RADIO
BALLER MOVE: Target in Round 7 as RB 3
Current ADP: 81 STD, 76 PPR
ANALYSIS: Isaiah Crowell showed early on that he had a nose for the end zone with a two touchdown performance in week one of 2014. When Ben Tate went down, the team turned to a mix of Crowell and Terrance West as their backfield, and Crowell proved to be more efficient and less of a locker-room problem than West. West would spend the year getting into arguments with coaches that would result in him being left behind in the depth chart this year.
Crowell has already spent the entire offseason with the first team as their lead back but now has to fight off another talented player in Duke Johnson, who will actually be on this list a little further down. Johnson projects to be this years passing down back with the Browns giving Crowell the opportunity to prove his value on early downs. Crowell will be running behind one of the best offensive lines the league has to offer with three starters finishing amongst the top 10 in their position for run blocking (Joe Thomas, John Greco, and Joel Bitonio) and they could have had a fourth if Alex Mack hadn’t been lost for the season early in the year.
Running behind a top line is already a huge boost to a players value and Crowell’s mix of timing and vision is what makes him a very dangerous player for opposing defenses. With the situation and his own talent aligned, there’s a potential RB1 sleeper brewing here.
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