Mayock doesn't see McFadden in top-20
Our favorite Draft guru, NFL Network's Mike Mayock, broke out his top-10 overall picks for the first time on Monday.
I will talk about his top ten shortly and his comparisons of Matt Ryan to Ben Roethlisberger, but the most interesting part of his top ten was the name that wasn't there - Darren McFadden.
"I just watched three tapes and I wasn't as impressed as I expected to be," Mayock said. "Great burst, great acceleration, but I wouldn't touch him in the top 20 picks."
The buzz on McFadden seems to have slowed some over the last 12 months, but that's still a shocker. Is it the Reggie Bush effect? Does it reflect that running backs better be Adrian Peterson-like special to be worth taking in the top ten?
Either way, Mayock has a better beat on how NFL teams think than most draft analysts. I bet a lot of NFL boards have concerns about McFadden too.
Comments
McFadden may turn out to be a great pro, but maybe it's my West Coast bias that tells me that Jonathan Stewart will be the best back from this draft. The man is an absolute beast.
Posted by: Rick | February 13, 2008 12:10 AM
Interesting that people think either Mendenhall or Stewart (or both) will be better backs than McFadden.
For someone who hasn't seen all that much of Mendenhall and Stewart... how would you compare them with Marshawn Lynch?
I'm curious as to which of the "other" backs has the biggest fantasy impact next season.
Posted by: Stephen | February 13, 2008 12:19 AM
mendenhall has way better breakaway ability than lynch and a herculean build. he's listed at 5'11/224, but is probably a little heavier with how much muscle he holds. stewart (5'11/233) is more physical than lynch with slightly better speed. lynch is a grinder. solid all-around back, but not definitely a big play guy. and not as big as the others at only 5'10/215.
Posted by: evan | February 13, 2008 01:44 AM
and by the way, mayock never said mcfadden isnt a top 20 pick. mayock said HE, personally, wouldnt touch mcfadden in the top 20 because he isnt great at breaking tackles due to weak lower body strength. mayock admitted that it's likely mcfadden will be the no. 1 back taken in the draft because he's a favorite among nfl personnel people.
then mayock put on a clip of glenn dorsey taking mcfadden down at the LOS. id be surprised if adrian peterson, ladainian tomlinson, steven jackson, or any of the great backs of our time could break even an arm tackle by dorsey.
he also put on a clip of mcfadden nearly being run down by ali highsmith. considering highsmith is a fiery and crazy in-pursuit 'backer and is going to run in the 4.4s at the combine no problem, that's not too much of a concern.
Posted by: evan | February 13, 2008 01:55 AM
This is absolutely insane. Forget any kind of draft analysis or footage of Mcfadden's "weaknesses", he's a definate top ten talent, I think he's the best player in the draft. I garuntee if he's the premier back his rookie season that he'll go over 1,000 yards.
Posted by: pat lindsey | February 22, 2008 04:45 PM
Also, I dont think anyone here can genuinely say that an NFL team wont build Mcfadden's lower body, which does need some more bulk.
Posted by: pat lindsey | February 22, 2008 04:48 PM
do you guys even watch football, or the sec....Mendenhall went up against easier opponents, and put up less number without splitting time with the 4th best runningback in the draft (Felix Jones) Mcfadden ran over people on a weekly basis and did it for 3 years. Mendenhall had a quarterback that could throw the ball in Juice Williams, or at least run the ball. Mcfadden had Casey Dick who couldnt hit the side of a barn. Arkansas' offense was Darren Mcfadden and consistently Mcfadden rose to the challange
you guys are crazy just like Mike Mayock if you think Rashard Mendenhall is even in the same sentence as Mcfadden.
Posted by: slate | February 24, 2008 07:19 PM