Attention, all personnel men in love with Alabama running back Trent Richardson

[LUGZ]

Some of you are being extremely sort sighted with your evaluation of Richardson. You act as if this years draft is the last one we'll ever have. Trent is a special back, and we're all but guaranteed the chance to take him.

Some of you have argued that we should take an Olineman instead. Okay, well where is that Olineman going to play? We already have Penn, who's a pretty solid LT, so drafting another LT would mean replacing our current LT that doesn't really need to be replaced, or playing them as an RT. But if we DO play them at RT, aren't we then losing value on our #5 pick? A good RT can be found in the 2nd and 3rd round easily, so spending a #5 is just as much of a "waste" as drafting Richardson(which is silly idea anyway).

And what about Claiborne? Here's something I do know: NOBODY ON THIS BOARD CAN MAKE AN INFORMED ANALYSIS OF CLAIBORNE BECAUSE OF THE POSITION HE PLAYS.

Go ahead, go watch some of his "highlight" videos...there's nothing to see, because 2 seconds after the snap, he's nowhere to be seen. The only reason some of you are championing Claiborne as our pick is because you read it on a draftnik site that he's the best CB.

You know what empirical evidence I have of Claiborne's play? Him getting smoked by Trent Richardson on his TD run. For the rest of the game, he might as well have been on the sideline. He made no good tackles, no pass defenses...nothing. And did you see him on kickoff returns? He's definitely NOT a returner, which is what gave Patrick Peterson so much more value when he was drafted as high as he was.

Trent is an elite talent we can build around. Imagine how much more respect the defense will have to give our running game when he's out there? Oh, and Trent's presence doesn't make us one dimensional anymore, so he can actually be out there on 3rd down.

And I love how some of you are devaluing the Richardson pick because of Cadillac. It's like some of you totally forgot about his sensational rookie campaign, and the fact that he would STILL be a major part of our offense had he not suffered not one but two devastating knee injuries. And an argument can be made that his release last offseason may been the largest contributing factor to our anemic offense.

And if we're going to make our picks based on what other teams are doing...then we have a long ways to go. First of all, we need a whole new Oline, because ours is built to run the football, which is a no no in today's game. Second, we need another QB that can pass the ball 35 times per game without turning the ball over. We also need several new WR options, along with a dominant TE. Because those are all the components the top offenses in this league posses.

[BucBalla85]

With RG3 going pro were likely not going to draft Richardson. We should have a shot at Kalil, Blackmon, or Claiborne.

[dalbuc]

You know what empirical evidence I have of Claiborne's play? Him getting smoked by Trent Richardson on his TD run. For the rest of the game, he might as well have been on the sideline. He made no good tackles, no pass defenses...nothing. And did you see him on kickoff returns? He's definitely NOT a returner, which is what gave Patrick Peterson so much more value when he was drafted as high as he was.

Trent is an elite talent we can build around. Imagine how much more respect the defense will have to give our running game when he's out there? Oh, and Trent's presence doesn't make us one dimensional anymore, so he can actually be out there on 3rd down.

Bama didn't throw at Claiborne most of the night and functionally their enitre game plan with those little dink passes was to avoid the LSU secondary all together. Not hearing a CB's name is usually a really good thing.

Trent isn't an elite talent. He hasn't shown any skills that just blow me away. His running mate has better numbers than Trent does playing in the same system. Makes me wonder how good he really is. Couple that with the way Ingram went from "elite back" to under 4.0 ypc in the NFL and that big ol' OL makes all those guys look awfully good.

The biggest flaw is the idea that you build around a RB anymore.

[Runole]

Some of you are being extremely sort sighted with your evaluation of Richardson. You act as if this years draft is the last one we'll ever have. Trent is a special back, and we're all but guaranteed the chance to take him.

Some of you have argued that we should take an Olineman instead. Okay, well where is that Olineman going to play? We already have Penn, who's a pretty solid LT, so drafting another LT would mean replacing our current LT that doesn't really need to be replaced, or playing them as an RT. But if we DO play them at RT, aren't we then losing value on our #5 pick? A good RT can be found in the 2nd and 3rd round easily, so spending a #5 is just as much of a "waste" as drafting Richardson(which is silly idea anyway).

And what about Claiborne? Here's something I do know: NOBODY ON THIS BOARD CAN MAKE AN INFORMED ANALYSIS OF CLAIBORNE BECAUSE OF THE POSITION HE PLAYS.

Go ahead, go watch some of his "highlight" videos...there's nothing to see, because 2 seconds after the snap, he's nowhere to be seen. The only reason some of you are championing Claiborne as our pick is because you read it on a draftnik site that he's the best CB.

You know what empirical evidence I have of Claiborne's play? Him getting smoked by Trent Richardson on his TD run. For the rest of the game, he might as well have been on the sideline. He made no good tackles, no pass defenses...nothing. And did you see him on kickoff returns? He's definitely NOT a returner, which is what gave Patrick Peterson so much more value when he was drafted as high as he was.

Trent is an elite talent we can build around. Imagine how much more respect the defense will have to give our running game when he's out there? Oh, and Trent's presence doesn't make us one dimensional anymore, so he can actually be out there on 3rd down.

And I love how some of you are devaluing the Richardson pick because of Cadillac. It's like some of you totally forgot about his sensational rookie campaign, and the fact that he would STILL be a major part of our offense had he not suffered not one but two devastating knee injuries. And an argument can be made that his release last offseason may been the largest contributing factor to our anemic offense.

And if we're going to make our picks based on what other teams are doing...then we have a long ways to go. First of all, we need a whole new Oline, because ours is built to run the football, which is a no no in today's game. Second, we need another QB that can pass the ball 35 times per game without turning the ball over. We also need several new WR options, along with a dominant TE. Because those are all the components the top offenses in this league posses.

agree

Even with LSU once again having their entire game plan geared to stop Richardson he still succeeded.   RIchardson has always been considered a better back than Ingram and his skills blocking, running both inside and out, and receiving show him to be the franchise back that will make any passing game prosper. 

A perfect example was in 2010 before the Bucs inserted Blount who truly is not even close to Richardson's class in terms of being a complete RB.
Had the Bucs not had Blount there is little doubt in my mind that 2010 would have been much like 2009 and 2011 for the Bucs.  I strongly endorse picking Richardson. That being said I am not sure he will even be available with the 5th pick.   Whether you run to set up the pass or pass to set up the run RIchardson is that type of "EVERY DOWN" back that is always invaluable to any offense.

I am not sure Claiborne is even the best DB on LSU.

[Detrimental]

The best "DB" on LSU does not get embarrassed on national TV in the biggest game of his life. Claiborne was the best CB this year throughout CFB and it wasn't even close.

[Detrimental]

Richardson is Duece McAllister without the injuries. Guy will be a great back in the league.

[The Anti-Java]

Alabama RB Trent Richardson and CB Dre Kirkpatrick will forgo their senior seasons and enter the 2012 NFL draft.

They'll be joined by ILB Dont'a Hightower, a fourth-year junior. Richardson was the 2011 Doak Walker Award winner as the nation's top running back and projects as a top-ten pick. A powerful and versatile prospect, Richardson is listed at 5-foot-11, 224 and has a thick lower half built for pass protection. He is NFL-ready from a tackle-breaking standpoint and should run a forty time in the 4.4s. Kirkpatrick (6'3/192, listed) is an ideal zone cornerback prospect drawing comparisons to Charles Tillman and Quentin Jammer. Hightower (6'4/260) is a thumping, early-down inside 'backer. He has the potential to join Kirkpatrick and Richardson in the draft's first round.

Source: Tide Sports on Rivals Jan 12 - 12:31 PM