Player Profile: Christine Michael

Christine Michael

Height:  5'10
Weight:  220
School:  Texas A&M
Position:  Running Back
Ranking: #6 Running Back
Projection: 4th Round

Strengths
-Ideal size for an every down running back
-Good athlete.  Finished in the top 5 in all categories at Combine
-Good speed (4.55) that gives him home run ability
-Shows good explosion in and out of cuts
-Excellent lateral quickness
-Displays good vision to find the open hole
-Does a great job of getting small in goal line and short yardage situations
-Good balance.  Have to wrap him up to get him down
-Very elusive in the open field.  Is going to make you miss

Weaknesses
-Durability.  Two season ending injuries to his leg (ACL, and broken bone)
-Production.  Never got over 1,000 yards in a season
-History of fumbling issues
-Can be an inpatient runner
-Attitude Issues.  Clashed with new A&M staff.  Kicked out of game for throwing punch
-Accountability.  Slept through meetings at combine
-Limited in the passing game

Summary
Christine Michael has some of the best pure talent of any running back in the draft.  He has good speed and quickness, but his best strength might be his acceleration that allows him to get to top speed very quickly.  Combine that with good lateral quickness and the ability to cut and change directions easily and you can see why teams really like him.  But despite all this talent don't look for Michael to go early in the draft.  There are a lot of red flags that could scare teams away.  His durability is a big concern because he's had two season ending injuries to his legs.  Some will not like how he's never really had great production.  He's never gone over 1,000 yards or had any great season.  Still others will be turned off by his attitude.  Michael didn't like his lack of a touches this past season and got himself into the coaches doghouse.  All of those push him from being considered a day two prospect to going somewhere on day 3.  But a team that needs a good backup who can provide a spark could take a chance on him.  A team like Tampa Bay has shown a lot of interest to be Doug Martin's backup. 

Player Profile: Marcus Lattimore

Marcus Lattimore

Height:  5'11
Weight:  221
School:  South Carolina
Position:  Running Back
Ranking: #7 Running Back
Projection:  3rd or 4th round

Strengths
-Productive when healthy.  2,677 yards in 29 games played
-Experienced.  Started every game
-Ideal size and weight for an every down back
-Large hands allow him to have good ball security
-Strong runner who is tough to bring down but is elusive in space
-Good vision who sees the cut back lanes
-Hits the hole at top speed but can stop and start with ease
-Always falling forward when tackled
-Runs with good pad level
-Can play in any offense
-Mentally tough and hard worker

Weaknesses
-Durability.  Coming off back to back major knee injuries
-May not be ready to play his rookie season
-Doesn't have elite speed
-Lacks experience in pass protection

Summary
If it wasn't for two consecutive major knee injuries we could easily be talking about him being the top running back in the draft and a lock in the first round.  However those two knee injuries are a big concern for teams. He came back from the first one and regained his explosiveness and ability, but can he do it again?  Lattimore came out strong as a true freshman and was getting a lot of comparisons to Adrian Peterson when he was at Oklahoma.  Lattimore isn't Peterson, but he has a rare blend of size and speed that we don't see very often.  He is a good athlete who can stop and start with the best of them.  This allows him to make elite cuts to set up blocks and get to that cut back lane.  If healthy he could easily be a top 15 pick.  But with questions about his knee and that puts him in the third round area.  But don't be surprised if he makes his way into the late second round.  A team like Green Bay could be a landing spot.

Player Profile: Jonathan Franklin

Jonathan Franklin

Height:  5'10
Weight:  205
School:  UCLA
Position:  Running Back
Ranking:  #5 Running Back
Projection:  Day 2

Strengths
-Highly productive.  4,403 yards rushing over his four years
-Good speed (4.49) and quickness for the position.  (4th fastest time at Combine for RBs)
-Does a nice job catching the ball out of the backfield.
-Runs good routes.  Was used a lot in the passing game this past year
-Displays good patience.  Allows holes to open
-Good vision, sees the cut back lane and how to set up blocks
-Elusive in the open field.  Good wiggle to him
-Shows the ability to pick up blitzes and keep QB clean.  Sense of pride.
-No history of injuries

Weaknesses
-Needs to add a little weight to absorb contact better
-Not an every down back
-Lots of mileage on his body.  847 touches
-History of fumbling
-Doesn't have great lateral quickness
-Isn't going to break many tackles

Summary
Jonathan Franklin is your traditional "scat back" or "3rd down back" who has good speed and is a threat in the passing game.  Franklin is a very good receiver coming of out the backfield who runs good routes and the best hands of any receiver in this draft.  But Franklin also provides help in the backfield in pass pro as an effective blocker.  Five years ago this would have been a bad thing, but now with the NFL being a passing league and teams running so much shotgun, this isn't a downfall as it use to be.  Franklin can be a big part of a teams passing game and still provide yards on the ground because of his speed an shiftiness.  The New York Jets or the Kansas City Chiefs could be options because they like to use the RB a lot in the passing game.  But, look for Franklin to go somewhere in the late second or third round.