Fantasy Football Podcast 2016 - Yahoo's Brad Evans, Rookie RB Rundown, Mailbag

in the third round, and then Alex Collins, who is another, he's a really solid college player. So how do you feel about both Rawls, really just everybody there? I mean, you got Rawls, Michael, and Pro Seitz. How are you feeling about them? Yeah, it's a bit of a menagerie of running backs and kind of a quagmire, if you will, for Thomas Rawls. I think Rawls, now, if he comes off the ankle injury, he's fully recovered.

We haven't heard a whole lot of information about the recovery process, but I think he's going to be atop the totem pole as training camp opens as the early down rusher. But clearly, if you look at CJ Pro Size, he's a fascinating kid, right? This is a guy that came in to Notre Dame as a DB, okay? Then he converted to a slot receiver. And then due to injuries, they try him out in spring game and say, I'll see what this guy can do running back. And the coaches, you know, jaws dropped to the ground. They're like, holy crap, we got something special here.

And they plugged him in and immediately was productive, posted just some sick numbers in only one season as the starting running back for the fighting Irish. You know, he's a guy that to me, and it was interesting because I comped him as Fred Jackson pre-draft. And it's fascinating now that he's kind of, yeah, he's now coincidentally filling the Fred Jackson role. So the way that I see it is that Procise is going to be kind of a multi-dimensional asset, third down guy.

He needs to pick up pass pro because of that, you know, green experience level that he had in college. That's something that will have to monitor in training camp. But because he's a versatile asset, a guy that, you know, can line up in the slaughter outside and be kind of a gadgety guy. I think he'll be a change of pace option for Rawls. I think Alex Collins and Kristen Michael will battle it out for the powerback role behind Thomas Rawls. And Chris and Michael's, you know.

Everybody's the truthers that are out there. They love this guy. They still think, oh, he's going to be the shiz eventually, and he never materializes. Collins is a legitimate downhill runner between the pipes kind of horse. And I think he'll prove that Chris and Michael belongs in the CFL, not the NFL here. Yes. Yes, Brad. As long as we don't have to listen to Mike speculate about Christine Michael's glorious future all season long. That's all I want. I wear the badge proudly.

Of Chris and Michael, but you own the only jersey produced. Well, I was, and I was asked, you know, what, how do I feel about my dreams burning down? I said they've resurrected. The ashes have rose from the ground like a Phoenix in the name of C.J. Pro Seize, a guy who I really like. Yeah. How do you feel about kind of the long-term value of pro size? Do you think he will stay that change of pace guy, or does he have a chance to kind of become a three-down guy?

I think he definitely has a chance to become a three-down guy. You know, he reminds me a lot, and I'm not saying this as University of Illinois graduate, but maybe I am. Richard Mittenhall. Richard Mittenhall was a one-hit wonder at the college level. At Illinois had a spectacular season, and Illinois's March of the Rose Bowl, and then they got smashed by USC, and I lost my voice in the process, and my pants. I don't know how that happened, but it just does. It happens sometimes we're near Pasadena.

But precise is a guy, he's, you know, what I like about I'm watching him on tape, he's really undeterred between the tackles, right? He's an aggressive runner. He gets after, gets downhill in a hurry. He's got that speed to get around the edge at 4-48 with a 40-yard dash. He's got the elusiveness. He's got that deceptive power. It's just a past protection and just kind of getting his feet underneath him in terms of learning the position because he only played it for full time, essentially for a year at a high level in college.

I think maybe a year or two down the road, we're not talking about Thomas Rawls anymore in Seattle. We're talking about the CJ Pro Seas show. So while we've got you on the show, a wild expert, I want to know about another running back from your vantage point, who, like Pro Seis, was a very good pass catcher but didn't have a very large body of work. The third running back taken off the board. Kenyon Drake goes...

to Miami. A lot of people are all about Jay Ajai now. Some people are thinking Kenyon Drake has a good opportunity there to be used more. Where do you see that breakdown in the Miami backfield? Yeah, that's a, and I still think Miami's not done making moves. I mean, they flirt with the idea of signing Aryan Foster, brought him in for a workout. I think all teams are kind of waiting to see what happens with Foster in terms of his recovery from the Achilles injury.

whether he's going to be close to full speed by the time training camp rolls around. So I don't think the story of that backfield has written the final chapter yet. But looking at it from right now, let's say, you know, through speculation, they don't sign Foster. They go into the season with Drake and Jaya. I think it shakes out kind of similarly what it is in Seattle, where Ajai is going to be the early down back, probably going to be the goal line rusher. And then Kenyon, Drake's going to be the change of pace third down guy. Drake's interesting.

Because of his shake and bake, a guy that forced 22 mistackles and 77 attempts in 2015. The body of work was overshadowed by Derek Henry. Well, he was at Alabama. But he's a multidimensional thread. He's got slot receiving experience like Pro Seis. He's got, I think, good, you know, through contact leg action. And I love me some leg action, gentlemen. It's the best action.

Yeah, whether it's at the gentleman's club or, you know, on the NFL field, I'm all about the leg action. So, you know, Kenyon Drake's one of those guys, I think, could exceed expectation. But in terms of immediacy, I think he's got to be just more of a COP, a change of pace guy. All right. So we'll move to another backfield that while the Titans are boasting.

a overstuffed, a double stuffed, as you will, running back stable. We're going to move to the Ravens who are putting everyone to shame right now with about a bazillion guys as potential running backs. You have Justin Forsett, the older vet coming off the arm injury. You have Givorius Allen who was...

somewhat disappointing. And so they go and they pick up a guy, Kenneth Dixon, while they still have Terrence West, Lorenzo Talia Farrow. Don't forget about Trent Richards. The ghost of Trent Richardson, Terrence McGee. I mean, you have so many guys on that team. Is there room for the rookie? And could he make any kind of noise this season? Gentlemen, the cream always rises to the top, right? Justin Forset. Trent Richardson, no. It's definitely going to be Kenneth Dixon.

I think Kenneth Dixon is a talented, talented dude. And for those that, you know, are listening to the pod that maybe don't follow college football that closely. And I understand he played at La Tech. You know, this wasn't the SEC. This wasn't the Big Ten. It wasn't the Pac-12. It's La Tech. But he was an impressive running back. A guy that has a legitimate three-down skill set. He's a magician in space. It does a lot of Houdiniacs. A lot of would-be tacklers are grabbing air instead of him.

He had the third highest elusive rating of all rushers out of this year's draft class corner pro football focus. And he's got that deceptive power as well. He broke, you know, a lot of tackles gained over 60% of his initial yards, or yards, I should say, after initial contact. He's got the vision. He's got the cutback ability. You know, a lot of people compared him in terms of his vision and patience to a Levi-on-Bell. I've seen him draw comparisons to a Lamar Miller as well.

or Dionne Lewis in terms of his scatback ways in space. So I like him overall. And I know the Odominor reading is high because he was a four-year starter at Louisiana Tech. And he's actually the second all-time in touchdowns at the FBS level. So he's got a nose to the end zone. Clearly right now, guys, he's the best running back on this roster, in my opinion. And I am still in complete shock that Richardson is collecting an NFL paycheck.

Yeah, I think the world is. The only person not surprised would be Christine Michael? Yeah. Those two guys are into stealing money. So you feel like Kenneth Dixon, you think by the end of the season, he could become the number one back for the Ravens. Yeah, I think what you're going to see in training camp, and here's, you know, this is the thing that a lot of people are struggling with it. I hope we have a conversation about Ezek Elliott here in a minute, but it's like the fear of the unknown.

Right. People that don't follow college football, but follow every step of the NFL, they're always hesitant to draft a rookie because it's sight unseen. But I'm telling you, if you go to YouTube and just, you know, punching Kenneth Dixon highlights and watch it for five minutes, you'll be removing your belt. I mean, that's the kind of skill set this guy is bringing the table. So, you know, I think once you see him in the preseason,

As long as the past protections are there, because that's always the struggle for a lot of rookie running backs from making the transition from the college to the NFL game. If he picks it up quickly, I think you're going to hear Harbaugh, the coaching staff, sing his praises, and it's only a matter of time that he'll be the starter in Baltimore.

Yeah, I like the recommendation, too, to go and watch these guys. That's something we've talked to, told our listeners to do as well. If you need a difference-making opinion, sometimes just a few minutes of film. I mean, we watched Cory Coleman the other day. Good grief. And just his athletic ability just jumped off the page. That can separate for certain guys. So really, I think the Kenneth Dixon hot take right there is pretty valuable to our listeners here.

Thank you very much for joining us, Brad. We appreciate you coming on this show. Brad Evans from Yahoo Sports. You can find them on Twitter at Yahoo! Noise. Thanks a lot, my man. My pleasure, guys. I think I'm going to go have a few tequilas now because that's what I do. All right. Yeah, we know. Take care. All right. Have a good one. All right. Thanks again to Brad Evans for joining us on the show. That was a lot of fun talking about some of the big kind of backfield battles that might take place due to these...

Rookies, I thought the most profound part of that interview had to do with Baltimore's backfield because I feel like I am on the outs compared to you guys with my thoughts in Justin Forset. I have not been, like I like Justin Forset in the past. I like him being a veteran contributor. I don't think he's irrelevant this year. I just, if I'm Baltimore.

And I'm building this team back up. They had a very high pick this year. I'm looking towards the future. I'm looking towards the involvement of more guys in that backfield. And Forset is a guy who, career-wise, I know he had a very good year, Jason. You were a big proponent for Justin Forset. He was somebody who just really career-wise hadn't carried the rock, wasn't looked to be that guy. And I think he's fine as a, you know, a couple hundred carries. I mean, I think 175 carries for Justin Porcette, somewhere around there.

And a distribution to the young guys, somebody like Dixon, somebody like, you know, Buck Allen was in there last year. Buck Allen was in there because of a broken arm to Justin Forset. I would not be surprised if Dixon ends up replacing Buck Allen as the primary backup. I will say of, if you're thinking of kind of along the narrative, you have Joe Flacco, who's coming off of ACL terror. I don't know if people remember this.

Flacco destroyed his knee last year. Pass protection is key. Is it week 16? No, it was before then. No, it was. It was very, very late. It was later. Shob played. Yeah, we had, remember we had Matt Schob throw to Buck Allen 17 times? But just they're not going to throw Joe Flacko in there with his repaired knee and say, okay, rookie, go make sure Joe Flacco doesn't die. Exactly. I mean, at least at the beginning of the year. Absolutely. Perhaps Dixon by the end could become the guy, but I think that.

Right now, people are not looking at Justin Fawcett. They're going to look at Buck Allen. They're going to look at the rookie. And Fawcett will provide a great draft of value at least for the first half of the year. And sometimes that's what you have to do is you need to find a guy who's going to carry you for the first half. And then you pick up the rookie who's going to take you to the title. Gio Bernard did that for people last year. Danny Woodhead start to the season did that last year. There were a lot of guys that even though you look back on their numbers.

They might not have been as profound. Right. You know, you're right. You're right. You can win a lot of games before you have to make adjustments to that position. And so I thought the Kenna Dixon thought process was really good. We obviously have, Jason's a big Kenyon Drake guy. I am. I just think that the opportunity there is, if they don't, you know, Brad Evans was saying, well, they might not be done there. And obviously, if they bring an Arian Foster.

you know, all over everything I'm saying. But if they go into the ear with just these two guys, one of the things we have to keep in mind, right, why did Jaya Jai fall to the fifth round? Fear of injury? Fear of injury because he's got a knee that is bone on bone and all these... Allegedly. Allegedly. Allegedly. Okay, allegedly bone on bone and all these teams said, hey, we don't know when he's going to get injured, but we believe he is and it's going to be done. Well, if it's just him and Kenyon Drake, I just like the opportunity there.