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Is it better if I say he was merely a below average starter? He was fed a ton of carries but he was 17th out of 20 in terms of DVOA among RBs that had at least 200 carries and 29th out of 45 if you include everyone with at least 100 carries. And his lack of abilities catching the ball or blocking made the Patriots offense uncharacteristically predictable, which is part of why it was their first time having a below average offense in terms of scoring efficiency since 2003. And he was replaced in his 3rd year. He technically started the first 3 games before he got hurt but that was because Damien Harris was hurt and even then, he was outsnapped by Rex Burkhead during those games. When he returned, he was outsnapped by both Damien Harris and James White until both Harris and Burkhead were hurt again and Harris is expected to be the starter next season.

An article like this shouldn't really be needed in this day and age, but it's a good article nonetheless. For those thinking it's different because the finances are different at #30 than it is in the top 10, from that list, these are the RBs taken 24th or later (was going to cut it off at 25, but wanted to include Josh Jacobs since he's been good): Clyde Edwards-Helaire - 21 touches per game through his first 6 and a 5-1 record, 12 touches per game over his last 9 and an 11-2 record (including 3-1 when he didn't play); wasn't much of an upgrade over Bell and Darrel Williams for the most part. Josh Jacobs - Undoubtedly their best RB these past two years; he's played legitimately well both years so far. Raiders have gone 13-15 when he plays and 2-2 when he doesn't. Rashaad Penny - 981 yards from scrimmage over 3 years, he's never been more than a mediocre backup. Sony Michel - Burst on the scene as a rookie, struggled as a sophomore, replaced in his 3rd year. Doug Martin - Two outstanding seasons in which Tampa went 13-19 along with 4 terrible seasons as a Buc and one mediocre season with the Raiders. David Wilson - 546 yards from scrimmage in 3 years and out of the NFL. Mark Ingram - A long career as a pretty good committee RB demonstrating the replaceability of RBs. Jahvid Best - 1700 yards from scrimmage in 22 games before he was forced to retire from concussions. Donald Brown - A long career as a below average backup RB Beanie Wells - 2800 yards from scrimmage in 4 years as a below average starter/solid backup and then never played another down. Yes, the RB you get at 30 will be cheaper and therefore the opportunity cost is only bad instead of atrocious, but you're likely punting on what should be a valuable asset instead of trying to find an impactful player.

I think this is pretty likely tbh. After Lawrence, I don't have any of these QBs rated above where Tua was last year. They desperately need more offensive talent on that team, whether it's the pass catchers or the OLine.

This shouldn't be that complicated. At least one of Pitts, Chase, and Sewell will be available at #6. Just take whoever is there; they're all elite prospects at positions of need.

That's fair enough. Mac was certainly playing against a higher level of competition, though his supporting cast relative to the competition was pretty ridiculous. At the end of the day, I think Lance's accuracy is a much bigger issue than his experience; he's further along mentally than most of the guys in this class.

I know Lance only played one game this year, but FWIW, Lance has started 16 games in college while Mac started 17. Mac's played more recently but he isn't much more experienced.

Yeah, I tend to think you're probably more likely to win now with Lance or Fields than Mac personally. Mac will probably get the ball out on time more often than Lance and definitely more often than Fields IMO, but I think Lance is close enough in terms of reading defenses that his legs will make him more impactful right away than Mac would be. A little tougher for Fields, but he's probably the best pure passer in the class while also being a great athlete so that naturally will give him a good chance for early success if he has the right coach.

Not necessarily circus catches, but throws that are behind his targets, deeps balls where the WR has to stop and come back to the ball, etc. The 69% isn't all completions either; it includes well thrown balls that were dropped or just weren't converted (like contested catches that aren't technically drops). I also didn't chart all of the games, but I'm fairly certain he completed well over 70% of his passes in the games I charted anyways so basically the same point of it.

I think Fields is pretty comfortably the most accurate QB in this draft. Fields had a good support cast no doubt, but nobody has anything close to what Alabama has. I know others like Benjamin Solak and PFF do more in-depth charting that came to the same conclusion (Fields being #1 in terms of accuracy), but in my personal charting of the QBs, Fields threw a perfectly placed or nearly perfectly placed ball on 53% of his passes and was accurate on 80%. Mac was at 46% and 69% respectively, which is currently 4th or 5th in the class out of the 6 that I've charted so far. Lance is a guy that those that liked Josh Allen as a prospect should love. Those that didn't like Allen probably won't like Lance either. He's a better decision maker and runner than Allen was in college but very similar otherwise, accuracy questions and all.

The thing about this is, Mac Jones isn't the most accurate QB in the class.

I think Allen actually is probably a strong candidate. I would guess him, Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, or George Kittle as my curveball.

On the practice squad? They could. Feels like a waste of the space though unless they actually think they have 4 good QBs on the roster.

Seems like a no-brainer for practice squad unless he loses the battle to Davis Webb.

Definitely an upgrade over the previous look.

He's an okay athlete. He definitely isn't faster than Allen though, nor is he anywhere near as comfortable moving as Allen is. Alabama reported that Mac ran like a 4.68 or something (Allen was in the 4.7s), but it sounds like all the scouts that were on hand had Mac in the 4.8's, which is still fine. Hell, Jameis was barely under a 5.0 and he still hurt defenses with his legs all the time. You don't have to be fast to be an effective runner at the QB position; it's just that read options will likely be a part of the offense under any of the other 1st round QBs, whereas running will be an absolute last resort for Mac. Seems pretty likely that Jamarr Chase will also be going top 5 after not playing at all this year. It's not Lance's fault his school didn't have a season.

I’m fairly certain it’ll be Lance or Fields. Lance will have less of a learning curve adapting to Shanahan’s offense IMO while still having a sky high ceiling. Fields is the better talent but might not be as good a scheme fit. Mac is significantly behind those two IMO.

Cant say I’m a fan of any of these options. Voted Eskridge I guess. Bash am would have been my choice I think.

No, he's another 3-tech.

No clue. I know they desperately need shooting and he's generally been a pretty good shooter. Would think that if he comes in with the right attitude, he'll have a shot at minutes there. The team also kinda sucked outside of Cade Cunningham and only had 2 forwards that really played at all.

Not that I was expecting him to return anyways, but I think this likely shuts the door on Guerrier coming back. I doubt Jimmy came without knowing he'll play a lot of minutes.

Woody Newton to Oklahoma State

I would hope we finish above that but I just don't like touching super high or super low O/U's. The 7-8 win bets are the ones that I like to bet on.

They can say what they want in the articles, but the development he showed in college, the toughness he plays with, and the super advanced mental aspects of his game tell me this dude loves football and cares a lot about being the best football player he can be.

I agree with all of this, though even as a fan of Kadarius Toney, he's nowhere near as fast as Tyreek Hill. Probably one of the most slippery WRs I've seen after the catch, but he's not a world class speed guy nor has he proven to be much of a deep threat yet.