I get what you are saying and I see your opinion is that the RB position isnt a position that should be drafted early...but I disagree with your analysis of the RB position. You don't easily find RW, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith and the like in the 7th round. You don't have to spend a 1 necessarily to get a top RB nowadays but you shouldn't wait for the end or UDFA to find one either if you are looking for more than just depth. If you hit on one that's special that late, great but your odds are significantly reduced. It's like saying why draft QBs early when you can find a Tom Brady in the 6th.
Now, if you mean that the league has turned into a passing league and so RBs aren't what they used to be ...perhaps but only to an extent.
Certain people value certain positions more highly than others.
Very good and fair write up. Obviously expecting any rookie tailback to turn into any of the guys you mentioned would be placing a mountain of unfair expectations on a kid. So no I’m not expecting that.
Trading a future 3rd to acquire a 4th and use it on a tailback is a misuse of resources. Hear me out bc this is my logic…
Mike is our HC. Where did he come from? SF… who did he learn under? Kyle Shanahan whose father is Mike Shanahan. Mike Shanahan is notoriously known for being able to find late round backs and turn them into 1000 yard guys.
Terrell Davis… Tatum Bell… Clinton Portis and the list goes on and on. Mike Shanahan used late round picks on tailbacks yet constantly got them to produce. My point is… our HC learned under the Shanahans for years. Shouldn’t we be able to find backs that fit the system without giving away draft capital to do it?
Mike Shanahan legit could plug guys off the street into his systems and get them to produce over 1000 scrimmage yards. Maybe I’m expecting to much of Mike. I suppose I just suspected that some of that Shanahan stuff rubbed off on Mike in being able to identify guys that he can plug in for very little resources and get them to produce. Much like he has with Mostert. Having Mostert produce the way he has guided me to believing our Mike could do the same as the Shanahans… find a guy nobody else looks out bring him in plug him in and watch him work.
I just detest spending any amount of resources on tailbacks bc honestly the majority last what 3/4/5 years and then you have to find a new one. That’s my point. We have traded away a pick for Jeff Wilson. Used a 3rd round pick on Achane and now we have sent a future 3rd for a 4th that we used on… you guessed it… another tailback.
I just don’t see that as a good use of resources especially when you have a massive hole on your OL. What’s a tailback need to succeed? An OL that’s at the very least competent. Maybe some of the guys here are correct that our OL coaching has gotten better and will continue to improve which obviously I hope is the case.
Skill talent is great and fun to watch but you win playoff games by winning in the trenches on both sides of the ball. We have watched our best DL walk as well as Robert Hunt and Connor Williams. That’s a ton to lose on the LOS that weren’t elite to begin with. We’ve replaced quality with quantity so we’ll see if that theory works out. For our sake… I hope it does.