Draft prospect to keep an eye on IMO for the Bills: RB, Roschon Johnson, Texas

[Alphadawg7]

Looking at the draft and trying to envision how the early rounds could unfold and who might be targets as we start entering into day 3, there is one guy that keeps standing out to me, and that is RB, Roschon, Johnson from Texas.

 

I already know there are going to be people here whose first response is that he isn't fast enough.  He ran fast enough at the combine to silence those concerns, but if anyone is focusing on just that anyway then they are missing the bigger picture with Johsnon who was the backup to Bijan this year.  His acceleration is the same as both Bijan and Gibbs, they just have a higher long ball speed.  But we already have home run speed in Cook, what we need is that slasher tough runner who can keep moving the chains, and Roschon is all that and more.  

 

A former 4 star recruit at QB, converted to RB out of team necessity, he has gone on to excel in just about every way imaginable for a RB.  Not only is he is tough runner, he is very good in all the other aspects of being a RB including as a receiver, blocking, and pass protection.  He was also the best special teams player for Texas.  

 

Everything about this guy has McBeane written all over him.  And most people didn't even notice that the Bills took him out to dinner because the Bills took both him and Bijan out together and everyone was so focused on Bijan.  So there is established interest here both in the player and the position by Beane and the Bills.

 

We carried a RB in Taiwan for years despite providing no contributions at RB just because of what he brought to ST's.  Roschon is a guy who could contribute both as a RB and a ST ace.  He is rising up the draft boards as GM's have been salivating at how versatile he is.  I've seen a lot of chatter that some GM's even think he might be the most versatile back in the draft.  

 

While I am not posting with this based on any "inside" knowledge of the significance of the Bills interest, I do think the fit here is intriguing as a duo with Cook.  And based on what I know of Beane and McD, he feels like someone who would be in real consideration as we get into day 3 and on of the draft.  We already have our faster home run threat in Cook, Roschon could be that potential compliment to Cook to groom behind Harris this year while also being a valuable ST contributor.  

 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2023 by Alphadawg7

[GunnerBill]

He has some Karlos Williams about him. Upright style, bigger back, not super fast. Think we took Karlos round 5. That is about the right place for this guy too. 

 

He isn't a lead back but if you are a team with an undersized speed back as your #1 (we might be) then a bigger change of pace guy isn't the worst idea.

 

EDIT: he isn't gonna be Taiwan Jones on STs as a rookie though. I don't think people realise how good Jones was at his job.

Edited April 17, 2023 by GunnerBill

[Alphadawg7]

22 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

He has some Karlos Williams about him. Upright style, bigger back, not super fast. Think we took Karlos round 5. That is about the right place for this guy too. 

 

He isn't a lead back but if you are a team with an undersized speed back as your #1 (we might be) then a bigger change of pace guy isn't the worst idea.

 

EDIT: he isn't gonna be Taiwan Jones on STs as a rookie though. I don't think people realise how good Jones was at his job.

 

The comparison to pre-fat Karlos Williams makes a lot of sense.  As far as being Taiwan Jones level of special teams ace, yeah I wasn't suggesting that he would be as good as Taiwan was as a rookie, but more highlighting the degree that McBeane value ST contributions by carrying someone like Taiwan solely for his ST contributions.  And Roschon represents an opportunity to get someone who could both contribute at their designated position and be valuable on special teams. 

 

There is a lot of buzz he is rising up draft boards, so I am not sure he gets to us in the 5th.  I think he could go anywhere between the 3rd and 5th rounds, so will be interesting to see how it plays out. 

[Simon Says]

One of the guys I would like to see them take ,for the reasons you mentioned. But,I don't think he has shown much as a receiver; maybe thats just lack of use. 

[Thurman#1]

I like him a lot, but as I understand it, he's rising fast and is thought more likely to go in round three or maybe even round two these days.

 

I loved him in round four or five, but can't see us going with him as far as he's risen.

 

[Yantha]

14 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

Looking at the draft and trying to envision how the early rounds could unfold and who might be targets as we start entering into day 3, there is one guy that keeps standing out to me, and that is RB, Roschon, Johnson from Texas.

 

I already know there are going to be people here whose first response is that he isn't fast enough.  He ran fast enough at the combine to silence those concerns, but if anyone is focusing on just that anyway then they are missing the bigger picture with Johsnon who was the backup to Bijan this year. 

 

A former 4 star recruit at QB, converted to RB out of team necessity, he has gone on to excel in just about every way imaginable for a RB.  Not only is he is tough runner, he is very good in all the other aspects of being a RB including as a receiver, blocking, and pass protection.  He was also the best special teams player for Texas.  

 

Everything about this guy has McBeane written all over him.  And most people didn't even notice that the Bills took him out to dinner because the Bills took both him and Bijan out together and everyone was so focused on Bijan.  So there is established interest here both in the player and the position by Beane and the Bills.

 

We carried a RB in Taiwan for years despite providing no contributions at RB just because of what he brought to ST's.  Roschon is a guy who could contribute both as a RB and a ST ace.  He is rising up the draft boards as GM's have been salivating at how versatile he is.  I've seen a lot of chatter that some GM's even think he might be the most versatile back in the draft.  

 

While I am not posting with this based on any "inside" knowledge of the significance of the Bills interest, I do think the fit here is intriguing as a duo with Cook.  And based on what I know of Beane and McD, he feels like someone who would be in real consideration as we get into day 3 and on of the draft.  We already have our faster home run threat in Cook, Roschon could be that potential compliment to Cook to groom behind Harris this year while also being a valuable ST contributor.  

 

 

 

Great prospect!  Just wondering though, if we keep 4 RB on the roster this year?  Hines is our new special teamer (Jones), but also gets on the field for a small number of passing downs.

[Alphadawg7]

As the draft approaches, my love affair for Roschon has only increased.  I can't shake what an ideal fit he would be in Buffalo and his stock is only continuing to rise to the point now that I think he very well could go day 2 in the 2nd round.  It wouldn't surprise me if he was the 3rd or 4th RB off the board.  

 

And that being said, if he was there in the 2nd at 59, I honestly would not be upset if we took him that early because I think he is going to be that good and an excellent pairing with Cook as a tandem for the next few years.  I had hoped to get him in the 3rd, but I think there is a solid chance he is gone before that pick. 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2023 by Alphadawg7

[Warriorspikes51]

Watch us take Bijan at 27 and Roschon at 91 hahahahaha oh boy! 

[PrimeTime101]

On 4/18/2023 at 6:42 AM, Herb Nightly said:

One of the guys I would like to see them take ,for the reasons you mentioned. But,I don't think he has shown much as a receiver; maybe thats just lack of use. 

Why does every HB we get have to show much as a Receiver? You get a guy like that for third and 1 so you do not have to use JA as a battering ram every game. 

[Solomon Grundy]

On 4/17/2023 at 5:08 PM, GunnerBill said:

He has some Karlos Williams about him

As long as it's not at the picnic table... 

[Allen2D̶i̶g̶g̶s̶TBD]

It's weird that he had such a bad vertical jump at the combine, yet his highlights are full of him hurdling guys. 

 

This is why timing your jump is more important than how high you can jump.

[Simon Says]

I have liked this guy for a while. Could compete with Gilliam as 4th RB and special teamer. Don't think he got to show much as a receiver but seems to have potential. And,you know he hasn't been worn out. 

[glazeduck]

46 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

As the draft approaches, my love affair for Roschon has only increased.  I can't shake what an ideal fit he would be in Buffalo and his stock is only continuing to rise to the point now that I think he very well could go day 2 in the 2nd round.  It wouldn't surprise me if he was the 3rd or 4th RB off the board.  

 

And that being said, if he was there in the 2nd at 59, I honestly would not be upset if we took him that early because I think he is going to be that good and an excellent pairing with Cook as a tandem for the next few years.  I had hoped to get him in the 3rd, but I think there is a solid chance he is gone before that pick. 

 

 

He's definitely going higher than we'll want to draft a dude, I think 3rd rd is his floor. Which is too bad, because for awhile his stock was getting undervalued...

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, Alphadawg7 said:

As the draft approaches, my love affair for Roschon has only increased.  I can't shake what an ideal fit he would be in Buffalo and his stock is only continuing to rise to the point now that I think he very well could go day 2 in the 2nd round.  It wouldn't surprise me if he was the 3rd or 4th RB off the board.  

 

And that being said, if he was there in the 2nd at 59, I honestly would not be upset if we took him that early because I think he is going to be that good and an excellent pairing with Cook as a tandem for the next few years.  I had hoped to get him in the 3rd, but I think there is a solid chance he is gone before that pick. 

 

 

I love him too…. But 59, oh man.  I’d rather trade up for Bijan.  
 

and I reaaaally don’t want to trade up for Bijan

Edited April 25, 2023 by NewEra

[Alphadawg7]

9 minutes ago, NewEra said:

I love him too…. But 59, oh man.  I’d rather trade up for Bijan.  
 

and I reaaaally don’t want to trade up for Bijan

 

I also would much prefer the 3rd, just saying I wouldn't be upset if he ended up being the pick in the 2nd because I don't think he makes it to us in the 3rd.  Or maybe we trade up from our 3rd to get him too, I would be ok with that as well.

[dave mcbride]

On 4/17/2023 at 5:08 PM, GunnerBill said:

He has some Karlos Williams about him. Upright style, bigger back, not super fast. Think we took Karlos round 5. That is about the right place for this guy too. 

 

He isn't a lead back but if you are a team with an undersized speed back as your #1 (we might be) then a bigger change of pace guy isn't the worst idea.

 

EDIT: he isn't gonna be Taiwan Jones on STs as a rookie though. I don't think people realise how good Jones was at his job.

The guy who I always found to be truly impressive was Zach Charbonnet. Your thoughts on him? I think he has the style and talent to be a pretty good pro.

Edited April 25, 2023 by dave mcbride

[GunnerBill]

3 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

The guy who I always found to be truly impressive was Zach Charbonnet. Your thoughts on him? I think he has the style and talent to be a pretty good pro.

 

Yea he is my next guy up after Bijan and Gibbs. I have a 2nd/3rd borderline on him.

[CapeBreton]

Bills are putting in some work on scouting this year's RBs. I don't really like the Bills current RB room but are they prepared to invest another early pick at RB? This guy is getting 3rd/4th round hype, I can't see this happening.

[Alphadawg7]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea he is my next guy up after Bijan and Gibbs. I have a 2nd/3rd borderline on him.

I agree on where Charbonnet likely goes and I think it’s a close grade between him and Roschon personally.  I personally prefer Roschon for his versatility though

[glazeduck]

1 hour ago, dave mcbride said:

The guy who I always found to be truly impressive was Zach Charbonnet. Your thoughts on him? I think he has the style and talent to be a pretty good pro.

 

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea he is my next guy up after Bijan and Gibbs. I have a 2nd/3rd borderline on him.

 

Charbonnet is an interesting e v a l. He's got a phenomenal build, and for it tested pretty well. I got to see him live last year and he certainly looks the part. 

 

The thing I keep coming back to is Chip Kelly RBs. Yes, it's helmet scouting, but Chip RBs haven't faired well in the NFL and Charbonnet transferred from Michigan for a reason. For the draft price it will take to get him (agree on the late 2/early 3 grade) I would probably pass on him/rather we spend the pick elsewhere and take a guy like Evans or Kendre Miller later in the draft, but can definitely see a scenario where he becomes a bellcow back in this league. Can also see him being a massive bust...

[GunnerBill]

12 minutes ago, glazeduck said:

 

 

Charbonnet is an interesting e v a l. He's got a phenomenal build, and for it tested pretty well. I got to see him live last year and he certainly looks the part. 

 

The thing I keep coming back to is Chip Kelly RBs. Yes, it's helmet scouting, but Chip RBs haven't faired well in the NFL and Charbonnet transferred from Michigan for a reason. For the draft price it will take to get him (agree on the late 2/early 3 grade) I would probably pass on him/rather we spend the pick elsewhere and take a guy like Evans or Kendre Miller later in the draft, but can definitely see a scenario where he becomes a bellcow back in this league. Can also see him being a massive bust...

 

I like Evans. Higher on him than most I think. 

[dave mcbride]

5 minutes ago, glazeduck said:

 

 

Charbonnet is an interesting e v a l. He's got a phenomenal build, and for it tested pretty well. I got to see him live last year and he certainly looks the part. 

 

The thing I keep coming back to is Chip Kelly RBs. Yes, it's helmet scouting, but Chip RBs haven't faired well in the NFL and Charbonnet transferred from Michigan for a reason. For the draft price it will take to get him (agree on the late 2/early 3 grade) I would probably pass on him/rather we spend the pick elsewhere and take a guy like Evans or Kendre Miller later in the draft, but can definitely see a scenario where he becomes a bellcow back in this league. Can also see him being a massive bust...

He's from LA and I think he simply wasn't getting playing time at Michigan. He and Hassan Haskins pretty much shared time equally in 2019 but Haskins got more in the 2020 covid season. Charbonnet then transferred, and it was a smart move. 

As for the Oregon RBs, LaMichael James (a bust in the NFL) wasn't his recruit, although he racked up huge numbers at Oregon under Kelly. Kenjon Barner had one season under Kelly and was drafted in the sixth round. That's really all we have to go on. Anyway, sometimes you gotta look at the player rather than the coach. People thought Aaron Rodgers was a product of Jon Tedford (a guy who had tons of productions with the QBs he coached who then failed in the pros), and he dropped to #23 overall despite his shockingly good arm talent. 

 

As for Charbonnet, I'm a bit of  UCLA homer (I went there for grad school), so maybe I'm biased. But he looked like a freaking great back when I watched him. But who knows -- maybe the system did him a ton of favors.  

[glazeduck]

21 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

He's from LA and I think he simply wasn't getting playing time at Michigan. He and Hassan Haskins pretty much shared time equally in 2019 but Haskins got more in the 2020 covid season. Charbonnet then transferred, and it was a smart move. 

As for the Oregon RBs, LaMichael James (a bust in the NFL) wasn't his recruit, although he racked up huge numbers at Oregon under Kelly. Kenjon Barner had one season under Kelly and was drafted in the sixth round. That's really all we have to go on. Anyway, sometimes you gotta look at the player rather than the coach. People thought Aaron Rodgers was a product of Jon Tedford (a guy who had tons of productions with the QBs he coached who then failed in the pros), and he dropped to #23 overall despite his shockingly good arm talent. 

 

As for Charbonnet, I'm a bit of  UCLA homer (I went there for grad school), so maybe I'm biased. But he looked like a freaking great back when I watched him. But who knows -- maybe the system did him a ton of favors.  

Take a look at my profile name dude, I'm very familiar with Chip Kelly and his RBs. You're leaving out Royce Freeman (massive bust), DeAnthony Thomas and 2 seasons of Josh Kelley at UCLA. The larger point is his scheme opens massive lanes for RBs that don't always require NFL-level eyes or agility. 

23 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I like Evans. Higher on him than most I think. 

Do you read/listen to Rotoviz stuff? Dave Caban has done a lot of work on explosive plays and added explosive receptions to his model and it makes Evans look reeeeally enticing for his projected draft capital...

 

Hopefully his phych evals and personality checks cleared cuz there's a potential beast in there...

Edited April 25, 2023 by glazeduck

[dave mcbride]

8 minutes ago, glazeduck said:

Take a look at my profile name dude, I'm very familiar with Chip Kelly and his RBs. You're leaving out Royce Freeman -- massive bust and Josh Kelley for 2 seasons at UCLA. The larger point is his scheme opens massive lanes for RBs that don't always require NFL-level eyes or agility. 

Do you read/listen to Rotoviz stuff? Dave Caban has done a lot of work on explosive plays and added explosive receptions to his model and it makes Evans look reeeeally enticing for his projected draft capital...

 

Hopefully his phych evals and personality checks cleared cuz there's a potential beast in there...

Kelly left in early 2013 and Freeman's first season at Oregon was 2014. I don't see the connection. Are you simply talking about the system he was plugged into at Oregon? Also, as for him being a massive bust, he was a 3rd round pick who had a couple of 500-yard seasons before going into decline. I'd say less "massive bust" rather than "mild disappointment" -- his career is pretty typical for NFL players taken after the first couple of rounds, although I suppose relative to his college production it looks pretty meager. 

 

I do take your point about scheming; Charbonnet seemed set up to produce in that system. Regardless, he looked good to me. 

Edited April 25, 2023 by dave mcbride

[CaptnCoke11]

Carbonet might be the best back in the class 

[glazeduck]

1 hour ago, dave mcbride said:

Kelly left in early 2013 and Freeman's first season at Oregon was 2014. I don't see the connection. Are you simply talking about the system he was plugged into at Oregon? Also, as for him being a massive bust, he was a 3rd round pick who had a couple of 500-yard seasons before going into decline. I'd say less "massive bust" rather than "mild disappointment" -- his career is pretty typical for NFL players taken after the first couple of rounds, although I suppose relative to his college production it looks pretty meager. 

 

I do take your point about scheming; Charbonnet seemed set up to produce in that system. Regardless, he looked good to me. 

Chip left before Royce but he recruited him and they ran the same offense, so I don't think it's unfair. As for Freeman specifically, the dude broke every single one of Reggie Bush's HS records, was an animal in college and looked every bit like he should've been at least a solid contributor in the pros. I guess what you call what he is vs. should've been is both a sea of grey and somewhat unimportant, but suffice it to say that he, along with every other back that's come out of that audience, did not perform well at the NFL level, regardless of expected outcomes. (And this is coming from a HUGE Royce fan, fwiw...)

[Mat68]

Day 3 I could see Buffalo drafting a back to add depth and play teams.  He is one I would target.  

[DCofNC]

There’s no point in drafting another RB, build the line and Blackwell could have been your starter.

 

RBs were dirt cheap in FA this year, you only bring two to the active roster anyway, so who’s going to be inactive?  Unless you get Bijan, there’s zero point and that’s still a stretch in the first.

Edited April 25, 2023 by DCofNC

[newcam2012]

2 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I like Evans. Higher on him than most I think. 

I really like Charbonnet.

 

I'm not crazy about the Bills drafting a RB with the exception of Bijan falling to the Bills at 27. (Not gonna happen) I feel the Bills are pretty solid at RB. I feel like you can find plug and play RB fairly easily as well as running back by committee. 

 

With the Bills having other more glaring holes a RB pick seems counterintuitive. Its different if the Bills board is screaming RB is BPA by a large margin when they are on the clock. 

[Dr. Who]

1 hour ago, glazeduck said:

Take a look at my profile name dude, I'm very familiar with Chip Kelly and his RBs. You're leaving out Royce Freeman (massive bust), DeAnthony Thomas and 2 seasons of Josh Kelley at UCLA. The larger point is his scheme opens massive lanes for RBs that don't always require NFL-level eyes or agility. 

Do you read/listen to Rotoviz stuff? Dave Caban has done a lot of work on explosive plays and added explosive receptions to his model and it makes Evans look reeeeally enticing for his projected draft capital...

 

Hopefully his phych evals and personality checks cleared cuz there's a potential beast in there...

Interesting. Just looked up Zach Evans profile. Adding him to the names to look out for.

[JerseyBills]

On 4/17/2023 at 5:08 PM, GunnerBill said:

He has some Karlos Williams about him. Upright style, bigger back, not super fast. Think we took Karlos round 5. That is about the right place for this guy too. 

 

He isn't a lead back but if you are a team with an undersized speed back as your #1 (we might be) then a bigger change of pace guy isn't the worst idea.

 

EDIT: he isn't gonna be Taiwan Jones on STs as a rookie though. I don't think people realise how good Jones was at his job.

This board criminally underrates ST

 

I personally love the emphasis McD puts on ST and it makes a big difference 

Edited April 25, 2023 by JerseyBills