newjerseynewsroom.com

BY SAM HITCHCOCK

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

COMMENTARY

Wins by the New York Giants and New England Patriots this past Sunday further confirmed how to build a successful offense in the NFL that can take you to the Super Bowl. And for teams drafting in the early first round in April, this doesn’t start with Alabama running back and Heisman candidate Trent Richardson.

If you look at ESPN’s Mel Kiper’s “First Mock Draft of the Year,” he has Richardson going number five overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kiper describes Richardson as “a physical freak, he is extraordinarily powerful, explodes from contact, has lower mileage than many third-year studs because he split carries as a freshman and sophomore with Mark Ingram and has developed as a pass-catcher. Richardson is a first-year impact player.” Scouts INC.’S TOP 32 has Richardson’s draft grade at 96, which is tied with Robert Griffin III for third highest among eligible college players entering this year’s NFL draft.

By any definition this is a ringing endorsement that Richardson has potential to be the next Adrian Peterson, Steven Jackson or Maurice Jones-Drew. In other words, he is a game-changing running back that sells jerseys and dominates highlight reels.

But I mention “game-changing” instead of “season-changing” because if you’re building a team to win the Super Bowl, do you want a running back like that? Would drafting Richardson be a huge mistake and a waste of an early first-round pick? Yes, it would.

Going back to 2006 and examining every first round since, let’s see how running backs taken in the first 32 picks did, and how successfully their teams have fared.

Four running backs were selected in the first round in the 2006 NFL Draft: Reggie Bush by New Orleans (2), Laurence Maroney by New England (21), DeAngelo Williams by Carolina (27), and Joseph Addai by Indianapolis (30). In terms of production these four gave to their teams, it would be generous to say those teams went one for four.

Bush was the third running option in the Saints Super Bowl season, getting surpassed on the depth chart by Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell. After watching his numbers decrease steadily from injuries and Sean Payton utilizing him less, he was traded to Miami (where he seems to have found the rejuvenation button).

Maroney was awful in New England, never cracking 1,000 yards once or averaging more than 4.5 per carry (after being signed by Denver in 2010 he was released and is currently a free agent). He was on the Patriots during their magical 18-0 Super Bowl run in 2007, but his inability to establish any form of a running game ultimately helped bring about the biggest upset in Super Bowl history. (Tom Brady was forced to pass every down and got planted into the ground in the process.)

Williams had one great year with Carolina in 2008, but brought them little production when the Panthers got throttled by the soon-to-be NFC Conference Champion Arizona Cardinals (each year since ‘08 he has become less effective). Lastly, Addai had one very good year in Indy in 2007, but the Colts had their best success in 2006. Under Peyton Manning, the Colts won the Super Bowl that year, but Addai barely cracked over 1,000 yards for seven touchdowns. In 2009, when Indy reached the Super Bowl again, Addai had over 1,000 total yards and 13 total touchdowns. Good but not great.