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Wisconsin RB Montee Ball

Green Bay Packers NFL Draft prospect profile: RB Montee Ball

Player Info:

Montee Ball

5’11”

212 lbs.

Hometown: Wentzville, MO

STATS:

NFL Combine:

-40-yard dash: 4.66 seconds

-Bench press: 15 reps

-Vertical jump: 32”

-Broad Jump: 118”

-3-cone drill: 6.88 seconds

-20-yard shuttle: 4.40 seconds

News and Notes: Highly recruited out of high school after racking up over 5000 yards and scoring 71 times in his final two years.  Owns the NCAA career record for touchdowns, tied Barry Sanders during the 2011 season for the single season mark with 39 and was a Heisman finalist.  Spent first two seasons at Wisconsin as a backup and ran for over 1300 yards in a “running back by committee” approach.

Ball stunned many by choosing to come back to Wisconsin for his senior year instead of entering the NFL draft in 2012.  He was assaulted on campus early in the season which resulted in a concussion.  Finished his career at Wisconsin with 5,140 rushing yards and 77 touchdowns. Ran a 4.46 40-yard dash at his pro day, which is about two-tenths quicker than his time at the scouting combine.

What they’re saying about him:

NFL.com: “Reliable, hard-working zone back. Presses the line of scrimmage, and generally has good vision and feel to find the cutback lane or cut away from penetrating defenders. Smaller back with a lot of wear on his tires. Possesses average overall size and straight-line speed. One speed runner who another gear to accelerate once in space, and doesn’t have elite agility to elude quicker defenders.”  Read more... (917 words + 1 image, estimated 3:40 mins reading time)

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North Carolina RB Gio Bernard

Running back can be a tough position to evaluate headed into the NFL Draft.

Take last year for example. Trent Richardson was considered a “can’t-miss” guy at the top of the draft, but Alfred Morris, the 173rd overall pick, had the best season of all rookie running backs last year.

This year’s draft doesn’t have a clear-cut top back. There isn’t a Richardson or an Adrian Peterson in this year’s draft class, but there are a handful of intriguing prospects that could step in and start for a team from day one.

Nearly all draft rankings have the same two guys at the top: Alabama’s Eddie Lacy and North Carolina’s Giovani Bernard. Most have Lacy firmly entrenched as a first-round pick with Bernard projected to go in round two.

Lacy and Bernard are completely different backs. While Lacy is a physical, punishing runner, Bernard is a versatile player capable of doing damage in the passing game as well as between the tackles. In today’s pass-happy NFL, I prefer Bernard as a prospect slightly ahead of Lacy.

But beyond the top two guys, this year’s crop of running backs has some quality depth. Oklahoma State’s Joseph Randle, Clemson’s Andre Ellington, UCLA’s Johnathan Franklin and Wisconsin’s Montee Ball all have a chance to be selected on Day 2.

Perhaps the most interesting running back in this year’s class is Marcus Lattimore of South Carolina. Lattimore suffered the most gruesome knee injuries I’ve ever seen last season, and concerns over his long-term health will likely cause him to drop to the third round.  Read more... (1622 words + 1 image, estimated 6:29 mins reading time)

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