Official 2025 NFL Draft Superthread | Prospect Discussion

[Velo]

Calling Vidal who was drafted in the 6th rnnd and is in year one a miss is ludicrous. He's had some nice runs and as you said he has gotten better. Not only has his ypc improved but so has his pass blocking. He will continue to get better.

Not anointing Vidal as anything yet, but he's certainly better than Rountree or Spiller, probably Kelley too.

[Chargers8491]

You’re also a connoisseur of the fine art of trolling from time to time my friend. If you truly aren’t meaning to troll your form or arguing comes across that way. It’s ok though, some would call that natural talent 🤣.

I digress, I simply don’t agree Vidal is likely to be our number 2 back. I think Dobbins is and Vidal is 3-4 based on where Edwards falls. If Vidal does turn out to be our number 2 then great but he isn’t showing the sort of play making ability consistently enough to bank on. Here’s hoping. I didn’t say Eboigbe is a miss as much as he’s MIA. Maybe he’s seen the field but he isn’t impacting the games very much. I read somewhere he’s recovering from an injury or something similar so maybe it’s a slower recovery. Colston could be something with time, but being injured and not getting practice and experience is not a good omen for things ti come. This is valuable learning time that he is missing and could get him passed by.

If I came off as trolling, then I apologize that's not my intent.

As far as Vidal if you are referring to this year, I agree Vidal is not the #2 back and I would argue that it wasn't the intent for him to be the #2. Gus/JK were the intended #1/2. What happens next year will depend on if they bring Gus back and if they keep JK. He could be the #3 next year and I would be ok with that especially from a 6th rnd pick. My guess is it will be a draft pick and JK as #1/2 RBs and Vidal #3. Vidal will likely replace JK after his contract is up, IMHO.

[Boltjolt]

Not being able to beat Gus Edwards out for the starting position is a miss. He’s a running back, he has 4 years to prove it before he’s gone. They draft another RB high this year to prove that he’s a miss. He’s a role player at best.

You thought a 6th round rookie was going to beat out Gus? I didn't think Gus would beat out Dobbins.
If we draft a RB high, it's to maybe replace Dobbins, not Gus. Though I'd like to have two good RBs if we keep Dobbins to share the carries. Gus dinged and starting slow didn't help..

I don't know if Vidal will ever be our starter but it still don't mean he can't have a bigger role going forward, even if it is as a role player. His pass protection is what's holding him back now.
Thats usually is the reason some talented runners don't get more playing time.

As for Eboige, when he was drafted I recall Hortiz saying something about coming off a neck injury and have the impression he would have been a higher pick if not for that,.......but that's all I know. We haven't heard anything really about him all year that I recall.

I don't know how he pans out for us but I sure don't fault him not playing much as a rookie and sure won't call him a bust.

[dmac_bolt]

I don't mind debating and in fact I enjoy it. I don't know everything and enjoy different takes. Where I have a problem is when people attack or troll because they disagree. If we all agreed this place would be boring.

It's fair to not be sold on Vidal, Colston, or Eboige is fair because they haven't done much this year but say they are a miss is a bit an over-reaction, IMHO. If they taka an RB early, it doesn't mean Vidal was a miss. The Chargers need to add another RB regardless. You can't count on Gus and JK because of their injury history. At worse Vidal ends up as the #2 RB. A 6th rnd pick that ends up a #2 RB is not a miss, again IMHO.

you mean next year, I assume?

I don't give him a lock on RB2 at all yet. He still can't block in Pass Pro, and is very average carrying the ball. I would agree he will be back and on the roster but he could be RB3 and not even active every week. He can come to camp try and earn RB2 but he will have other competition. If JH2 let boh JK and Gus go, they will stock that room with someone.

[Lone Bolt]

Dont count out my pick Vidal...he still got 2 games plus (hopefully) playoffs...he has yet to see enough carries in a game to establish himself, imo...and considering the limited/sporadic playtime...has not sucked...we will see...

[Chargers8491]

you mean next year, I assume?

I don't give him a lock on RB2 at all yet. He still can't block in Pass Pro, and is very average carrying the ball. I would agree he will be back and on the roster but he could be RB3 and not even active every week. He can come to camp try and earn RB2 but he will have other competition. If JH2 let boh JK and Gus go, they will stock that room with someone.

Yes, next year.

I also meant at worse he would be #3 RB at best he would be #2. I agree he needs to work on pass pro which isn't uncommon for RBs coming out of college.

[wu-dai clan]

Dont count out my pick Vidal...he still got 2 games plus (hopefully) playoffs...he has yet to see enough carries in a game to establish himself, imo...and considering the limited/sporadic playtime...has not sucked...we will see...

Agreed.
As I predicted a while ago, our positions of need will evolve some, based on what happens over the next month.
That is typical.
Young players hit a wall (from length of NFL season), then flash late in the season (light goes off, game slows down, push to the finish),
Who will be our clutch yungins ?

[electricgold]

ANTARIO BROWN RB NORTHERN ILLINOIS

ROLE: WORK-HORSE BACK

5-10 219

DRAFT YEAR: 2025

40 TIME: 4.39 SECONDS

In 2023 as a junior Brown saw action in 12 games for the Huskies. He ran for an outstanding 1164 yards on 187 attempts for an outstanding 6.2 ypc, with 10 TDs.

[electricgold]

JORDAN JAMES RB OREGON

ROLE: WORK-HORSE BACK

5-10 210

DRAFT YEAR: 2025

40 TIME: 4.45 SECONDS (83%*)

AGE: 20.8 DOB: 03/29/2004

Jordan James, a junior running back from Oregon, emerged as a dynamic playmaker in the Ducks' backfield during the 2023 season. The 5'10", 210-pound Nashville native led the Pac-12 with an impressive 7.09 yards per carry, ranking 10th nationally. James accumulated 759 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 107 carries, tying for the third-most rushing touchdowns in the conference.

[DerwinBosa]

Not being able to beat Gus Edwards out for the starting position is a miss. He’s a running back, he has 4 years to prove it before he’s gone. They draft another RB high this year to prove that he’s a miss. He’s a role player at best.

How does he get four years to prove it? You've already declared him a miss. Shouldn't he just be released right now? He sucks.

[DerwinBosa]

I dont think Vidal is necessarily a miss but I dot think he is the RB1 of the future either. Part of the group, sure.

Put it this way, I dont want Hortiz to overlook the stacked 2025 RB draft and not get a stud because we drafted Vidal in the 6th round last year.

Nobody said he was. Nobody is asking Hortiz to not draft a running back next April.

[Budsman]

You thought a 6th round rookie was going to beat out Gus? I didn't think Gus would beat out Dobbins.
If we draft a RB high, it's to maybe replace Dobbins, not Gus. Though I'd like to have two good RBs if we keep Dobbins to share the carries. Gus dinged and starting slow didn't help..

I don't know if Vidal will ever be our starter but it still don't mean he can't have a bigger role going forward, even if it is as a role player. His pass protection is what's holding him back now.
Thats usually is the reason some talented runners don't get more playing time.

As for Eboige, when he was drafted I recall Hortiz saying something about coming off a neck injury and have the impression he would have been a higher pick if not for that,.......but that's all I know. We haven't heard anything really about him all year that I recall.

I don't know how he pans out for us but I sure don't fault him not playing much as a rookie and sure won't call him a bust.

Yeah I did expect him to beat out a not very good one dimensional platoon back. I was really hopeful that he would show enough pop to unseat Gus, heck before the season I was really hopeful he would beat out Dobbins before we realized Dobbins has something left.

It isn’t unreasonable to expect a young RB to beat out unestablished free agent retreads like Dobbins and Gus. Dobbins showed he is clearly capable when healthy so good on him but Gus is and always has been a one trick pony and he’s not particularly great at that one trick.

Agree and hopeful on Eboige. Somethings going on there. Maybe he’s a stud, too soon to say but he definitely didn’t help the team this year and that’s all we have to go on at the moment.