NFL Draft Player Breakdown: Rashard Mendenhall

How Early Will the Fighting Illini Star Go in the Draft?

Darren McFadden is the clear cut #1 RB on all NFL team's big boards for the 2008 Draft. Second would be Jonathan Stewart out of Oregon. Both of these players will most likely be gone within the first 15 picks. So who is third?

Rashard Mendenhall of Illinois had a phenomenal junior season at Illinois. This was the first year that he lived up to all the hype that surrounded his name when he was so heavily recruited out of high school. His first two years with the Fighting Illini were disappointing to say the least. However, this year, even with an inexperienced offensive line, Mendenhall broke out for 1681 yards on 242 carries. This averages out to a healthy 6.4 yards per carry.

Most mock draft experts have predicted McFadden to the Raiders and Stewart to the Panthers. The next team in the draft that needs a running back would be Chicago, but it seems more likely that they will take Louisville QB Brian Brohm. This means that Mendenhall will fall to #18--right into the Houston Texans lap.

The Texans have not had a strong running game the last few seasons. The only spurts of success they saw were from Ron Dayne, and he is not someone that they want to be relying on for the seasons to come.

Mendenhall is 5' 11" and 224 lbs--almost a perfect NFL running back build. His best attributes are his power and patience. This will allow him to fit nicely into Gary Kubiak's zone blocking system that has been installed into the Texans' offense. For a player that is considered to be a power back, Mendenhall also displays solid speed and agility in the open field. The only true knock on him is that he struggled so much in his freshman and sophomore campaigns,

The best performance of Mendenhall's performance, and career for that matter, was in the Rose Bowl against USC. He rushed for 155 yards, averaging 9.1 per carry, and 1 touchdown. He also caught 5 passes for 59 yards--just another asset he is for his team. On the season, Mendenhall scored 19 total touchdowns (17 rush) and registered 34 receptions for 318 yards.