The NFL has evolved drastically over the past seven to ten years, with teams moving away from steady use of a fullback and moving towards three and four wide receiver sets. Slots receivers and versatile tight ends have become much more coveted to teams than the throwback lead-blocking fullback of the now “old” days.
However, while that may be the case, this draft class features as many as 3-4 potential fullback “starters” that five or ten years ago would have been talked about as much as linebackers or offensive guards. Now, these feature fullbacks will be asked to find a niche for an NFL team as the league starts to show less and less use for talents of their kind.
To sidetrack for a second, I’ve gotten an interesting opinion on this position when I got a chance to talk in-depth with former great NFL fullback Justin Griffith. I was able to gather so much from my hour long flight with the former player, from NFL Draft prospects to NFL Labor topics to what his plans were for the future. But, as you’d might expect, he had an opinion on many of this year’s fullbacks in the draft.
The most intriguing part to me was the fact that when we broke down these fullback ;prospects, we looked more at one they could do besides ;being a lead blocker. Could they pass block? Did they have a good feel for running routes out of the backfield? Could they make a catch and quickly cut up field? Were they able to run the ball themselves?
And ;to end the conversation, Griffith said that when he was in the NFL, only retired a few years back, he could tell that the position was changing and evolving, and that the players at the position better realize and be able to do more than just be a powerful, aggressive blocker.
In this year’s class, Stanley Havili of USC is the top rated fullback on most boards. But very much like Peyton Hillis (formerly a fullback at Arkansas), Havili could have value as a powerful, surprisingly quick runner first. He has the quickness, size, hands, running instincts, and under-rated speed to be a potential runner in this draft.
After him, Owen Marecic of Stanford is the type of throwback, aggressive fullback who only had a handful of carries and catches over his college career but was great in blitz pickup and in short area run blocking. Charles Clay of Tulsa has a hgue frame and great size, and could be looked at as either a tight end or an H-Back in the NFL. Patrick DiMarco of South Carolina was Justin Griffith’s favorite because of his great hands and overall “west coast offense style” as a fullback. Finally, Shaun Chappas of Georgia is a classic, powerful lead blocking fullback who may need that ideal I-Formation to make an impact in the NFL.
As I said before, five or ten years ago, this fullback class might have had all five of these prospects drafted and maybe one or two more. But now, the fullback stock has plummeted like the housing market, and while these five prospects have the talent and ability to be solid draft picks and great starters in the NFL, only Havili is a “lock” to get drafted, and the other four will depend on how much a team feels this now unique position fits into their scheming plans.
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