The argument against taking a running back this high is that teams have been able to find running backs later in the draft or as undrafted free agents. Arian Foster, Michael Turner, and even Peyton Hills are examples of this. Guys like Ray Rice, Matt Forte, Maurice Jones-Drew, and LeSean McCoy were all second round picks. I understand that theory and believe it to be somewhat true.
However here's how the current depth chart for the Cleveland Browns looks at RB.
Montario Hardesty - 28 carries for 288 yards last year and knees like an 80 year old man
Brandon Jackson - missed all of last season
Chris Ogbonnaya - 76 carries for 340 yards and 1 TD
Not exactly Smash and Dash.
The front office let Peyton Hills, their only offensive threat, strut to Kansas City for a one-year 2.6 million dollar contract.
So it's obvious that they will take a running back in this draft. They have brought in Richardson, Doug Martin, and David Wilson for pre-draft visits. The other running backs who grade out highly in this draft include Lamar Miller and Chris Polk, and there is decent depth in this draft. None of those guys are close to the caliber of Trent Richardson, although I do think Doug Martin will be a good NFL running back.
Richardson is widely regarded as the best prospect at running back since Adrian Peterson. I think Richardson may be actually a little better prospect that Peterson. He's 5'10 and runs low. He doesn't put the ball on the ground. Peterson was faster but had injury concerns and hadn't proven he could catch the football. He wasn't the pass protector Richardson is, either. But it's like comparing a Bentley and a Rolls-Royce to me.
Richardson has an unbelievable combination of power and speed. He's a great blocker and he can catch the football. He's the total package and would instantly give the Browns a legitimate offensive threat and one that opponents have to gameplan around. He would give the Browns the ability to control the ball and open up play action for McCoy. I understand that the NFL is a passing league but you can't get beat if the other team's offense is on the sidelines. 3rd and 1 - the most problematic down for the Cleveland Browns - would not be a problem anymore. No more sweeps to Armond Smith or handoffs to Alex Smith.
There are little things about Richardson that I really like. He'll be 21 when he's drafted (7-10-91). He played behind Mark Ingram so he doesn't have a ton of tread off his tires. He was a focal point on a National Championship squad, so he's a winner. He came up big in big games, he's a gamer. His low running style limits the shots to his legs.
The big-play ability is what puts him over the top for me. Peyton Hills was the type of back that wore down a defense, but needed 20-25 carries a game to do so. Pat Shurmur is not exactly a run first coach, preferring to confound a defense with surprise pass plays in spite of his limited QB and WR's. He's sneaky, that Shurmur. Richardson has enough speed and burst to take one 60 yards, so he doesn't need a bunch of carries to be a threat. He's as much of a wear-down, beat up a defense guy as he is a breakaway threat. He had 4 runs and 1 catch that went for over 50 yards in his junior year.
The only weakness that I hear about him is that his physical running style is going to lead to some wear on his body. My feeling on this is that you can run into a brick wall enough times that it'll fall down, but it's going to take a while and it isn't going to be easy.
Richardson is workhorse who can pop the big one at anytime. An absolute stud at running back, like Holmgren had in Seattle with Shaun Alexander and like Shurmur had in St Louis with Steven Jackson.
Richardson would instantly upgrade the Browns offense. I think he has perennial Pro-Bowl potential, and would give the Browns a dynamic player to take pressure off McCoy and open up the field. I think he's the best choice at 4 and regardless of positional value I would put him behind only Andrew Luck as a prospect in this draft.
