San Diego Chargers Night Shift: Running Back Draft Picks
By Lopez Alex
Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
NFL combine is in the heat of all discussions, everybody talking about whose their team going to get in the first round and second. That’s nice an all but the question is which player is going to be that Tom Brady or Arian Foster? Nobody likes to work third shift and i em guessing nobody wants to be draft on the third day either specially when that player has the skills to dominate. Lets take a look at three Running Back prospects that might be on that NIGHT SHIFT.
Damien Williams, Oklahoma Sooners, 5’11, 222 pounds – Williams is more of a finesse back, but don’t get him wrong, at 222 pounds he will light you up to get that yard. Reminds me of Ronnie Brown in his style of play. He does not do is dance around. With his 4.45 forty, his draft stock might go up a little to being drafted instead of not being drafted at all. One glaring thing of note besides his combine is he did get dismiss from the team with two weeks left in the schedule and miss the ALL STATE SUGAR BOWL vs Alabama where Oklahoma won 45-31. With the good comes the bad. If a team can help Williams get on the right track its the Chargers with great leadership. Final year he put up 553 yards with 7 touchdowns.
Alfred Blue, LSU, 6’2, 220 – He is an all-around type of player with good hands and always falls forward. With Ryan Mathews getting banged up, we need a running back that will take his place for a game or two. LSU ran a three back set for 2013 and Blue tore his ACL last year. There’s a reason why he only had 71 carries with 343 in 2013. Durability might be may be a concern since the Chargers do have reliable backs if one goes down, so Blue will be needed for short yardage or we can even put him in the slot. One coach said at the combine that this is the deepest draft and the most immature draft class. Alfred Blue ran a 4.63-second 40.
George Atkinson III, Notre Dame, 6’1, 220. Son of CB/KR George Atkinson former Oakland Raider, is quite a story. Mr III had a big game against Oklahoma with 148 rushing yards and one score in week five, but his before and after rushing numbers stayed low for some reason. Started the season as a first string but then he got demoted for inconsistently finishing plays. Notre Dame coach suspended Atkinson from the Pinstripe Bowl for breaking a team rule. He rushed for 555 on 93 carries and avg 26 yards on kick returns, the key is his ability to return kicks. His 4.48 forty is eye pooping with that kind of speed we should really consider the III a 6th or 7th pick, like I said earlier with the leadership we have players are going to let you know if you don’t give it your all.
This is my three running backs that should have a shot tell me what kind of running back you are hoping for thanks for reading.