NCAA Scouting - Player Profile:
Darren McFadden, RB
by Jody Jamieson
28/2/2008
 
Darren McFadden was once touted as a potential number one overall pick. Some Draft experts, including NFL Network's Mike Mayock, now don't even have McFadden as the first running back to go, and some have him dropping down as low as 20 in their mock drafts. There are a few explanations for this, but only time will tell if these concerns bear any substance. One reason McFadden may not go as early as many thought he initially might is the fact that this year's Draft is stacked at the running back position. Teams may prefer to address other major needs before picking up a capable back in the second or third round.
 
Nonetheless McFadden had a fabulous career in college football, scoring 40 rushing touchdowns in 37 Razorback games. Despite going 0-2 in Bowl Games, he displayed great toughness playing in the Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day 2007 with a sprained achilles tendon and a sprained left ankle. He looks to be one of the best players ever to come out of Arkansas, and is likely to share carries in the NFL to begin with. This doesn't figure to be a problem as he averaged well over 100 yards a game in college despite sharing carries with Felix Jones. Run DMC as he is known, is going to be an exciting prospect, and has the potential to be an elite NFL running back.
 
What we like about McFadden
 
McFadden is a big strong guy who loves contact and is tough to bring down. His legs do sometimes stop churning on contact, but when he does keep motoring, he can pick up bonus yardage. When he is not trying to power through a tackler, he will pull some of the sickest cut moves while making a would-be tackler look pretty foolish. While he has very good speed, it's his acceleration that makes him great to watch, and makes him a major threat when he bounces the play outside into the open field. When he gets into the open field, he is always a threat to take it all the way, and has the attitude that he is going to score every time he touches the ball. One of the criticisms of Reggie Bush has been his ability to run effectively between the tackles. McFadden will not suffer those same problems, as he is as comfortable running up the middle for chunks of yards as he is getting outside and looking to break it loose. In the passing game, he is a handy receiver and has really improved his ability to pick up the blitz and has developed a pretty good cut block.
 
Question marks about McFadden
 
Needs to work on his ball security. Fumbled a whopping 15 times last season, and lost 5 of them. The one slight positive in this is that most of his fumbles came on kick returns instead of rushing plays. For this reason McFadden is unlikely to be used as a kick returner in his early days. He split carries with Felix Jones at Arkansas, which leads many to question if he can carry the load. With a lot of teams liking to utilise a one-two punch that will hopefully not be a major issue. One thing I noticed is that he runs a little too upright at times and may take a few big hits early on in his career.
 
The dreaded "character issues" seem to hang over McFadden in the lead up to the Draft. Has had a couple of run ins with the law, without being charged for anything. Rumours coming out suggest that McFadden could have fathered up to three illegitimate children. Again, at this moment in time they are all rumours, but seem to be building a bad picture of McFadden.
 
Highlight of his College Career
 
In November of last year, Darren McFadden tied a college record by rushing for a phenomenal 321 yards against South Carolina. He had 355 all purpose yards in this game and scored one rushing touchdown in a 48-36 victory.
 
Other Snippets

• McFadden has been compared to Dolphins half-back Ronnie Brown due to his power running style. A report on nfl.com has likened him to future Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk.

• In 2006, McFadden became the first underclassman to win the Doak Walker Award, given to the best running back in college football. He repeated the feat in '07 as a junior.

• He was runner up in the Heisman Trophy voting twice, losing out to Troy Smith in 2006 and Tim Tebow in 2007.

• The Falcons, Raiders, Jets, Bengals, Panthers and Bears will all take a serious look. If he falls past the Bears, he may be too exciting a prospect to pass up for those below, even if running back isn't a major need.

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