Breaking Down the Tape
Reviewing Top Tier RBs Eligible for the 2008 NFL Draft

I'd like to break down the tape of one top tier running back per week each of the next 12 weeks. I'll do this by watching one of their games and commenting on their play in that game, including fakes and blocking assignments, as well as their NFL prospects. My schedule for this feature is as follows:

9/1 - James Davis, Clemson vs. Florida State
9/8 - Steve Slaton, West Virginia vs. Marshall
9/15 - Jonathan Stewart, Oregon vs. Fresno State
9/22 - Mike Hart, Michigan vs. Penn State
9/27 - Ian Johnson, Boise State vs. Southern Mississippi
10/6 - Jamaal Charles, Texas vs. Oklahoma
10/13 - Darren McFadden, Arkansas vs. Auburn
10/20 - Rashard Mendenhall, Illinois vs. Michigan
10/27 - Ray Rice, Rutgers vs. West Virginia
11/3 - Matt Forte, Tulane vs. Tulsa
11/10 - Marlon Lucky, Nebraska vs. Kansas State
11/17 - Tashard Choice, Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina
11/23 - Felix Jones, Arkansas vs. LSU
11/24 - Dantrell Savage, Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma

Obviously all of the defenses these players play will not be equal, but I still think we can get a good approximation of the skill sets that each of these running backs will bring to the NFL. This list also could be affected by injuries to the players and I will try to juggle it to fit everyone in if that occurs.

Darren McFadden - Jr. - Arkansas
Jersey: #5
Wt: 205 Ht: 6'2"
Age on 9/1/2008: 21.03
My Pre-Season Rank: #1
My Current Rank: #1

Tony Nowak's Take:
Last year's Heisman runner-up enters the season as the favorite to be the first RB selected in 2008. Size, speed, individual achievements, and team success...there isn't much to question about his credentials. However, the Razorback offense, not to mention team, faces some challenges this year. The Hogs lose three starting linemen, including All-SEC performers C Jonathan Luigs and LT Tony Ugoh. There has also been plenty of drama in Fayetteville surrounding the football program the last few months. Gus Malzahn, with no college experience when he was hired as OC in December 2005, seemed a curious choice for a top assistant slot. His credentials appeared to be largely based on being part of a package deal for a handful of prized recruits from his Springdale (Ark.) High team, especially QB Mitch Mustain. However, Mustain struggled after becoming the starter last season, eventually losing the job despite an 8-0 record, and there were philosophical differences between Malzahn and HC Houston Nutt. The result was Nutt winning an apparent power struggle that resulted in AD Frank Broyles resigning, Malzahn leaving in January, and Mustain asking to be released from his scholarship a day later. Former Razorback assistant David Lee returns as OC and while none of that directly involves McFadden, the fallout of that mess and the additional pressure on Houston Nutt could snowball in to a lot of negativity around the team if they struggle early in the season. Regardless, he and teammate Felix Jones should again be wildly productive as the top backfield combination in the country. Reminiscent of Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown, the Hogs dynamic duo, if both declare, offers arguably the top RB prospect and another Day One pick in Jones.

Stats (from ESPN):

Breaking Down the Tape:

1st Play - 1st Quarter - 8:25 - Run Middle
McFadden takes the handoff and is stuffed for a 2 yard loss; great penetration by the defense

2nd Play - 1st Quarter - 8:01 - Run Fake
Handoff is faked to McFadden and given to a RB on an end around; McFadden makes an average fake and then helps block a lineman

3rd Play - 1st Quarter - 7:24 - Run Left
McFadden takes the pitch and runs wide left; shows very good speed to get to the corner and bust through a line of players there without really gearing down at all; does a nice job keeping his balance and gets 4-5 more yards before tackled by the legs from behind

4th Play - 1st Quarter - 7:01 - Run Left
McFadden lined up at Wideout; goes back left on an end around; gets stuffed in the backfield by a lone defender shooting the gap; nice play by the defender, but not much of a juke by McFadden

5th Play - 1st Quarter - 5:40 - Pass Block
McFadden stays in to pass block and doesn't really do much; he seems to be getting ready to release into a pass pattern, but in the meantime the QB was flushed from the pocket and then sacked

6th Play - 1st Quarter - 3:20 - Run Right
McFadden takes the handoff and heads toward the right side of the LOS; traffic is there on the ground, so he makes a nifty jump step move toward the middle to avoid a prone defender; no room when he lands so he lowers his shoulder and gets tackled; one thing I see here is that even though he is big, he doesn't run like a tough, inside runner sometimes

7th Play - 1st Quarter - 2:42 - Run Middle
McFadden takes the handoff and heads left; he sees a hole open in the middle almost as soon as he gets the ball and cuts smoothly into the hole; he accelerates very quickly through the hole, however the hole quickly closes and he doesn't get much more yardage

8th Play - 1st Quarter - 2:11 - Run Right
McFadden takes the handoff and heads right; he sees a small hole and accelerates effortlessly to it; the hole is gone quickly and he runs into a group of players at the LOS; shows good effort and balance to keep churning his legs and try to head outside but he is gang tackled there

9th Play - 2nd Quarter - 13:29 - Run Fake
Handoff is faked right to McFadden; pass is complete deep left

10th Play - 2nd Quarter - 13:20 - Run Left
McFadden takes the handoff and heads left, parallel to the LOS; a defender breaks through, but McFadden is fast enough to bubble around him and then turn the corner; he starts to pick up some speed heading down the sideline, but he challenges the one defender in his way and gets upended after lowering his shoulder

11th Play - 2nd Quarter - 12:41 - Run Fake
Handoff is faked to McFadden left; pass is completed short left

12th Play - 2nd Quarter - 11:38 - Pass Block
McFadden runs to the LOS at snap to help pass block; engages a defender but pass is thrown before he can do much

13th Play - 2nd Quarter - 9:16 - Run Fake
Fake handoff to McFadden left; pass is completed left

14th Play - 2nd Quarter - 8:51 - Run Right
McFadden takes the handoff and heads right; sees a hole and comes to a quick and complete stop, but the hole closes so he starts outside again rather quickly; not a perfectly smooth start and stop, but still quite good; runs through a bigger hole outside and gets hit from the blindside by a defender, falling forward for a couple of yards

15th Play - 2nd Quarter - 8:14 - Run Middle
McFadden gets the handoff and heads for the left middle of the LOS; shows good balance to keep moving as he's hit going through the pile at the line; runs into a more defenders just beyond the line and goes down

16th Play - 2nd Quarter - 7:34 - Pass Route
McFadden heads to the LOS as if to pass block and then releases to the short middle on a pass route; pass is thrown to him, but nicely defended by a LB covering him resulting in an incompletion

17th Play - 2nd Quarter - 3:30 - Pass Route
McFadden heads to the right flat on a pass route; throw is complete to the left flat

18th Play - 2nd Quarter - 2:54 - Run Fake
Ball is faked to McFadden left; throw is incomplete to the right

19th Play - 2nd Quarter - 2:48 - Pass Block
McFadden stays in to pass block; doesn't engage anyone; pass is complete downfield

20th Play - 2nd Quarter - 2:28 - Run Middle
Direct snap to McFadden; he fakes to Jones and heads up the middle; not much there, but lowers his shoulder and takes on a defender; does a nice job keeping his legs churning and twisting for a couple of extra yards

21st Play - 2nd Quarter - 1:55 - Run Fake
Fake handoff to McFadden up the middle; pass is incomplete downfield

22nd Play - 2nd Quarter - 1:50 - Pass Route
McFadden lines up wide and comes in toward the center of the field at the snap; a WR screen is set up and the throw goes to McFadden; however he drops it; nice throw, but it looks like he was looking downfield instead of looking the ball into his hands; big drop on 3rd down with a good screen set up

23rd Play - 3rd Quarter - 15:00 - Run Right
McFadden takes the handoff and goes right; some traffic gets into the backfield and he has to slow down and wait to cut upfield; by the time he cuts upfield there isn't much there; he lowers his shoulders a little bit but gets pushed back by a couple of defenders

24th Play - 3rd Quarter - 14:15 - Run Middle
McFadden takes the handoff up the middle; shows good speed to the hole; but again, not much there and he goes down after a yard or two; this is another run that shows that he isn't as powerful a runner as you might think, he probably should have moved the pile there a little bit, but he didn't

25th Play - 3rd Quarter - 13:40 - Pass Block
McFadden stays in to pass block; doesn't engage anyone, nor need to, so he heads out on a simple down and out pass route; ball is complete to the other side of the field

26th Play - 3rd Quarter - 13:30 - Run Middle
McFadden heads up the middle after the handoff; he has to slow up as the other RB runs in front him as though blocking wide, maybe a mixup on the play call; he does a nice job accelerating after the slowdown, but it has messed up the timing of the play and he gets tackled at the LOS

27th Play - 3rd Quarter - 8:38 - Pass Block
McFadden stays in to pass block and does a nice job going down low to block a rushing defender; pass is completed downfield

28th Play - 3rd Quarter - 7:58 - Run Left
McFadden takes the handoff and heads left on a stretch; traffic coming upfield forces him to slow down and try to cut before he is ready; he never regains his speed and goes down right near the LOS; I think he probably should have kept going outside because he's shown before that he has the speed to do so

29th Play - 3rd Quarter - 7:23 - Pass Block
McFadden stays in to pass block and does another nice job going low on a blitzing defender, giving his QB more time to throw; pass is incomplete downfield

30th Play - 3rd Quarter - 5:08 - Run Left
McFadden takes the direct snap and fakes to Jones going right before heading left himself; runs wide left and just beats a defender with an angle to the corner with his speed; turns the corner and continues to accelerate until he is horse tackled by a diving defender; his speed and acceleration are exceptional and really show up well on this play

31st Play - 3rd Quarter - 4:59 - Handoff
McFadden takes the direct snap and hands off to Jones; Jones gets several yards up the middle

32nd Play - 3rd Quarter - 4:27 - Run Left
McFadden again takes the direct snap, fakes to Jones and heads left; a defender comes in on him unblocked; McFadden puts a nice juke fake on the defender and gets around him, but almost loses his balance doing it; the loss of momentum slows him down enough to allow a defender to get to him; he lowers his shoulder, but doesn't move the defender much and goes down

33rd Play - 4th Quarter - 15:00 - Run Fake
The handoff is faked to McFadden who then heads into the left flat on a pass pattern; QB is sacked

34th Play - 4th Quarter - 14:24 - Run Fake
The handoff is faked to McFadden who then heads into the right flat on a pass pattern; pass is complete to the left

35th Play - 4th Quarter - 13:45 - Pass Block
McFadden stays in to pass block; doesn't engage a defender; pass is incomplete downfield

36th Play - 4th Quarter - 10:04 - Run Middle
McFadden takes the handoff and heads up the middle; looks like a crease is open back toward the middle/left, but as a defender breaks in, McFadden lowers his shoulder and takes on the defender; spins off the hit, but loses his balance and goes down for a short gain

37th Play - 4th Quarter - 9:32 - Pass Block
McFadden stays in to pass block; tries to take on a rushing defender by going low, but misses; defender is able to get in the QB's face and the pass is incomplete

38th Play - 4th Quarter - 9:26 - Pass Route
McFadden runs a short out pattern to the right flat; pass is incomplete to the left

39th Play - 4th Quarter - 4:19 - Pass
McFadden takes the direct snap; fakes the handoff to Jones; rolls right and throws a great pass far downfield; his form is excellent and he gets smacked right after he throws it; the ball drops right in between a tight double coverage but his WR mis-times his jump and drops the ball; however, there was a pass interference call on the defender; what a great throw by McFadden, wow

40th Play - 4th Quarter - 4:10 - Pass Block
McFadden starts in the backfield and then goes in motion to the left before the snap; pass is complete to a WR in the left flat; McFadden throws a nice low block on a defender there to get the WR time; the WR then throws back across the field to a RB for a completion and a first down

41st Play - 4th Quarter - 3:49 - Pass Catch
McFadden is split wide left; the pass is thrown to him at the snap on a flanker screen; he makes a nice catch coming back to the ball, but takes a little bit too long to turn upfield; he is tackled from behind after a 5 yard gain

42nd Play - 4th Quarter - 3:01 - Pass Block
McFadden stays in to pass block; pass is complete to the right side

43rd Play - 4th Quarter - 1:43 - Pass Block
McFadden stays in to pass block; doesn't engage a defender; pass is complete for a TD

44th Play - 4th Quarter - 0:15 - Pass Block
McFadden stays in to pass block and absolutely buries a defender that is engaged with another blocker; nice block, but the pass was incomplete

45th Play - 4th Quarter - 0:08 - Pass Block
McFadden stays in to pass block; doesn't engage anyone; pass is intercepted

Final Game Stats:
McFadden had 17 carries for 43 yards and 0 TDs. That's a 2.5 yard per carry average with a long run of 13 yards. He also had 1 catch for 5 yards.

Play Chart Breakdown:
45 Total Plays (78!!)
17 Runs
8 Run Fakes
1 Handoff
13 Pass Blocks
4 Pass Routes
1 Pass Catches
1 Pass

Darren McFadden Summary:
Darren McFadden is the most celebrated draft eligible running back this season. He has a highlight reel worth of great plays and was the runner up for the Heisman trophy the last two years. He has great speed and fantastic acceleration. He has decent hands, is a good blocker and he can throw the ball as well as some college QBs. He is the best RB in this class and is likely to be a top 10 pick.

This was his worst game of the season. The Auburn defense held him to 43 yards and no touchdowns. This was a great game to review because although it shows off some of his great skills, it also highlights his negative traits. One thing you notice in watching McFadden on film is that he is very much a straight line runner. A very fast, quick accelerating straight line runner who can also run fast from sideline to sideline, but still, a more straight line runner than desired. He certainly has some wiggle, but he really doesn't have many juke or breakdown moves like most of the elite running backs.

Another thing that you can see in this game is that although he is quite big and well built, he really doesn't run with much power. He is willing to take on defenders and lower his shoulder, but he doesn't run through them very well or keep his balance after a hit.

He also doesn't seem as instinctual or have as good of vision as some of the other elite RBs. You can see all these things in one play, his last carry, the 36th play above. He first doesn't seem to see a hole that opens laterally to the LOS, then as a defender breaks in he doesn't even try a juke to get around the defender with minimal contact but instead lowers his shoulder to take the defender head on, and finally he doesn't move the defender very much and loses his balance as he spins after the contact.

Look, Darren McFadden is an excellent running back and is my top ranked RB in this class. But comparisons in terms of college domination or NFL readiness to Adrian Peterson, LaDanian Tomlinson or Reggie Bush are way off. He is the best back in the class, but not nearly as far above his peers as those 3 backs were in their class. He is also much less "bust proof" than those 3 (although some would say that Bush is a bust himself). I expect him to go #1 in almost all rookie drafts, but if you can get a real superstar for that pick, I would make the trade. He won't find as many straight lines or run away from as many defenders in the NFL.

Rating System:
McFadden would be a 1A in the rating system if taken in the first 2 rounds, or a 2A if taken in rounds 3 or 4. He also is the youngest of the top draft eligible RBs in this class.