A week prior to the 2013 NFL draft taking place, new Atlanta Falcons running back Steven Jackson held a conference call with the media and he answered a wide variety of questions.
At one point during the interview, Jackson was asked which running back in this year\’s draft class reminded him most of himself.
His answer: Michigan State running back Le\’Veon Bell, who wound up being drafted in the second round by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jackson\’s answer was not too surprising, however, as Bell somewhat compared himself to the former St. Louis Rams running back at his pro day back in March.
“I\’ve learned how to use my blockers to my advantage, I try to get consistent yardage and not lose yards,\’\’ Bell said at his pro day. “I take Arian Foster, I run like him a little bit, Steven Jackson, I\’m more of his frame, Adrian Peterson of course, Chris Beanie Wells, they are all good backs of my size.\’\’
Even NFL.com draft analyst Bucky Brooks has made the comparison of the two.
“When I broke down the game tape, I came away viewing Bell as a Steven Jackson clone,” wrote Brooks back in early March. “Bell not only runs with a similar gait, but he displays the patience and vision to excel in a zone-based scheme. Bell\’s ability to read and set up his blocks at the line of scrimmage routinely leads to big gains when plays are executed properly.”
Below are the pre draft measurables of both Jackson and Bell and unless you have them memorized, it is hard to tell whose are whose.
While comparing Bell to Jackson is all fine and good, the Michigan State product is currently 10,135 yards behind the former Oregon State running back and has yet to even take a rep in an NFL practice.
During his rookie season with the Rams, Jackson carried the football 134 times for 673 yards and four touchdowns. He also chipped in another 189 yards on 19 catches in addition. I think that the Steelers would be thrilled to get over 850 total yards out of their second-round draft pick in his rookie year. They would also be thrilled if Bell has 10,000 rushing yards in Pittsburgh after nine seasons.
Player One
Height: 6014
Weight: 231
40 Yrd Dash: 4.55
Bench Reps: 16
Vertical Jump: 37 1/2
Broad Jump: 9\’10”
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.09
3-Cone Drill: 7.03
Player Two
Height: 6013
Weight: 230
40 Yrd Dash: 4.56
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 24
Vertical Jump: 31 1/2
Broad Jump: 09\’10”
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.24
3-Cone Drill: 6.75
