There is no question; Darren McFadden is the best running back in the 2008 NFL Draft. The highly productive Arkansas Razorback is head and shoulders above the other ball carriers. His numbers speak emphatically: Three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons while averaging 5.7 yards per carry. McFadden looks the part with ideal height and weight (6-2, 211 pounds). He was a threat to take it all the way every time he touched the ball. McFadden is the best athlete in the draft and according to the scouting reports. There are few negatives associated with him. McFadden has all the tools and skills to be the next great NFL running back. I don?t see it. I?m not saying he?s overrated, nor am I saying he won?t be a great pro. But from what I?ve seen, I don?t see what others see that makes McFadden a special talent. Run DMC doesn?t have that ?wow? factor. From the highlights I?ve seen, he doesn?t do anything special. McFadden gets the ball and races upfield. A few seconds later, he crosses the goal line and is celebrating with teammates in the endzone. Sure it?s impressive that he outruns just about every defender who tried to stop him, but that won?t always happen at the pro level. He beat many safetys and corner backs around the edge, but he won?t turn the corner like that very often in the NFL. It?s obvious he brings speed to the table, but what else? One thing I don?t see is any suddenness to McFadden?s running. Speed is great, but he?ll only get to use it in the open field. How he got into the open rarely involved making a defender miss. Can he juke, stutter-step, and/or plant to change direction to leave a defender flat-footed? Quickness is a big part of what makes a running back great. McFadden might have the quickness needed but didn?t need to use that ability much in college. That has to change when he?s in the NFL. Another skill he barely displayed was the ability to break tackles. For the most part, opponents were lucky to lay a hand on McFadden as he jetted by. Sometimes a defender lunged for his legs in a futile attempt to trip up McFadden. Others could reach for his body, but Darren stiff-armed his way past tacklers with his long arms. What I would like to see is McFadden shed a tackler after one got his arms around him. He will lower his shoulder to get an extra yard or two, but can he run a defender over and keep going? He?s already 211 pounds and likely will go up to 220 pounds. There will times he must throw his weight around and make tacklers think twice. Is this round of criticism fair? Maybe not. If McFadden is what he showed in college, then why fault him for what he isn?t? He style has worked well so far, and it could translate smoothly to the next level. Based on the numerous profiles and scouting reports, he sounds like the latest once-in-a-generation running back to enter the league. I?m not a believer. I think that back is already in the league, and lightening doesn?t strike in two consecutive seasons. Naturally I?m talking about Adrian Peterson. He wowed me in college. He had breakaway speed, but he also showed much more. He had a violent style that punished tacklers. Peterson also maneuvered around defenders in a variety of ways. But his injury history raised doubts. His upright style led to Peterson taking numerous hits experts said. The question was whether he would hold up for a full season. He already missed time in college from various injuries, including a broken collarbone during his final year. For all of Peterson?s pluses, there always seemed to be a ?but?? that followed. Peterson, while talented, was an injury risk. As it turned out, the doubts proved unwarranted. He missed just two games and rushed for 1,341 yards, averaging a ridiculous 5.6 yards per carry. Peterson also broke the single-game record for rushing yards. And that?s why anything bad is rarely said about McFadden. Scouts were off target in thinking injuries would keep Peterson from fulfilling his potential. They raised doubts about Peterson and missed the chance to take credit for picking the next superstar. Scouts won?t discount McFadden like they did Peterson because they want to be completely right about the next great running back. Maybe it will take the right system to bring out the best in McFadden like for Robert Smith and Michael Bennett when they played in Minnesota. They were speed backs that flourished behind an offensive line which opened big holes for them to exploit. The Sporting News had a good analysis that said running backs who played in spread offenses in college were harder to evaluate and project to the pro level. The short list included McFadden. Or maybe Run DMC is a rare talent that can produce in any system. One thing we do know is he will get drafted early on April 26th. But, the real show starts in September. Then we?ll see what he really has because, so far, I haven?t seen much. To read more by Randolph Charlotin, go to his blog at NewEnglandPatriotsNews.com/randolphc/weblog/ which includes a mock draft from April 14. He can be contacted at lordrc@netzero.net.