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Future Pros: Chris Wells
By Drew Smith | June 4, 2008
Die-hard college football fans and certainly Ohio State Buckeye fans know all about Chris “Beanie” Wells . However, with regards to the media and casual fans, Wells has flown under the radar. Thus far, he has been overshadowed by the likes of Adrian Peterson, Darren McFadden and Rashard Mendenhall .
All of this is about to change. By this time next year, Chris Wells should be a house-hold name. Injuries seem like the only thing that will prevent him from making a strong Heisman Trophy run.
That being the case, the next question on our minds is what type of pro is he destined to become?
People like to say “measurables” are over-rated and to some extent I agree. The reality is that a player has to have respectable measurables to be given a realistic shot at the NFL. Scouts will fall in love with Chris Wells’ combination of size and speed. Currently listed at 6′1, he weighs around 237 pounds with speed in the projected 4.4-4.5 range. Add those up and you have the ideal physical attributes to be a NFL workhorse. These measurables will open the door for Wells, however to have success in the NFL these data points will need to translate to pro skills.
I could run down a list of hundreds of players that have the ‘ideal’ NFL body. Regardless of what the scouts believe, many of these players end up doing nothing in the NFL. The main reason is there has to be running skills to go along with the physical body in order to be a star in the NFL. Field vision, toughness and determination are just a few factors that do not show up in the 40-time but can be seen in the stats. Wells saw action as a true freshman in 2006, where in a limited role; he scored a touchdown in each of the last 6 games of the regular season. He finished the season with a healthy 5.5 yards per carry (YPC). However, when I break down the numbers further, I see a trend. In games where he got 10+ carries, his YPC jumped up to 6.04.
In 2007, Wells was handed the reigns as the every day back for the Buckeyes. That decision was a sound choice considering he carried his team back to the National Championship game. On the season he finished with 1,609 yards, 15 TDs and a YPC of 5.9. Once again, when I dig deeper, I find that his YPC jumped up to 6.08 in games where he got 20+ carries.
Additionally, Wells had 6 games in which he had a run of 30+ yards. This includes a 62 yard TD run against Michigan and a 65 yard TD run against LSU. Speaking of those two games, I think it is important to see how a player reacts in big high-pressured games. Will the player put the team on his shoulders and attempt to carry them to victory. If we look at his big games last year, we see game lines of 21-169-3 (carries-yards-TD’s) against Wisconsin, 39-222-2 against Michigan and 20-146-1 against LSU.
So what does this all mean?
I think Chris Wells is the complete package. Not only does he possess the “measurables” but he also has the running back skills to be a star in the NFL. He has the toughness to move the chains and get into the end zone. He has the ability to wear down defenses as evidenced by the up-tick in his YPC when given more carries. Lastly, he has the talent to elevate his performance in big games when his team needs him the most.
One area of concern is that he will need to prove he can handle catching the ball and picking up blitzes on the pro level. He has not been asked to do much of this at Ohio State. This may not be an issue based on the current trend in the NFL to split the workload between two running backs. Regardless, if Chris Wells tops last year’s stats, NFL teams should target him as a top 10 selection.
Topics: Big 10, College Football, Drew Smith, Future Pros, Pro Football, Running Back |
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