Uh, you're not the only person who saw him play for four years. I've watched him for all of that period. Cadillac Williams was the superior player from the outset and will be as a pro. No doubt, the person(s) who gave Brown that much deserved C+ grade watched him for years also. They show virtually every game in Las Vegas sportsbooks and I'm lined up every Saturday, alongside several neutral observer friends of mine. Not one of them would describe Ronnie Brown as elusive.
Frankly, Ronnie Brown isn't close to Tomlinson in terms of instincts and elusiveness. You are correct, Tomlinson doesn't waste time with lateral movment once he has a clear lane. But he can create a lane of his own with decisive and instinctive cuts to evade the first tackler(s). Ronnie Brown can do nothing of the sort. You're right, he has "some" wiggle. Just not enough to be great. His combo of talents including hands will allow him to be superior to other size/speed guys who flopped due to lack of instincts, like Charles Alexander of LSU. Brown is not a stiffhipped straightline guy like a Tim Worley who was also drafted very high but couldn't evade.
I think Ronnie Brown is certain to be very good but not special. I think versatility is overrated in comparison to pure running skills. I always default to long term evaluation, not the last few months. It virtually never lets me down. My pick after Alex Smith was gone would have been Cadillac or Mike Williams. IMO, those players have so many rare qualities in vital categories they are destined to be Pro Bowl caliber players.
