Probably my favorite Penn State player. I wish you nothing but the best.
Cleveland would be crazy to pass on Barkley.....they will.
I think the Browns will get Barkley and their QB in the first four picks. They could have a crazy good offense by 2019
yea, it's time for them to turn the corner. Two top 4 picks, a ton of cap space and a new GM.
I honestly can't imagine a scenario where they don't take Barkley. If they don't, they are doomed to eternal losing seasons.
I woke up my wife laughing at thiswhy did charles give up his NBA show to go play college football
Got it... all SEC RB's suckKi-Jana failed because he blew out his knee. He came back and did have an OK career but never got his speed back after that injury.
Anybody can fail due to injury. Aside from that, i think so many hyped up RBs fail because they had it too easy in college and never learned how to really run. That's why so many Alabama backs have struggled and why Reggie Bush struggled. You run through gaping holes all your college career and you don't develop vision.
I like RBs who had to work for it. When i watch a highlight reel of run after run of a guy hitting a big hole and running straight to the endzone, i basically don't even count that. I want to see a guy who can find a crack and make people miss. That's what it takes to run in the NFL.
PSU's OL was not very good. Barkley averaged NEGATIVE half a yard before contact, meaning he usually had to make a guy miss behind the line before he even got going. This guy had very few runs that were easy.
Also, PSU's offense is based on Run Pass Options (RPO). They do RPO nearly every play. That means pretty much every lay for Barkley is him in shotgun and the QB puts it in his gut and he doesn't know if the QB is going to give it to him or take it back and run or pass it himself. He has to stand there flat footed watching the defense come for him and then he gets the ball with guys bearing down on him.
I do think he will have a bit of an adjustment going to a more tradition approach but it should actually be easier for him to know he is getting the ball and where the play is designed to go prior to the snap.
One thing to look for is how many people he makes miss or breaks tackles on his runs. It is rare he is tackled by the first guy unless he's boxed in. His legs are so thick, he runs through arm tackles.
When you look at highlights of his big runs, something to look for is his 6th sense for when a tackler is going to make that last lunge at his ankles. How many times do you see a RB with open field and that DB dives and clips his ankle and trips him up. Barkley has this unbelievable skill where he sense that and does a small hop just at the right time and keeps going. It's easy to not even notice, but once you do, it's amazing how good he is at that.
I think Barkley will go top 3 because he is so versatile. The NFL seems to have re-discovered how much a true every down back can do for a team. Look at Bell and Gurley and Zeke. They are not the plug and play back. They contribute in all aspects and are easily worth a top 5 draft pick. I believe we will start to see a shift back to teams looking for that impact RB . Sure the committee type RBs will be available late, but the special RBs like Barkley are back in style.
In theory, however the Browns have not come close to testing that.There is a limit to how many top picks you could have and still be shity.
PS I have a problem with the term best since Faulk. Id very much put Bell in that category.
As a running back prospect coming out of college. No way was Bell in that category entering the draft.
Im sure Barkly will be a good RB, maybe a great one.... but we have seen more dynamic and more accomplished college RBs fail miserably at the next level so frequently that its wise to never draft one that high unless you have expendable picks
I don't see how that is his fault. He simply had a better supporting cast with the Rams.Faulk didn't really do for the colts what he did for the Rams....