The two Big 10 RBs had similar college production and athletic measurables (Taylor's are better). Taylor is likely to go much later in the draft, which to me is evidence that NFL GMs are seeing the light on the value of RBs relative to other positions.
Saquan Barkley, 3 years at Penn State
5038 yds 51 tds 6.1 ypc
6'0" 233lbs, 4.40 40
Jonathan Taylor, 3 years at Wisconsin
6581 yds 55 tds 6.7 ypc
5'10" 226lbs, 4.39 40
Saquan Barkley, 3 years at Penn State
5038 yds 51 tds 6.1 ypc
6'0" 233lbs, 4.40 40
Jonathan Taylor, 3 years at Wisconsin
6581 yds 55 tds 6.7 ypc
5'10" 226lbs, 4.39 40
Now compare him to all the other bust RBs that had amazing careers at Wisconsin. Dude might have one or two good seasons.
Like.... melvin gordon and james white
Jonathan Taylor, 3 years at Wisconsin
6581 yds 55 tds 6.7 ypc
5'10" 226lbs, 4.39 40
Melvin Gordon, 4 years at Wisconsin
5143 yds, 49 tds, 7.8 ypc
6'1" 215lbs, 4.52 40
James White, 4 years at Wisconsin
4685 yds, 48 tds, 6.5 ypc
5'9" 204lbs, 4.57 40
And, the elephant in the room:
Montee Ball, 4 years at Wisconsin
5738 yds, 83 tds, 5.8 ypc
5'10" 214lbs, 4.61 40
Montee Ball is a red flag, but the other 2 have had great careers, and Taylor is a better prospect than any of them. He was more productive in 1 less season and has far better athletic measurables than all of them.
You forgot about Ron Dayne. So, Taylor will have as great of a career as Gordon and White? Woop-de-do!
Ron Dane was at Wisco 21 years ago...
And I clearly showed that Taylor is a BETTER prospect than Gordon and White. You just said compare him to Wiso RBs and those are the last 2 starting Wisco backs.
That's not what I "just" said. But, this is a stupid argument anyway.
Watching Barkley at Penn State, he did things I haven't seen since Barry Sanders. I'm not sold that he'll stay healthy and have longevity, but he was a generational talent.
Taylor may be a fantastic pro, but he just looked like a video game character running through huge holes on the default medium setting.
Taylor may be a fantastic pro, but he just looked like a video game character running through huge holes on the default medium setting.
There is some of that bc of their zone run scheme and his speed, but if you watch his runs there is plenty of vision, patience, power, tackle breaking, and shiftiness.
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You are looking at all purpose yards but then using YPC incorrectly. That number is not yards per carry, it's yards per touch.
Also, Saquon was a legit all purpose back, racking up 1195 yards receiving over 3 years at Penn State. Whereas, Taylor had only 407 yards receiving in 3 years at Wisconsin. And while Taylor was a dominant rusher, it's actually more of a red flag that his usage was so high. Teams would rather a RB not have 1000 touches before they enter the NFL.
I would hardly describe James White's career as "great." He hasn't been bad, but he hasn't been more than a complimentary RB so far.
Melvin Gordon has had a decent career as a RB1. Not really 1st round worthy though.
But overall, I find using past players from the same school as some sort of measuring stick to be pretty futile. The Vols produced the 2nd best QB in the history of the sport, and haven't produced a starting NFL QB since (well, unless you include Nathan Peterman, lol)
JK Dobbins junior season was actually more impressive than Zeke's junior season, but you don't see anyone claiming he's equal to Zeke.
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Fair. JT is much better than both of them.
I don’t have any idea how good Jonathan Taylor will be in the NFL, but I know college stats don’t tell the tale. Saquan was drafted top 5 because he was electric with the ball in his hands—he passed the eye test for football talent evaluators. Jonathan Taylor was productive, but he didn’t look like Saquan doing it.
Truth is, you never know how a guy will do when he enters the NFL after leaving college....
I thought Swift was the consensus top RB until Cossell started talking up JT. He loves the guy.
Jonathan Taylor is the real deal.
Cause Barkley is more dynamic, Zeke is more well rounded with catching and blocking, and one doesn't want to be the equivalent to Fournette.
Taylor's athletic measurables are nearly identical to saquans.
Zeke's final year at Ohio st:
27 receptions, 206 yards
Jonathan Taylor last year:
26 receptions, 252 yards
And I'm not sure where you get that he lacks in pass protection.
Jonathan Taylor Is A Production Machine (2020 NFL Draft)
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