The I-Form

Lots of NFL Rookies have mentors. But, two offensive rookies stand out to me and remind me of current NFL players that have made the Pro Bowl. Those players? Joe Flacco and Darren McFadden. But, you’d be surprised who they remind me of.

Joe Flacco QB, Baltimore Ravens [Rd 1, Pk 18]

Name: Joe Flacco

College: Delaware (Div. I-AA)

Height: 6-6

Weight: 235 Lbs.

2007 Stats: 4236 Yds, 23 TDs, 5 INTs, 144.9% QB Rating, 63.5% Completion Percentage, 4 Rush TDs

Joe Flacco has a cannon arm (he threw for 74 yards/222 feet in a throwing contest) is fleet of feet (4.86 40 Yard-Dash Time and won a scrambling contest with 15.86 seconds) and is a big dude. Flacco was the second QB taken in the 2008 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. Flacco ran the spread offense at Delaware and was successful doing it.

Ben Roethlisberger QB, Pittsburgh Steelers (Rd 1, Pk 11, 2004)

Name: Ben Roethlisberger

College: Miami, OH (Div. I-AA)

Height: 6-5

Weight: 240 Lbs.

2007 Stats: 3154 Yds, 32 TDs 11 INTs, 104.1% QB Rating, 65.3% Completion Percentage, 3 Rush TDs

Big Ben is a refined version of Joe Flacco. He’s big, he’s got a big arm, he can run when he needs to, and, he came from a small school. You can’t tell whether or not I’m talking about Joe Flacco or Ben Roethlisberger. Which just proves my point. If the Ravens coaching staff can refine Joe Flacco, then Flacco will be able to show off that arm of his in the pros.

Darren McFadden RB, Oakland Raiders (Rd 1, Pk 4)

Name: Darren McFadden

Age: 20

Height: 6-1

Weight: 210

2007 Stats (College): Rushing – 13 Games, 325 Attempts, 1830 Yds, 16 TDs, 5.6 AVG, 4 Fumbles

Receiving – 13 Games, 21 Receptions, 164 Yds, 7.8 AVG, 1 TD

Passing – 13 Games, 11 Attempts, 6 Completions, 124 Yds, 4 TDs, 0 INTs

Run D.M.C is a freak. He has good size (6-1, 210) and is sick fast (4.33 40-Yd Dash) and that’s why he was the fourth overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft taken by the Raiders. He can do everything: Run, Catch, Return, and heck, he can even THROW. He put up amazing numbers at Arkansas, despite splitting carries with Felix Jones (even though it was 75-25 in his favor) He will also do so in Oakland by splitting carries with Justin Fargas.

LaDainian Tomlinson RB, San Diego Chargers (Rd 1, Pk 5, 2001)

Name: LaDainian Tomlinson

Age: 28

College: TCU

Height: 5-11

Weight: 220 Lbs.

2007 Stats: Rushing - 16 Games, 315 Attempts, 1474 Yds, 15 TDs, 4.7 AVG, 0 Fumbles

Receiving - 16 Games, 60 Receptions, 475 Yds, 3 TDs, 7.9 AVG

Passing – 16 Games, 1 Attempt, 1 Completion, 17 Yds, 1 TD, 0 INTs

L.T can do it all. He can run by you, he can juke you, he can run you over, he can catch, and he can throw. McFadden can do all of these too. Just not as well. If McFadden blossoms, he has a slight chance he could be the next LaDainan Tomlinson.