	1	Billy Sims
  1981	1	George Rogers
  1982	7	Darrin Nelson
  1983	2	Eric Dickerson
  1984	26	Greg Bell
  1985	19	George Adams
  1986	1	Bo Jackson
  1987	3	Alonzo Highsmith
  1988	14	Gaston Green
  1989	3	Barry Sanders
  1990	2	Blair Thomas
  1991	14	Leonard Russell
  1992	9	Tommy Vardell
  1993	3	Garrison Hearst
  1994	2	Marshall Faulk
  1995	1	Ki-Jana Carter
  1996	6	Lawrence Phillips
  1997	12	Warrick Dunn
  1998	5	Curtis Enis
  1999	4	Edgerrin James
  2000	5	Jamal Lewis
  2001	5	LaDainian Tomlinson
  2002	16	William Green
  2003	23	Willis McGahee
  2004	24	Steven Jackson
  2005	2	Ronnie Brown
  2006	2	Reggie Bush
  2007	7	Adrian Peterson
  2008	4	Darren McFadden
  2009	12	Knowshon Moreno
  2010	9	C.J. Spiller
  2011	28	Mark Ingram
  2012	3	Trent Richardson
  2013	37	Giovani Bernard
  2014	54	Bishop Sankey
  2015	10	Todd Gurley
  2016	4	Ezekiel Elliott
  2017	4	Leonard Fournette
  2018	2	Saquon Barkley
  2019	24	Josh Jacobs
  2020	32	Clyde Edwards-Helaire
  2021	24	Najee Harris
  2022	36	Breece Hall
  2023	8	Bijan Robinson

Disregarding that offensive philosophies evolved constantly over the last 55 years, there are A LOT of "Who?"'s on that list. A good portion of the productive RBs are known for a team other than who drafted them, and of the handful of players who won the Super Bowl, more than half (by my count) also did with another team. Franco Harris and Jamal Lewis are the only one who had an immediate impact in terms of the Hardware, though I suppose a case can be made for Warrick Dunn (5 year vet).

Walter Peyton was a 10 year veteran by the time the Bears won.
Riggins was drafted by NYJ, but won in Washington
OJ Anderson was drafted by StL; won with NYG.
Faulk was drafted by Ind; won with the Rams.
Barkley was drafted by the Giants and obviously won last season with Philly.

All of their pensions were full vested by the time they won a ring.

 

[dennismenace]

His run started when he hired George young…at the commissioner’s insistence. But he got it right for 25 years. John has been an abject failure in his hiring

George Young, Tuna and Belichick. Pretty good start.

 

[NJHusky]

The crime here is that no one has the balls to use this situation to celebrate what a good kid Cam Ward is and how he’s probably working out this morning. Instead they pander to a selfish overhyped brat.

You mean he didn’t build a ‘legendary’ draft room and wear a $ around his neck. What’s wrong with Ward??

Oh, he was too busy being #1

I can’t see seasoned vets putting up the Sanders’ antics that are all me first.

 

[NJHusky]

How insane is that franchise. Sanders will eventually become the starting QB. He likely would be wherever he would have landed but how Cleveland sheds these extraneous QB’s will be interesting to see. Several will be trade elements but good freaking luck to that front office.

It’s kind of ironic that you say how ‘insane’ that franchise is yet you commend them for taking sanders. That’s a very unique argument.

 

[Husky25]

It’s kind of ironic that you say how ‘insane’ that franchise is yet you commend them for taking sanders. That’s a very unique argument.

Watson is hurt, and I doubt anyone will be climbing over themselves for Kenny Pickett. He goes to the practice squad. Flacco followed by the rookies to start the season is how the Browns look like they will shape up.

The Browns coaching staff did not look ecstatic for the Sanders pick. I don't think they have the lockerroom culture to absorb him.

 

[NJHusky]

Watson is hurt, and I doubt anyone will be climbing over themselves for Kenny Pickett. He goes to the practice squad. Flacco followed by the rookies to start the season is how the Browns like like they will shape up.

The Browns coaching staff did not look ecstatic for the Sanders pick. I don't think they have the lockerroom culture to absorb him.

Agree. From a FB standpoint makes sense…from a culture standpoint….who knows

 

[Deepster]

You mean he didn’t build a ‘legendary’ draft room and wear a $ around his neck. What’s wrong with Ward??

Oh, he was too busy being #1

I can’t see seasoned vets putting up the Sanders’ antics that are all me first.

It could be interesting to see what role Flacco plays there. He’s the exact opposite of Sanders and could either never speak a word to him or be a good influence and mentor.

 

[NJHusky]

It could be interesting to see what role Flacco plays there. He’s the exact opposite of Sanders and could either never speak a word to him or be a good influence and mentor.

And the counter….if Flacco tries to mentor, will Sanders blow him off or welcome the feedback. Hopefully he doesn’t learn from Watson

 

[HuskyHawk]

The real message here is that what is between the ears is the #1 factor for success as a QB in the NFL. That is where teams had a very low grade on Sanders. Nobody worked harder than Brady. There couldn't be a worse comp.

Some guys have stellar athletic abilities and arm talent, like Zach Wilson or Trey Lance, so get drafted high hoping they can be coached up. But Sanders is athletically pretty meh. Not very fast. Not very tall. Not a big arm. He's accurate with the ball. Who did I just describe? Mac Jones. But with attitude issues.

My overall sense is that teams probably had about a 3rd-4th round grade on him, "capable backup" caliber QB but didn't want to take the chance that he'd come in and act like he should be the starter on day one. You don't need any noise or any distractions from your backup QB.

 

[Husky25]

You cannot be making a case that Emmitt wasn't the reason the Cowboys won those rings?!?!? I refuse to believe that. If you watch the games you would know better. In my opinion, the Greatest Show on Turf was powered by Faulk my friend, he was the x factor. An NFL D will stop a good passing game, but not if the RB is also a HOF'r. Nobody suggests that a stellar RB does not need a good line. A stellar QB surely needs a good line, right? So why are we discounting rb's for needing good lines?

And while I am typing, I realize I omitted the GOAT: Walter Payton. Fourth overall pick. Oh but wait, he played with the best D of all time, so what he did doesn't count. My bad.

And while James did not win a ring, and I believe you when you tell me that, we can agree dude was real freaking good. By the way, do the Eagles win last year's SB w/out Barkley??? And where was he drafted again????

As has been said numerous times above, none of those guys were the "1st round Cherry on Top." Faulk was acquired via trade, Barkley signed as a free agent, and Peyton was a 10 year vet, by the time of the Super Bowl Shuffle.

 

[Waquoit]

Bomani Jones had the best take. He said it should be celebrated that a player who was only offered a schollie by FAU coming out of high school got drafted in the 5th round. And Deon should get father-of-the-year for gettting his son, who doesn't have near his athletic gifts, in the show.

 

[Scoe]

Well said from Cris Carter, it is truly amazing how off the mainstream sports media really was on Shedeur. He was a not a 1st rd talent, it's like the media tried to speak it into existence, he really was inflated from Deion. It's like everyone in the media is afraid of Deion as if he's some mob boss.

You get more insight from independent content creators than you do from the mainstream media. Bobby Skinner on Giants Nation is a good listen, he had good film on Shedeur prior to the draft and apparently Deion had messaged him telling him how wrong he was on Shedeur's flaws. That's how involved Deion has been to respond to even the slightest bit of critique.

Never been so excited to check out the preseason it's gonna be very to see where this goes from here.