And then God made Trent Richardson

I really don’t think TR will get out of the Top 10. I he does, then, 9 of those 10 teams are NUTS! If he fell to #16 and we didn’t take him, I’d want Tannenbaum’s head on a platter. And, I have a lot of respect for Mr. T. But, Richardson is truly special. And, having both Greene and Richardson would give Sparano more wet dreams now than he ever had as a kid! Geez, I’d have more, too!

Honestly, this year was nothing. I really mean that, this year was nothing; I still believe I have never seen Richardson’s full potential. However, this year is an excellent sign of things to come. Look at the Ole Miss run, for example. He sees an outside hole when all the reads are to look inside, he cuts in between two defenders without even having to do anything, and he knows exactly where to go. He has amazing vision; a lot of his success this year was due to the blocking scheme we had. Basically, the offensive line would try to open up anything (ANYTHING) and Richardson would burst through the first hole he sees. It is very rare that I have seen a back with the vision to be able to do that.

Point #2: I have never seen anyone post this, but Richardson is a workout FREAK. He is LIMITED to benching 475 pounds. He is LIMITED to squatting 650 pounds. Seriously, he was probably one of the stronger people on the Alabama team this year. Last year, I remember that someone from Ole Miss said that Richardson has a higher bench press than their defensive lineman RECORD. He was Florida state weightlifting champion in high school. It’s rare to have a running back that strong.

Point #3: He is a lot faster than people have seen this year. All this year he has been suffering from a nagging hamstring injury. I didn’t see the burst that he used to have until the LSU national championship where he bounced it outside and outran everyone. If he can avoid hammy problems, he is deceptively fast.

Point #4: Look at the way his body is set up. His point of attack is low. This is what makes Trent so successful… He can burst out of this stance at once, be it toward the defender, to the side, or backwards. And he can get back up to speed on a dime.

Point #5: Did I mention he was strong?

Finally, I will leave you with a highlight from the Auburn game this year. Please scroll to 2:59. You will understand. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OpOsX-etLc

Crackback I am all in on the t rich bandwagon, we are gonna be a big time running team he is our solution not greene (and I love greene) I just think t rich is gonna be sick at the next level. Our O line disappointed all year, they wont be with this kid. We need the homerun threat out of the backfield.

Honestly if there’s at 16 I don’t see how we don’t take him. He’d be the best player available imo. Only way I would see us not taking him is if Upshaw was there too. But honestly I’m not really a huge fan of upshaw. Everyone talks about his pass rush ability but he’s only had 16.5 sacks in the past two years. He’s short, and doesn’t have that quick a burst off the ball. I’m not sure he really turns the corner and bends like some of the better pass rushers to have come recently have. I mean hopefully I’m wrong. I questioned how good Clay Matthews was going to be after never having that type of sack production before but he was great in his first two seasons with the Packers.

He’ll be the BPA there. And enough of the BS about the value you can get in the later rounds. If you can get the next AD, then you get him regardless of when you’re picking.

usually I agree with your prospects, but not this one. Greene had almost an identical stat line his last year at Iowa – 307 att, 1850 yds, 6 ypc, and 20 TDs. He also was essentially the Hawkeyes only offensive threat that season, with no WR having more than 4 TDs on the year! Not to mention, physically, they’re almost carbon copies of each other – Richardson at 5’11" 224 lbs., Greene 5’11" 227 lbs. Richardson has the edge in speed, but that’s about it.

Iowa’s Big Ten, which may not be as stout as the SEC, but ain’t exactly 1 – AA either, and was a much weaker overall team than ’Bama’s been the last few years. I live in NO and have watched Richardson his whole carreer. He’s good, very good, but he’s nowhere near AP. There’s a reason Ingram started over Richardson when he was healthy, and it’s not seniority – seniority doesn’t get you very far in the best conference in college football. Richardson certainly has speed – I’ve heard rumors he runs a sub 4.4 40 – but I see more of a power runner than anything else.

I was at the National Championship game and the one great play he had was the 34 yd TD in the fourth. LSU had essentially given up the ghost at that point and was barely even trying to contain. Oddly enough, LSU seemed to come out of the half looking defeated. For the record, I actually root for Alabama in the SEC – LSU fans drive me f-ing crazy – so there’s no personal preference here, just calling it like I see it. I think whoever does grab Richardson in the Top 10 is reaching and may end up severely disappointed. Regardless, there is NO way the Jet’s should pick him at 16 with so many other more pressing needs. Like him or not, Greene did have a 1,000 yd season and average almost 5 ypc in the last 8 games. With a stronger line and McKnight continuing to develop, I just don’t see RB as a priority.

Trent Richardson is the exact prototype of what you want in a running back: size, speed, vision, the ability to juke past or plow over defenders – he will definitely be an elite back in the nfl. The fact that he only fumbled once in his college career is awesome, but not surprising when you look at how he carries the ball. In every play he has the ball high and tight to his body, and if you were teaching anyone how to carry a football, you’d show them trent richardson. These little things show that he is extremely dedicated to his craft and is willing to do make sure even the minor details are perfect, a characteristic of the best in any position. That being said, I think the Jets have so many other needs they have to address in the draft that I don’t think they can afford to draft Richardson unless they can flip greene for a quality olb/ot/s/wr.

I feel like there is an awful lot of talk about him, when there is almost no chance of him being a Jet….stop me if I’m wrong here….

right now. You can find a starting RB in the 4th round

I don’t see how this guy isn’t the best player on the board if he’s there at #16. I wouldn’t trade up for him, but an offense that can’t move the ball is going to look at this dude and say “no thanks, I’m going to take some other, inferior player” if he falls to 16? I sure as hell wouldn’t, dude is too sick.

Hey Crack I love ya man. I love this article I am a big Bama guy and if TR is there at 16 I say take him But I don’t believe he will be. I think if he is there someone will offer up the farm to get him. I feel the first thing we reallt need to get is an OLB. then we need a tackle and a safety. That being said I believe that TR will have a Walter Payton type career. I don’t know how many people saw the Ole Miss game but that juke he did was unbelievable hard to see Greene doing that kind of move

In my opinion the first round is used or should be used to draft a guy who fits your biggest need after free agency.. However, if the talent drop off is very steep you can take the best available.. Trent, while maybe the best player out there, still will not open up holes at RT or provide any protection for Sanchez. I don’t care what QB / RB you have without a good line they cannot do well. IMO RT is that much more important than Richardson if after going through free agency you need someone to start at RT. That being said, if we do take care of our needs, I would love him to fall to us at 16 and have a good two headed attack.

so I wouldn’t take him. but Tannenbaum disagrees with me so I can see it happening