Making the Case

• Workhorse Build
• Underrated College Profile
• Efficiency
• Draft Capital
• NFL Production
• Receiving Capabilities
• Athleticism
• Affordable Price Tag

I believe this is your last chance to buy Rhamondre Stevenson at a reasonable price & I’m here to tell you why.

For starters – he’s built like a Mack truck.

Just a shade under 6’0” & a grizzly 231 pounds.

He’s built to carry the load.

The only reason we haven’t gotten used to seeing or hearing about it is because Rhamondre’s had quite a few hiccups along the way.

After rushing for 1,457 yards & 17 TD’s (with another 238 yards receiving) his JR. year of H.S. – he broke his foot 3 games into his SR. season.

On top of the foot injury, he was failing academically & his grades rendered him ineligible for the NCAA, forcing him to go the JUCO route & start off at Cerritos Community College.

As a FR., he took 68 carries for 501 yards (7.4 YPC) & 3 TD’s, with 5 receptions for 38 yards & another 2 TD’s receiving.

His coach apparently admitted that they “should have played him more,” that first year, but didn’t because the team already had two other backs to lean on.

No biggie – because Rhamondre went absolutely berserk as a SO., taking 222 carries for 2,111 yards (9.5 YPC) & 16 TD’s (with 13 receptions for 175 yards receiving).

Luckily, he got his grades up & was able to transfer to OU as a JR. – where he (stole Trey Sermon’s job &) took 64 carries for 515 yards & 6 TD’s, at an astounding 8.0 YPC (5.9 AFTER contact), adding another 10 receptions for 87 yards receiving.

Things were coming together again for Rhamondre & he was ready to explode as a SR.

Unfortunately, he had yet another setback & was suspended by the NCAA for failing drug tests (marijuana).

Still, in 6 games, he put up 101/665/7 (6.6 YPC/110.8 YPG) & 18/211 receiving, including 18/186/1 (10.3 YPC) vs Florida in his toughest matchup of the year.

He finished his collegiate career with 3,792 rushing yards & 34 TD’s in 40 games, averaging 6.6+ YPC in all 4 seasons.

Despite entering the NFL with numerous character red flags & only 19 games at OU, NE decided to draft Rhamondre in the 4th round, 120th overall.

Had he come into the NFL with a clean resume – there’s a possibility he could’ve garnered 3rd or even 2nd round Draft Capital.

At this rate – he may have been worth it.

• Lit the preseason on fire
• Scored a rushing TD (& 3/39 receiving) in his 3rd game.
• Put up 10/62 (& 2/44 receiving) in his 5th game.
• & exploded for 20/100/2 & 4/14 receiving this past week with Damien Harris out.

He passes the eye-test with flying colors.

& the advanced metrics support him too.

He’s currently top-12 amongst RB’s in yards after-contact/attempt.

The only RB’s with 50+ carries & more are Chubb, JT, Hunt, D. Johnson, Javonte, Ekeler, J-Rob, Monty, Carson, & Conner.

He sits 1 spot ahead of Derrick Henry on the list.

He’s also been quickly integrated into the NE passing game – catching 11/111 in his first 6 games, including receiving outputs of 3/39, 2/44, & 4/15.

It honestly shouldn’t even matter whether Damien Harris is a good player (he is).

Rhamondre Stevenson looks like a really good player too (perhaps a better player) & he’s earned the right to touches – as a rusher, at the goal-line, & as a receiver out of the backfield.

So why isn’t everyone & their mother trying to buy him?!?

One reason is his PlayerProfiler chart.

People assume he’s a terrible athlete because well, look at the chart.

Let’s just say I have some thoughts of my own.

His 40/Speed Score is really just telling us his game isn’t predicated on speed – which, well, shouldn’t surprise anyone. (Insert Kamara ran a 4.56 factoid)

& the burst score (vertical/broad)?

*WOULD* absolutely be very concerning to me – were he not 231 pounds…

As you can see from this (makeshift) chart I compiled (2 years ago) – there haven’t been a ton of successful players with low verticals, *BUT* essentially all of the low-vertical successes were 220+ pounds.

Why?

Because there’s more than one way to create yardage/power.

Smaller RB’s typically *need* a high vertical (burst) in order to compensate for a lack of raw power & size.

Inversely, players with raw power & size typically do NOT *need* an above-average vertical (burst) because they can create yardage/power through sheer force.

Rhamondre falls into the latter category – he creates for himself through sheer force (remember, he’s top-12 in yards after-contact per-attempt).

His vertical “burst” is irrelevant.

Looking beyond the 40 & vertical, he had a 60th percentile 3-cone time, indicating above-average quickness (excerpt from FantasyPoints).

So while many are painting him as a terrible athlete, I’m of the opinion that:

• His 40/Speed Score is irrelevant to his style of play.
• His lack of vertical “burst” is not detrimental to his power (yards after-contact per-attempt)
• He has above-average quickness

That’s 2 “don’t really matters” & 1 “semi-positive” when assessing his athletic profile – at least from my POV.

At the very least, I don’t see any real negative with the athletic profile relevant to his style of play & I really don’t think there’s anything alarming there to suggest throwing out ALL of the other evidence in support of ‘Dre.

He’s built like a tank at 231 lbs, has above average quickness, was extremely productive & efficient in college, got decent draft capital despite red-flags, has produced early & created yardage to start his NFL career, catches the ball, scores TD’s – & is STILL relatively cheap.

You can get him straight up for a mid-2nd in a lot of leagues – or less.

Here are the 3 prices I paid yesterday.

I think consensus would call this last one specifically an overpay today – but if these are the prices of admission, I am more than willing to gamble on ‘Dre & pay up for more shares.

I believe that his value will continue to climb as his talent becomes more apparent & he secures a weekly role in NE’s offense.

& I also believe that if Damien Harris misses this Thursday night’s game – there is a very high likelihood that Rhamondre goes off (again) & we see a major value spike.

I believe you need to be doing everything in your power to acquire him now, TODAY, while you can still get a potentially valuable RB asset for the price of a future 2 – or less.