I think so. The fact that the kid has cut them in half already shows he’s been working to improve it. He will continue that progress.
Let’s not forget how many carries he’s had. Which is worse… A RB with 300 carries and 6 fumbles or a RB with 150 carries and 4? The RB with 4 is worse because he’s losing the ball every 37 touches while the other RB is losing the ball every 50 touches.
Is it a concern? … sure
But I think his positives far outweigh the concern.
I rank the Top 4 RB’s as 1) Swift, 2) Taylor, 3) Dobbins, 4)Akers. I think they could all be gone by our 3rd round pick.
I would think it was because he was used a lot in college. 926 carries, 6,174 yards (average 2,058 yards a season), 15 fumbles. That’s about every 61.7 touches / fumble. The fumbling issues can be taught. Ask Tiki Barber
All those touches and he’s never had any serious injuries. Only a hamstring.
Thanks for the additional info which is better than just a stat on a page. I will take a bobble fumble over a cough up fumble. I don’t know that this makes me take him ahead of Swift, Dobbins or Akers, but it makes me feel better if we do take him. Again, I really like his running style and his combine run may help push one of those other guys to us in the 2nd.
True, but I think of Kevin Smith who basically had 2 decent years on that first contract. I’d rather get 4 years of production on a drafted back, because a lot more of those 900 carries over 3 years in college happen in the NFL.
I like Swift too. I think he’s the first RB taken probably in round 1.
Here is where I’m at right now and why. I posted this in another thread but I will share it here.
Here is how I see it right now. My RB rankings.
Swift - Fluid, Fast, Athletic and Elusive RB who can do it all. He’s smooth and tough in space. He’s had good production in an offense that had Jake from state Fromm as his QB. Teams didn’t worry too much about the passing game so he saw heavy fronts and still produced. Watching him in rotation with Chubb and Micheal and seeing how they translated to the NFL makes me think he will too. Definitely feature RB potential. Grade solid 1st round.
J. Taylor - I really, really like Taylor for the Lions. Super productive RB. Teams stacked the box and just couldn’t stop this guy. The most dangerous RB in the draft. A real home run threat. I actually think he’s the hardest runner in the class but there are concerns. Mild ones if you ask me. Like … Fumbles but he’s improved. He has good hands but he wasn’t used much in the passing game. I think his route running is an area to work on. I like him better in a RBBC approach but he could be a feature back. Personally I think he’s the perfect compliment to KJ. Grade late round 1 early round 2.
Here’s where it starts to get fuzzy for me. I keep wavering with these next 3 RB’s.
Dobbins - Good production. Athletic RB. I like the kid but I’m not as big on him as others and let me explain why. Mike Webber looked good in the OSU offense and he didn’t translate to the NFL. I’m wondering if Dobbins is fools gold. He didn’t really face loaded fronts like Taylor and Swift did. He has struggles as a blocker but he’s willing. As a receiver he was mostly a safety valve. They didn’t ask him to run many hard routes. So he’s not very polished in this dept. He occasionally has an off game. Dobbins is more boom or bust than the above two RB’s. He’s a riskier pick if you ask me. 2nd round grade.
CEH - Like Burrows, Clyde burst onto the scene this year. He’s a compact RB that can change direction in an instant. He hits the hole hard, shows good vision and patience… He’s a willing blocker and does an adequate job at it. As a receiver he is impressive too. LSU used him to run multiple routes. He looked smooth doing it too. But … prior to this year no one had noticed him. He’s in an explosive offense where he didn’t see the heaviest fronts. He’s a slower RB. (Like KJ) Which are concerns. Is he a byproduct of the offense? Personally… I don’t think he is but I still think he’s the 4th Best RB in this group. But I like his upside and think he could be a feature back. 2nd round grade.
Akers - I can admit I’m all over the place with this kid. When he came out as a freshman and broke Dalvin Cooks rookie record I thought he’d tear it up more than he did. He’s a former QB who switched to RB and he still runs like a QB. Too upright for my taste. He has been a bit inconsistent but … he’s Running behind one of the worst OL in all of college football. The kid is a tough runner, good blocker and shows good hands. I think he needs some coaching but I do think he’s capable of being a quality RB. I think this kid could go late round 2 but I like him better as a mid 3rd round option.
Mike Weber also hasn’t even had a chance yet. He could still amount to a serviceable pro. Odds may be against that but it’s possible. Weber wasn’t close to the player that Dobbins was.
IMO Taylor and Dobbins are fat and away the two best pure runners in this draft.
Dobbins 1053 yrds on a 4.6 avg
Webber 954 yrds on a 5.5 avg.
Webber had 100 less yrds on a better average. Some might argue he was the better RB. He’s currently on an NFL Practice Squad. I’d say that’s room for caution.
A lot of mocks thought Webber would go round 2 or 3 last year. Sound familiar.
I do think Dobbins is a better RB than Webber. He brings more to the table in athleticism and speed. But When the two ran in the same offense he wasn’t a superior upgrade at all. Which I think is room for caution.
Agree to disagree then. I don’t think Weber is close to as talented of a runner as Dobbins is and I believe where they get drafted will show that.
I don’t hate Weber though. I wanted us to pick him up off of the Cowboys practice squad last season. I do think Weber can be a replacement level NFL RB. I just think Dobbins can be a star or close to it at least
