The Tack Adams (English 2012) Draft

[ebongreen]

As promised, this is my shot at an overview of the English path 2012 draft. All potentials listed are for Balanced philosophy. Not every player is listed, but I'm confident that 90+% of the players you would want to draft are included. (My confidence level is down a little with this draft due to switching GMs, but that's life.) If you feel like editing & expanding on the inclusions, please be my guest & repost, giving credit where credit is due.

Note the column of Knucklehead: this denotes players whose personalities, when known, may make it difficult to reach agreements on contracts or may prove otherwise disruptive to team chemistry.

Enjoy!

[Mike3207]

Doesn't seem to be as talented a draft as previous English drafts; no 95+ Balanced potential in the draft. A lot of players in the 80-90 range. I've heard the English path is front-loaded; this seems to bear it out.

[ebongreen]

From what I've seen (four? five draft classes?), I tend to agree. There's a handful of POT 93 players, then a batch in the high 80s-90ish - no LeRon James or Bellows or Bomas in this draft. Draftees on offense seemed pretty underpowered by comparison, with a lot of high busts.

There are a fair number of instant starters, but not with the sky-high upside.

[Mike3207]

One thing I recently noticed is the lack of 90+ potential running backs the first 4 years. There's James the first year(95 Balanced potential), Cory Nero with a 90 potential(68 learning though) in 2011, and a New Mexico State RB with a 90 potential(85 learning) in 2012.The rest of the running backs the first 4 years all range between 80 and 89 potential. This leads me to believe the best strategy for the first 4 years of the English path for those who need a RB is to draft James in the second round, and sign him to a 4 year deal. After all, it will be at least another 4 years before you see a comparable back to James in this draft.

[ebongreen]

Agreed. So far other than James, the English backs are all underwhelming - and he has his "teething issues" as well.

Get Ray Rice, Mendenhall or Felix Jones in 2008 to tide you through if you need a back in the short term.

[Sanchez_Mareno]

Any truth to what ive heard about Mendenhalls fumbling problem?

[Kaiowas]

Felix Jones misses gaps, can't run it up the gut, doesn't turn the corner early enough and gets injured continually. Drafted him 26 with the Phins and Josh Johnson put up more rushing yards than him

[Mike3207]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sanchez_Mareno

Any truth to what ive heard about Mendenhalls fumbling problem?

Menhendall maxes out at a 48 carry rating, so fumbles are a real problem.Felix Jones has a poor trucking rating, and isn't good at inside runs. Ray Rice is the best option for those who miss out on McFadden, but there are a lot of comparable backs to Rice in the first 4 years. James may have some teething issues, but he is a franchise back when all's said and done.