Your #1 RB prospect for the 2013 draft Marcus Lattimore just went down with a gruesome broken or totally dislocated knee *AND* possible compound leg fracture.
The April 2013 NFL Draft is gonna have some amazingly strong defensive linesmen, linebackers, cornerbacks, and offensive linesmen. The "skill" players are gonna be so incredibly lacking it's not even funny though. Every QB, RB, WR, and TE has serious questions to them and there's not a single "elite" prospect to be found.
Dynasty owners should be running, not walking, to exchange their 2013 draft picks for 2014 draft picks in leagues that allow it.
The Lung wrote:Your #1 RB prospect for the 2013 draft Marcus Lattimore just went down with a gruesome broken or totally dislocated knee *AND* possible compound leg fracture.
From what I read, he will most likely redshirt next year, then he's eligible for the 2014 season, and should be the number 1 RB in the 2015 draft. Who would've thought one of the best RBs in 2010 wouldn't be drafted until 5 years later?
I thought it was really weird that those injury reports popped up, and then Spurrier came out the next day and said that all he had was a dislocated knee.
I guess that's a drawback to the (mis)Information Age. It sure looked a lot more gruesome than it apparently actually was, that's for sure.
Lattimore Surgery Set For Friday Gamecocks By: Pete Yanity | 7 On Your Side Sports Published: November 01, 2012
Spartanburg, SC --
USC running back Marcus Lattimore will have the first of at least two surgeries on his injured right knee Friday, according to a source close to Lattimore.
The running back suffered a knee dislocation as well as ligament damage in Saturday game against Tennessee, injuring his right knee a year after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee.
Lattimore can use his final year of eligibility in either 2013 or 2014.
Recent knee surgery comebacks could help Marcus Lattimore’s draft stock By Doug Farrar | Shutdown Corner – Thu, Dec 13, 2012 12:30 PM EST
When South Carolina's back Marcus Lattimore dislocated his left kneecap and suffered several torn knee ligaments against Tennessee on Oct. 27, it was the worst knee injury many had seen a star college running back prospect have since Miami's Willis McGahee tore his ACL, MCL, and PCL in the 2002 national championship game. The injury sidelined Lattimore for the rest of the Gamecocks' 2012 season, and put his collegiate future in doubt.
This week, Lattimore ended all speculation by announcing that he would declare for the 2013 NFL draft. There's no question about the talent that allowed Lattimore to gain 2,677 yards and score 38 touchdowns on 555 carries, but the specter of that injury, combined with the torn ACL he suffered in the 2012 season, will certainly have NFL teams doing more than their due diligence.
The good for Lattimore is that there's some strong precedent for running backs with serious knee injuries returning to form in the NFL, especially recently. Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is contending for the league's Most Valuable Player award and a possible 2,000-yard campaign less than a year after his own serious knee surgery. McGahee was selected in the first round of the 2003 draft by the Buffalo Bills, missed the entire 2003 season, but has run for 8,097 yards and 63 touchdowns on 1,957 carries with a total of three teams since 2004. And Jamaal Charles of the Kansas City Chiefs came back from a knee injury that robbed him of nearly the entire 2011 season to put up 1,220 yards through 13 games and 12 starts this year in an offense with little or no effective passing game.
Lattimore's recovery is coming along nicely -- he's off crutches, he will meet with teams at the 2013 scouting combine in February, and he hopes to go through a modified pro day of sorts in March if he is able to jog and catch passes at that time. He may have to miss the 2013 NFL season, but Lattimore might be a great bargain for a team looking to bolster its running back rotation over time.
As ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper said in a recent media call, the history is more than solid for people who have overcome what Lattimore is dealing with, but NFL teams will still want to do extra work before putting him on their draft boards.
ESPN NFL draft experts Todd McShay and Kevin Weidl took a look at Lattimore's decision Insider, and it seems very clear I'm not the only one convinced this was the right move for the bruising back.
Here's a little of what they said about Lattmore's decision:
It makes sense for Lattimore to get paid to rehabilitate his knee and do so under the care of NFL doctors. The injury he suffered against Tennessee is severe and the time frame for a full recovery is up in the air, but he seems unlikely to play until 2014 so Lattimore might as well take advantage of the resources an NFL team has to offer in the meantime.
Cafe Home
Fantasy Baseball
Fantasy Basketball
Fantasy Hockey
by 
