My reasoning for not taking a RB in the first round is you can't afford to miss in the 1st and your pick not to be a long term asset. RB's have a short shelf life. Odds are most will never see the end of their first contract and a 1st rd pick has a big contract.

Most Packer fans believe this season might have ended differently if the Packers had another stud OLineman and DLineman. Well, we did have them on the Salary schedule. Their names were Harrell and Sherrod. They ate over 2M of CAP and didn't play a down. Ted Thompson drafted exactly what we needed. Just not who we needed. Imagine if they had become the players they were picked to be?

The draft is enough of a crap shoot. Let's not waste a high pick on a player that has a short expectancy.

Just my 1.3 cents.

Originally Posted by: QCHuskerFan 

My counter to that is a runningback on the Packers would have a longer shelf life than a runningback on, lets say...the Browns.
A guy like Lacy would be worth it with what he would do on our offense. Its not like he would be coming onto a team that is going to rely on him (like his old teammate, Trent Richardson).

Let's say Lacy is available at 26.

Joeckel (OT)
Fisher (OT)
Lutelelie (DT)
Richardson (DT)
Hankins (DT)
Warmack (OG)
Ansah (DE)
Short (DT)
Jenkins (DT)
...are all taken before 26. Do you just ignore the stud runningback sitting there at 26 and trade down, hoping that a 2nd tier lineman such as Lane Johnson (OT), Jonathan Cooper (OG), or Sherrif Floyd (DT) fall that late in the 2nd or 3rd?

Imo, I would not pass up a blue chip runningback like Lacy and go into next season complaining about the lack of the Packers running game. Lacy is a reason to make McCarthy stick to the run game...

Originally Posted by: Yerko 

The shelf life thing doesn't really mean much to me. It seems that most good RB start declining around 30 which say you draft a guy around 22 or so gives you about 8 years with him which is well beyond the first contract. If they don't see the end of their 1st contract it's usually because they aren't a good player not because they wore out or something. The 1st round contracts aren't really a big deal anymore either since the rookie wage scale.

A similarly skilled lineman or DB will no doubt take priority over a RB but it isn't a waste to take a RB in the 1st round if he's the best guy on the board and can help the team win.

Originally Posted by: steveishere 

Sherrod was $1.5 million (and thankfully still on the roster), but we settled the books on Harrell in 2011.

Nick Collins was $2.3 million of dead cap in 2012. The other dead money hits were small (Pro-rated modest signing bonuses for guys like Datko, Coleman, Smithson and Guy). They totaled out around $100k

Originally Posted by: JustJeff 

My counter to that is a runningback on the Packers would have a longer shelf life than a runningback on, lets say...the Browns.
A guy like Lacy would be worth it with what he would do on our offense. Its not like he would be coming onto a team that is going to rely on him (like his old teammate, Trent Richardson).

Let's say Lacy is available at 26.

Joeckel (OT)
Fisher (OT)
Lutelelie (DT)
Richardson (DT)
Hankins (DT)
Warmack (OG)
Ansah (DE)
Short (DT)
Jenkins (DT)
...are all taken before 26. Do you just ignore the stud runningback sitting there at 26 and trade down, hoping that a 2nd tier lineman such as Lane Johnson (OT), Jonathan Cooper (OG), or Sherrif Floyd (DT) fall that late in the 2nd or 3rd?

Imo, I would not pass up a blue chip runningback like Lacy and go into next season complaining about the lack of the Packers running game. Lacy is a reason to make McCarthy stick to the run game...

Originally Posted by: Yerko 

Lacy and Ball played in marquee college games, so they're receiving the spotlight right now. The guy to watch is Le'Veon Bell of Michigan State. He's 6-2 and they list him at 240-245. I think he'll probably play around 225-230. Nevertheless, he has good vision, speed, and power. He always falls forward and does a great job of going north and south. He's the bell cow this team's been lacking. He may remind Mike McCarthy of Deuce McAllister but with more athleticism, so I'm throwing his name out there.

Frankly, I think teams needing a running back are going to bypass Lacy and attempt to get Bell in round two. For example, if St. Louis loses Steven Jackson via free agency, then moving back into round two for Bell is a better strategy than reaching for a running back (Lacy) that played behind one of the best college offensive lines in recent memory.

Originally Posted by: porky88