Update: Following a trade on draft night that landed the Lions with the thirtieth overall pick, which they used on Cal running back Jahvid Best, impressing Detroit’s players and coaches with his breakaway speed and explosiveness. “I think he gives us something that we haven’t had in the last few years and that’s a little bit smaller of a back,” said tackle Jeff Backus. “He’s somebody that can cut on a dime, somebody that can hit a home run any time he touches the ball. I think the fans watching our games are going to be really excited to see him play because he’s got some special talents.” Said wide receiver Calvin Johnson, “We’ve got a lot of speed at the running back position (and) we’ve got a couple different styles of running backs, so that’s real good for us.” Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan did not try to ease Best through his transition into an NFL back, by giving him as much to learn and as much to handle as he could, to get Best ready for veteran practices. Best has handled it well though, saying of his his first practices with his veteran teammates, “The pace picked up. The playbook-the install-everything was kind of big. But once I got a grasp of it, everything started to slow down and now we’re just out there having fun.”
Fantasy Impact: Behind a revamped offensive line and expanded passing game, with Kevin Smith recovering from surgery and Maurice Morris being no more than a complementary back, a player of Best’s talents will get plenty of chances to shine in this offense. Ryan Mathews seems to be the rookie back with the most buzz, but the presence of Mike Tolbert and Darren Sproles scares me out of using too high of a pick on him, as does coming out of the WAC Conference with less than stellar skills in the passing game. Best has been fully groomed in the Pac-10 and will be a weapon for coordinator Scott Linehan to use at any and all points in the game, and is my preseason pick for 2010 Offensive Rookie of the Year. Make him your no. 2 rb.
