Wednesday, April 14, 1999DRAFT PREVIEW: RUNNING BACKS
Lots of talent besides Ricky
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati EnquirerIt's pretty much a dred-lock that Texas' Ricky Williams will be the first running back taken in the NFL draft. But Saturday is not going to be Williams right, Williams left and Williams up the middle.
University of Miami running back Edgerrin James is as high as Williams on some draft boards because of his ability to take it all the way, with a career average of 6 yards a carry.
Some Bengals scouts would take James ahead of Williams, which is one reason they were one of two NFL teams not to attend Williams' workout.
Not only are they worried about Williams' penchant to fumble (26 in his career), but they figure they already have two young running backs in Corey Dillon and Ki-Jana Carter.
But there's a reason New Orleans Saints coach Mike Ditka wants to trade all his draft picks and then some to move up to get Williams. It's because the 5-foot-10, 230-pound Williams makes many of his yards after contact, has the blocking skills of a guy who played fullback early in his college career and has the hands of a pro baseball player.
And those fumbles? He never had one in the last 10 minutes of a game.
“OK, so he had some fumbles, but how many carries did he have?” asks Jerry Jones, who publishes the draft analysis The Drugstore List. “Williams can catch and he can block. James is a good one, but not many 6-foot runing backs make it big in the NFL. It's usually more squatty guys who can find seams.”
But then, who has the perfect build? LSU's Kevin Faulk is just 5-7, 205 pounds, but that didn't stop him from carrying the ball 61 times against both Notre Dame and Alabama. Plus, he can line up as a receiver in the slot as well as return kicks. Against the Irish, he returned a kick 88 yards for a touchdown; he went 58 yards for a score on an Arkansas State punt.
“He's more ideally suited for the role of a versatile No.2 back who can also operate as the primary return specialist,” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said.
There are few pure fullbacks in this draft. Syracuse fullback Rob Konrad is an excellent runner who might go in the first round, but he'll have to go to a team that uses him in a one-back set, or he'll have to improve his blocking.
No one knows what to expect from McNeese State's Cecil Collins. As there was Lawrence Phillips in '96 and Corey Dillon in '97, there is Collins in '99: a talented running back who had off-field problems. Phillips couldn't handle it. Dillon has. Who knows how Collins will do after getting kicked out of two schools in '98?
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