my top 30 RB's

[Cornbread Maxwell]

All I know is that there is no such thing as consensus opinion apparantly. You guys are all over the board.

[kanezfan11]

All I know is that there is no such thing as consensus opinion apparantly. You guys are all over the board.

Noticed that too obviously, a little bit baffled as to why Jamal is ranked so low on a few of these guys' boards... I have him in my top 5 easy.

[jumpman8828]

All I know is that there is no such thing as consensus opinion apparantly. You guys are all over the board.

Noticed that too obviously, a little bit baffled as to why Jamal is ranked so low on a few of these guys' boards... I have him in my top 5 easy.

Thank you...I have him around there too.

i still do not get how u liam like portis in washington over McGahee who did amazing after he got the starting job and only looks betterthis year also i am avoiding priest because of his injury's in any draft i am in i rather get johnson later

Well first of all I never said Portis should be ahead of McGahee, but you're forgetting that Portis didn't do bad at all last year (see: Kensat's post).

I agree with Jumpman. Arrington is probly the best rookie RB out there now-a-days. Plus, Thomas Jones could force Benson to split carries. This, combined with the Bears horrific offense, makes Benson the least attractive of the top four rookie RBs in 2005 (Arrington, Brown, Williams, Benson).

I'd actually put Brown last here, because when Ricky comes back he'll have a real RB to contend with and not TJ or Pittman.

[Sixxgunn]

HAHA! I love watching people argue over where guys should be ranked! 90% of it is personal projection of what they will do this year, not what they did last year. Instead of balking at Deuce being too high, post your own and explain why that spot should be Edge instead. If you think Chris Brown is going to get hurt this year, despite the fact that he will put up 4-5 monster games for you, would you rank him high on potential and hope he stays healthy, or low based on the idea that he will barely play?

[tanner]

too high:
McGahee ( jp losman is going to keep defenses honest? no way! losing Jonas Jennings will hurt, big time)

Holmes - wrong side of 30 (32 in Oct) lots of miles on those surgically repaired knees)coming into last year , it was the hip that was worrisome..this year its the knee..whats next? too risky to be a top 10 RB pick..

Dom Davis - did most of his damage last year twice against Indy..got a few 100 yard games late, but against who? Chicago, Tenn, Indy, Jax, Cleveland..Struggled against average run defenses like GB, NYJ...
68 receptions and just 1 TD to show for is puzzling..good rb, don't get me wrong..he reminds me of Errict Wrett..great hands, not the best or fastest runner...

Too Low:
Jamal - Fassell as the offensive coordinator is going to have that offense humming along..Jamal should dominate under him..Look what Tiki Barber did in NY with a pedestrian O-line while Fassell was running the offense..now you give Fassell one of the best O-lines in football AND a bruising RB?? Jamal should be a top 5 RB by season's end..

Rudi Johnson - WAY too low!!! set the single season rushing record in Cincy last year, playing with a virtual rookie QB ( Palmer)...the previous record was set by Dillon, your guy at #6..so Rudi is pretty good! That Cincy offense is going to only get better, and that will force defenses to respect Palmer..they can't crowd the line of scrimmage anymore..he's WAY better than Dom Davis..Rudi plays in a far more potent offense than the pathetic Texans' dog-n-pony show with lousy David Carr under center..NO WAY he belongs anywhere but in the top 6 or so..

Kevin Jones - Jones figures to be a huge part of that Lions offense that now includes one of best starting WR groups in the NFL..there is no backup RB worth mentioning in Detroit, so he won't have to worry about splitting carries..Led the league in rushing over the final 8 games of 2004..as a rookie that didn't start until week 5 or so ( injuries), thats very impressive..

[Cornbread Maxwell]

Kevin Jones - Jones figures to be a huge part of that Lions offense that now includes one of best starting WR groups in the NFL..there is no backup RB worth mentioning in Detroit, so he won't have to worry about splitting carries..Led the league in rushing over the final 8 games of 2004..as a rookie that didn't start until week 5 or so ( injuries), thats very impressive..

actually - he didnt get fulltime RB duty until week 10 - which is even scarier.

[daullaz]

Benson is the poster child of the new Chicago regime; he is their first draft pick, he is the guy they are paying the most money, he's the guy that will be expected to carry the offense.

Caddy and Brown were first round picks, Arrington was just a smart play not to reach by Arizona, but clearly taken to start. Caddy and Brown will be getting big bucks, too. How exactly does this differentiate Benson?

Jones is a holdover from the previous coaching staff and previous offensive philosophy.

What are you talkiing about? Thomas Jones never played for the old regime, that was Anthony Thomas. Their current coaching staff just gave the guy a big freaking contract to come play for them last year. If anything, he's more entrenched in his organization than either of the competing veterans other rookies face.

I didn't say that the reasons I gave were what differentiated Benson from the others; I was using them to counter the argument AI made about why Benson is the least attractive option of the four rookies.

As for the other thing, using the therm "previous coaching staff" was an error on my part. But the Bears brought in Ron Turner to install a new style of offense. For that offense, they need a much different type of RB than what Thomas Jones is. There were other RBs later in the draft that could have fit that style of play if they were only looking for a complimentary RB to go with Jones. The fact that they spent the #4 overall pick on Benson leads me to believe that the new RB will be the focal point of the offense, not just a complimentary piece.

[Cornbread Maxwell]

daullaz - how do you respond to Lovie Smith saying "Thomas is our starting running back" and the fact that he is getting the vast majority of reps with the 1st team?

[Tiki]

my top 11:

1-Tomlinson
2-Alexander
3-Holmes
===big gap between the top 3 and the rest
4-James
5-McGahee
=== another gap here
6-McAllister
7-Lewis

Willis ahead of Deuce? No way man Deuce is way better than Willis. Deuce was hurt a lot of last season and didn't have a very good O line. I see big things coming from him this year tho!

[loosechange75]

All I know is that there is no such thing as consensus opinion apparantly. You guys are all over the board.

Noticed that too obviously, a little bit baffled as to why Jamal is ranked so low on a few of these guys' boards... I have him in my top 5 easy.

Thank you...I have him around there too.

i still do not get how u liam like portis in washington over McGahee who did amazing after he got the starting job and only looks betterthis year also i am avoiding priest because of his injury's in any draft i am in i rather get johnson later

Well first of all I never said Portis should be ahead of McGahee, but you're forgetting that Portis didn't do bad at all last year (see: Kensat's post).

I agree with Jumpman. Arrington is probly the best rookie RB out there now-a-days. Plus, Thomas Jones could force Benson to split carries. This, combined with the Bears horrific offense, makes Benson the least attractive of the top four rookie RBs in 2005 (Arrington, Brown, Williams, Benson).

I'd actually put Brown last here, because when Ricky comes back he'll have a real RB to contend with and not TJ or Pittman.

super