8. McCaffrey or Fournette?
Normally, this wouldn’t even be debatable. That’s until we realize what teams are looking for in today’s NFL from running backs is completely different from past eras. They want a two-dimensional player — someone that can contribute both through the air and on the ground.
Look at last season for example. The two Super Bowl teams (New England and Atlanta) saw their running backs combine for 190 receptions. All said, 12 different running backs compiled 50-plus receptions. Compare that to 10 years earlier when six running back hit that plateau. This tells us a story of a league that’s transitioning away from the one-dimensional back.
It’s also in this that McCaffrey seems to provide more value than his counterpart from LSU. This isn’t to say Fournette is incapable of catching the ball out of the backfield. He only put up 41 receptions in three seasons with the Tigers, but has displayed soft hands throughout the pre-draft process. It’s all about McCaffrey’s elite-level receiving ability.
The former Heisman finalist caught 99 passes in his three seasons down on the farm, continually displaying tremendous hands. It’s so much of a focus of teams that he was utilized more as a wide receiver than a running back during Stanford’s pro day earlier in the spring.
The balance teams will have to find in choosing between the two is whether they want a workhorse back like Fournette or someone with game-changing ability in three different aspects of the game. It’s also all about scheme. As to where a team like San Francisco may prefer McCaffrey in a two-back system, the Carolina Panthers might want to add a back that can tote the rock 20-plus times on a consistent basis to take pressure off Newton.
This is going to be one of the most-interesting aspects of Thursday’s first round. As mentioned above, it will also likely lead to some wheeling and dealing. But our projection is that both Fournette and McCaffrey end up going within the top-12 picks. That would definitely buck a trend from recent drafts.