NFL Daily 32: Ranking the Best Running Backs

22:33Ollie Connolly:I respect the veterans too much. You'll probably correct, but I just didn't want to do it to some guys. I did feel bad about some of the, the greats that I'm leaving on the table, but that's, it's an unforgiving position. And, and that's why I did weigh the workload that, some of these guys have had and bumped love up who do you have seventh overall i have jonathan taylor which is probably an overdraft based on you talking about workload um i think the thing that i i love about taylor is his improvement in the passing game the effort as a blocker has become absolutely outstanding it used to really wax and wane i thought with him i he used to when he was having really good games he'd be really invested in the past pro side fortune last season he had a really good game every time he stepped in the field so he was getting after it every single rep i still think there is more that they can do with him in the passing game and i'm excited to see in in year two with similar pieces if they try and expand that slightly it's a lot of check and release stuff with him as a receiver and i do think that there's work they can do there with him it may be more of a mcafree style role shuffling around the formation slightly so but as a pure runner i just don't know who has got as good vision there's good second level juice who's got as good wiggle it's just hard to find anyone out there who's as good a pure one track runner no I think you can make the argument that he was underdrafted here I I kept bumping him up he's a little higher on my list but he was still below like I think you can argue he could go as high as three which makes sense he would be in in your tier because look there was a point last year Ali that he had more yards after contact than every runner in the league except for two had period.

24:09And that was like week 12. That was basically the Daniel Jones healthy section of the season. And the thing I love about him, he has really settled in and steadily, I think, improved. He's always been an electric runner, but he really showed up last season and he was a different player in the passing game. He was no longer a negative. He was a better receiver. He was better, especially in the blocking game where they trusted him to stay on the field. So guys can develop five six years into their career and yeah if any like i just he's one of the safer picks i think you can make if anything i feel like we might we might have underrated him a little bit

24:45Ollie Connolly:i think taking him after jeremiah love is insulting after last season but there's a there is a real chance for aggression it was such a perfect ecosystem last season and even the the past pro stuff they're ahead of the chain so often because he's so excellent that he's just not in as compromised positions as he has been previously in his crib it's third and medium third and long over and over again will that sustain i'm not so sure and even the the passing game stuff like i mentioned it's just a lot of check and release stuff to the flat it's not more of the expansive type stuff which i do think that player is in there james cook has done a lot of that similar work but i i wait to to see i think steikin's pretty laser focused on what the scheme looks like well you talk about disrespectful i mean they go on barkley still sitting there pretty deep into the draft, not coming off a great season.

25:33There's another name I know is intriguing to you that's available. I will take Saquon now just to avoid all the Eagles fans who are unhappy with their lives. Look, he was hit behind the line of scrimmage 132 times last year. That's outrageous. He only had one explosive in all those plays, though, And I do think that points out, you know, he did warm up late, and yet he did feel a little more victim to being dependent on the offensive line maybe more than most. I think it's a good sign that he warmed up late in the season. I thought he played his best ball later. But if I'm talking about workload, yeah, he had 136 fewer touches a year ago.

26:19Like, that's the good news. Ali, the bad news is he still had 350. 150 and still, you know, he has the most touches in the last two years combined. Like if you just care about EPA, which doesn't really make sense to me as a rushing stat, it's more of a team stat. Like it is the second worst, you know, yardage or mark in the entire league. Like he's just he's stuffed. You know, it was a team wide thing. But you do have to worry that if he's losing a little juicer that he needed to take warm up. I'm saying a lot of negative things. And yet he's still Saquon Barkley. and I do think he could have a little bit of a bounce back season and he doesn't need to bounce back that far to be worthy of taking in the top 10 here.

26:57Ollie Connolly:No, I agree with you. He's the guy of this group, I think, who has the most chance to jump into the top two or three and have us look like complete bozos at the end of the season. Like, why did we just pass on Saquon Barkley? It was such a show all of last season. They were tipping plays constantly and they had about seven plays in the offense. It was Saquon to the left. It was Saquon to a specific designated target point was about 55 % of his carries. I mean, from the same formation, it made absolutely no sense. So that has to clean up slightly. I did think that he looked, I couldn't tell if he was hurt or carrying some kind of injury throughout good stretch of the season, because he did look slower.

27:31Ollie Connolly:There wasn't quite the same kind of burst. And he's got this unbelievable ability to kind of hop hop in two quick cuts that just make guys evaporate the picture for a lot of players. Last season was a lot of just the one cut, and it wasn't quite the same level of travel that he had in the year when he just went absolutely mayhem on the league. So what you did see, as you mentioned down the stretch, I thought he had a little bit more juice down there. Even the one you're talking about where he gets hit in the backfield and he rips off the explosive, he gets hit at the mesh point against the commander, spins out of it.

27:59Ollie Connolly:It's a spin move and it's one of the all-time Saquon runs. So I think that player is still in there. It's just, will it have to be more of a pitch count? And he's always been really offensive line and scheme dependent more so than I think the reputation carries. It's just when it's the right offensive line, when it's the right scheme, He's one of the best backs we've seen. Yeah, and if I'm going to knock him for the touches, just think projecting forward. You also have to give him credit for the durability. The last four seasons has been excellent. I mean, he had a heavy, heavy workload in 22, 23, and really since he came off that awful injury that he had.

28:34All right, Saquon is off the board. Well, I won't guess. Who's your pick at number nine?

28:40Ollie Connolly:I'm going to take Kenneth Walker III. Oh, okay. Not who I was guessing. This to me, I think is the most exciting player to team addition in all of free agency. Just an explosive play waiting to happen. The Chiefs have been crying out for so long to really augment their run game. Gotta play more in the center. Gotta get some explosives in the run game. And he's just an explosive play waiting to happen. And I think he's the one guy who's not in the consistently held up in the elite to even by his own staff who's splitting splitting time with Zach Charbonnet. And I understand he's the Super Bowl MVP.

29:13Ollie Connolly:But outside of that tier, he's the one who gives you those kind of tingly feelings of B. John and Gibbs, I would say. Fair there. I mean, I'll think about that game as an example of how Kenneth Walker doesn't always run because he was so decisive. He like he beat the Patriots to the outside on the very first play of the game. I can picture it so clearly in my mind right now. And that happened quite a bit in that game. He ran up the middle a lot. He did not hesitate. There's a crazy stat from NextGen that he takes the longest to get to the line of scrimmage of anyone in the NextGen stats era. Like, he, and you can kind of see that.

29:54Like, he'll go, he'll literally go backwards sometimes. He takes a while to maybe make the decision, sometimes two more, that he also travels more to get to the line of scrimmage, I think it was, than anyone in the Next Gen Stats era. And yet, like, when he makes it go and the creativity, there are a few better. And so it's higher than I would have had him because I like a little more, like, metronomic predictability out of my running backs. I like the boring guys sometimes. But just in terms of pure juice and excitement, he's there.

30:24Ollie Connolly:I think there'll be some more boredom this season, though. I think if you look at the rest of the Chiefs running back room, he's going to have to do some of the third and two. We're going to have to slam it behind Creed Humphrey and go get the two yards and you can't be dancing around. You are going to get me on my soapbox. We do have an epidemic of these guys who believe that Le 'Veon Bell and no one can ever play the position ever again like Le 'Veon Bell. Walker's maybe the closest and has so much more sudden burst than Le 'Veon even had. You just picture him when they're running all that patient stuff and it's read out, read out, wait for the linebacker to commit once he shows one way, you fire the other way, which is the style he prefers to play.

31:02Ollie Connolly:And you're doing that behind Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith and Kingsley Sue and Matia, who if nothing else can drive people off the ball. I think it's going to be a pretty lethal season. You've put me in a tough spot. I really don't know who to take 10th. I kept, you know, you're saying I'm playing mental games, getting you to the draft spot a little earlier than you expected. Were you playing mental games with me when you said, quote, the Kyron Williams explosive run cut up tape is the most fun I've had in weeks watching that? Are you trying to make me take Kyron Williams early? Is this too early for Kyron Williams?

31:37What do you think?

31:38Ollie Connolly:I would be all in if I was ever allowed to run a team, which would be even more of a disaster than Mayorkan Gruden. I fully accept that. I would be doing the dirtiest tricks. I'd be leaking everything to Rapshia. All of my guys I'd bring in my building would be a complete fugazi. So it's plausible. maybe I should just leave him for you. But on my final board, he's the next one. I'm sticking to my board. What the heck? It'll pain you to do it. Kyron Williams is off the board, ahead of some really talented, big-name players. He was sixth in missed tackle, forced yards. And like I said, I do like the consistent players.

32:16In terms of guys who had over 80, 100 carries, I believe my cutoff was, second in success rate. He's always in the top five and like rushing over expected. You just know what you are getting. You aren't getting the explosive plays as much. But the fact that they gave him that contract, the fact that you know exactly where he's going, and it is an aesthetically pleasing game to me watching Kyron Williams run. I can live without that. If it's good enough for Sean McVay to give that contract to, he's good enough for me at number 10.

32:47Ollie Connolly:Yeah, I went through, as you said, the explosive could have reeled this afternoon, and it is absolutely outrageous. I never gave him enough credit for the level of intellect the spatial awareness the general vision I think if you're just putting together we live in a league of the duo run now right with the two big doubles coming inside and you got to try and rip it out the back door that's the idea for the back you know when it's it's the best players in the league traditionally we're the best runners at that stuff it's James Cook that's the number one guy on the board Cameron Williams might be the second best guy at what is the staple run diet now at the league just the way that the patience and the fluidity, the degree of travel he has on the cuts.

33:25Ollie Connolly:It really is incredible. And then once he gets to the second level, the vision and the wiggle and the burst, it's just, he is such an unbelievable back. And I just never gave him enough credit. In my head, he's always reminded me of James White from the Patriots dynasty. And he's really gets after impasse protection, barely ever makes a mistake, even though there's some kind of size mismatches. And he's elusive and he can catch the ball and he's like a solid scheme fit. I just think you could plop him in any offense in the league right now, and he would still have the same amount of production.

33:56Yeah, that's part of it. There's a couple people where I might be kicking myself. It's like a little higher ceiling or different things I like about them. But I'm a little like you. If it was my team, this is where I'd have him. I mean, that is why I put him next on the list. So I have to be true to that.

34:14Ollie Connolly:He really has the, he isn't as explosive as the great ones, but he has all kind of the under the hood tools of the great ones. And I think the thing that stands out to me the most when you watch the cut up of the runs is the understanding of the tempo of what he's trying to do. Is he just modulates his tempo and then he makes guys whiff at a crazy rate. He's always matching the blocking mechanics. It's the stuff that is really, really tricky when you get the great players coming from college into the pro. someone like Jeremiah Love, it's such a mechanical game in the pros. The run schemes are so precise on when you're supposed to hit certain spots in the line of scrimmage.

34:50Ollie Connolly:His feel for what they're doing is unreal. So Ali mentioned, you know, the most fun he's had was watching this, this cut up of his explosive just five or six minutes. He lovingly cut that down to a few minutes. So this is our advertisement. This is for NFL Plus, for NFL Pro, that Ollie made this cut up from his NFL pro, and you can check it out on YouTube with the vertical vision and just the stiff arms and just the making people miss in the open field. Kyron Williams, that's great stuff. We will take a quick break. That is our top 10 running backs. Eric Henry has not been drafted. Some other great runners have been drafted.

35:32I'm very curious how the end of this draft is going to go because it just feels like a grab bag after the top 20 or 22 or so runners. We'll be back in a few minutes.

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38:43Back on NFL Daily. Ollie's in the comments last week and points out this one on YouTube. I like this. Someone wrote, this was fun. I don't really care about the rankings, but I enjoy a Brit and a Mass just talking ball and building up the best pass rushers out there. Fun stuff. Yeah, that is what I love about this NFL Daily 32 series. It gives us a chance to just talk for two minutes about, I don't know, Chase Brown or someone that could be coming up soon in these rankings, whoever it might be. Might have given away my board a little bit.

39:19Ollie Connolly:You may have given away MSOS Slayer. I'm going to take Derek Henry off the board. I'm not going to allow the disrespect to continue. you um i understand that if you look through some of the advanced metrics there is a drop to kind of career low levels with some of the things where he's always been the master and whether it's the the missed tackle rate uh missed force tackles at the second level which is really where he he does his devastating work it's still they're still outrageous figures compared to the rest of the league it's just oh he fell from being a first ballot hall of famer to being i don't know a second go-around hall of fame type productive player so i still believe in derrick henry at some point the decline will come.

39:55Ollie Connolly:I'm never going to allow myself to live in a world where I pre-project the Derek Henry decline. I just don't want to view football that way. Well, I have been living in that world and it's been a horrible world. I've been wrong. It's outrageous. This man is 32 years old. Remember when people were saying, who's going to be the next running back to make the Hall of Fame? There's going to be no one in this generation. I mean, this guy has got over 1500 yards five times, including last season. And you mentioned, you know, some of the advanced metrics. Fair enough. Like he's not a guy who's like ranking high in the missed tackle rates or anything, but he still finished last year fourth in missed tackles, forced yards, like yardage after forcing missed tackle.

40:38Because when he does break a tackle, he still goes for a long one. And he was really hurt by Lamar Jackson not being out there. The numbers when he was back in the lineup late in the season with Lamar Jackson, we're back to peak Derrick Henry. So a little like Saquon, he warmed up late. And honestly, I'm regretting how late he went in this draft already.

41:00Ollie Connolly:And even last season, Lamar in the lineup, Lamar out the lineup, he's not quite as slippery as he was a couple of years ago. The long speed isn't quite the same, but he's still just as tough to tackle as anyone in the league. And that is the name of running the ball. Can you get the guy on the ground or not? And still, I just think that that's not going to erode, I don't think, in such a short space of time. So, you know, he's not helping on passing downs. Or else, if we're just, if we made this a, like, who do you need for one carry? Or who do you just need on a first and 10 run? Like, that's, Derrick Henry would be ranking higher.

41:34Almost all the runners that we're picking are versatile every down guys. Henry never really improved or has been used. Also, he's not a, like, great player on Madden. Fumbles a lot, you know. It's a little bit of a factor. It's partly the passing down thing, but he's not great on Madden. I dig him a little for that. All right, I will go Chase Brown next. I talked him up as one of the more underrated players in the league. I mean, he's not that for fantasy, but I think just in terms of a complete back, almost in the same category of Kyron Williams in a different way to me, but I like the way that he uses tempo.

42:09I like the consistency. I like that he's steadily improved each and every season. I think this is the absolute right year to have Chase Brown. You are right smack in his absolute peak of his powers mentally. Down the stretch, he's fifth in the league in yards from scrimmage. I think he's shown that he can handle a bigger workload. He's not Derrick Henry, but he's a pretty good inside runner. And so Chase Brown, to me, is just an all-around complete back. Could he have a James Cook 2025-type season in him? I think it's possible. And so Chase Brown is my pick at number 12.

42:43Ollie Connolly:I love that pick I'm frustrated that you took him before me one thing I do love about Chase Brown if you just watch the stance he has the very similar stance to Ashton Gentry it is the most nonchalant pre-snap setup in all of football and with Ashton Gentry you get it this is one of the greatest running backs in the history of college football he's drafted high in the first round Chase Brown's like he's out there he thinks he's on that level I admire that about that guy and there are just no knocks if you said okay what's the demerit it's really hard to find with Chase Brown I think the only major concern I think is in pass pro and they take him off the field pretty consistently when he is on the field and he brings you the receiving threat so you got to have some pass pro chops to be able to stay on there as the receiving threat it's it's pretty putrid although Piran was also pretty brutal last season so that I think still needs work and I think he's willing it's just the eyes and the vision and where he's supposed to be is just all over the place but as a runner I think he plays with the perfect blend of decisiveness and patience and And that is just the thing I'm always looking for.

43:42Ollie Connolly:Do you tip too far? One way you start either outrunning or underrunning the mechanics. And then when you see it, can you rip it? And I think he's just got the knack for what the balance should look like. Yeah, and it's interesting you say that about identifying the blitzers because one of the things, and I did go back, we could spend all week of our lives prepping for the show. And I do prep a lot. I wish I could watch more tape of everyone, but I did watch a decent amount of Chase Brown, And I thought he was really good identifying like where on run plays, where the pressure was going to come from, like what the defense was going to do and how to adapt to it.

44:19And he's got some great spin moves. Just, just a really smart, fun player. I think could have his best season coming up. Who do you got for number 13?

44:27Ollie Connolly:Oh, it's a, it's a loaded board here. Trying to figure out, do I want to take that player or not? I'll take, I'll take Breece Hall. Um, I think the short area of quickness and vision, he's a really slick runner and he's got, I think great second effort runs, which he's required to do an awful lot. Great strength for a guy who is not built like Derek Henry. I think his feel for kind of navigating through traffic is one that the higher in the league that he doesn't, I don't think have the same sudden burst when the ball is shoved into the gut. He doesn't quite rip off the ball the same way that some of the really elite backs do, but he glides through the line of scrimmage.

45:02Ollie Connolly:And we've talked about this before. Wes always used to say something that I always come back to, which is the guys who kind of climb through the line with a cut, but they're still gathering speed as they go. They just play quicker than they would ever time or than they look like when they initially get the ball. And he, to me, is that kind of really breezy, wide zone cut runner where we dropped him on the Broncos with Alex Gibbs back in the day. He'd probably set the all-time rushing record. I love those style of rushes. Yeah, he's always left me a little unmoved. Why is that? What is my shortcoming that I'm missing on Brie Saul?

45:32I had him ranked right around here. it's not different but it just it hasn't given me the tingles as you would probably yeah probably

45:39Ollie Connolly:the top end speed he doesn't have like the jolting cuts i think it is really more of a smoothness thing but even when you watch him against the browns he made four defenders four defenders on one player by the way jets offense 2025 that's how it went down twice in one game four defenders had a shot on brees hall he made a mess with one move so he he really can make guys miss it's just that I don't think quite as sudden and as spicy as some of the more explosive backs in the league. Yeah, he ranks very high for next gen on rush yards over expected, but not as high in forcing missed tackles. It might be the way they're measuring it too in terms of not being as obvious.

46:15But yeah, he's been in tough situations as he's alluded to. And the juice was definitely back for him last year. That's one thing. When Brees Hall has the juice, it's obvious. I'm going to Marion Hampton next. I'm betting on the improvement. Ollie's eyebrows go up, but I feel good about it. He's got to improve a little bit on inside runs, which is not what you would expect out of such a big guy. But the combination, Ollie, of running someone over and running for a 50-yard play, that's not always my type. And yet I just feel like if anyone can have that sort of profile, Derek Henry light. I think he could do it.

46:57The numbers were incredible. I mean, he got hit in the backfield a ton. He was in the top five in terms of getting hit in the backfield. And yet he had a ton of explosives, had a high success rate. Like his EPA was very high for running back, like made people miss. And so when he was out there, he was really dynamic. The problem is the injuries and, you know, in the open field, he's not a guy that's got to have a lot of wiggle, but I don't think he needs it with everything else he has.

47:26Ollie Connolly:He is supremely talented. I loved him coming out of college. I was not in love with the rookie tape and that's stripping away the environment. I understand the charge offensive line stings a little bit of a prehistoric run game offense and I'll buy into Tyler Beatish and a new fun Mike McDaniel system can unlock all the potential. But even if you just go through all the run stuffs, it's not just, hey, the charge is getting mauled up front. The guy has no chance. he makes a lot of bad decisions and he constantly drops his eyes before he even gets the line of scrimmage so to me when I went through the early portion of the season he looked way more explosive than he did throughout the season he didn't look quite as explosive as kind of a size speed weight type player as he did in college and then he was playing I thought a little bit timid now that could just be uncomfortability with the offense that could be hey the guys in front of me stink and I'm getting pasted every single time I carry the ball this isn't fun I can't wait till next season when Mike McDaniel and Talibyat show up and my tackles are back.

48:22Ollie Connolly:I'll give it a full go then. But I was left feeling pretty hollow, particularly going back through the film and digging through trying to decipher who's to blame for which failed rep. I just had it logged down as Omari and Hampton way more than I thought when I was kind of watching rolling through the season. It's good to hear you liked him coming out of college. I do think maybe that's a rookie thing. I know great running backs adapt quickly, but he's landing now in what should be a pretty ideal situation. We're not drafting for the Mike McDaniel situation, but yeah, I hope some of those things.

48:58Also, the flashes were there. The flashes were absolutely there. I'm cherry picking a little bit because it's literally just the first month of the season, but that was enough that I was just like, oh, okay, I'm not letting him fall too far.

49:10Ollie Connolly:I will say this too. He has one of the single best reps of the season in pass pro. He stands one-on-one against Zach Allen, who has about 70 pounds on him. And he doesn't just hold up. He drills Zach Allen to the floor. So the rest of it, complete nightmare fuel. Had no idea what was going on. But that is all you really need to see in the rookie. Like, will he stand up against a guy 70 pounds heavy? And then one of the old pros in the NFL defensive tackle will take him out in the face. Hampton will do that. Yeah, I do worry about him seeking out contact, him taking huge hits. that I think was a problem even in his running style.

49:43Like not everyone can be Derrick Henry. And so is he going to have to find a way to avoid some of those monster collisions? Not really. You can't do that as a big running back. All right, you're up with number 15.

49:54Ollie Connolly:I'm going to take Ashton Gentry. I'm actually surprised that he's still on the board here. I thought I'd be way lower on him than you would be. Another rookie where I just felt like he was really slow to process everything. Now, obviously he didn't have any time at all to be able to process anything. He was hitting the backfield at an astronomical rate, led the league in stuff, right? I do think the development as a receiver is the key thing with him. The numbers ballooned later in the year with him as a receiver. And I think there's so much more potential in there as a pass catcher than was even on display when they were trying to get him rolling late last season.

50:30Ollie Connolly:If you go through just some of the figures, 72 % of his targets or just routes run, where you have a flat route, so just leaking out to the flat, or some kind of screen. And the screen tape is like Madden 12 halfback slip screen. It's the most mundane, unimaginative style of let's get the ball to our best player possible. And if you go through all the really high level backs we've already drafted, it's just a chasm of difference between that being kind of the route distribution. That's more in the mold of someone like a Zach Charbonnet, that type of player, than it is the really great backs who can move all around the formation.

51:07Ollie Connolly:and I think he's got that potential as a receiver. If you go back to Boise State, he didn't do any of that stuff in the final year, the huge season, but the year before, he was a really dynamic receiving threat and so I think that is where we could maybe see him unlock what is the very obvious size speed potential. Yeah, and maybe I'm being unfair to him. It's an expectations thing that the expectations were so high and I was sort of on the corner that, yes, he was hitting the backfield like an outrageous amount the first six, seven weeks of the season, especially. And yeah, it was a terrible situation, obviously.

51:43But I was always in the camp of like, yeah, but I feel like I would see it a little more from Gente. And I just didn't see it as much as, you know, like I just took Hampton and I might regret that ahead of him. But I felt like I saw it more with Hampton, even in the brief time that he was out there healthy.

52:03Ollie Connolly:I would agree with that. I've also been on the corner. it's just really easy to say everything else is a disaster it's nothing to do with him if you just go through play by play there are plenty where the stop start quick just on an nfl speed i mean you can go through the data and see that he is ranking really low in in what in just time to arrive to the line of scrimmage what's happening further down the field when he does break through that it isn't at that level he was the guy i thought who if anyone could replicate the output of derrick henry and it's kind of different body type it will be ashton genti and something i've learned from going through the Gentile experiences, you will go broke chasing the next Derrick Cameron.

52:36Ollie Connolly:This is never going to happen again. It's a once in a career situation. Be grateful you got to cover the guy. It's just not going to happen again. And look, he got better late in the season. If you want to feel good about Gentile, go watch the Texans tape where he had that big catch, but he also was very consistent as a runner against one of the best, if not the best defenses in the league. It did get better late, but I think this is about where he deserved to go. I don't feel bad about that. But we're going to stay with the 2025 rookies, and I'm going to go Travion Henderson next. Not exactly like my favorite style.

53:09Like I said, I like the consistency, and he was the ultimate boom or bust player last year, Travion Henderson. But one thing I like, which absolutely showed up in the stats, was he was outstanding inside the tackles. I mean, he just was a great power runner. and like when he made you miss, he made it count. There was that stat that I had in terms of like average yardage when you do make someone miss in terms of a missed tackle. Like Travion Henderson was top five in the NFL. So that explosiveness is incredible. I think he just runs hard, which is something you can't exactly teach. And I like in terms of taking him here, that what was supposed to be one of his biggest strengths, which was in pass protection, he looked great in college, was a big negative last year and he seemed to be swimming mentally, you would think that's going to be something that really improves.

54:02And then he becomes more of a complete back.

54:06Ollie Connolly:I really hope so. I think it's one of the most fun college players of the last decade to study all three facets of the game, running, receiving, and protecting. I just thought he was pretty frazzled for much of last season. So he's getting by on the between the tackle stuff or the famous spillout run against the books where he kind of hits the line, spins out, doesn't know where he is, then goes down the field and has to look to the sideline to know when to slide down or not. It all felt really indecisive, like everything was happening too quickly for him. And yet he's still just quicker than everyone on the field.

54:35Ollie Connolly:So if he can get a crease, if he can find some kind of angle, he can really make it count. I do hope things slowed down for him in the second season. If he can earn the trust to survive on passing downs, which I think is still an open question, then this will be a pretty big bargain, I think, in this. Yeah, he's kind of a he's a boomer bus guy. Like, look, if we're projecting a little bit, if we were talking about last season, I would be like the Patriots. I would like by the end of the season, like it was all Ramondre when it when it really mattered. And there's other veteran backs that we're about to take that I think were more trustworthy than Henderson was last season.

55:12And yet, like I said, we're projecting a little forward and I like him here. All right. Who do you got?

55:17Ollie Connolly:I'm going to take Travis H.N. from the Saints. some of the most ridiculous cuts and stop-stop speed in the league forces a crazy amount of missed tackles um i think that if you just look at the saints i know it's kind of separating the player out but they need to dramatically rework their red zone offense in general the best way to be i think is to get a guy with unbelievable stop-start quicks who can make someone miss even when you blow the play up by design um just a player i really admire i'm slightly worried about But the projection of being stripped out of the Liam Cohen offense, because he is a little bit boom bust.

55:51Ollie Connolly:He is, I think, more of a one track runner than a read it out and then plant and fire, which is what his kind of skill suggests he would be is like a read it, read it, read it and then explode. I think he's just better but in a straight line. So I'm a little bit unsure about that with the Saints particularly, but he has all the juice in the world. And so at this stage of the draft, I think it's pretty good value. And his numbers have been remarkably consistent. In three of his four seasons, he has at least 1 ,399 yards. He couldn't get one more yard last year, so I could have just said an even 1 ,400.

56:26And I think he's become more complete in being able to handle the inside runs and everything. I do think he's a better player than he was, excuse me, as a rookie. Something bothers me a little bit about him that Liam Cohen maybe didn't love him. I don't know. There was always this vibe that Liam Cohen didn't love him. Why do you think that was?

56:46Ollie Connolly:It's just got to be trustworthiness. That you just don't always know what you're getting. That you're such a creature and you're up till, you know, three in the morning and you're not going to the kids dance recitals. And the point is to hit it through the B gap at this tempo and the guy's doing his own thing. I'm always more cool with the artists, particularly that position. I'm good with it. It's like we're here to chase home run shots. I don't really care about the four yards. So someone like Travis HMO, I think will always appeal to me more than guys whose livelihoods are on the line. Yeah, and I think that could be like a very high ceiling Saints offensive line if they can stay healthy and a good running game.

57:19So it could be a good situation. Again, they got to stay healthy. It is now time for the offseason ride along presented by Toyota. And I'm picking between two guys who I wanted to push up the board. Two of my favorites. And I'm just going to do it. If you look at Ramondre Stevenson's profile, like last season, and granted his career has been up and down. I mean, especially his receiving, but in general, his like under the hood statistical profile would tell you like he's a top 10 runner. He is top 10 in rush yards over expected. He's top 10 in receiving yards over expected. He led the NFL among running backs in EPA per target.

57:58Now there are a couple like big plays in there, but even if you strip that out, it's pretty high. He also had like the deepest yards per target of any running back and still had the highest catch percentage. And so you put that all into the mix And I just think he has a remarkably reliable pair of hands and was a great just bailout moment for Drake May during big plays. And look, he makes people miss. There aren't a ton of explosives or like jaw dropping, you know, missed tackles, forced plays. But when he's not fumbling the ball, there's a reason they gave him that money. The problem is it's been a little bit of an every other year thing for Ramondre.

58:38And yet I'm still betting on that just 2025 Ramondre is going to return for me.

58:43Ollie Connolly:And he can be prone to the fumble-itis, I think, which is where the up and down years come as he fumbles too much, they throw him off the field. But when he's on the field, I couldn't agree with you more. He has one of the most fun running styles, I think, in the league. He's a real like rumbler, the way Henry is, where you just kind of can't quite tell how quick he's going. He climbs through the line, there's kind of one stiff arm, and then guys are just bouncing off him. And then for someone of that style, which is like a between-the-tackles, powerful runner, with some breakaway speed, I think, when he's on the perimeter.

59:11Ollie Connolly:To be one of the best vertical threat running backs in the league, even just the figures are ahead of guys like Bijan, like Jameer Gibbs, the guys who are really electric. It almost doesn't make much sense, but the wheel route stuff, the seam route stuff, I mean, he is a remarkable route runner, which I just don't think you would expect in the profile. And part of why they drafted Henderson was like, we want to get more juice in the passing game out of the backfield, and they found it more so in Stevenson. So you say you're going to go broke chasing the next Derrick Henry. I think since he retired, all I've been doing is just looking for the next Frank Gore.

59:43That's my platonic ideal of a running back. And Ramondre is not that. But he is a great weapon in the receiving game. He is a complete guy who can turn a two into a four, I think, pretty reliably inside a small area. He's a complete guy. He is not Frank Gore, but he's the closest maybe I can get at this point in the draft. So I love him. And that was the offseason ride along presented by Toyota. Because when people are the destination, your ride is important. Learn more at Toyota.com and find the vehicle that fits your people.

1:00:20Ollie Connolly:All right. I'm going to take Givante Williams from the Cowboys. I love a rugged power back. He is not dynamic. He's a between the tackles, thumbboat and guys I think just bounce often. And the legs keep churning. And there are some, I think, explosive runs last season where you do see him get to a second or third game, but he is in there, I think, to just thump it between the tackles. And I was really impressed going back through his film and the pass pro stuff. And it is not easy stuff. It's a pretty sophisticated, like maximalist pass pro scheme. They have everything available to them at all times.

1:00:53Ollie Connolly:Dak changes it constantly. It's just a lot to try and sort through. and there are a few guys who I mentioned before with Hampton stand in the A-gap and we kind of bust the protections a defensive tackle on the back. It's just not the way it's drawn up. That happened to the Cowboys a bunch last season because they were changing the line so much. They had so much pre-snap communication and the guy left to stand up against these big boys was Javante Williams and no one stoned those guys to the same degree he did. Blind spot in my evaluation is the pass pro. You know, I have a general feel. Who's good?

1:01:25Who's bad? This or that? Ollie's like, I feel like a running back pass protection maven, obsessed. It's almost all you care about. And so, no, it's great context of like why some of these guys would be higher. Next Gen has a crazy stat, which I wish I had written down a little more in depth. But it's essentially a way to measure efficiency. and Javante Williams ranked number one in the way that that he ran for the fewest yards to get the most amount of yards so basically like you were talking about as a straight ahead runner and I think these were on inside runs that like there was the least amount of extra movement of like the total amount of yards that he traveled on the football field yeah it was that he had the highest percentage of actual yards that there is no shooting out the back door or wiggle is a

1:02:20Ollie Connolly:straight direct line throw your head onto the goal post if someone gets in your way you run through them there are a bunch of big runs which is just him running through arm tackles the guys just try to reach out to him they're trying to get off a block he's just really really tough to bring down and yeah he is a getting the ball in the backfield we run through the a and b gap and throw your nose onto the wall the back of the end zone there and he just takes it and does it And it's why running back is such a great position. I always think of Bomani Jones talking about when we were at the Running Backs Don't Matter peak of like, you're not going to tell me that running backs aren't cool.

1:02:52It's the coolest thing about football. And it is. Like they all express themselves in different ways. And even if financially they weren't, like it's still cool. And there's so many different styles. You're going Javante Williams, 19. I'm going Jalen Warren, 20. They could not be any more different. There's so many different ways to be effective in the NFL. Warren and Ramondre were the two guys that I was like, I'll probably end up having them in this draft because they're just two of my favorites in different ways. Warren, you know, the numbers do back it up. Like he led the entire NFL in percentage of runs where he made someone miss, like in terms of a missed tackle.

1:03:28It just happened. And you always wanted to see him, at least I did, with more volume. And he got that last year. And he still was just as effective. He's very good in the receiving game. He was third in receiving yards, over-expected. He's what you would call in the NBA, he's a bucket. He's Anfernee Simons. Bring him off the bench, and he's just going to get 20 points for you in 15 minutes. Not always going to be amazing, but he's a bucket.

1:03:52Ollie Connolly:He was one of the only reliable bucket getters for the Steelers last year. They tried to build a lot of the plane out of him, Rodgers and Arthur Smith did together. I think he's a grittier runner than that style of player traditionally is. I think he is willing to kind of do some of the dirty work between the tackles. He also has some of the best highlights of the season where, if you remember, he leapt the Chargers defender in the open field. I can't remember exactly who that was. And then spent the next five weeks trying to replicate the highlight moment and yet doesn't quite get the elevation you would expect to pull off the Saquon and just throws his nutsack into the chest of Tyreek Stephenson and DJ Turner week after week.

1:04:28Ollie Connolly:It's like, we get a jailing unit once. It was cool. Let's put that on the shelf. Let's get back to running the ball. He absolutely runs. like a guy who is thinking about the film room session where he can just be like, did you see that? I think in his head, he's thinking about the podium from NFL Films when he comes out to the Hall of Fame and it's all this leaping and spinning. I love that. I love the confidence. And it really has worked. He's had kind of an incredible career arc for where he was drafted and just the way that they've used him. And yeah, he's not, I don't think he should be a guy that has 350 touches, but we're getting into the part of the draft where it can be guys who are sharing things and especially his value on passing downs.

1:05:08I'd love to hear. All right, let's take one more break. It's funny, we both had similar notes about how there's a little bit of a cliff at some point. At least on my list, we haven't gotten there quite yet, but we are close. I'm curious who are the final 12 running backs in this draft.

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1:07:54Back on NFL Daily, wrapping up the week. exactly how I'd want to. Talking running backs. Talking about like, you know, part-time running backs. Who can step up? We're up to number 21 on the list. Ali, who do you got?

1:08:10Ollie Connolly:I'm going to take Quinshawn Judkins from the Browns. I know that he's returning from a pretty bad injury. It's the same injury as Cam Scadaboo, I guess. But I just don't think the metrics do justice to what his rookie season was. I think we've spoken before about just the degree of violence that he runs with. you just don't normally see out of rookie running backs. And if he was healthy, would you have taken him over Amara and Hampton? Or do you just like the juicy upside with Hampton? No, I think I would take Judkins. Yeah. I said I had two more guys before just got to a group of players that I like in different ways, but could almost go in any order.

1:08:52And Judkins is one of those two. And the ultimate, like, you got to trust your eyes and not some of the numbers guy last year was junk. And the numbers weren't terrible, but some of the next-gen stuff isn't great. But just, he looked special to me. Like, I would, just off what I saw, like, I liked him better than Gentry. I liked him better than Travion Henderson. I liked him better than Hampton.

1:09:13Ollie Connolly:And another player who's excellent in pass pro, if he can get onto the field to be on those passing downs. So if he just played with a passable offensive line, I think he would have had a completely monstrous rookie season. Unfortunately, he did not. And in the end, he actually got hit behind the line of scrimmage more than Gentry. Like, it was that bad. Like, as bad as the numbers were for Gentry, Judkins ended up passing him in terms of just, like, a brutal condition. And I like that he's out there at OTAs. There's some optimism that he could be ready for the start of the season. That was a really serious injury, and yet we're just talking about 2026, and that knocked him down.

1:09:46But I'm glad you provided that context. All right, my other guy in this tier, before I get to just kind of like the, hey, why not? Tony Pollard's just underrated. I can't let him be disrespected anymore. He has 1 ,250, between 1 ,250 and 1 ,400 yards from scrimmage for four straight seasons. So he's been very consistent in terms of the production. I think he, in Tennessee, has developed into just the ultimate professional. He runs so damn hard. He is tougher than he was when he entered the league. I want to give him credit for kind of building that armor up. It is a brutal position. And I think last year his inside running, and there was a lot, like it was really good.

1:10:31And it wasn't always the right chance. And you just knew what you were getting. He's obviously a guy that can make a big play and make people miss in the receiving game. And he did some of that. Maybe he's slowed down like the slightest bit, but just a really good back who's been asked to do too much on a terrible offense, but I don't want to punish him too much for that.

1:10:52Ollie Connolly:And even though he has slowed down slightly, I think he's become more scheme independent to make up for that. So the, you know, it's the first time in his career really last season, he's been a kind of under center between the tackles thumper and played really, really well. And he kind of is the pivot mark of like, we think we could do slightly better, but it's kind of a reach to try and do bets. Like, do we draft Jeremiah Love? They had that on the table, potentially. They could have moved up for Jeremiah Love or whatever but it's like if you have tony pollard you just feel comfortable it's like we'll address that down the line we have tony part and i think for this season in particular it's a really nice fit with brian dable i still do love tony pollard as a run from the gun guy tons of vision to be able to see what's going on make someone miss the first level and then rock it out of there but he did prove last year he can be uh i think just a more dependable between the tackles guy i i just love guys with career arcs where they they improve they change and that's part of my affection for him because if you had told me his first year or two that he'd kind of develop into this kind of runner and just he just so many times watching their games and just taking the note just man he's he's tough as hell uh and he was not that guy and he kind of became that guy uh throughout his career so it ended up being a good signing uh one of the few that the titans have made into the agency over the last few years this is where the draft really starts getting interesting to me Who do you got at 23?

1:12:10Ollie Connolly:I'm going to take Bucky Irving. I understand there's the injuries. There's a shoulders, a foot. There's offseason surgery. When he played last season was not as productive. But his year with Liam Cohen, he looked like one of the most electric backs in all of football. And so I think that player is still in there. Maybe it's just being knocked out of him really quickly. But I think there's a potential for a bounce back to at least be that kind of home run hitting threat. And on this list, if you told me who would leap to like 10 and just reminded you, oh, it was a down year and it was circumstances.

1:12:43Ollie Connolly:The offense wasn't designed very well. There was injury concerns. I think Bucky Irving would be one of those guys. Well, you said you like the artistic type runners. I mean, Bucky Irving's like, he's Picasso out here. I mean, he's like all art, no like logic sometimes. And I think you can end up with some rough seasons, maybe like last season. And that was partly an injury. He is a smaller player, but there's no one quite like Bucky Irving. So I get it. I get it. I'm struggling here. Like there's the veteran guys who you know what you're getting. And then there's the guys that make you feel something.

1:13:20And Basial Tootin is that guy for me at 24. I don't care. He's got the juice. He's got the juice. His stats last year were crazy. I don't know what. Actually, I'm going to ask you what you think this stat means. because it's not reflected in Etienne's numbers. But running behind that Jaguars offensive line, Tootin had almost exclusively had yards after contact. It was 301 of his 307 yards were after contact. By far the highest rate of anyone in the league. He still had like a high success rate and like made people miss a lot of missed tackles. I don't know what that means about him, but to me, he does pass that eye test and I think he can do a lot more.

1:14:05I think the Jaguars think so too.

1:14:06Ollie Connolly:I think he can do a lot more if you pull up like the 10 best runs this season. It's the most like exciting moment you've ever had in your life. Thank you. I do think that he is really boom bust. He outruns the mechanics and like the blocking assignments as much as any young back in the league. I think he really tries to be too inventive for his own good and thinks he's playing on Saturdays again. He's by far the best athlete on the field. He's a pretty damn good athlete and he can get away with it more than the most people can so i go back and forth with him where i really do see the sizzle i see the flashes maybe i look like a buffoon in a couple of years where he's one of the 10 best guys in the league and he's having like a an hn type output but the guys who overrun stuff it's hard for them to kind of tempo down yes and see in my mind i'm looking at him i'm just like Like, he would rank really high in the run-hard rankings, which is a skill.

1:14:59I think running hard is a skill. You kind of need that out of a young running back. Like, he better be running hard, but he's really running hard. A lot of juice there. So we'll see if this pick ends up ridiculous because it went over some much more trustworthy veterans but decided to take him off the board. Who you got at 25?

1:15:16Ollie Connolly:Well, if we're just going with our hearts, I'm just going to throw my list down and take Kyle Monongai. I don't care anymore. I adore Kyle Monongai. me and Mrs. Menungai the two biggest fans of Kyle's game downhill powerful runner moves the pile unbelievably smart and pass pro just as good as you'll ever see a rookie step into league understanding where he's supposed to be with some pretty tricky assignments so I think that will get him more and more time on the field and if you just watch the Bengals game he does have more juice and I think the reputation is given credit for which is oh he's the seventh round guy he came in he played between the tackles then Swift was on the field he gives them a a little bit more acceleration off the snap.

1:15:54Ollie Connolly:I think Monunga has got some second level juice that if he can get some more playing time, we'll be able to see some more of. Yeah, he was in my top 32. When he, like, he got to the line of scrimmage very quickly, I believe, or when he got to the line of scrimmage, his miles per hour were somehow top five in the league. So that kind of... Talk about running hard. That's what he does. Right, that speaks to what you were talking about. That one game where Swift was gone, or maybe it wasn't just one, but he had that game against the Bengals where he showed he could kind of be a primary back. Granted, it was against the Bengals, but he had 176 yards.

1:16:27It's not going to make you miss in the open field. Is it rude to not have taken Swift? Should we just take Swift back-to-back here? We should. This is where I had him. I actually had him slightly higher, and then I just started picking my beloveds, as you would say, because Swift's never been my type of guy, and yet the argument for him is Ben Johnson backs him. I mean, he had him in two spots. They didn't kick him off the team last year. He ends up having outrageous numbers last year. He has the best numbers of anyone left, like cumulatively, but also per snap. He had the second highest success rate of any running back outside the tackles.

1:17:02You know, he's right at the top of the league in terms of yards before he gets contacted because he's not going to break a lot of contact. And that's the scheme and that's the system. But he's also a guy who fits that type of system well because of the juice he had. And I think he was more consistent last year than he's ever been. And I think it has been a slight just improvement the last two seasons, really, where you can now kind of convince yourself, OK, he's settling in. Maybe not like Tony Pollard exactly, but kind of settling into a more predictable portion of his career.

1:17:33Ollie Connolly:Yeah, I agree with that. I had him higher on my list and I recognize he's more talented than Cal Manunga. I just prefer Cal Manunga's style and his overall impact on the game. I thought with Swift last year, what really stood out was he was just less dancey. Even with the Lions, he would really dance behind the line of scrimmage, trying to find the perfect opening. I just thought he ran with way more intent, way more downhill burst last season, playing behind a really good line and a really good interior. And so I don't see any reason why that would drop off. I think the drafts could have gone differently for them, and then they could have possibly replaced him last year or this year.

1:18:06But he had a big salary, and it didn't happen in the draft last year, and then they decided to keep him. and he's still paid pretty high. And it's like, actually, no. Kind of like you were mentioning with Pollard. They're like, we don't need to replace DeAndre Swift. Like, we can have one of the best offenses in the league with DeAndre Swift as our leading rusher. So I think that is worth something. All right, next up for you.

1:18:28Ollie Connolly:Tough stage of the draft. Do I do it? Well, now it's more like I just want to make sure some of these guys get drafted. And I think there's too many of my guys left, so it's going to be painful who gets left off. Oh...

1:18:42Ollie Connolly:I'll take Jadarian Price for the Seahawks he's going to be the lead ball carrier for them this season I liked parts of his film in college he's not wasn't an every down player in college but I do think he's got the juice to be a difference maker from the get go and so if you think back to last year's rookie class and saying okay I just see special stuff out of some of the rookies, Quinshawn Judkins we mentioned, it just looks different, it looks a little bit special I think Darian Price could have those flashes as a rookie. That totally makes sense to me. He's a more higher ceiling guy. Like none of the veterans that I have left are like that.

1:19:21They're more just guys I want to, for the most part, give some love to. Like the total opposite is actually who I'm going to take next, is Jordan Mason. Jordan Mason's underrated. You know, sometimes you need a back that you need four yards and you block like three and a half, he's going to get you four and a half. And he always ranks really high in missed tackles force. Was third in the league last year in terms of per snap. To me, he's underrated. I like that they used him a little more as a receiver. I didn't see any particular reason why that couldn't be the case, unless you tell me he's horrible at blocking.

1:19:55And he was better. And I like that there was kind of a one-to-one comparison with him and Aaron Jones. And eyeball tests and watching it, as much as I love Aaron Jones, I actually think that the numbers indicate Jordan Mason was the better option compared to him a year ago. And to me, he's just kind of like a perfect respectable back to have on your team.

1:20:16Ollie Connolly:He is perfectly respectable. I think it's a good pick. I know the rugged runner. I do like the rugged runners. He's, I think, more limited than some of the other backs. You mentioned some of the pass pros of even the specific runs they use him on. It's like, we're just going to use these six. That's where we think you're best. But his underlying metrics are always outstanding. So I think I don't see any reason why that would decline. that's a nice way of saying you wouldn't have taken him all right you're up next uh let's go with i'll take david montgomery yes please i don't want him to not get drafted um i am a little bit worried about a 29 year old who's absorbed that much punishment he's changing teams to a team who's probably gonna absorb even more punishment than he's dealt with before but i just think back to the the night against the ravens when jamae gibbs was out and he still showed to me that that was a starting caliber heavy touch type back who can impact the game in multiple ways and and so um i don't think he's even the most talented back on the texans roster but he is as you say a guy who you know what you're getting a little woody marks loves i was thinking is woody marks gonna slide into the 32 we'll see i wanted to make sure montgomery get drafted too and he is someone i went back to watch some and you know what like the numbers are incredible.

1:21:33His metrics are just close to average basically in everything, which makes sense. But I don't think you can really evaluate what he adds to the team. First of all, as far as I can tell, he's great in pass pro. He is a versatile back. The ruggedness that he plays with. And I thought last year when I went back looking for a lack of juice, I was like, no, I think he still has a pretty good amount of juice. And so I get why the Texans wanted him, at least for the low price, essentially, that they got him. So he's going to carry out all your assignments. I feel good about that. I want to go now with someone a little higher ceiling.

1:22:06Let's go to the guy that the Rams, you know, trusted and leaned on a little bit in the NFC championship game when they needed a little extra juice. I mean, Blake Corum, in terms of success rate, in terms of the high rate of explosives per run was quite high. And look, when the chips were down and they needed to try to get to the Super Bowl. Them trusting him as much as they did and him delivering mattered a lot to me. And so Coram was one I wanted to just kind of make sure sneaks into the end of this draft because I think he's going to get better and better. Like the total touches are going to be limited because of Kyron.

1:22:45But I do think they know how to spot him. They have a type, Ali, and they know how to find him.

1:22:51Ollie Connolly:They do small but stout and tough to tackle, I think, is the type. And they use them in different ways where Kyron is a little bit more balanced I would say but in terms of the design of runs they really do use Blake Corham as more of the throwback Sean McVay offense all the wide zone stuff is where they bring him in that is a three read type situation for a back and I've been through the Rams offense last season I found one misread all season for a back in Blake Corham that is just so impossible to do so I think the smarts are next level he's really shifty once he kind of climbs into the line of scrimmage and guys can't really see him he just kind of can uh hesitate in the hole and then fire out of there He's got the second gear and the third gear, as you mentioned.

1:23:29Ollie Connolly:So I would not be at all surprised if as much as I like Kieran Williams, that they would start having more of a share of the carries. There's so many backs I want to get drafted. And we'll give a little quick honorable mention. But there's really two that I just wanted to give them the honor. There's only two spots left. Will Ali take one of my two backs? I'm rooting for you to do so, so that they make the list. We'll find out. I know. There's so many backs I want to take. but I had a, um, but it'd be lukewarm getting towards hot take, which is, I'm going to take Chris Rodriguez from the Jacks.

1:24:04Ollie Connolly:Wow. That's fun. I think the interest from that staff is real and him having a ton more carries than anyone expects. He was actually with Liam Cohen when he was first, the Kentucky OC. He is a doubles and single downhill grinding thumper. We just mentioned with Bayshore tutor. That's more of the artist. He's a little bit out there. um rodriguez is your meat and potatoes we know what's happening i've spent all night designing this stuff let's just get the ball downhill and so i think rodriguez who got real money from the jags i think is going to be an actual feature part of their game and if you go back through the commander's film it's really really impressive so i can see why they were so interested in bringing him over he is someone and they they love analytics at the jaguars i'm not surprised if some of their numbers for him turned back really excellent because he is someone with the next-gen numbers, whether it's rush yards per carry, whether it's success rate, just a relatively complete back who excelled in a lot of different numbers.

1:25:05And so actually it does make sense that he goes here. So I have two third-down-ish E. I have a lot of third-down backs. The two that I wanted to get taken here were Rashad White and Kenny Gainwell, who I just feel like are both underrated. I'm going to give the team MVP, Kenny Gainwell, the honor of being our 32nd runner. I mean, there's only so many guys this late in the draft who was literally named team MVP on a team with many future Hall of Famers, including a four-time MVP and a former defensive player of the year. And yet, who was the MVP of the team last year? It was Kenny Gainwell. There's only so many guys who was the primary ball carrier on an offense that scored over 30 points against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

1:25:53Like that's worth something. They were counting on Kenny Gainwell in that game too. And he's a little better athletically, I think, than people realize. He actually had the fastest speed when he reached the line of scrimmage of any player in the NFL last season. So decisive. He had the most targets because that's all Aaron Rodgers knew how to do. Just a damn good player. No matter how good you think he is, he's always even like a little bit better and he keeps getting better. and so he's someone I just kind of wanted to give some flowers to at number 32.

1:26:22Ollie Connolly:He is a damn good player. He probably should have gotten higher than this. Honestly, I took a swing on Jadarian Price. I think he should comfortably be above that. My concern for him in terms of projection into 2026 is a lot of this production last season was in the passing game and that is just Aaron Rodgers. I don't want to get hit. What's the release valve? Let's get the ball to Kenny game. Well, Baker Mayfield don't play that game. Baker Mayfield will stand in and so will you limit some of kind of the receiving chops? Yeah, and his yards from scrimmage in general. I thought it'd be nice to have some players like this who are role players.

1:26:56I mean, that's an important part of being a running back. If he goes back to, he's a 600 to 800 yards from scrimmage type of player. He, to me, is one of the best and most valuable in that role. Who are some other role player type backs, like a Rashad White who didn't make the list for you that you want to give some love to?

1:27:13Ollie Connolly:Role player Kamani Vidal is a protecting back. outstanding um who else didn't make my list are they role players the the one that hurts me the most is jk dobbins um how well he ran through the first 10 weeks of the season and then another injury and same with zach charbonnet i really wanted to get them on but just the the injury concerns i think helped me back from taking them yeah uh tyler algier is a guy who's always high in breaking tackles just a big tough guy you kind of know what you're getting rashad white i had for whatever reason much higher on my actual rankings and then he didn't get ranked I mean he he is a you know converted receiver who's you know a running back who's actually good at receiving who's excellent at blocking and literally led the NFL in success rate for runners that had over 80 carries last year and you are comparing him to Bucky Irving and even Sean Tucker and like his numbers per carry per everything were much better last year So I think he had the best season of his career.

1:28:16He timed it well going into free agency. He is an asset. Like push comes to shove. Like it's Tim or Gainwell. Like I, I don't know if it was my team who I really take. I just wanted to give Gainwell some love because I have affection to him. But Rashad White is an absolutely valuable NFL player. I think he's a good indication of how running back salaries have gone up a little bit where now you're actually paying these role players like reasonable salaries as they should get. Cause I think he's a good one.

1:28:40Ollie Connolly:The other guys I would mention you probably may feel dumb leaving off the list a projected lift was one would be rj harvey with the broncos his tape i thought was really really poor last season it's a guy i really like coming out of the draft um and you can see i think in them drafting jonah coleman trying to bring more insurance policies into the building that they went through and like this is pretty brutal but he still has legit speed um and he's a really good perimeter runner so if they can maybe rework the offense slightly i think he could have a big breakout so that'd be one woody marks would be another one i just yeah i buy into woody marks more than I think the most.

1:29:16Ollie Connolly:I understand why they brought Montgomery and they wanted some more reliability, but I just think Marks has explosive play potential that should see him on the field ball. Yeah, on my actual list, Dobbins was 33, Marks was 34. And yeah, you know, for all the people looking for the big names out there, Rico Dowdle didn't get drafted. Bill Krosky, Merritt, I mean, a lot of juice. Could be fun. You know, yeah, Rico and Chuba Hubbard, the Panthers backs didn't quite get taken. and Scadaboo's coming off of an injury, which didn't help. And then I thought you were going to give some shout. I just wrote him down because he's one of my favorite role players.

1:29:50Like, Ty Johnson is great at what he does. I'm not going to take him on this ranking, but I just want to give Ty Johnson some love. Ollie, it was fun. This is one of my favorite things we do every week. The fans have been enjoying it. NFL Daily 32. We will be back next week. I believe we're going to do some GMs with their friend Jordan Roderick, so that'll be fun. Get the torches out. I know you were ready.

1:30:12Ollie Connolly:I have the hottest of hottest takes. If people want to want to see NFL daily turn into first take for an afternoon, that will be the show to download. I would like that, too. All right. Let's hit the to the music. We will be back on Monday. Me and Shook will be doing a news roundup after the weekend. We've got about three weeks left of OTAs and mini camp season. And then we all just take a little break, but we're not there yet. We've got some rankings to do. We will see you on Monday with Shook.

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