Alfred Morris pick 6.3

Alfred Morris turned out to break and set the Redskins season record for rushing yardage in his rookie season. From John Riggins to Stephen Davis to Clinton Portis to Alfred Morris. That's some pretty great company Morris has placed himself in.

So I was looking through my draft magazines from last year, wondering what some of the negatives where on players who had big years (Casey hayward, janoris Jenkins, Ty Hilton, Doug Martin, Russell Wilson to name a few).

Then I looked in my profootballweekly draft magazine for our buddy Alfred Morris (to their credit they are the only draft magazine that did an analysis on him; the other magazines either listed his name under the best of the rest, or didn't list him at all).

First off the magazine didn't list him under running backs. He is a FB to them. And not even the best one--Brady Ewing of Wisconsin is "better than him".

But I got a kick out of his negatives:
"Lacks ideal bulk"
"Below average speed for a RB"
"Tight hipped and straightlinish"
"Limited foot quickness, elusiveness"
"Lacks lead blocking experience"

"In our eyes: a college running back, Morris lacks speed and agility to remain there in the pros. Is a physical, competitive inside runner whose aggression in pass protection, hard-nosed style and outstanding intangibles indicate he could make (a) successful conversion to fullback."

^ The knocks against him coming out are actually fairly accurate. He's not fast, he's a little stiff in the hips and isn't super elusive. But the things you can't measure or always see on tape is what makes him go. Heart, determination, smarts, etc. If he went anywhere else I kind of doubt he would have had the same success. He's a perfect fit in a Shanahan running game.

I think he is more "elusive" than given credit for - Is he going to pull a Barry Sanders'esque "Oh dear God! I didn't know that was physically possible" move? No. At the same time, he had some quickness and flexibilty in the small area. More than once he left a man tackling air on some of his longer runs.

As to lacking bulk, I think scouts completely underestimated or discounted his lower body strength.

Yes. He is a perfect fit in Shanny's system. However, I think he would be a solid back for any team that had decent blocking.