Running back.

[Phrazbit]

Nah man watch his 2016 highlights. He has so much more twitch, speed and agility. It's like watching a different player.

To be fair to him I don't think it's effort. I think the MCL injury he had robbed him of much more than anyone realized.

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These clips are several years old and, if anything when compared to what I said in my previous post, only confirm my sentiment.

As I said, the window for a back like that is SHORT. IMO, this window is closed, he is done.

 

[legend]

Boy...the jump cut and acceleration were special. The smooth seamless catches. I sure miss that guy.

 

[slanidrac16]

DJ should be made to drop about 20 pounds. Maybe get some quickness back.

 

[juza76]

DJ should be made to drop about 20 pounds. Maybe get some quickness back.

Yeah but he can't break a tackle now. Can u imagine dropping 20pounds?

 

[Lagerfilled]

Despite all of the wonderful speculation about David losing his athleticism, I just don’t buy it. Yes, the MCL sprain could have impacted him for a season or two, but highly doubt that’s still the issue.

Wolfley and others have speculated that David is struggling mightily to grasp the RPO based offense. In essence, David knew when he was getting the ball and what his blocking obligations were when not getting the ball under Arians. In Kliff’s offense, there could be 3 potential options on every play - a handoff, quick pass, or Kyler keeper. This has caused David to hesitate and appear far slower than he really is.

Personally I put considerable credence in this being accurate since David has always seemed to struggle picking up the blitz even under BA. The unfortunate part is that David likely lacks the ability to process information quickly, which is disrupting his superior athleticism. Not sure that’s something more time in the offense is going to correct. KD basically picked it up in a week.

 

[Jetstream Green]

If you wanted to tell me we were signing Drake for one year, I'd be much less worried about it than signing him to a long deal.

I don't want the guy on a 3 year deal and he puts up 600 yards and we're stuck with him next year.

"now if you do not like Drake, you then have to take one in the early rounds this draft"

 

[Jetstream Green]

I like Dobbins but would take a 2nd. Seems a waste when you could get Moss or Akers with a 4th for not much drop off in talent.

I say what I did because I think Dobbins is better. The key word is 'I' think... so 'you' think that Moss or Akers is not as much of a drop off to make it work, but I disagree

 

[slanidrac16]

Yeah but he can't break a tackle now. Can u imagine dropping 20pounds?

He has become slow. If he won’t bowl anybody over maybe a drop in weight would help him get around them.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Despite all of the wonderful speculation about David losing his athleticism, I just don’t buy it. Yes, the MCL sprain could have impacted him for a season or two, but highly doubt that’s still the issue.

Wolfley and others have speculated that David is struggling mightily to grasp the RPO based offense. In essence, David knew when he was getting the ball and what his blocking obligations were when not getting the ball under Arians. In Kliff’s offense, there could be 3 potential options on every play - a handoff, quick pass, or Kyler keeper. This has caused David to hesitate and appear far slower than he really is.

Personally I put considerable credence in this being accurate since David has always seemed to struggle picking up the blitz even under BA. The unfortunate part is that David likely lacks the ability to process information quickly, which is disrupting his superior athleticism. Not sure that’s something more time in the offense is going to correct. KD basically picked it up in a week.

I agree with your thoughts here. I think David's issue is 100% mental. He is still a freak athlete, and you can still see the speed at times.

Hes thinking too much.

 

[Jetstream Green]

I agree with your thoughts here. I think David's issue is 100% mental. He is still a freak athlete, and you can still see the speed at times.

Hes thinking too much.

It's two things... one, he still cannot grasp the offense or he refuses to put his body aggressively in harm's way since his contract which isn't a way to excel at his position

 

[daves]

Nah man watch his 2016 highlights. He has so much more twitch, speed and agility. It's like watching a different player.

Yeah i don't get people claiming he was always lacking in some way. Great video! In 2015-16 he had an insane combination of speed, acceleration, power, vision, moves, route-running, hands, and balance. He was such a joy to watch - you got the feeling that he could make something special happen every single time he touched the ball.

To be fair to him I don't think it's effort. I think the MCL injury he had robbed him of much more than anyone realized.

It's as good a theory as any, i guess, but as bad as it looked, it was reported as a relatively minor MCL injury, and even complete MCL tears don't usually have any lingering effect. Heck i tore an MCL playing hockey, and it took me much longer to rehab than pro athletes are allowed, but within a few months i literally couldn't tell any difference between my knees. And Johnson had the entire off-season to recover fully.

His downfall remains a mystery to me. Sure, he's a couple years older, too. And not being able to understand the offense is the only other theory that makes any sense to me. Even in the last couple of years, he's had SOME great plays and good games, mostly receiving.

Such a bummer.

...dbs

 

[Jetstream Green]

Yeah i don't get people claiming he never had much speed or power or moves. In 2015-16 he had an insane combination of all three.



It's as good a theory as any, i guess, but as bad as it looked, it was reported as a relatively minor MCL injury, and even complete MCL tears don't usually have any lingering effect. Heck i tore an MCL playing hockey, and it took me much longer to rehab than pro athletes are allowed, but within a few months i literally couldn't tell any difference between my knees. And Johnson had the entire off-season to recover fully.

His downfall remains a mystery to me. Sure, he's a couple years older, too. And not being able to understand the offense is the only other theory that makes any sense to me. Even in the last couple of years, he's had SOME great plays and good games, mostly receiving.

Such a bummer.

...dbs

I think maybe one reason not many seem to cite and that's his back, which I think he now for whatever reason suffers chronic problems from... something which can also be attributed to the current haphazard obsession of society with squats/deadlift, not necessarily football

 

[BritCard]

At least DJ working on footwork

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[Jetstream Green]

At least DJ working on footwork

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Great, more of those social media workout videos not taking place on a football field where we can all say he's a freak but sucks getting yards... he needs to stop posting this crap till it equates for what got him noticed in the first place

 

[Solar7]

"now if you do not like Drake, you then have to take one in the early rounds this draft"

Why do we have to take one "early?" I don't get it. 3rd-4th round should be fine.

 

[DVontel]

Why do we have to take one "early?" I don't get it. 3rd-4th round should be fine.

3rd round is still rather early.

 

[Jetstream Green]

Why do we have to take one "early?" I don't get it. 3rd-4th round should be fine.

Because I guess I tend to gravitate to Dobbins, and I think he would go earlier... but yeah, it's possible but I would not wait till the fifth and would go off your parameters because the NFL all thinks they can be had later but will prompt impatience waiting to draft your guy with a run ironically because of this stance

 

[BritCard]

Great, more of those social media workout videos not taking place on a football field where we can all say he's a freak but sucks getting yards... he needs to stop posting this crap till it equates for what got him noticed in the first place

At least he's working on footwork and agility which have been none existant.

Rather this than a gym workout video!

 

[Jetstream Green]

At least he's working on footwork and agility which have been none existant.

Rather this than a gym workout video!

I rather see him doing gasers with his feet lit on fire, then he might be a great back again

 

[cardpa]

Man, I really feel Drake is perfect for this team. Size, speed, blocking and can catch the ball.

All that being said, I’m preparing myself to see him decide to go somewhere else.

The list of F/A RB is not impressive.
Carlos Hyde...dinosaur
Lamar Miller... injuries
Isaiah Crowell...see Miller
Peyton Barber... uh, no
Henry... never gonna happen
Gordon....see Henry
Ekeler...RFA
Breida...not a true #1 RB
Jordan Howard...uh, no
Chris Thompson...uh, no

DeAndre Washington? He is young. He’s got good size. Low miles. Stats compare somewhat to pre-Cardinal Drake.

I know many of you will say just draft one but I really want us to use our 2nd rounder for defense. I’m also not crazy about a rookie stepping in and picking up all the nuances of our offense.

Drake is my guy. Love the Drake. But I really think he is headed out of town. I also think DJ is going to be put on Kliff to utilize him and MAKE him fit. I don’t like that. I can see us drafting a rb but we will have to overdraft to get the one we want.

If we head into the draft with just Edmonds and DJ it will scream to other teams to jump ahead of us in the draft if they see a RB they desire.

I don't think either of these are true. Drake came in and picked up the offense pretty easily so why couldn't a rookie. It's supposed to be a simple offense according to KK.

Running backs are not a highly desired draft pick, last year only two went in the first two rounds. Jacobs in R1 and Sanders in R2 to teams that needed a RB. A good back can be had in R2 and R3.

 

[slanidrac16]

I don't think either of these are true. Drake came in and picked up the offense pretty easily so why couldn't a rookie. It's supposed to be a simple offense according to KK.

Running backs are not a highly desired draft pick, last year only two went in the first two rounds. Jacobs in R1 and Sanders in R2 to teams that needed a RB. A good back can be had in R2 and R3.

Somebody has to tell DJ how simple it is.

 

[DumboD]

Sure, he played some good football for us for part of a season and would love to have him back. But he's not worth any kind of a bidding war in this age of rotating running backs. Give him a fair deal for his market value, and if he walks, he walks.

 

[Brak]

People are over-thinking this. Drake IS the perfect back for this offense - the Cards effectively auditioned him for the role last year and he passed with flying colors. And - he's young, lots of tread on the tires, and very importantly - WANTS TO BE HERE. That's not a small thing! And the notion that they'll have to overpay him to keep him is silly. He's NOT going to draw huge money on the open market because RB's just don't, unless truly elite - and he doesn't have that status.

So sign him to a reasonable deal, figure out a way to unload DJ, and move forward. The dude can play - anyone else is a question mark and any "savings" would be minimal.

 

[Solar7]

People are over-thinking this. Drake IS the perfect back for this offense - the Cards effectively auditioned him for the role last year and he passed with flying colors. And - he's young, lots of tread on the tires, and very importantly - WANTS TO BE HERE. That's not a small thing! And the notion that they'll have to overpay him to keep him is silly. He's NOT going to draw huge money on the open market because RB's just don't, unless truly elite - and he doesn't have that status.

So sign him to a reasonable deal, figure out a way to unload DJ, and move forward. The dude can play - anyone else is a question mark and any "savings" would be minimal.

Where has he said he wants to be here? Pretty much every quote from him is about getting paid as much as he can.

He wasn't that great last year, but we've gone round and round in circles on that.