Ameer Abdullah is looking like the third or fourth running back on the NFL Draft board. Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon, who very likely could land in Seattle (here’s a whole separate article on this idea and how it could happen) tops the positional rankings. Georgia’s Todd Gurley is number two.
#FearAmeer is right there with another Big Ten back, Indiana’s Tevin Coleman, for the third and fourth slots.
Abdullah can play at the next level no doubt. He was one of the best players in the Big Ten; a league that ended up being a lot stronger than we all thought.
With NFL Scouting Combine interviews beginning tomorrow, this is one area where Ameer Abdullah should really shine. He’s superlative in this regard. Remember what he said about Jameis Winston in September?
“It’s kind of hard for me to understand what’s going on with him right now, but from a general standpoint it’s the maturity level,” Abdullah said via the Associated Press back then.
“Think before you act. Understand the bigger picture. Everything that you do, say or how you present yourself can have dire consequences. That’s something I feel like he definitely needs to assess more.”
Well said, Ameer Abdullah, well said. He gets it.
So where does #8 rate? A second prospect actually. Said NFL Network Analyst Mike Mayock:
“The knock on Abdullah, and it’s significant, are fumbles. I think he had 24 career fumbles and he lost 17 of them, which is the worst I’ve seen in a while, and that is compiled with small hands. That’s what bothers the scouts is not only the fumbles, but the fact that he’s got small hands, which probably accounts for the fumbles. If you take that out of the equation, he is the quintessential space player.”
The question raised pertained to the Detroit Lions. A reporter said that Reggie Bush is probably on his way out of Detroit; or as the magazine below claims “the Paris of the Midwest.” (This is a real tourism magazine; it’s not from The Onion or Charlie Hebdo or anything like that.
And Ameer Abdullah could be the perfect successor. At least that’s what this media conference call seemed to imply. We know it’s definitely not another Big Ten back, Mikel Leshoure. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions, but his career flamed out badly.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital, eBay, Google News and CBS Interactive.
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