Im not opposed to taking Zeke Elliot at 7 and heres why:
-Chip Kellys fast past offense which averages 20 or so more plays per game means we will need to sub in RB's quite often.
-Kelly runs the ball more than anyone else and he uses two backs efficiently.
-Hyde looks to be a nice RB but can he stay healthy?
-DeJuan Harris and Shaun Draughn played well in Hydes absense but lets get real here, neither guy is a legit bell cow and neither guy scares anyone.
I think the key to the draft is adding a player the opposing team needs to game plan for. Adding someone who defensive or offensive coordinators have to change the way they call plays is a huge advantage.
Look at Todd Gurley for example. He changed the way teams call plays against St.louis as a rookie. There are very few backs in the league that have this effect and I don't see any other player that will be available at 7 who will scare other teams that much that they change the way they call a game.
Add in the fact that Kellys uptempo system almost demands that we have two capable backs taking a guy like Elliot probably isn't out of the question.
We saw in our run from 2011 the effect a dominant run game has. It wears down a defense. It mentally drains a team knowing what another team is going to do and knowing you cannot stop it. It keeps our D on the sidelines. It closes out close ball games.
Im an old school football fan. Fancy passing stats are nice but rarely do they win championships. Teams with top Defense and running games are the teams that are always in it at the end.
One of the first things Kelly did when he was incharge of the Eagles was spend big money on 2- #1 backs. I could see the same thing happening here with us.
Hyde is a decent back but he isn't in the class of Zeke Elliot. Ellliot is one of the true 3 down backs in the league. He has the ability to be a 1500 yard back and catch 50 balls. Plus, his ability to defend the QB is a huge bonus. He truly looks like Edge James and there aren't many guys that have come into the league with his ability.
A duo of Elliot and Hyde would be dominant and could change the culture of this team immediatly.
[ Edited by SteveYoung on Apr 18, 2016 at 7:55 AM ]