Originally Posted by ChaosTheory (Post 259737)

Yeah, maybe Donald Brown because he was a 1st Rounder. He was a decent complimentary RB and could hit the occasional homerun, but that's not what you want to spend a 1st on.

Vick Ballard, though, was a pretty good pick in the 5th round. He looked like he could be our starter going forward until he blew his ACL in 2013 and then his Achilles in 2014. Never could make it back.




That's the balancing act and gamble. RB is the easiest position to replace and we've had a pretty good run bringing in guys. None of them measure up to Taylor, but they also combine for less than what Taylor costs.

Hypothetically... does Zack Moss + Deon Jackson + a rookie + the cap benefit of all three together being 1/4 the potential cost of Jonathan Taylor outweigh the monster production we've seen JT can have + huge cap hit + the risk RB's have of falling off a cliff.

I love JT, but other dudes get paid to do that math (which I butchered above).

Originally Posted by Butter (Post 259766)

But we can't keep putting big money in less valuable positions like guard and LB. He is great, but we can get 80% of his production for 10% of the money of his next contract likely.

Originally Posted by Chromeburn (Post 259775)

To get some yards per carry, sure. You can get average production there. You can do that with any position. Remove a threatening run game and have no passing game to pick up the slack and well, you get the year we just had.

But he is a legit breakaway threat every time he touches the ball. He would be a great compliment if we had a passing game. Safeties would freak out bc they would never be able to take their eyes off him afraid he will burn them. NFL is about mismatches players create.