Jean-Jacques Taylor of The Dallas Morning News thinks the Cowboys made a mistake drafting Felix Jones ahead of Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall with the 22nd pick:
You don’t draft a complementary player in the first round when you have an opportunity to select a franchise back.
Ever.
But that’s what the Cowboys did Saturday.
So…apparently there’s some sort of ‘Draft bible’ that Jean-Jacques is quoting from here. Although he doesn’t reference chapter and verse.
And, unfortunately, he also doesn’t bother to list many facts to support his argument that Mendenhall is a ‘franchise back.’ In truth, a comparison of career stats shows very little difference between the two rushers:
Jones: 38 Games, 387 Attempts, 2,954 Yards, 20 TDs, 7.6 yards per carry
Mendenhall: 35 Games, 388 Attempts, 2,539 Yards, 22 TDs, 6.5 yards per carry
Size? Jones is slightly taller and Mendenhall is nearly 20 pounds heavier.
Speed? Mendenhall ran a 4.45 at the NFL Combine and Jones ran a 4.47.
Now explain to me again how one of these players is obviously a 20-25 carry running back and the other one isn’t? Or, more specifically, that either one of them has proven their NFL franchise back potential?
So maybe the truth is that both of them are equally good. Which is exactly what the Cowboys said after the draft:
“Both of them were so close you could flip a coin over them,” Jerry Jones said.
But wait…Jean-Jacques uses his powers of deductive reasoning to prove (prove!) that the Cowboys had Mendenhall rated higher:
“I don’t want to get into which was the highest rated,” Jerry said. “I don’t want to do that.”
Trust me, that means Mendenhall was rated higher, which is one more reason Jerry should’ve trusted the draft board and taken Mendenhall.
Ah yes…just trust the board, Jerry. But here’s the real question: if one player is ranked 22-A on this ‘almighty board’ and the other is 22-B…does it really matter which one you choose?
I think another valid point made was that Mendenhall sulked and didn't play hard until he was given the starting job at which point he took off.
In Dallas, he's not going to be the starting back, only Darren McFadden would've been the starting back, so the fact that Felix was a good team mate and didn't sulk if he didn't get his way is a valid argument in my book. Not to mention that Mendehall has no experience running out of anything but a spread offense while Felix has shown a lot more versatility.
If nothing else, Felix is a better reciever out of the backfield. I watched a recieving drill in a competition of the top Senior backs in the nation a while back. Mendenhall dropped several passes, and didn't rate nearly as high with his hands as the other backs. That's what made our backfield so versitile in my opinion. Too bad we didn't throw the football more.
I believe you are using a false premise for this post. You assume Jean-Jacques Taylor is not an idiot. As a long-time resident of Dallas, I know this premise to be false.
Ok, so all things being equal statistically out of the backfield, then tell me who's the more dangerous return man? I think we all know the answer to that one.
He's also missing that Felix got his stats as:
1. A 'backup' to McFadden
2. In an offense that opponents knew would run 80% of the time…Mendenall ran out of a spread which is prone to more big running plays since it is typically faced with a pass defense
3. an SEC back (we all know how the Little 10 is overrated if Ohio State is the best they have
He also left out the fact that Felix is an All American special teams player and was among the nation's leaders in returns.
Either the guy is a total idiot or just trying to stir things up….
Also, Jean Jaques failed to consider what the Cowboys need. They don't need a guy 20 pounds heavier than Felix to pound the ball inside. Mendenhall may be as fast as Felix in a straight-up 40 yard dash, but what is his style and how does he run? Clearly, Felix has a style that finds the seams and cracks and moves toward the open field. That is what the Cowboys need; they have Marion Barber to do the inside 2 to 4 yard stuff. They want a guy who can find the crack and make something of it. That is Felix. Mendenhall might match Felix once they get open in a sprint, downfield, but who is better at getting open? Felix, of course.