Each year, the running back position is becoming less and less of a commodity. Very good NFL running backs can be had in later rounds these days it seems.
The 49ers may be down to two running backs before the season starts. Of course nobody knows what is going on with the Collective Bargaining Agreement and when exactly. Nobody knows what is going to happen with free agency and nobody knows what is going to happen to the rookie class of 2011 should there be a very shortened season.
This years running back class has plenty of talent from top to bottom. However, there may only be a few guys that qualify as first or second rounders in this year because of the decreasing need to draft them high.
Some college running backs have more than one year of success throughout their careers and others peak a bit later. The running back that we're looking at today has only one year of exceptional performance.
With that, let's take a look at the running back from Illinois, Mikel LeShoure...
This video is a bit longer than the ones I have been attaching so if you decide to watch the entire thing, you are going to see what LeShoure does well and what he doesn't.
One thing that you will see here, is that LeShoure has very good vision of the field. He makes precise cuts and understands what to do to make the defense miss and stay honest. Rarely will you see LeShoure get lit up by the opposition. Partly due to his ability and the rest of it due to his size.
The biggest flaw that you will see here in the feed, is that he is not very fast. The Illinois running back does not possess top end speed.
Here are his stats while at Illinois:
|
Stats Overview |
Rushing |
Receiving |
Fumbles |
|||||||||
|
YEAR |
ATT |
YDS |
AVG |
LNG |
TD |
REC |
YDS |
AVG |
LNG |
TD |
FUM |
LST |
|
2008 |
35 |
126 |
3.6 |
12 |
1 |
6 |
66 |
11.0 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2009 |
108 |
734 |
6.8 |
70 |
5 |
14 |
177 |
12.6 |
41 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
2010 |
281 |
1697 |
6.0 |
70 |
17 |
17 |
196 |
11.5 |
32 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
2010 Regular Season Game Log |
Rushing |
Receiving |
Fumbles |
|||||||||||
|
DATE |
OPP |
RESULT |
ATT |
YDS |
AVG |
LNG |
TD |
REC |
YDS |
AVG |
LNG |
TD |
FUM |
LST |
|
9/4 |
L 23-13 |
20 |
112 |
5.6 |
42 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
9/11 |
W 35-3 |
14 |
106 |
7.6 |
35 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3.0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
9/18 |
W 28-22 |
24 |
180 |
7.5 |
29 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
6.0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
10/2 |
L 24-13 |
19 |
80 |
4.2 |
26 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
1.0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
10/9 |
W 33-13 |
27 |
119 |
4.4 |
18 |
0 |
1 |
32 |
32.0 |
32 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
10/16 |
L 26-6 |
23 |
83 |
3.6 |
12 |
0 |
3 |
10 |
3.3 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
10/23 |
W 43-13 |
16 |
77 |
4.8 |
39 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3.0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
10/30 |
W 44-10 |
15 |
23 |
1.5 |
14 |
2 |
2 |
46 |
23.0 |
26 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
11/6 |
L 67-65 |
24 |
120 |
5.0 |
20 |
3 |
2 |
52 |
26.0 |
27 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
11/13 |
L 38-34 |
18 |
141 |
7.8 |
55 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
10.0 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
11/20 |
W 48-27 |
33 |
330 |
10.0 |
70 |
2 |
1 |
11 |
11.0 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
12/3 |
L 25-23 |
19 |
142 |
7.5 |
50 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
2010 Postseason Game Log |
Rushing |
Receiving |
Fumbles |
|||||||||||
|
BOWL |
OPP |
RESULT |
ATT |
YDS |
AVG |
LNG |
TD |
REC |
YDS |
AVG |
LNG |
TD |
FUM |
LST |
|
TEXAS BOWL |
W 38-14 |
29 |
184 |
6.3 |
24 |
3 |
2 |
21 |
10.5 |
15 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Summary: Overall, it's hard to say whether or not LeShoure will be a feature back anywhere considering that most teams are now featuring two or more backs. A feature back would be much like that of a Frank Gore who receives 90 percent of the reps which is not seen often in the NFL anymore. LeShoure, however, may just be good enough to carry most of the load for whatever team that drafts him relatively high.
PREDICTION: 1st-2nd Round