Who is the next Jamaal Charles?

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by RippedmyFlesh

I would like to find Jamaal lite also. Maybe a guy who can't carry the load but give you 6-8 carries a game. Who are the fastest backs coming out?

Depends what you want and where you want it.

Looking for a dependable guy that can eventually take over the full load? Or are you looking for a McCluster-ish role player who'll always give you a dependable contribution, but that's it?

The closest thing this draft has to Jamaal Charles is Devonta Freeman out of Florida State. He is electric off tackle, has homerun hitting ability, and can run between the tackles. He's short, which I like in a RB, and he carries his 210 lbs extremely well. I think he'll be available in the 4th or (god help us) even the 5th. But he is the closest this draft has to Charles. I think he's a 1,000-yard rusher.

I really like Lache Seastrunk. He's an Oregon transfer, and is a little heavier than Charles, but looks like he's 220 lbs, and he's extremely difficult to bring down. The aspect of Charles' game he's missing is the homerun ability, and Baylor's offense spreads everybody waaaaay out so it's not a terribly accurate gauge of the NFL. The reason why he's not a Chiefs prospect though: zero experience catching the ball out of the backfield. Zero.

My favorite RB in this whole draft is Tre Mason. I just don't think there's a RB who can match his combination of power, patience and burst.

I know the name Charles Sims has appeared several times in this forum, but it's hard not to buy into the hype. Sims has good size, and he keeps his balance extremely well -- he has both Charles' patience and hits the hole really well with great balance. He doesn't quite have the same explosion to his game that Charles or even Knile Davis have, however.

I think Ka'Deem Carey could be a sleeper. His tape looks pretty good, and he has Charles' dimensions and short-distance burst. But the Wildcats offense just ran him between the tackles 80% of the time. I think in Andy Reid's system, he could potentially flourish, but that's assuming he performs as well at the Combine as I think he will -- no guarantee, there.

Well now this is just turning into a laundry list of RBs I like. So be it, I guess.

De'Anthony Thomas, of course, is the elite speedster that Oregon always throws out. His direct precedent is LaMichael James (they even have similar names...), and your opinion of Thomas' role in an NFL offense should be the same as your opinion of James'.

I think Marion Grice has a pretty interesting skillset. He's got some shiftiness, good speed, great hands in the open field. But ASU's offense was so butt****ingly stupid, it's hard to truly evaluate Grice. We'll need a strong Combine showing -- but the Chiefs throw the ball to RBs A LOT, and no RB in this draft class has better hands, IMO.

There are more. I'll throw them out if/when I get the inclination to do so.