First Word: Trent Richardson is the early favorite to be the No. 1 RB taken in the 2012 draft. He has a great skill set and is a better NFL prospect than Mark Ingram was.
Trent Richardson Player Profile
Basics:
- Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
- Height: 5’11”
- Weight: 224
- Class: Junior (this is what he will be this year)
NFL Player Comparison
- Maurice Jones Drew: He is not as short as MJD but he reminds me a lot of MJD. He runs with great vision, power, and has great top end speed. He has the hands to play out of the backfield as well.
Player Bio:
- Richardson came in as a freshman in 2009 and immediately made a huge impact. He was the backup to Mark Ingram and still put up an impressive 751 yards and eight touchdowns. He was an SEC All-Freshman selection and averaged 5.2 yards per carry. He ranked 10th in the SEC (even though he was the backup to the Heisman Trophy Winner) with 53.64 yards per game. As a sophomore, his yards went down but his average went up. He had 112 carries for 700 yards (6.3 yards per carry) and had just 6 touchdowns. However, despite lesser stats, he looked much more developed. He also upped his receiving stats, going from 16 receptions as a freshman to 23 as a sophomore and from 126 yards as a freshman to 266 yards and 4 touchdowns as a sophomore.
Career Stats
- 257 carries, 1451 yards, 5.6 yards per carry, 14 touchdowns, 39 receptions, 392 receiving yards, 10.1 yards per catch, 4 touchdowns
Projected Draft Status: first round
- Even with just an average season, Richardson should be a lock for the first round next year. However, a great season could put him in the top 10 to top 15.
Video Highlights
- Highlight #1: Freshman Highlights: This is a four and a half minute video of Richardson's best plays of the 2009 season.
- Highlight #2: Sophomore Highlights: This is a five minute video of Richardson's best plays from the 2010 season.
Richardson’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Final Thoughts
- Richardson is the favorite to be the first RB taken and could even go in the top 10. He has good speed and runs with good power but still has some flaws to his game. If he has a 1200 yard, 10 touchdown season he should be a top 10 pick.
- He has good but not great hands. What makes him a threat out of the backfield is his speed and power. He will drop passes that don’t hit him right in the hands.
- He will be a better pro than Ingram only if he improves his north-south running. If he keeps running east-west, he could struggle in the NFL. He kind of reminds me of Lawrence Maroney in his aspect but not quite as bad as Maroney was/is.
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