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RB Offseason 2023


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It's not just his measurables. He has great tape. He allowed 0 sacks and only 5 pressures on over 400 pass blocking snaps last season. Sometimes giant players have stamina issues but he never had to leave a game for fatigue. He doesn't have any known knee or back issues. He's nimble for his size but of course less nimble than some other players. But who would you prefer face Myles Garrett or TJ Watt among Dawand Jones, Jonah Williams, Lael Collins, and Jackson Carman? Give me the guy who is strongest and has the longest arms. 

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55 minutes ago, sparky151 said:

It's not just his measurables. He has great tape. He allowed 0 sacks and only 5 pressures on over 400 pass blocking snaps last season. Sometimes giant players have stamina issues but he never had to leave a game for fatigue. He doesn't have any known knee or back issues. He's nimble for his size but of course less nimble than some other players. But who would you prefer face Myles Garrett or TJ Watt among Dawand Jones, Jonah Williams, Lael Collins, and Jackson Carman? Give me the guy who is strongest and has the longest arms. 

 

The tape I watched shows he moves well for a big man, but isn't super athletic. It will be hard to beat him because of his size but he will get beat by guys more athletic than he is.

 

Here is the profile from "The Beast" draft guide.

 

Quote

BACKGROUND: Dawand Jones, who is an only child, was born and raised in Indianapolis. Basketball was his first love since the age of 5. He attended Ben Davis High School where he focused on basketball and dabbled in football. Jones started playing varsity football as a junior in 2017 and played left and right tackle. He helped Ben Davis to a 14-0 season and won the 6A state title. As a senior, Jones started to blossom on the football field, primarily as the starting right tackle. Still, basketball was his main focus in high school. As a junior, Jones averaged 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, helping his team to a 21-win season and a deep run in the playoffs. He improved his numbers to 17.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game as a senior and helped Ben Davis reach the Class 4A state final. Jones was selected to play for the Indiana All-Stars basketball squad and helped sweep the Kentucky All-Stars in June 2019. A three-star recruit, Jones was the No. 86 offensive tackle in the 2019 recruiting class and the No. 13 recruit in Indiana. He always saw himself as more of a basketball recruit and received scholarship offers from several Division I programs including Ball State, Bowling Green and Cleveland State. At the start of his senior year, Jones was ready to commit to Kent State to play basketball, but his coaches encouraged him to be patient because they believed football offers would soon arrive. During the season, Mississippi State was his first big offer followed by several national powers like Florida State and Michigan. He considered signing with USC during the early signing period in December 2018, but decided to wait until signing day in February. Jones had a final five of Florida, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State and USC and ended up picking the Buckeyes. Among the 17 recruits in Ohio State’s 2019 class, Jones was the lowest ranked. He accepted his invitation to the 2023 Senior Bowl but missed most of the week with an injury

 

STRENGTHS: Extraordinary frame and mass with the wingspan of a Boeing 747 … his initial movements at the snap are well timed and repeatable … smooth mover for his size … doesn’t have rangy feet, but he compensates with his wide body and mile-long arms to reposition/outposition rushers … uses full extension to escort rushers wide of the pocket … he loves to snatch and bury defenders who try to rush down his middle … his pass-blocking balance looks much improved from his 2021 tape … doesn’t allow his length to go to waste in the run game … engulfs in the run game and drives defenders where he wants with his mauling hands … was always a basketball player first, and it has taken time for him to fully dedicate himself to football, but the Ohio State coaches say his energy improved each year … Wisconsin pass rusher Nick Herbig called Jones the best blocker he faced (Herbig: “That guy is a monster.”) … has clear upside with his age (young for a fourth-year senior) and background as a basketball-first athlete who has now embraced football.

 

WEAKNESSES: High cut and sets tall, which leads to leverage breakdowns … ends up on the ground when he overextends and needs to shed the bad habits … gets in his own head and is late to anticipate/counter inside moves, allowing rushers to attack his inside half … tries to get a head start in pass pro, and his sheer size makes it easier for officials to spot when he leaves early (five false starts in 2022) … grabby hands … occasionally leans on blocks in the run game instead of controlling them … would like to see more “nasty” to his finish … his discipline is a work in progress (16 total penalties the last two seasons as a starter) … managing his weight and body composition will be imperative in the NFL (refused to weigh in at the Ohio State pro day) … NFL scouts grade him as a scheme-specific right tackle only.

 

SUMMARY: A two-year starter at Ohio State, Jones lined up at right tackle in head coach Ryan Day’s zone/RPO-based offense. Although it took time for his mentality to change from “I’m a basketball player” to “I’m a football player,” he showed improvements each year in Columbus, including an All-American senior season in which he didn’t allow a single sack. As a run blocker, Jones flashes the heavy hands to steer and create movement and uses his natural size to cave in defenders on down blocks. As a pass blocker, he is effective when he can quick-set, eliminate space and get his hands on his target before they get into their rush, but covering up inside on wide-nine NFL speed is a different animal. Overall, Jones needs continued refinement with his decision-making and reaction skills, but he is a masher in the run game and his rare size/length and improved balance in pass pro have him on the trajectory to be an NFL starter. He will be valued higher by NFL teams that covet size and run blocking at right tackle.

GRADE: 2nd Round (No. 62 overall)

 

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10 hours ago, High School Harry said:

Smoke.... 

Yes..

Every team is blowing smoke at this point..

 

Not sure if the Bengals draft Jones in first ..

They could go alot of ways.

Im saying if they do he'll be a bulldozer in run and hard to get around in protection..

 

We'll wait and see..

 

 

 

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I think if we are looking for a Perine replacement I like Rochon Johnson.

 

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BACKGROUND: Roschon (ROH-shahn) “Shug” Johnson, who is the youngest of three boys, was born and raised in Port Arthur (southeast Texas) and started playing tackle football at age 7. He quickly established himself as a star running back and safety at the youth level until moving to quarterback at age 10 because he was the best player on the field. Johnson enrolled at Port Neches-Groves High School, where he was a three-year starter at quarterback (30-8 record). As a sophomore, he earned honorable mention All-State and District MVP honors with 2,318 passing yards, 1,650 rushing yards and 56 total touchdowns (26 passing, 30 rushing). Johnson again earned District MVP honors as a junior with 64.9 percent completions, 2,918 passing yards and 35 touchdowns, adding 1,627 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns. As a senior, he was named All-State and All-District with 2,343 passing yards, 1,623 rushing yards and 50 total touchdowns (24 passing, 26 rushing). Johnson, who was also named an Under Armour All-American, finished his prep career as Port Neches-Groves’ all-time leading passer (7,710 yards) and rusher (4,900), finishing with 85 total touchdowns. He was a 4.0 GPA student and also lettered in track (relays and jumps). A four-star recruit, Johnson was the No. 6 dual-threat quarterback in the 2019 recruiting class and the No. 29 recruit in Texas (highest-ranked quarterback recruit in the state). He collected scholarship offers from numerous high-profile programs like Florida, Florida State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee and Texas A&M. But Johnson had the goal of earning a full-ride at Texas since he was young, and he committed to the Longhorns prior to his junior year in July 2017 (was the first commit of the Texas 2019 recruiting class). He graduated early and enrolled in Austin in January 2019. With Shane Buechele (SMU) and Cameron Rising (Utah) both transferring out of Texas prior to the 2019 season, Johnson was expecting to be a backup behind Sam Ehlinger and Casey Thompson. But because of injuries at running back, he transitioned to running back one week before the start of the 2019 season, which ended up being a permanent move. Johnson graduated with his degree in business administration (May 2022). He opted out of the 2022 bowl game and accepted his invitation to the 2023 Senior Bowl but broke his hand during the first practice and missed the rest of the week.

 

STRENGTHS: Big-boned, broad-shouldered athlete with proportionate bulk … stout, physical runner to breeze through arm tackles … forward finisher, lowering his pads and driving his legs through contact … aggressively presses the line, but also shows patience behind lead blocks … able to find cutback lanes … can force missed tackles in the backfield with his lateral footwork … his stiff-arm is unyielding … enough speed to stretch runs to the boundary or out-pace pursuit … only one career fumble … dogged blocking chops, both in pass protection and as a lead blocker in “21” personnel … shows functional receiving skills out of the backfield … led Texas in special teams tackles (seven) in 2022 — played on all four coverages … addicted to working and self-improvement (was pushing sleds around at age 😎 … benefited from the “older brother” theory — his desire to keep up with his older brothers on the field instilled competitive persistence in him at a young age … vocal leader and beloved in the Texas program (NFL scout: “He was Mr. Accountability for that entire offense … and our special teams staff is going to love him.”).

 

WEAKNESSES: High-cut runner, and run style lacks fluidity … inconsistent rhythm as a ball carrier and guilty of taking extra steps behind the line of scrimmage … feel for run lane development runs hot/cold … physical finisher but often uses too much forward lean at contact and sacrifices his balance … primarily a screen target and unproven running a full route tree … love his fight in pass pro, but must improve his ability to ID blitzers pre-snap (his communication with the offensive line must improve as well) … suffered a broken hand (January 2023) during the first practice at the Senior Bowl … averaged only 9.5 offensive touches per game in his career and wasn’t asked to be the featured back.

 

SUMMARY: Primarily a backup at Texas, Johnson was a complimentary back in head coach Steve Sarkisian’s spread RPO offense. A high school quarterback, he moved to running back as a Longhorns freshman and played second fiddle to Bijan Robinson but embraced his role in the program and was a central part of the culture shift under the new coaching staff (Sarkisian: “What this guy brings every single day is pretty incredible. He’s so mature. Unbelievable work ethic. Awesome teammate…he’s got the utmost respect of everybody in our building, that is for sure.”). A stout, good-sized runner, Johnson is a two-way creator with his lateral cuts to elude tacklers and the forward momentum to power through contact. With his football character and ability on special teams and as a blocker, his impact without the football is almost as impressive as his ability with the ball. Overall, Johnson is high-cut and can be inconsistent with his run rhythm, but he is a quick-footed, physical ball carrier with valuable third-down skills as a pass-catcher and blocker. He should immediately upgrade an NFL team’s running back rotation and be a core special teamer.

 

GRADE: 3rd Round (No. 91 overall)

 

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17 minutes ago, spicoli said:

I LOVE Roschon Johnson in R3 or beyond.

I definitely don’t see them waiting that long to address the position however. 

 

I will be surprised if we take a RB in the first two rounds. Callahan was on the Locked On podcast the other night talking about needing to find a Mixon complment 

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I would be surprised as well if they take a RB earlier than round 4 unless someone falls they really like.  To many other important positions to fill like CB, OT, DL, S, and TE.  

 

I know he doesn't fit the mold of an NFL RB but Duece Vaughn really intrigues me as he is the dynamic playmaker people are wanting.

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12 hours ago, Jamie_B said:

I am of the strong belief that the running game can make a dramatic change with a run-mauling right tackle. If Wright is there in 1 I take him, but if Jones is there in  I'm pretty happy about it.

As Callahan said in the podcast, the Bengals are a pass first team with Burrow. I think the biggest issue is our RBs inability to take advantage of light boxes when the team does run. The backs are not elusive.

 

I'm not sure that 7th rounder Pacheco is a top back, but he's good enough to take full advantage of the light boxes that KC always gets with Mahomes. Burrow/Chase/Higgins creates plenty of light boxes for the Bengals too. Need a back who can exploit those shell defenses.

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4 minutes ago, westside bengal said:

There is always a lot of "Coach" speak this time of year.  If you remember a few weeks back all the Coaches were adamant about Jonah being the left tackle until we woke up one morning and he wasn't.

Tobin is your coach speak guy. Brian Callahan is most definitely not one. He has never been shy telling people what he thinks. Very candid in any kind of interview setting. I really like to listen to him talk because he always has something interesting to say.

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Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan was on the Locked on Bengals Podcast talking about the 2023 Draft, and he had this to say about the prospect of drafting a running back.

“At this point, it's always going to be what complements Mixon for us,” Callahan said. “We have a runner, you know we have a first and second down style back. And so you try to find things that complement that, and that’s going to be things in the passing game. 

“That’s going to be the protection role that’s moderately played, and it still has the ability to spell that part of the first [and] second down game, when needed. So you really want more of an all-around back that’s a little bit leaner in the pass protection and pass game quite a bit because that’s where we’re light in our running back room makeup at this point.”

That certainly seems like a point in the column for keeping Mixon on the roster, despite his recent legal troubles. And it could be the best result for both sides. 

No one should be disputing that Mixon is a talented back. He has been able to do some great things in this offense when the offensive line hasn’t always been great.

:::::::::::::::::

Don't like this.... huh

 

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1 hour ago, High School Harry said:

Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan was on the Locked on Bengals Podcast talking about the 2023 Draft, and he had this to say about the prospect of drafting a running back.

“At this point, it's always going to be what complements Mixon for us,” Callahan said. “We have a runner, you know we have a first and second down style back. And so you try to find things that complement that, and that’s going to be things in the passing game. 

“That’s going to be the protection role that’s moderately played, and it still has the ability to spell that part of the first [and] second down game, when needed. So you really want more of an all-around back that’s a little bit leaner in the pass protection and pass game quite a bit because that’s where we’re light in our running back room makeup at this point.”

That certainly seems like a point in the column for keeping Mixon on the roster, despite his recent legal troubles. And it could be the best result for both sides. 

No one should be disputing that Mixon is a talented back. He has been able to do some great things in this offense when the offensive line hasn’t always been great.

:::::::::::::::::

Don't like this.... huh

 

If...Mixon takes a huge pay cut

he might stay.

I believe there are half dozen RBs

that could perform well if the Oline is in place.

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It seems like the team doesn't want to cut a locker room favorite, despite his off field issues and loss of speed on the field. Mixon has to come off the field on obvious passing situations since he can't/won't block very well. Burrow's health is a lot more important than Mixon's rah rahs. Bring in a rookie who is both faster than Mixon and doesn't half-ass his blocking. The money saved is just an extra benefit that helps extend players the team should keep. 

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Mixon struggles in pass protection but banking on any rookie to be significantly better in that area seems like a stretch to me.  Typically rookie RB do not play on third down for exactly that reason.  It takes time to learn and adjust to the speed and blitz schemes in the NFL.  That’s not to say I want Mixon to stay at his current salary.  Ideally, I want him to take a pay cut and develop his replacement behind him.  I just don’t think trusting a rookie to be the lead back is a good move.  

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6 minutes ago, Inigo Montoya said:

Mixon struggles in pass protection but banking on any rookie to be significantly better in that area seems like a stretch to me.  Typically rookie RB do not play on third down for exactly that reason.  It takes time to learn and adjust to the speed and blitz schemes in the NFL.  That’s not to say I want Mixon to stay at his current salary.  Ideally, I want him to take a pay cut and develop his replacement behind him.  I just don’t think trusting a rookie to be the lead back is a good move.  

 

Counting on an unknown draft pick to start at any position is generally a bad idea, I agree, but as far as a blocking RB you can't teach the want-to..  I'd rather have a guy that misses sometimes over a guy that doesn't even try.

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