Survivor I - J.J. Arrington Commentary

NOTE: this draft was completed on 7/24

Positives - J.J. Arrington was the first running back selected in the 2nd round of this years draft and is in an excellent position to contribute immediately. He will fill in for a retired Emmitt Smith and his main competition comes from career backup Marcel Shipp. He rushed for over 2000 yards last season at Cal and every game was a 100yd performance. With Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald keeping opposing defenses honest, there should be a great opportunity for Arrington to put up well over 1000 yards. Arizona’s improved defense should lead to less garbage time for the wide receivers and more touches for JJ.

Negatives - He is a rookie, and he will need to learn the blocking schemes quickly. If he can’t be counted on to protect Kurt Warner, he will not see much 3rd down duty. He is a smaller RB, only 5’10”, and has to learn the pace of the NFL game. The quicker he picks up the playbook and reports to camp, the better chances he has for this season.

Draft Strategy - Considered McNabb at this point, but I’m not sold on him being an upgrade over the QBs available 3 rounds later. Antonio Gates was another I considered here but passed on. I think he’s a great talent, but I don’t see him repeating his performance of last season. With my plan of 3 RBs in the first 4 picks, Arrington had the most upside/least risk of RBs available.