A position that's lacking attention...

[JC]

It really hasn't been discussed alot with our draft definently needing a heavy defensive presense, but we also need to pursue a third down, change of pace option at RB. Shifty, pass catcher, not a power runner, maybe also help us in the return game as well. Huggy Jr. has let us all down in this capacity.

Here's a couple players I had in mind...nothing before 4th round:
Leon Washington
Position: Running Back
School: Florida State
Status: Senior
Height: 5-9
Weight: 202
40 Time: 4.50

Positives:
Every time Leon Washington touches the ball he has the ability to take it to the house for six. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry over his four years as a Seminole. At Florida State he got the ball in a variety of ways; running the ball, catching passes out of the backfield, and occasionally touching the ball as a return man. Not only possessing excellent speed, at 5-9, 202 lbs he plays bigger than he is and runs behind his pads. His low center of gravity allows him to bounce off tacklers who fail to wrap him up, and not many corners and safeties want to take him on one on one in the open field. Overall, Leon Washington is a football player who brings the ability to do almost anything for his team. The more a player can bring to the NFL, the more opportunities he will have to touch the ball.

Negatives:
Unfortunately Leon Washington did not have the type of senior season he had hoped for. Only carrying the ball 91 times for 400 yards and only getting in the end zone three times his senior campaign was lackluster to say the least. Although he did become a better receiver, catching 19 passes for 255 yards and one touchdown.

Washington was battling some nagging injuries, which caused him to miss two games as well as cause his season totals to drop as compared to his junior year. So durability will be a concern to NFL talent evaluators.

Overview:
Fortunately for Washington, he has more positives than negatives. He brings a variety of skills with him to the NFL. His ability to play special teams is especially important for the fact that he most likely will not be the starter. Overall he is a well rounded back. He runs the ball with power and speed, can catch the ball fairly well, and has the ability to return kicks if need be.
Depending on pre-draft workouts, he could slip into the third round. His draft status is down not only because of his senior season, but also because of the potential four first-round running backs.

NFL Comparison: Dominic Rhodes, Indianapolis Colts


Jerome Harrison
Born: February 26, 1983
Birth Place: Kalamazoo, MI
Height: 5-10
Weight: 200 lbs.
40-Time: 4.55


Strengths:
Natural runner with good balance...Very quick with a burst...Always keeps his legs and feet moving...Breaks a lot of tackles...Plays bigger and faster than he is...Has good hands and is a receiving threat...Can also return kicks...Very productive.

Weaknesses:
Lacks ideal size...Timed speed is below average...Needs to get stronger...Will dance too much and needs to hit the hole faster...Only played two seasons of big time college football...Upside might be limited due to his physical shortcomings.

Notes:
Transfer from Pasadena City College...Might have to make his mark as a situational player at the next level...Came through with a huge senior campaign in which he ran for 1,900 yards and 16 touchdowns and really put his name on the NFL map...Not nearly the prospect his numbers would lead you to believe he is.

[Rupert]

JC: That's definitely an interesting point. Huggy Jr. hasn't shown much, and hasn't been worth putting on the field. But the two guys you bring up are more likely bangers than change-of-pace guys. Jordan has comparable speed to them and has size they lack. Now if you we're talking 4.4 - 4.45 speed we'd be talking change-of-pace backs.

[JC]

JC: That's definitely an interesting point. Huggy Jr. hasn't shown much, and hasn't been worth putting on the field. But the two guys you bring up are more likely bangers than change-of-pace guys. Jordan has comparable speed to them and has size they lack. Now if you we're talking 4.4 - 4.45 speed we'd be talking change-of-pace backs.

Those were just their projected 40 times, but yeah...unfortunately, didn't see any of those 4.3-low 4.4 range guys, see what they do at the combine and that sort of thing, my guess is these two at their 5' 9", 200 lb frames have the capacity to run those low times.

[CrossBones]

Guess this is as good a place to share the bad news...

NFL | San Francisco vs. Oakland coin flip to be held at NFL Combine

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 17:29:42 -0800
Matthew Barrows, of the Sacramento Bee, reports the coin flip to determine whether the San Francisco 49ers or Oakland Raiders pick sixth in the NFL Draft will be held at the NFL Combine in February.

So much for the sixth pick.

If we end up picking 7th, both Hawk and Willaims may be gone. Now that really sucks.

[Rupert]

Well, that wouldn't surprise me at all.

[JC]

Ugh, the infamous NFL conspiracy to screw us...

I guess we gotta trade down if we can, pick up some more players/picks. Maybe we can bait someone to come up for Jay Cutler or LenDale White.

[Rupert]

TRADE DOWN!!! Heresy! Ain't gonna happen. Trade up is more like it.

[CrossBones]

TRADE DOWN!!! Heresy! Ain't gonna happen. Trade up is more like it.Well, never say never -- BUT it has NEVER happened so far. I doubt Al would. He's gonna get a stud, high profile player at this spot (6 or 7) and he ain't trading down. He might trade "out" like he did last year or trade up if he thought Leinart was the man but hey -- I'm just sayin'.

[brick]

Another back to keep an eye on is DonTrell Moore, out of New Mexico. A knee injury has hurt his stock, but he is a Curtis Martin clone.

And while a change of pace back might be nice, this team needs someone to help carry the load. jordan broke down at the end of the year. Crockett was needed at FB (another possition of need). So Fargas was the only option to spell Jordan.

So why not put a Martin clone behind a Martin understudy.

[CrossBones]

Another back to keep an eye on is DonTrell Moore, out of New Mexico. A knee injury has hurt his stock, but he is a Curtis Martin clone.

And while a change of pace back might be nice, this team needs someone to help carry the load. jordan broke down at the end of the year. Crockett was needed at FB (another possition of need). So Fargas was the only option to spell Jordan.

So why not put a Martin clone behind a Martin understudy.Well howdy Brick. Happy to see you around! :)

Good point about jordan needing a little relief --- somebody who can really get the tough yards when Jordan is winded or just dinged a little. What else do yo know about this Moore guy? Is he projected in a particular round at this point? I would think the Raiders would want to wait until maybe the fourth or lower but I have no idea about this guy.

[JC]

Well, never say never -- BUT it has NEVER happened so far. I doubt Al would. He's gonna get a stud, high profile player at this spot (6 or 7) and he ain't trading down. He might trade "out" like he did last year or trade up if he thought Leinart was the man but hey -- I'm just sayin'.


Well, I know it has never happened, but I was hoping we were turning over a new leaf. We have alot of holes, if we can get our guy later, we get our guy later. Al would just prefer to reach.

I think Kiwi or Hali will be available a few picks from back from here, there's some players that the other teams will want to jump up in the draft for.

[Rupert]

I think part of Jordan's problem was his weight and condition. And I think some of his post-season comments admitted as much. He just was unaware of how much energy it takes to grind through an entire season, never having done it before as THE GUY.

Crockett would be a good backup if we had a real FB or two.

Fargas might be a decent change of pace guy, but I don't trust his hands as a pass catcher, so...

[Crow]

Fargas could be replaced with the towell boy. Norwood would be a great pick if he fell to Rd4...which I doubt. He's expected to run really well at the combine. 4.4 or better.

[gst8]

Fargas could be replaced with the towell boy. Norwood would be a great pick if he fell to Rd4...which I doubt. He's expected to run really well at the combine. 4.4 or better.

In that case look for the Raiders to take him in the second.

[JC]

Norwood looked decent at the Senior Bowl also...so did Addai...I think he'd go higher than we'd like.

[Crow]

In that case look for the Raiders to take him in the second.

Would not surprise me at all.

[Rupert]

Did you say 4.4? If he breaks 4.4, why not the 1st? Trade up for a late 1st rounder with this year's and next year's 2nd's. :rolleyes:

[Rupert]

JC: I watched Leon Washignton run in whatever one of those pre-draft bowls he played in (watched Senior and Shrine yesterday while sick). He's a good back with lots of pop in his stride. He's also got good instincts and plenty of football speed. I'd like to see him here. He's already more polished than Huggy Jr.

[Crow]

I like him myself. He's not the shifty, "waterbug" type I'd most like to see us have as our 3rd down back...but he's got good hands, runs well...if he's there in Rd4, I'd definitely have to give him a look.

Did you say 4.4? If he breaks 4.4, why not the 1st? Trade up for a late 1st rounder with this year's and next year's 2nd's. :rolleyes:

Man, don't say shit like that. :eek:

[Rupert]

Sorry to bring up ugly shades of yesteryear.

[Crow]

Eh. That actually worked out well, so I can't get mad about that.

[JC]

Here's some info on a couple of other backs mentioned


Jerious Norwood
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 204 | 40-Time: 4.38

Strengths:
Very good vision and natural instincts...Has excellent timed speed which enables him to turn the corner...Is very quick with a burst...Plays bigger than he is and will run up the middle with some power...Has good hands in the passing game...Will break tackles and pick up extra yardage...Very productive and made a lot of big plays...Hard worker with top intangibles...Has a lot of experience...Was durable.

Weaknesses:
Size is only average at best...Not very bulky and has a frail build...Needs to hit the weight room and get stronger...Not as explosive in the open field as you would think...Needs to work on mastering the finer points of the position such as route running and blocking...Can he be more than a situational player at the next level?

Notes:
The big question is whether he can be an every-down back due to his lack of ideal size...Between his speed and production at the college level it wouldn't be hard to see some team taking this guy off the board earlier than most would expect.



DonTrell Moore
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 211 | 40-Time: 4.52

Strengths:
Has great vision and is a natural runner...Patient and waits for his blocks to develop...Very instinctive with good balance...Has great hands and is an excellent receiver out of the backfield...Changes directions well and has some wiggle...Runs low and is a tough player who will work between the tackles...Extremely productive and ran for more than 1,000 yards in each season of his career.

Weaknesses:
Does not have outstanding size...Is more quick than fast and won't break many long ones or run away from people in the NFL...Tore his ACL in the Emerald Bowl following his junior season so durability might be a concern...Can do a better job as a blocker...Not very powerful and won't do much after contact...Limited upside.

Notes:
Is coming off of a major knee injury but he seemed to bounce back fine as a senior...The type of player who is a jack of all trades but master of none...Could be a great 3rd down option in the pros...Will probably never be an every-down back but could carve a niche for himself in a situational role at the next level.

[JC]

I got another guy...check the last sentence...


Quinton Gather
UTAH: All-conference candidate is a quick, elusive runner ... extremely strong, he is hard to solo-tackle ... Utah's fastest running back runs a 4.53 40 ... 430-pound bench press in March testing was the best on the team ... 545-pound squat ranks third on the team and is the best of the running backs.

2004-Honorable mention all-MWC ... appeared in 12 games and made five starts (2 at running back and 3 at E-receiver) ... team's second-leading rusher carried the ball 109 times for 654 yards ... 6.0 yards per carry was the best for anyone with 100 or more rushes ... averaged 54.5 yards per game ... 2 rushing and 1 receiving touchdown ... 100-yard games against New Mexico (106) and BYU (133) ... 81 yards led all backs against Colorado State ... caught a pass in five games, including a 5-yard score vs. North Carolina ... season-bests from the line of scrimmage were a 56-yard run vs. BYU and an 8-yard reception vs. Colorado State ... five runs of 20 yards or more including a 35-yarder vs. San Diego State and a 36-yarder against CSU ... attempted one pass ... returned one kick for 28 yards vs. SDSU.


PRIOR TO UTAH: All-American and all-conference running back for Citrus College ... set Citrus records for single-season and career rushing and all-purpose yards ... rushed for 1,490 yards and 18 TDs and had 20 receptions for 189 yards and 1 TD in 2003 ... led Citrus to 2003 Western State Conference championship and Southwestern Bowl ... prepped at John F. Kennedy HS (Calif.) ... all-conference ... JFK High team captain ... set school single-game rushing record ... also lettered in baseball and set the school single-season record for batting average.


PERSONAL: Son of Henry Ganther, Brenda Ganther and Shannon Montgomery ... one of 11 children ... has daughter, Somia ... sociology major ... first name is pronounced Quin-TAHN ... nickname is "Q" ... full name is Quinton Roy Ganther ... born July 15, 1984 in Oakland, Calif.