View Single Post
Old 08-04-2023, 08:29 PM   #218
thehef
Hall Of Famer
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,345
Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeyman576 View Post
I'm tired of all the whining on running back valuation. It's an open market. They know why their value is lower. If they would play 20 year careers, then they would get paid more, but they don't, you are lucky to get 10 years out of a running back, 5 at peak value.
That, and - very much unlike star QB's, WR's, and pass rushers, etc., - star RB's are not seen as head and shoulders above the quality of any number of guys available to replace them. IOW, while teams would love to have Dalvin Cook and Patrick Mahomes as their RB and QB, a USFL/XFL standout RB is going to be much closer in skill/ouput level to Cook than an USFL/XFL standout QB is going to be to Mahomes.

Not that Cook isn't very good and significantly better than Abram Smith (XLF leading rusher), but Cook's shelf life will be short and you can still get productivity out of a journeyman or young/talented/unproven RB. However, Alex McGough (USFL QB & MVP)'s best realistic outcome is sticking as a solid backup NFL QB, and you plug him in as KC's starting QB the Chiefs instantly go from Super Bowl fave to will struggle to make the playoffs.

It sucks for standout RB's, but throwing lots of guaranteed money at them just doesn't make sense. In fact I think I read somewhere where Todd Gurley was the poster child for why you don't overpay RB's, and that's primarily where NFL GM's learned their lesson...
thehef is offline   Reply With Quote