Thread: Jonathan Stewart Fan Club

If i had to choose between the two, Stewart would be my choice.

Nothing against Mendenhall, he's an exceptional RB. I would'nt be upset if we picked him over Jonathan, both are capable RBs. I like Stewarts power/speed combination better ... especially his power.

Not that i want a RB with our 1st pick, just asyin ...

Devil's Advocate post warning:

I agree that J-Stew and Mendenhall are two tremendous backs.

But let's look at the top-12 as ranked by ESPN for a second.

NAME POS HT WT
Darren McFadden RB 6'2" 212
Rashard Mendenhall RB 5'11" 225
Jonathan Stewart RB 5'11" 233
Felix Jones RB 6'0" 205
Jamaal Charles RB 6'1" 205
Chris Johnson RB 5'10" 198
James Davis RB 5'11" 210 (not coming out in this draft any more, right?)
Ray Rice RB 5'9" 197
Mike Hart RB 5'9" 200
Kevin Smith RB 6'1" 213
Steve Slaton RB 5'10" 196
Matthew Forte RB 6'1" 219
Tashard Choice RB 5'11" 207

Bolded are the guys who are over 215 lbs. With as great a RB class as this is, I don't think most of those guys are limited by missing the 215 lb cutoff by a few pounds. I know you said that backs who are smaller need a good inside presence, though, and most of them have that.

How many of those backs do you think will be successful in the pros? A quarter? Half? Two-thirds?

I'm predicting success for the following:

Mendenhall
Stewart
Charles
Rice
Forte
Choice
(Davis would be on here, but again - not coming out IIRC)

I think D-Mac is gonna struggle as more than a situational back unless he's in the perfect system for him. Same with Chris Johnson. If those guys get into systems that use them as wide receivers and punt returners and trick backs and pitch backs, they'll be fine. Chris Johnson reminds me of Dave Meggett, and if he can find a team that will use him like Meggett he could be a very interesting player, but I don't peg him for instant success as a main RB.

Run DMC is much the same way for me (as is Felix Jones to an extent): I don't know that any of those guys is built to carry the load.

But we'll see. I was all over Peterson in the draft and hated Lynch, but Lynch didn't do too badly for himself.

I don't like Mike Hart. I just don't. Same with Kevin Smith - too many arm-tackles take that guy down, and he won't have those huge gaps in the bigs.

But of the guys I listed, how much BETTER do I think Stewart would be over the rest for the Broncos?

Better...but I don't know if it's enough better to justify the #12 pick we'd use to get him.

Is Stewart a tough runner? Yes.

So is Ray Rice. So is Choice, and Forte.

Is Stewart fast? Yes. So are lots of other backs in this draft.

Is Stewart strong? You bet. But are all his measurables enough to pass on a different position that does not lend itself as well to really good secondary options?

If you gave me a choice, I'd probably skip a 1st round RB in favor of an OT like Clady or a LB.

IMO running back this year could be a quality fill for us with a 2nd, 3rd (we'd have to find a 3rd round pick...) or 4th round selection without a lot of production dropoff either inside or outside the 20.

Still, if you gave me Stewart and Wheeler as our 1st two picks on the day I wouldn't exactly cry about it. Might turn out better than Clady/Connor/Choice.

~G

I think a lot of the guys on your list will be RBBC guys.

I would never draft a RB under 225 period.. Do not care who is is/was just would not do it. they take just way to much abuse any more with 250+ lBS now days..

I've watched Stewart play every game now for a few years. I don't think the spread-option offense was best for him as a running back, since a lot of the blocking is designed to confuse the defense as to whether it's a pass or a run. But he adjusted to it. Oregon's explosive passing game did help to open up the run for all of Oregon's good backs.

He has the best balance of any back I've ever seen. I don't remember the last time one tackler took him down. He reminds me a little bit of Earl Campbell with his balance and low center of gravity. He's fast enough to break away if he hits a seam and gets a step. Not a great receiver out of the backfield; but not bad; and he can grow into it.

Very good in short yardage. I've seen him carry three guys forward and pick up first downs.

He's a GREAT kickoff returner. Very dangerous because he's strong enough to hit holes hard, break tackles, and keep his feet; then his speed kicks in.

He had trouble staying healthy as a freshman, with an ankle injury that recurred in his sophomore season. He played very tough with lingering nicks and bruises this year, even rushing for over 240 yards in the bowl game against South Florida with a big, ugly turf toe that made people wonder before the game if he would even be able to play.

Do I want to draft him? I'd love to draft him if we get busy in free agency, especially if we sign a starting OT, DT and safety. Then I'll gladly pick Jonathan Stewart #12. Stewart and Wheeler would be good for me, if we make a killing in free agency first.

Originally Posted by mclark

Do I want to draft him? I'd love to draft him if we get busy in free agency, especially if we sign a starting OT, DT and safety. Then I'll gladly pick Jonathan Stewart #12. Stewart and Wheeler would be good for me, if we make a killing in free agency first.

I could go with that ...

Originally Posted by Skinny

I could go with that ...

Love your avatar. South Carolina cheerleaders have been my favorites for many years now.

That's what I want... Stewart and Wheeler or Stewart and Gosder Cherilus.

Either option would be ideal if we signed DT Corey Williams from Green Bay.

If not I would go Stewart and Dre Moore

I LOOOOVE Stewart...have ever since he was deciding between Tennessee and Oregon. HOWEVER, I'm gonna have to pass on a round 1 RB given the other holes. Now if we somehow managed to sign (or trade for) a FA S AND a LB I believe we could take Stewart at 12 and make a package to get back into round 1 and take Balmer. It wouldn't take too much to do that and we could still land a solid LB in the middle of the draft.

A scenario where we SIGN Hamlin/Gibril Wilson, TRADE FOR Bobby Carpenter, DRAFT Jon Stewart and Balmer AND are still able to sign a mid round LB like Ezra Butler would please me immensely.

Remember folks, we aren't 1 draft away from SB contention. So don't get too pissy if we don't address a need. We can always try to upgrade that spot in 2009.

Mendenhall has the better vision and feet. I dont think he will take as much punishment as Stewart. Someone mentioned Earl Campbell and that cuts both ways. Mendenhall has much better feet than Stewart. Stewart is strong and all but Mendenhall is strong enough plus has better vision and feet to avoid the big hit along with make the more nifty cuts.

I like that idea Smilin.... Send Foxworth to Dallas for Carpenter. This gives us a good starting linebacker to match up with Williams and Webster/Winborn

The safety thing won't happen... Hamlin will remain a Cowboy and Wilson will demand a lot of money and attention in FA. But we might be able to sign DT Corey Williams from Green Bay, but even if we can't we could use our #2 on DT Sims.

If we did sign DT sims we could always go with Jared Mayo or Gosder Cherilus.

4th round can go on S Woodyard from Kentucky.
other 4th rounder on OL and one of the top blocking FB's or S Castille if he was to slide for some reason.
5th rounder on DE/OLB Studebaker from Wheaton. (project pick)
5th rounder on Punter or kicker
7th rounder on Punter or kicker

Originally Posted by lex

Mendenhall has the better vision and feet. I dont think he will take as much punishment as Stewart. Someone mentioned Earl Campbell and that cuts both ways. Mendenhall has much better feet than Stewart. Stewart is strong and all but Mendenhall is strong enough plus has better vision and feet to avoid the big hit along with make the more nifty cuts.

Now way Stewart is just as good if not better. You have to have pretty good vision to do as well as Stewart did, plus he returns kicks.... you don't just put a guy on kick return if he doesn't have good vision.

Yeah...to simply say Mendenhall has better vision tells me ya haven't seen Stewart. Dude is the real deal. Was the #1 RB coming out of HS his senior year and didn't disappoint at Oregon. Had he gone to Tennessee or Texas everyone would be drooling over him. As it stands, he played at Oregon, in a system not made for him...and he's still projected as top 15.

I'd like to trade JW, Foxxy and a #2 pick to Dallas for Carpenter and one of their #1s...IF they give up on the Run DMC dream. I think that's a fair deal since we pick fairly high in round 2.

nfldraftcountdown.com mock:

Arizona- Every draft has a first round surprise and this could be it for 2008. Word is Edgerrin James may not be around much longer and even so he has a lot of miles on his tires and they could use a quality backup. Jonathan Stewart is a special prospect with the type of speed and burst you just don't normally find in a 230 lb. running back. Similar in some ways to Jamal Lewis when he was coming out of Tennessee, Stewart is the best player available at this point. The Cardinals also need help in the secondary at cornerback so guys like Leodis McKelvin & Mike Jenkins are possibilities here as well.