Charles Sims, Houston Cougars

He's a talented back that reminds me a little of Reggie Bush.

 

I think he catches the ball better than Reggie, better mechanics catching the ball, better intermediate route runner..

 

is that the kiss of death or a good thing?

 

A little bit of both. When I was reviewing tailbacks I wasn't tempted to place him at the top of my pecking order, but it's clear he's got talent.

 

I tell you what this guy is pure hell to cover out of the backfield. Whether it's a wheel route, seam route, he motions out to the slot and runs slants, etc...it's like he can't be covered.

I'm watching a Tulsa tape from 2011 when he wasn't even as good as he is now, he runs a wheel route and a corner in zone picks him up and he just can't keep up with him. I know it's easy to dismiss that as a Tulsa corner but actually it was a UCLA transfer to Tulsa who at his pro day this year had a 39 inch vertical, 10'10" broad jump, 4.09 shuttle and 6.78 cone drill. His 40 was only a 4.56 and ultimately that's why he couldn't keep up with Sims, but even so this was an athletic corner and Charles Sims the RB was too much for him to handle.

On another play he ran from the BACKFIELD (which means he was well behind the line) and he was so fast he sucked the decal off LB Curnelius Arnick's helmet on a post route into the space between the cover two safeties and it was an easy touchdown. Now, nobody's ever accused Arnick of being fast, he ran a 4.86 at his pro day. But then, there are linebackers that run similarly in the NFL today and Sims beat him by such a wide margin it wouldn't matter if they were a little faster.

As a runner, there are limitations. He's the kind of guy with close to a 6 foot build but with only 205 lbs on him, so he looks like a wide receiver a little bit. In 2011 because of his frame he looks like a guy that runs a little high as opposed to one of those lower squat bowling ball types. His pad level got better in 2012 from what little I've seen, especially goal line. It's REALLY worth noting that in 2012 he scored 8 touchdowns on 13 runs inside the 10 yard line. That's excellent. This is something I usually find out about a guy after I like him, and it's eerie how much I end up liking guys whose stats end up showing that they can punch the ball in from close. I would point to the improvements in pad level and power in 2012 from 2011 because in 2011 while this is still pretty good, his scoring 6 touchdowns on 17 runs inside the 10 yard line is not quite as impressive as 8 of 13.

How's he able to do that? I try and pay attention to a guy's vision and decision making. It's not the end of the world if a guy looks like he's not quite getting that. Mike Gillislee is an example of a guy I liked despite him often making decisions that I don't get as far as the execution of the play is concerned. Charles Sims has good vision that way, though. Guys like this you'd guess don't have a ton of negative yard runs in the backfield and sure enough I found only 6 on 142 carries (1 every 24 carries) went for negative yards, and 78% of his runs went for 2 yards or more.

Contrast that with Mike Gillislee who took a loss 19 times on 245 runs (1 every 13 carries) and had 70% of his runs go for 2 yards or more. Also he punched the ball into the end zone only 4 times on 16 tries inside the 10 yard line, and his catch work isn't nearly as advanced as Charles Sims.

I liked Mike Gillislee as a late round flier at the tailback position but Charles Sims is a superior player, IMO.

 

Charles Sims has 4,077 combined rushing and receiving yards, 37 combined rushing and receiving TDs on 542 touches at Houston. He only has had 4 fumbles in that time. Total of 37 games.

The surprising thing is that he didn't decide to jump early in time for the regular draft.

 

so which round for him

 

Clearly something changed since that decision.. maybe an issue with the coaching staff, how he was going to be used, or as so often happens, perhaps something happened in his family and they needed money sooner.

He sounds intriguing.

What teams are likely landing spots for him?

 

If it were money I would think he'd make it more clear immediately that he intends to go pro. He hasn't done that. He said he's undecided whether he's transferring or entering the Supplemental Draft. This points more toward an issue with the coaches.

I would think the Rams would have some interest for one. I think Daryl Richardson is a nice find but it's hard to know how much you can count on him. Isaiah Pead has given them nothing thus far. Zac Stacy is a late round guy.

The Raiders would be a great match for him because he has the kind of versatility between pass catching and running that Darren McFadden has and they're trying to build the system around McFadden. They let Mike Goodson walk and as a result they only have an injury-prone McFadden plus Rashad Jennings. They've been talking lately about moving Taiwan Jones to corner. Behind Jennings they only have Latavius Murray a rookie 6th rounder, and two camp fodder types. They do like to give FB Marcel Reese a fair number of carries, but even so their position is thin.

The Giants could certainly look to hedge against Andre Brown's being so injury prone. David Wilson is unproven as a load carrier obviously. They do have Ryan Torain and he might be the hedge for Brown.

The Bucs are great with Doug Martin but they just traded LeGarrette Blount away and so now their most accomplished backup behind Martin is Brian Leonard, a converted fullback with a 3.7 YPC career average. They drafted Michael Smith in the 7th round a year ago and Mike James in the 6th round this year but those guys aren't all that significant yet, unproven. They traded for Jeff Demps and are taking a chance on him being able to do football and track which I'm not sure is going to work.

The Steelers have a whole lot of mush at the position now between La'Rod Stephens-Howling, Le'Veon Bell, Isaac Redman and Johnathan Dwyer. They could certainly use some quality over quantity.

I'm not so sure about the Jets because I think this Mike Goodson thing is being overblown and will amount to a slap on the wrist for having a baggie of weed in his pocket. He wasn't driving the car, and it wasn't his gun locked in the glove box. It's hard to imagine how he gets convicted of anything but having the baggie with a small amount of weed in it, and up in New York nowadays they're handing out tickets for that sort of thing and not even jailing people. The NFL will put him in their drug program but he won't get a suspension on his first offense. Still, until that is resolved, it is in the Seattle philosophical nature to hedge risk and grabbing Charles Sims would be hedging risk.

That honestly leaves Miami. Look at it objectively. Miami's top tailback is a 4th rounder from a year ago that had a total of 51 carries as a rookie and didn't do so well blocking or getting the playbook as a third down back. Their #2 is a 2nd round guy that by all means has the look of a bust. Their #3 is either a 5th round pick from this year, or an undrafted free agent from a year ago that spent 2012 rehabbing an ACL tear. You could easily argue that Miami has the MOST need out of all the teams above. And with Jeff Ireland's "the future is now" attitude about this year's off season, giving up a pick next year for a guy this year would make some sense.

 

I don't see the Dolphins using a 2014 draft pick in the supplemental draft on a running back. If they still feel they are in need of RB help in 2013, there are still RB's available in free agency who could come in and upgrade the position. Bradshaw or Hillis would be a better fit for the 2013 season, instead of adding another RB who has no experience at the NFL level. The Dolphins already have enough of those RB's on their roster.

 

If he's available with a late round pick then why not? We really don't have any proven commodities at the RB position, I have a feeling we are going to be signing a Vet late in the preseason hoping he can give us some quality carries.....hope not though.

 

Exactly because of that i would not consider a rookie to upgrade the position

 

A rookie with talent is competition. What happens if these guys you're trying to count on for 2013 don't end up any good? Then you'd be wishing you'd rolled the dice one more time.

 

The Dolphins should sign Bradshaw. He is the best 3rd down back in the NFL. The little guy led the league in PBE!

He just knows how to get the job done, and he is electric in space. If he is used right, he might just stay healthy all year.

 

That would be an excellent alternative to drafting Sims, for sure.