The NFL season kicks off tonight as attention turns towards the Titans/Steelers opener. However - I'm more interested in the mouth watering head-to-head between C.J. Spiller and Jonathan Dwyer in tonight's Georgia Tech vs Clemson match up. I'm officially naming today as 'Running back Thursday'.Both got off to exciting starts last weekend. Spiller took the opening kick off 97 yards for a TD in the Tigers 37-14 victory over Middle Tennessee. He sat out the second half with a tweaked hamstring as a precaution, but will feature tonight.
Dwyer, the reigning ACC player of the year, scored from a 74 yard pitch on the first play from scrimmage in GT's 37-17 win over Jacksonville State. He added a further score later on but was quickly rested in anticipation of tougher tests ahead.
It's no secret that the Seahawks have lacked some dynamism at the position since the fall from grace of Shaun Alexander. The late decision to replace T.J. Duckett with Edgerrin James further suggests the team aren't entirely satisfied with their stable of backs.
It might be worth checking out the GT/Clemson game tonight if you want to see two of the better RB's who could be available in next year's draft. Spiller will certainly be there as a senior, Dwyer will likely declare as a junior.
2 comments:
Right now I see the top RBs this year as a three way horse race with C.J. Spiller, Jonathon Dwyer, and Jahvid Best. I'm not completely sold on Spiller yet, but I would be thrilled if Dwyer or Best were on Seattle's radar. With that said, I'm not sure if I think we should target a RB with one of our first round picks.
To me, RB is a position that has depth at least into the 3rd round. Sometimes, the 2nd and 3rd round picks even have greater impacts than the ones selected first. Coming from UCF, I have to mention Kevin Smith. Although yes, he was the starter on an 0-16 team, he played very well and if he were in Seattle he would likely be our starter as well.
If say Seattle went into the draft with the mindset of looking for QB, RB, S, DT, and OL, I would hate to see them pass up someone like Eric Berry to get one of the top RB. However, if someone like Best fell to our laps with our second pick (hopefully in the high 20s), it could be a steal.
There's definitely value to be had in round two. Three guys from 2008's second round will start this week - Smith, Ray Rice and Matt Forte. Compare that to Darren McFadden's teething problems as the fourth overall pick and the injuries to Felix Jones and Rashard Mendenhall. It was a funky year overall.
It wouldn't surprise me if someone like Best was available in round two, but Seattle might have to tinker to get him. He's an electrifying playmaker but as I've said before, his size may dictate that he needs to be spelled as part of a two punch. Seattle needs to get younger at the offensive skill positions though, sooner rather than later.
Tonight's game should be interesting.
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