Is Cedric Benson a first rounder?
NFL Draft Mailbag
July 9, 2004
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here at DraftKing.com. Send your thoughts to me at LouPickney@gmail.com.
From: PodoP33@***.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 7, 2004 10:42 PM
To: Lou Pickney
Subject: cedric benson +
What happend to Cedric Benson on you'r 2005 nfl mock draft. I think he could develop into a star RB in the nfl. Also what player do you think the cowboys what take if they had like the say 3,4 or 5 pick. Also do you think that julius jones will be good enough or will the have to pick up a guy like cadilac willams or something?
Lou: I don't see Benson as being a first round calibre RB at this juncture. Don't get riled up, Texas fans, that's just how I see it. Some people have questioned his passion, though I'm not one of those. I think he'll be a good NFL RB, but just not worthy of a first round position. He tends to run too high off the ground, and while his 5.3 YPC average and 21 TDs in 2003 is impressive, he'll be called upon to replicate that performance in 2004 -- this time without the defense having to respect WR Roy Williams, who's now in the NFL.
Look, Benson is a fantastic athlete, and there's a reason that he's the all-time Texas leading rusher in Class 5A history. He's very, very talented. But look at the talented backs who slipped out of the first round in recent years (Clinton Portis, Travis Henry, Anthony Thomas, Kevan Barlow, Rudi Johnson, etc.) Benson will have to take his skills up to the next level (like Chris Perry did in Ann Arbor last season), and perform well with the combine interviews, to land a spot in the first round of the 2005 Draft.
As for the Cowboys, it still befuddles me that they passed on Steven Jackson in Round 1 to trade down. And then, with Greg Jones on the board, they take... Julius Jones?!? For a team that desperately needed a blue chip RB, and a team that was in position to get one, I'm shocked that they took the route that they did.
Now, with that said, Bill Parcells is much smarter at football than I am, and I suspect that he feels that J. Jones is a strong fit for his offense. Time will tell.
Let's say the Bills tank and end up in the Top 5 of the 2005 Draft (Dallas won't be there with their own pick -- they made the playoffs with a weaker team last year and should do the same in '05). If Dallas is there at say #5, and Derrick Johnson is on the board, how could you pass him up? Add Johnson to the mix, with that already nasty secondary, and it's downright scary to think what Dallas could do to shut down opposing offenses.
The only RB I could see Dallas taking up high is Cadillac Williams, but that is dependent upon Julius Jones really, really struggling this year. And I don't think Bill Parcells will let that happen.
