Bama RB Derrick Henry to visit Hawks this week

[RegentDenali]

NBCsports --- Ezekiel Elliott is expected to be the first running back drafted later this month and the Ohio State product isn’t expected to remain on the board for long in the first round.

That will leave teams picking later in the order looking elsewhere for help in the backfield. Alabama’s Derrick Henry could provide that help and he’s lining up visits with teams this week.

Henry told NFL Media that he’s scheduled meetings with the Seahawks, Panthers and Cowboys. If Henry did land with the Seahawks, who have the 26th and 56th picks, he’d be part of the post-Marshawn Lynch approach to the ground game in Seattle.

“I have my own path. [Lynch] did a great job; unbelievable job with the Seahawks,” Henry said. “But you know, I wanna have my own path and do my own thing.”

The Panthers select 30th in the first round and Henry would give them a bigger complement to Jonathan Stewart, who is 29 and signed through 2018. The Cowboys pick 4th, which is higher than Henry is expected to go but he could be available in the second round if they opt to go with another position at the top of the draft.

So appears that late 1st/early 2nd is his projected spot to be taken. I know those Bama RBs benefit from Olines that create holes you can drive a bus through, but he still is this years Heismen winner and a prototype workhorse RB that doesn't come along often in the NFL. Carroll likes the power run game and it's a big part of what we do. Rawls was a nice surprise last year, but we're talking about the Heismen winner vs a UDFA at the RB spot and Henry has a lot of size and skill on Rawls. I thought Lynch could come back in 2016, but.....we're talking about Lynch here. He seems to be comfortable right now stringing the NFL along on if he's truly retired or not.

Thoughts?

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

Would you want us to get a running back with our 1st pick ? I"m not really sure I'd like us to go that direction even if he was available.... I mean maybe this guy ends up being a solid back, but the Heismen doesn't really mean a lot once you get into the NFL... SO many Heismen trophy winners vanish .... Of course that doesn't mean this guy will, he could be a workhorse who knows.... I"d rather see us get another good DT, or even another linebacker to replace Irvin... Let's keep that D strong... Of course focus on the O-line also at some-point...

 

[HaroldSeattle]

NBCsports --- Ezekiel Elliott is expected to be the first running back drafted later this month and the Ohio State product isn’t expected to remain on the board for long in the first round.

That will leave teams picking later in the order looking elsewhere for help in the backfield. Alabama’s Derrick Henry could provide that help and he’s lining up visits with teams this week.

Henry told NFL Media that he’s scheduled meetings with the Seahawks, Panthers and Cowboys. If Henry did land with the Seahawks, who have the 26th and 56th picks, he’d be part of the post-Marshawn Lynch approach to the ground game in Seattle.

“I have my own path. [Lynch] did a great job; unbelievable job with the Seahawks,” Henry said. “But you know, I wanna have my own path and do my own thing.”

The Panthers select 30th in the first round and Henry would give them a bigger complement to Jonathan Stewart, who is 29 and signed through 2018. The Cowboys pick 4th, which is higher than Henry is expected to go but he could be available in the second round if they opt to go with another position at the top of the draft.

So appears that late 1st/early 2nd is his projected spot to be taken. I know those Bama RBs benefit from Olines that create holes you can drive a bus through, but he still is this years Heismen winner and a prototype workhorse RB that doesn't come along often in the NFL. Carroll likes the power run game and it's a big part of what we do. Rawls was a nice surprise last year, but we're talking about the Heismen winner vs a UDFA at the RB spot and Henry has a lot of size and skill on Rawls. I thought Lynch could come back in 2016, but.....we're talking about Lynch here. He seems to be comfortable right now stringing the NFL along on if he's truly retired or not.

Thoughts?

Need that OT in the first, much more then a RB to compete with Rawls. Pickup up a RB day 2 of the draft.

 

[jakedog56]

.....but the Heismen doesn't really mean a lot once you get into the NFL... SO many Heismen trophy winners vanish ....

My first thought was "Nooooooo!!!!! Please don't draft him! He won the Heisman! He is doomed to mediocrity in the NFL!!"

Curse of the Heisman:

Only QBs have really had any success recently and even they are pretty hit and miss. Mariota and Winston are still in progress and have a chance. Newton and Palmer have established themselves. Charles Woodson and Eddie George were good to great. Reggie Bush good, but he had to vacate the Heisman so I don't know if he counts in this. Griffin, Manziel, Tebow, Troy Smith, Mark Ingram, Bradford, Leinart, Jason White, Crouch, Weinke, Dayne, Ricky Williams, Wuerffel, Salaam, Ward, Torretta, Detmer, and Ware were all underacheiving to horrible as pros.

So 18 below average to bad, 4 good. 1 was decent but had to vacate the title, and 2 who the jury is still out on in the last 25 years. Basically a 16-20% success rate with the chance to bump it to 28% if both Mariota and Winston pan out (depending on how you factor in Bush). Not good.

 

[JMR]

Some interesting logic floating around here. So if Henry had come in 2nd in the Heisman voting to McCaffrey, would that make him a better NFL prospect? There are lots of past winners who have fizzled in the NFL. There are also lots of non-winners who have fizzled in the NFL.

Anyway, as a pro prospect, I like Henry. Reminds me of Eddie George, who was not a HOF guy but certainly a productive and high quality pro for a number of years. I am not sure we will or should take Henry at 26, but it wouldn't be the worst move or anything. I do think we need to add a bigger back who runs with power.

 

[MrS]

Henry will be a big bust, like every alabama running back since alexander. i would be pretty po'd if we took him in the 1st or even the 2nd. i wouldnt even want him in the 4th round.

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

Need that OT in the first, much more then a RB to compete with Rawls. Pickup up a RB day 2 of the draft.

I"m leaning this way .... O-line is utterly vital right now... I wouldn't freak out though if we took a good defensive guy with our #1 and then addressed the O-line soon after... I guess it just depends who's on the board and if the prospect is worth it... If that ends up being an O-lineman so be it....

 

[jerseyhawksfan79]

I wouldn't waste a first or second on an RB with both lines needing to be addressed, more o-line of course. Rawls is a good example as to why you can wait till the mid, late or UFDA route to add depth at that spot. There's always going to be good RB's to pick up, but not so many o-line guys which is why I hope the FO drafts two o-line guys with their first 4 picks.

 

[Anointed One]

I'll pass on, Henry... I feel like we could grab another back in the draft to compliment Rawls/Michaels... We need to beef up our OL/DL - Henry wouldn't have much success running behind the line we have in tact so that would be a wasted pick imo......

 

[SonnyCID]

If Schneider wants another bruising back, I wouldn't be the one to challenge that thought.

 

[Uhsplit]

We could be looking OLB to take Bruce's spot if the right one is available. Lots of ways to go, but how many on this board will freak out over each selection?

 

[MrS]

Theres no telling who they will pick, could be a S or a CB for all we know. Taking henry though, that would be cause for freak out. Let a dumb team like cleveland take him in the 2nd

 

[JMR]

Theres no telling who they will pick, could be a S or a CB for all we know. Taking henry though, that would be cause for freak out. Let a dumb team like cleveland take him in the 2nd

That speaks a lot more about fans than Derrick Henry.

 

[SonnyCID]

There's no guarantee that Rawls will be 100% going in to the year. And even if he is, it's not like he's a heavily proven commodity. Promising, but far from a guy who you guarantee a starting spot to.

 

[dude82]

While I understand the argument that the Hawks need insurance in case Rawls doesn't come back 100% right away or turns out to have been a flash in the pan, the re-signing of Michael, with his apparent attitude adjustment, makes drafting a running back early less of a priority than it might have been otherwise. That doesn't mean they won't surprise people and draft one in the 1st round anyway, but it sounds like Schneider plans to further address the offensive line in the draft. First round money might not be what it used to be, but do you really want the Hawks spending that money on a position that figures to be, at best, 3rd on their list of priorities? I still think that offensive line, defensive tackle and linebacker will be their top priorities in the early part of this draft and nothing short of the unbelievable luck of having a projected top 10 pick at another position fall to them will cause them to go in a different direction.

 

[SonnyCID]

While I understand the argument that the Hawks need insurance in case Rawls doesn't come back 100% right away or turns out to have been a flash in the pan, the re-signing of Michael, with his apparent attitude adjustment, makes drafting a running back early less of a priority than it might have been otherwise. That doesn't mean they won't surprise people and draft one in the 1st round anyway, but it sounds like Schneider plans to further address the offensive line in the draft. First round money might not be what it used to be, but do you really want the Hawks spending that money on a position that figures to be, at best, 3rd on their list of priorities? I still think that offensive line, defensive tackle and linebacker will be their top priorities in the early part of this draft and nothing short of the unbelievable luck of having a projected top 10 pick at another position fall to them will cause them to go in a different direction.

Everyone agrees that oline is the top priority.

But the Hawks will stick to their board. And if Henry is graded higher than any linemen available, theyll take him. And I could see why they would have a very high grade on him.

 

[Anointed One]

I'm not too convinced they'll take a RB in the 1st or even 2nd round... We traded a 4th for Lynch and picked up Rawls as a UFA... I don't see this regime grabbing a RB w/ their first pick when the trend shows that RB's drafted early pan out just as much as the ones drafted in the 3rd/4th rounds...

DraftHistory.com

You see the trend, a lot of the successful backs have been drafted after the 3rd round of late... I believe the Hawks pride themselves in finding hidden gems and I think they have their eyes on a certain back in this draft that they'll take w/ their 3rd - 5th pick...

RB's seem to be easier to fill these days... They're not valued as much as they used to be... With the development of RW, I don't believe they value the RB position like they once did when he was a rookie...

 

[JMR]

I'm not too convinced they'll take a RB in the 1st or even 2nd round... We traded a 4th for Lynch and picked up Rawls as a UFA... I don't see this regime grabbing a RB w/ their first pick when the trend shows that RB's drafted early pan out just as much as the ones drafted in the 3rd/4th rounds...

DraftHistory.com

You see the trend, a lot of the successful backs have been drafted after the 3rd round of late... I believe the Hawks pride themselves in finding hidden gems and I think they have their eyes on a certain back in this draft that they'll take w/ their 3rd - 5th pick...

RB's seem to be easier to fill these days... They're not valued as much as they used to be... With the development of RW, I don't believe they value the RB position like they once did when he was a rookie...

While that may be true, do you really think this FO goes about their business based on trends that are largely formed by the 31 other teams? That's pretty much their trademark at this point -- doing things that go against the grain or what the "conventional wisdom" might suggest to be the right move.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

While I understand the argument that the Hawks need insurance in case Rawls doesn't come back 100% right away or turns out to have been a flash in the pan, the re-signing of Michael, with his apparent attitude adjustment, makes drafting a running back early less of a priority than it might have been otherwise. That doesn't mean they won't surprise people and draft one in the 1st round anyway, but it sounds like Schneider plans to further address the offensive line in the draft. First round money might not be what it used to be, but do you really want the Hawks spending that money on a position that figures to be, at best, 3rd on their list of priorities? I still think that offensive line, defensive tackle and linebacker will be their top priorities in the early part of this draft and nothing short of the unbelievable luck of having a projected top 10 pick at another position fall to them will cause them to go in a different direction.

What makes you think Michael can handle the playbook now? That's the reason he was let go in the first place.

I'm a Henry fan. I hope the Pats can get him late 2nd? The Pats need a bruising type back like Henry. Seattle already has Rawls. The verdict is still out on him. This year will tell us a lot. Having said that there are a couple of flashier style RBs likely around in the 3rd or 4th. I'd see Seattle going O line in the first and either D or another O lineman in the 1st and 2nd. Then look at someone like Alex Collins from Arkansas, Kenneth Dixon from Louisiana Tech, Kenyan Drake Alabama. All have decent speed, can pick up the blitz and decent receivers. Another bigger back I really like later 3rd or 4th if he actually falls that far is CJ Prosise ND.
If I were the Hawks GM that's my stratedgy for this draft.

 

[Screamin12th]

If the Hawks Oline was even close to respectful ( which they are not ) i would take a look at a RB at #26. I have been beating my chest all offseason about oline help be it in the draft a FA or a new Oline coach that can get these guys playing better.

When i think of this team i just wonder how truly GREAT they would be with a top 15 Oline. The thought is crazy with the success they have had with a oline that ranks in the bottom 5. Top 15 oline and they might have had a few 16-0 seasons.