WEBVTT - Draft Season: Episode 5- Running Backs 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:07.360 Welcome to a brand new week of Tapeds Draft season. 0:00:07.400 --> 0:00:10.560 Bobo schusan longtime radio voice of the New York Jets 0:00:10.600 --> 0:00:13.960 and also a college football broadcaster for years and years 0:00:14.000 --> 0:00:16.480 and years and years at ESPN, so many years to count. 0:00:16.480 --> 0:00:19.200 Greg co cell for even longer than that, for the 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:21.680 better part of four decades, has been breaking down the 0:00:21.720 --> 0:00:25.160 film the All twenty two for NFL films, not only 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:28.760 breaking down NFL matchups every week, but also the college 0:00:28.760 --> 0:00:31.160 players to get you set for the draft. And we 0:00:31.280 --> 0:00:33.920 like to crawl behind the game, inside the xs and 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:37.160 os on tap Heeds and bring you a different kind 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:39.159 of podcast to get you set for the draft than 0:00:39.159 --> 0:00:41.519 maybe you'll hear elsewhere. This is not the you know, 0:00:41.600 --> 0:00:44.199 the the mock draft podcast. This is more of a 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:46.559 wide angle lens and I think a realistic look, more 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:50.559 realistic look at the way NFL teams actually prepare for 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:52.800 the draft as opposed to the mock draft to see 0:00:52.840 --> 0:00:55.160 all the time on TV. So, you know, Greg, we've 0:00:55.200 --> 0:00:57.720 done some wide receiver work. We have done a lot 0:00:57.760 --> 0:01:00.760 of quarterback work. Later this week we're gonna dive back 0:01:00.760 --> 0:01:03.800 into the quarterbacks in our episode that will drop on Thursday. 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:07.959 Rich Gangerello, who is the UH now current offensive coordinator 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:11.560 at Kentucky, but a twenty year college and pro coach, 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:14.760 most recently the quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco forty Niners. 0:01:15.040 --> 0:01:17.400 He'll join us on Thursday, and we're gonna break the 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:20.760 quarterbacks down. But I think this week we are planning 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:24.760 on jumping into the position that I think is the 0:01:24.800 --> 0:01:32.000 most interesting, debatable, you know, at times polarizing position when 0:01:32.000 --> 0:01:35.400 it comes to not only evaluating guys once they're in 0:01:35.440 --> 0:01:38.399 the NFL and what it should pay them and how 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:41.000 much of a commitment you should make to them, but 0:01:41.200 --> 0:01:44.720 where you should draft them coming out of college, and 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:47.480 that's running back. Like growing up, I mean, we the 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:50.200 running back was the glamor position Earl Campbell and Walter 0:01:50.240 --> 0:01:53.840 Payton and Tony Dorset, and entire offenses were just built 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:57.280 around those guys. That's not the case anymore. Outside of 0:01:57.280 --> 0:01:59.440 Derrick Henry, I don't know that there's an offense in 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:02.960 the NFL that is purely built around the running back. 0:02:03.560 --> 0:02:06.240 So how hard is it from a draft standpoint to 0:02:06.560 --> 0:02:10.040 properly value the running back When you see these stars 0:02:10.080 --> 0:02:12.600 in college and you want to project them to the NFL. Well, 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:16.480 I don't think, Bob, it's as much about the traits 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:19.919 of backs. There's good backs every year, and there's good 0:02:19.919 --> 0:02:23.760 backs in this draft. I think it's really a thirty 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:28.080 thousand foot macro question. What kind of resources do you 0:02:28.120 --> 0:02:32.600 allocate to the position? That's number one? Number two becomes 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:36.760 how do you structure an offense in today's NFL? So 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:41.040 that determines what the value of a back is to you? 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:43.600 You know, obviously, look at a team like the San 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:47.959 Francisco forty Niners, David, they start with the run game 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:52.080 as a foundation. Now they've shown, just Kyle Shanahan has shown, 0:02:52.160 --> 0:02:55.200 just as his dad, Mike Shanahan showed that it wasn't 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:59.360 specific to one back, but it was specific to a system. 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:02.320 So they've had success with a lot of different running backs. 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:05.399 This past year, they had success with Elijah Mitchell, who 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:08.760 was a sixth round pick out of Louisiana. So they 0:03:08.760 --> 0:03:12.640 didn't allocate a lot of resources to the position, but 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:15.440 yet they were able to run the ball exceptionally well 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:18.680 because they believe in the run game as a foundation, 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:22.240 which raises the next question, should the run game be 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:26.040 a foundation in today's NFL? When all coaches talk about 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:30.520 is explosive plays and presentage wise, you're far more likely 0:03:30.560 --> 0:03:33.600 to get explosive plays in the past game than in 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:38.040 the run game. The next question is every game you 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:41.160 pretty much have to run the ball at some point 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:45.280 in the game. So if you can't do that often 0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:48.280 you can lose games because of an inability to run 0:03:48.320 --> 0:03:50.600 the ball. And I don't want to put any blame 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.600 on the Cincinnati Bengals coaching staff, but obviously in the 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:56.680 Super Bowl they continue to throw the ball with a 0:03:56.800 --> 0:03:59.800 lead in the third and fourth quarter, and they were 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:03.200 six quarterback sacks in the second half of that game, 0:04:03.560 --> 0:04:06.720 and at some point many might have thought that, hey, 0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:09.040 now is the time, let's run the ball. And they 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:11.240 did not have a bad running game at all. But 0:04:11.720 --> 0:04:14.000 the running game is the kind of thing that people 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:18.120 say you don't need until you need it, And you 0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:21.040 can't just snap your fingers. It's not a water faucet 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:24.200 and say, Okay, now we're gonna run the ball. That's 0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:27.240 something that has to be practiced. I've had conversations with 0:04:27.279 --> 0:04:30.520 a lot of coaches who will actually say that teaching 0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:33.320 and coaching the run game with all the detail and 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:36.960 nuance that is involved can sometimes be tougher than teaching 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:40.799 the past game. So unless you spend time in practice 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:44.359 with the run game, then it doesn't just happen when 0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:47.000 you need it in given games. And of course this 0:04:47.040 --> 0:04:50.120 brings us then back to when do you draft running backs? 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:52.359 Because there are good backs in this draft. There's so 0:04:52.360 --> 0:04:54.360 many branches to this tree, right, Like you mentioned the 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:59.880 San Francisco forty. Yeah. Um, Like they took a big, powerful, 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:04.080 borderline tight end sized wide receiver in Deebo Samuel and 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:06.039 they're like, you know what, We'll give you the ball 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:08.160 out of the backfield four or five six times a game. 0:05:08.200 --> 0:05:10.760 At times, we'll make you a pseudo running back and 0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:13.000 line you up all over the field. Cor Darryl Patterson 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:15.360 is another player that all of a sudden he's wearing 0:05:15.440 --> 0:05:17.960 you know, a number that begins with eight, and he's 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:21.200 in the backfield sometimes just taking a standard out of 0:05:21.200 --> 0:05:27.159 the shotgun running back play. Um. Also, I think a 0:05:27.160 --> 0:05:31.440 lot of teams now look at the screen game. Um 0:05:31.480 --> 0:05:35.279 just you know, even going five wide and having their 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:38.520 running back as a part of an empty set. Let's 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:41.720 just throw him a little quick slant. That's almost a 0:05:41.800 --> 0:05:44.760 pseudo running game now in the NFL, right, just a 0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:47.960 high percentage passed to a running back, which means when 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:50.760 you're evaluating all of these guys for any NFL offense, 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:53.760 you have to wonder how well they can catch. Like 0:05:53.839 --> 0:05:56.640 Earl Campbell was never lining up in the slot, Christian 0:05:56.720 --> 0:05:59.960 Nakoya was never running a slant right like. It's just 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:03.159 just not what was done with running backs back in 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:06.440 the day. So all of that, I would assume has 0:06:06.480 --> 0:06:09.560 to be a part of the evaluation process. How much 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:11.839 do we need a running back? How many guys on 0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:13.880 our team that don't you don't even necessarily think of 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:16.240 as being a running back can act in that role? 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:20.880 Does our offense ask a running back to possibly catch 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:24.640 the ball six seven, eight times a game? I mean, 0:06:25.279 --> 0:06:28.239 and obviously, if you're a fantasy football player, the running 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:30.919 backs to catch the ball the most. You know, Christian McCaffrey, 0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:33.880 those are the guys that every fantasy football because Christian 0:06:33.920 --> 0:06:36.640 McCaffrey catches it sometimes as much as he runs it. 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:40.400 So when you're evaluating all of these college players, you 0:06:40.400 --> 0:06:42.920 know how big of a how many different slices are there? 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:46.280 Now to the pie chart for an NFL evaluation for 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:48.080 a running backs opposed to way back in the day 0:06:48.279 --> 0:06:50.239 where it was just can the guy run off tackle 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:52.240 left or off tackle right? And once in a while 0:06:52.279 --> 0:06:54.560 break want and go the distance. Yeah, And you make 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:57.000 a great point. There's so many different elements and there's 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:59.800 not one correct answer. I know a lot of people 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:02.760 I believe that the run game is not really that 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:06.080 relevant that it's it's the NFL is about the passing game, 0:07:06.320 --> 0:07:08.440 and I don't think anybody would argue that as a 0:07:08.520 --> 0:07:11.720 general statement that you have to be able to throw 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:15.280 the ball, uh, in order to to play good offensive 0:07:15.280 --> 0:07:17.400 football week to week and to get to wherever it 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:20.040 is you want to go. But we've also seen the 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:23.320 San Francisco forty nine ers two years three years ago 0:07:23.640 --> 0:07:26.080 get to the Super Bowl and lose in a in 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:28.440 a game they probably should have won. This year get 0:07:28.480 --> 0:07:31.440 to the NFC Championship Game, um and in a game 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:34.520 they probably should have won as well. So there's many 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:37.200 ways to play offensive football, and there's many ways to 0:07:37.280 --> 0:07:40.040 create explosive plays in the past game. But I will 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:42.800 say this, I think that at some point in the 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:45.640 NFL a couple of points. Number one, you do have 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:49.160 to run the ball, But number two, your past game 0:07:49.280 --> 0:07:52.480 can't work solely off your run game. One thing I 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:55.240 was fortunate enough to learn from Bill Walsh, because I 0:07:55.320 --> 0:07:57.440 was very fortunate and grateful to spend a good amount 0:07:57.440 --> 0:08:00.520 of time with him years ago, is that your running 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:04.000 game and your passing game must in any given game 0:08:04.080 --> 0:08:07.480 be able to work independently from one another if they're 0:08:07.520 --> 0:08:10.400 dependent on one another for their success. In other words, 0:08:10.400 --> 0:08:12.800 the only way your pass game can really be effective 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:16.320 is working off run game principles. You're going to get 0:08:16.320 --> 0:08:18.840 to games where you need to drop back pass game 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:22.040 and you're going to struggle. Interesting, Yeah, you're right, I 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:24.120 mean being and also it allows you to be one 0:08:24.160 --> 0:08:27.640 dimensional when it's necessary and still win. Correct. We always 0:08:27.640 --> 0:08:29.040 talk about, you know, if you can make a team 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:31.280 one dimensional, that's the best way to beat them. That's 0:08:31.280 --> 0:08:32.920 a really interesting way to look at it. I think 0:08:33.000 --> 0:08:36.800 something else that really has to enter into the minds 0:08:36.800 --> 0:08:40.200 of evaluators but also how they weigh the running backs 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:41.720 and where they want to put them on the board 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:45.439 is it's a very unique position in terms of lifespan, 0:08:46.200 --> 0:08:48.240 in terms of how much money you have to pay 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:50.280 one of these guys once he gets if he's a 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:52.880 first round pick and he gets to his fourth and 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:56.600 fifth year, right, Like, no one ever could have imagined, 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:59.760 say Kwon Barkley being anything other than a star and 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:03.000 out just because he has been on a bad team 0:09:03.040 --> 0:09:06.120 and he's been banged up the second pick in the draft. 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:08.720 There's a legit debate as to whether or not by 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:10.680 the time he gets to year five the Giants should 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:13.760 pay him, and and how many more years past year 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:15.880 five will even have I've actually said in the past, 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:20.800 I think the NFL Players Association should be obviously the 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:23.439 union that represents the players. I think there should be 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:26.640 an NFL running Backs Association. There should there should be 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:30.080 a separate collective bargaining agreement for running backs where they 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:32.880 should become free agents after year three, right, because all 0:09:32.880 --> 0:09:36.640 these other positions you could play six, seven, ten, twelve, fifteen. 0:09:36.840 --> 0:09:38.880 I mean, Tom Brady might play thirty years in the 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:42.800 NFL by the time he finally officially retires. These running backs, man, 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:46.760 they get to their second contract and already teams are like, 0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:49.760 I just don't know, Like I don't know if we 0:09:49.800 --> 0:09:52.080 want to give this guy much of a financial commitment, 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:54.480 you'll get the odds Zeke Elliott that really will break 0:09:54.520 --> 0:09:56.640 the bank. But a lot of these guys have a 0:09:56.720 --> 0:09:58.360 lot of tread off the tire by the time they 0:09:58.400 --> 0:10:00.360 get five and six years into the league, even if 0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:03.920 they're really good. So you know the fact that teams 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:06.199 can find running backs in the third and fourth round, 0:10:06.679 --> 0:10:09.880 the fact that there's you know, injury questions with these guys. 0:10:09.920 --> 0:10:12.080 They get hit in a way that other positions don't 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:15.920 get hit. They're smaller and getting hit. I mean all 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:18.760 of those things, Like how do NFL teams weigh all 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:21.480 of that when they're thinking about where the draft. One well, 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:23.840 one quick point is and I think there'll be a 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:26.160 litmus test team this year in the NFL that will 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:28.720 really tell us a lot. And that's the Pittsburgh Steelers 0:10:28.720 --> 0:10:31.280 who just signed Mitchell Trubisky is their quarterback. And we 0:10:31.320 --> 0:10:34.240 all know what kind of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is. He 0:10:34.400 --> 0:10:38.560 needs a run game to be valuable and effective. And 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:41.600 they have a back in Nigie Harris who's two thirty 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:44.320 pounds looks like a Donas carry the ball over three 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:48.040 hundred times as a rookie um struggle to average four 0:10:48.120 --> 0:10:51.120 yards to carry. You can you can debate why that's 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:54.920 the case, but is Nigie Harris in this particular offense 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:57.360 with a quarterback that needs a run game and that 0:10:57.520 --> 0:11:00.320 you don't want to ask him to drop back times 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:03.560 the game by choice? Where will Nigi Harris be in 0:11:03.600 --> 0:11:05.600 a year or two, no matter how big and strong 0:11:05.640 --> 0:11:08.480 and powerful he is? How many years can have back 0:11:08.559 --> 0:11:12.679 carry three plus times in today's NFL? Yeah, you're right. 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:15.160 And you know, when you think about the guys in 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:18.720 this draft as well, how many guys fit that body 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:20.800 type or how many of the guys that are in 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:23.360 this current crop of running backs are guys that you 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:26.680 might think of us what's become more the prototypical NFL 0:11:26.760 --> 0:11:29.079 running back? Because when we come back, we're gonna talk players. 0:11:29.240 --> 0:11:32.120 We're gonna talk who Greg has seen, what the tape says. 0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:34.040 Who are the guys that Gregg values a bit more 0:11:34.040 --> 0:11:37.120 in this draft than maybe you're seeing elsewhere. Find that 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:39.520 out next when we come back tape Heads Draft season. 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:45.920 We are back on tape Heads Draft season, Bobo shoosing 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:47.840 Greg Cosll and we're gonna get right now to where 0:11:47.840 --> 0:11:51.480 Gregg co Sell eats, and that is breaking down these players. 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:54.400 So we're doing running backs, Greg, Let's start to get 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:56.720 to each guy kind of one by one, give us 0:11:56.800 --> 0:12:00.480 a little thumbnail sketch starting with Bruce Hall of Iowa State. Yeah, 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:02.960 and and for people that know me, Bob, I'm not 0:12:03.000 --> 0:12:05.960 a big list guy because I think so many players 0:12:05.960 --> 0:12:08.120 are different and it's hard to do that. But I 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:10.840 would say that briefs. Hall to me, if I had 0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:12.720 to make a list, would be my number one running 0:12:12.720 --> 0:12:16.040 back in this draft class. I think he's the total package. Um. 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:18.880 I think because he's carried the ball a lot, he 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:23.240 has extensive experience in both zone and gap scheme concepts. 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:27.359 I think he's got a high level combination of patience 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:31.480 and decisiveness. He's very smooth, he's fluid. He's got a 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:34.600 gliding feel to his running. There's a sense of pace 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:36.960 and tempo to him, as if he has an innate 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:41.520 feel for both his blocking schemes and for the defensive flow. 0:12:41.800 --> 0:12:44.400 Because one thing people have to remember, you know, everybody 0:12:44.440 --> 0:12:48.760 talks on defense about gaps, but offensive backs, running backs 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:52.160 have to understand gaps what they are before the snap, 0:12:52.400 --> 0:12:55.120 they change after the snap. I think Hall has a 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:59.560 very good feel for gap fluidity, and he rarely ever 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:02.520 looked hurried. He ran with a rhythmic feel that at 0:13:02.559 --> 0:13:05.800 times almost made an appeal appear that it was choreographed. 0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:09.120 And another key fact to his game. He can catch 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:11.640 the ball well, and I think that he can be 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:14.600 a three down back in the NFL with his soft 0:13:14.640 --> 0:13:17.440 hands run after catch. I think you can see him 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:20.040 running a more multiple route tree in the NFL as well. 0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:23.160 You can see him running angle routes, wheel routes, even 0:13:23.200 --> 0:13:25.360 what we call eight seam where he's all set in 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:28.000 the backfield and runs a seam route. So, to me, 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:31.760 Bruce Hall is the top back in this class, first 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:34.240 round pick. And if in the first round, what do 0:13:34.280 --> 0:13:35.960 you think, I mean, where where would you kind of 0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:39.679 put them generally speaking on a board? Um, I mean 0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:41.720 I think if you're making a draft board and I 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:44.600 haven't seen every player, so you know, that's hard for 0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:49.880 me to answer. Um, I think he'd probably be a 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:53.760 top thirty two player in this draft. Whether that means 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:57.000 that he gets drafted in the first round. Uh, that's 0:13:57.040 --> 0:14:00.440 that larger discussion that we just had about the value 0:14:00.440 --> 0:14:05.480 of BacT and that becomes team specific, scheme specific, how 0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:10.400 you see him in the context of all of those things. So, uh, 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:12.599 is he one of the thirty two best players? I 0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:16.360 would argue, yes, that by no means suggests that he 0:14:16.400 --> 0:14:19.000 will be a first round draft choice. Yeah, it just 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:21.600 shows how the game is evolved in the position is evolved, right, 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:25.280 because this isn't even thought to be a quarterback rich 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:29.359 quarterback deep draft, which would normally allow the other positions 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:32.200 to bump up in value, and yet the top rated 0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:35.720 running back potentially in this draft a question mark as 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:37.040 to whether or not he's going to go in the 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:39.080 first round, and even how high in the second round. 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:42.600 So how about Michigan State's uh Kenny Kenneth Walker. I mean, 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:44.560 he was a guy that kind of burst onto the 0:14:44.600 --> 0:14:46.800 scene late in the year. Not someone that was in 0:14:46.800 --> 0:14:50.080 the Heisman conversation to start off the season, but that 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:52.440 was very much in the Heisman conversation at the end 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:54.640 of the season. A really fun guy to watch. I 0:14:54.640 --> 0:14:57.040 don't know if you saw him much this year. Um, 0:14:57.080 --> 0:15:01.440 he's compact, he's loaded the ground, He's piston like feet 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:06.240 that seemingly never stop moving. He's got outstanding lateral quickness 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:10.480 and suddenness. He makes sharp, decisive cuts. He's got really 0:15:10.480 --> 0:15:15.680 good contact balance. Um, he's very competitive, He's tenacious as 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:18.480 a runner. He will lower his pads and he will 0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:21.920 attack defenders, and he will finish runs with anger. And 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:24.680 there's a run to daylight feel to the to the 0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:27.320 way he he runs. I mean, it's almost as if 0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:30.320 he's a bit of a jazz musician, Bob. He's looking 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:34.040 for space, He's looking for that next notes as it were. 0:15:34.360 --> 0:15:36.840 You know, he certainly can stay on track, but he 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:40.640 definitely is looking to find daylight. He's got a free 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:45.640 flowing sense of of running. Um. He's very improvisational. He 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:48.760 can work off script um. The big question with him, 0:15:48.920 --> 0:15:51.200 and again it comes back to the same point about 0:15:51.240 --> 0:15:54.720 the value of bacts is what can he give you 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:57.480 in the passing game. And I think right now that's 0:15:57.520 --> 0:16:00.880 an open question. The tape does not see just that 0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:03.960 he can be a a factor at at as a 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:06.960 receiver at the next level. Maybe he can. That's what 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:09.640 pro days are for, that's what individual workouts are for. 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:14.080 But the tape doesn't show that. Another guy that is 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:18.200 probably more of what is now becoming the prototypical NFL 0:16:18.280 --> 0:16:21.520 running back Isaiah Spiller from Texas A and m right, 0:16:21.640 --> 0:16:25.160 smaller guy, but certainly can catch and that system had 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:27.560 to catch the ball. So what do you think about Spiller. YEA, 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:31.080 Spiller is actually a a almost in some ways a 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:35.760 little old school because he is big and he's powerful, um, 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:40.480 and he runs really hard inside. Um he's got If 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:43.120 you're thinking old school, I mean you would talked earlier 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:45.400 about facts, you know, twenty thirty years ago, like the 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:49.160 George Rodgers types, Orge Drivers being a first round draft 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:51.800 choice what I think nten eighty giver take coming out 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:55.200 of South Carolina. I mean Spiller is in some ways 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:58.840 like that. He's six feet, he's two hundred seventeen pounds, 0:16:59.160 --> 0:17:03.680 he has a fee Tacher foundation, volume, back, traits profile, 0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:07.120 He's got the size, he's got a compact build, he's 0:17:07.119 --> 0:17:10.639 got patience, he's got vision, he's got short area burst, 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:14.520 he has enough lateral quickness, and he works really effectively 0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:18.199 in confined space, which is absolutely critical in the NFL. 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:22.360 He's got natural power, he's got contact balance, he's physical, 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:26.719 he can finish runs. He's an attitude runner. He's that 0:17:26.720 --> 0:17:30.119 that foundation type back that you feel good if you 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:32.960 want to start your offense this way giving him the ball, 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:35.960 you know, seventeen to twenty two times a game. So 0:17:36.000 --> 0:17:39.880 it returns to our basic question, how many teams want 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:43.320 to play offense that way in today's NFL because Isaiah 0:17:43.320 --> 0:17:47.560 Spiller can fill that role. James Cook from Georgia. Obviously 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:50.080 it's in the gene pool, right. I mean, you know 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:53.000 when if you grow up eating at the same table 0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:55.560 as Dalvin, then obviously there's something about whatever they were 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:57.800 feeding those guys to turn them into NFL running back. 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:01.840 So how about James Cook. James Cook to me is 0:18:02.640 --> 0:18:05.439 in some ways what the NFL has become. You know, 0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:07.520 people listening to this, I don't want them to fall 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:10.399 off their their seat if they're sitting down, because I'm 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:12.919 going to compare him to someone He's not quite the 0:18:13.000 --> 0:18:16.439 same level of player, and he's much smaller, but he 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:19.199 can be used the same way in the NFL, and 0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:22.600 that's Alvin Kamara. I mean, Camara is a much bigger man, 0:18:22.880 --> 0:18:25.879 and he's kind of evolved into a little bit of 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:29.080 a feature back. But in many ways, James Cook brings 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:33.000 a similar running receiving profile to an offense. Just ask 0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:36.919 Nick Saban. Cook lined up split out against Alabama and 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:40.000 then these past years and made big plays called a 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:43.600 long touchdown split out two years ago. He is a 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:47.800 really really good receiver and you can use him offset 0:18:47.840 --> 0:18:50.360 in the backfield as a receiver, you can detach him 0:18:50.359 --> 0:18:53.600 from the formation. Um. He lacks the size to be 0:18:53.680 --> 0:18:56.760 a volume runner, but he possesses almost all of the 0:18:56.880 --> 0:18:59.840 skills to be a really productive runner. In fact, he 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:02.960 runs very much like his older brother Dalvin Cook. He 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:06.320 looks the same, He's just a smaller man. But I 0:19:06.359 --> 0:19:09.040 think James Cook is one of those players that I 0:19:09.119 --> 0:19:12.800 would not surprise me to see him jump some other 0:19:12.920 --> 0:19:17.480 backs who we might think have better overall traits because 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:21.600 they're bigger. But he fits today's NFL if you're looking 0:19:21.640 --> 0:19:24.240 for that back that can both run the ball as 0:19:24.280 --> 0:19:28.120 an eye back but also be a receiver split from 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:30.800 the formation, which more and more teams do now in 0:19:30.840 --> 0:19:34.159 the NFL. Tyler Algier from b y U, what do 0:19:34.160 --> 0:19:37.880 you think about him? Yeah, He's He's a really interesting back. 0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:41.840 To me, I think he's more of the quote unquote 0:19:41.840 --> 0:19:45.360 feature back type, and I'm very curious to see if 0:19:45.400 --> 0:19:49.439 teams see him that way, because he does have a 0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:51.240 lot of really good traits and he's the kind of 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:53.520 guy that grew on me the more I watched him. 0:19:53.520 --> 0:19:58.600 He's two four pounds, Um, he's got a subtle nuanced 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:01.560 feel for the zone run team. He predominantly ran the 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:06.160 zone run game at b y U. He's patient, he's disciplined, 0:20:06.280 --> 0:20:09.959 he's efficient, he's got good vision. Um, he's got an 0:20:09.960 --> 0:20:13.760 intuitive feel for the pace and tempo of runs. He 0:20:13.920 --> 0:20:17.639 stays on his path, he he presses the whole, he 0:20:17.800 --> 0:20:22.720 leverages defenders. He's a really good back. Um. He kind 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:25.400 of reminded me of two backs that I that I watched, 0:20:25.440 --> 0:20:28.439 and neither one well one of them did have a 0:20:28.480 --> 0:20:31.960 featureback success early in his career, Jordan Howard. I kind 0:20:32.000 --> 0:20:35.320 of thought of Jordan Howard watching Tyler als year. And 0:20:35.359 --> 0:20:38.159 the other back that came to mind was Alexander Madison, 0:20:38.359 --> 0:20:41.000 who's the backup to Dalvin Cook. And he came out 0:20:41.040 --> 0:20:43.639 of Boise State and the Vikings drafted him in the 0:20:43.760 --> 0:20:47.080 third round. And I kind of see Algier that way. 0:20:47.359 --> 0:20:49.600 I don't believe he'll end up being a feature back 0:20:49.600 --> 0:20:51.600 in the league, but he will play in the league 0:20:51.640 --> 0:20:53.400 for sure. And one of them got to talk about 0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:56.600 in this segment, Arizona States for shod White. Ah. So 0:20:56.720 --> 0:20:59.439 he's another guy that I think if he becomes an 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:03.760 excellent and NFL player because he has really good receiving traits, 0:21:03.800 --> 0:21:06.359 and he's big two, he's over six ft, he's two 0:21:06.520 --> 0:21:11.359 d fourteen pounds UM. He needs working past protection, but 0:21:11.440 --> 0:21:14.520