RB Prospect Talk: Trayveon Williams, Texas A&M

[DaSuperfan]

I feel like Barnes or Harris are a little too similar to Mike Davis in terms of skill set. All 3 of them are not very fast and have long speed. All of them seem to be capable receivers out of the backfield. I think the Bears are looking for a back that has a different style than what they already have in Davis and Cohen. They want a back that has a mixture of both of Davis/Cohen's skillset. Meaning a guy that can handle 10-15 touches a game and be explosive by running in between the tackles, outside zone or catching the ball out of the backfield. I don't see Barnes or Harris being that explosive. I could be wrong though.

Barnes had a faster 20 yard shuttle, as well as a better LG and vertical than Miles Sanders.... at 15 pounds heavier... his RAS score was 9.8 at the combine...

I get that, but if you watch some of his tape, he doesn't appear to have that elite athleticism translate on the field with explosiveness. He's not bad, all I'm saying is on tape he doesn't seem to offer a skillset that's a whole lot different than what Mike Davis brings. Again, that could just be my perception.

[DaSuperfan]

He's an alpha and well-respected team leader, I think Pace is going to love that.

He doesn't have an elite burst or cutting ability, BUT he does impress me with cutting at full speed (not as deep of a cut, mind you) which muddies up a defenders shot to hit him. Kid runs with more power than I expected too.

Smaller back but I like him, I like his vision, his hands and mostly his pass blocking. If Darrell Henderson is there in the 3rd I think he's the pick, if he's not I think it's Williams (assuming we go RB there).

That's an interesting point regarding his cutting ability at full speed, because I was listening to a podcast by EJ Snyder who's really good at breaking down draft prospects and he mentioned that very same thing. He also said that Miles Sanders has an excellent lateral jump cut, but he loses a lot of momentum when he does and doesn't accelerate all that fast. He wasn't very high on Sanders and says he didn't see a lot of explosiveness watching his tape. He did really like Williams though and said he checks off more boxes for Nagy and Pace. We'll see.

[G08]

He's an alpha and well-respected team leader, I think Pace is going to love that.

He doesn't have an elite burst or cutting ability, BUT he does impress me with cutting at full speed (not as deep of a cut, mind you) which muddies up a defenders shot to hit him. Kid runs with more power than I expected too.

Smaller back but I like him, I like his vision, his hands and mostly his pass blocking. If Darrell Henderson is there in the 3rd I think he's the pick, if he's not I think it's Williams (assuming we go RB there).

That's an interesting point regarding his cutting ability at full speed, because I was listening to a podcast by EJ Snyder who's really good at breaking down draft prospects and he mentioned that very same thing. He also said that Miles Sanders has an excellent lateral jump cut, but he loses a lot of momentum when he does and doesn't accelerate all that fast. He wasn't very high on Sanders and says he didn't see a lot of explosiveness watching his tape. He did really like Williams though and said he checks off more boxes for Nagy and Pace. We'll see.

I hated Williams' cone (7.44), if he was a 7.00 guy you'd see that on his tape and in his cutting ability. He's someone that's going to see the hole, hit it, and put his shoulder down and get you everything he can. Again, that is all well and great but his size does give me a little worry about injury... probably shouldn't be a 25-30 carry per game back, which oddly enough fits right into our rotation.

[SC Bear]

It seems to me the Bears are targeting 3 running backs based on their projected draft range.
They are: Williams late 3rd to mid 4th, Mike Weber mid 4th to early 5th, and Alexander Mattison 5th or 6th round. Dan Durkin has written an extensive piece on each and you can read it on the internet-Dan Durkin and then the name of the player. Good film on each.
In his draft guide Bugler rates Williams #8 rb, Weber #17, and Mattison #14.
Kevin Scott rates Williams-12, Weber not it top 15, and Mattison--6
I'm sure some of you subscribe to other draft guides and it would be interesting to see their thoughts.
Based on their draft range and Durkins' articles I think he believes it is one of these 3

[thunderspirit]

I pick up Ourlads every year. They have Trayveon as a 3rd round value (their 5th ranked back on their updated board), Weber as a 4th round value (9th), and Mattison as a 5th round value (19th).

FWIW, I like Brugler's work a lot and buy his guide every year too. I also buy The Draft Network cos they do great in-depth stuff. TDN has Williams as a 4th round value (#10 ranked RB), Mattison a notch lower at #11 (also 4th round), and Weber as a 5th round value ( #18 rank).

[SC Bear]

If you subscribe to the Atlantic you get brugler for free.