Arizona’s O-line is just not that good at run blocking, Watching Hightower in action is another thing, He picks pretty good lanes, runs hard, has nice hands out of the backfield and does well in pass protection.
Arizona has not really needed to run the ball having an amazing passing game.
They can get in the playoffs but, unless they can run it well they will not get to far.
Warner has been fun to watch and is good to see him playing like he did in '99.
I liked watching him then and I am glad to see his career is ending on a higher note than his lackluster time with the Giants.
Assuming you can sign a vet for the same price, and you need him to play right now (as the Cards will, since they’re certain to release Edge), the vet will almost certainly be much better in pass protection than a rookie.
Plus, it’s not as though there aren’t good backs available in free agency- LaMont Jordan was a beast in Oakland when he was healthy, and Michael Turner looks to have been the best free agent signing this season by about a mile.
Anyway, you can’t just stick any old rookie back in your lineup and expect him to go for a thousand yards unless you’re the Broncos. Personally, I think tailback and O-line are the best places to spend your first-round picks (in terms of avoiding busts), especially compared to other positions on offense.
Or the Giants, who don’t have any back that was drafted on the first day. IIRC, in order of the depth chart they were drafted in the 4th, 7th, 7th, and 6th rounds. (Rookie Danny Ware looks as good as Ahmad Bradshaw.) Hell, Tiki was 2nd rounder. The last 1st round pick the Giants spent on a RB was Ron Dayne, and look how well that worked out.
I wouldn’t ever draft a RB in the first round simply because the dropoff isn’t much if you wait until the second day, and doing so eliminates the kind of crippling risk you take by wasting a top pick on a bust. (Cedric Benson, or Ryan Grant? #4 overall, 7th rounder. Hmmm…)
If you look at the 2007 rushing yardage leaders, the list is dominated by first-rounders in a way that no other statistic is. Tomlinson, Peterson, McGahee, Jamal Lewis, Edge, Thomas Jones, Frank Gore, Joseph Addai, Marshawn Lynch, Stephen Jackson, Laurence Maroney, Warrick Dunn, DeAngelo Williams, Shaun Alexander, Fred Taylor, Maurice Jones-Drew, Ron Dayne, Cedric Benson… all first rounders. Only 13 of the top 32 were not first rounders, and most of the rest (Portis, LenDale White, Frank Gore, Travis Henry, DeShaun Foster, Westbrook) were drafted in the second or third rounds.
Contrast that with passers or wideouts and see where your pick is better spent (if not on a lineman)
I just did an even quicker survey of the starting QBs right now and got the same number you did, if you count Vince Young, Carson Palmer and the rookies (Flacco and Ryan).
Significantly less than 19 of 32 rushing leaders. Alternatively, we can look at the 32 passing leaders by yardage from last year, to keep our samples “balanced”- then the number is just 13 first-rounders. Notably, only three of the top ten were first rounders, which I found quite eye-opening (Peyton, Carson Palmer and Jay Cutler).
To take it a step further, we’ll do receivers… 6 of the top 10, 3 of the next ten (who were all tight ends!), and 5 of the next 12, for a total of 14 first rounders among the top 32. Pretty similar numbers to the QBs.
Oddly enough, removing tight ends, since 3 of the top 4 receiving TEs were first rounders (Gonzalez, Witten, Winslow - Gates is the other one), the number of first round wideouts only who are in the top 32 in receiving yards is also 14.
Thus, I think it’s fair to say that if you’re going to invest your first round pick at an offensive skill position, running back is the way to go.
I don’t think it matters. Smith didn’t do that much when Plax was out against Seattle - Hixon picked up the slack - but Washington did fine the last few weeks even when Holmes was in the lineup. I say Washington because I think both will catch 3-6 passes regardless of whether they start, but Washington’s 3-6 have the potential to be for 150 yards and Smith’s don’t.
Out of curiosity how many are still with the team that drafted them?
I know Collins in Tennesse was drafted by Carolina.
Pennington was drafted by the Jets (he was a 1st rounder right?)
Just curious, it seems any first rounder QB labeled as a bust, gets a backup job somewhere.
Quite a few, actually. Jason Campbell, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Philip Rivers, Ben Rothlisburger, Donovan McNabb, Carson Palmer. I’d probably count Eli Manning, too, ignoring the technicalities. Then there’s the rookies, Matt Ryan and Flacco. That’s 11 currently.
Oh I think Rivers and Eli Manning are with their original teams, even though they were traded for each other, neither had their original contract with a team other than the one they are currently on.
Guess it is just two retread first rounders out there. Three if Eli goes down and Carr gets a few starts in.