Breaking Down Jordan Howard, 2020 RB Class with Brett Kollmann

on YouTube, Brett Coleman. He has an episode on new Dolphins running back Jordan Howard that is an absolute must watch for Dolphins fans everywhere as we dive into the new Dolphins running back in his game, plus this year's good, deep,

diverse draft class of talented running backs. All of that and more on this Tuesday, April the seventh edition of the Drivetime Podcast Dolphins, and this interview was so in depth about the demands of the running back position, how Jordan Howard excels in all three phases of the position and this deep, deep draft class. Let's not waste any more time and get to my interview with Brett Coleman. And joining the podcast now is the creator of quite frankly,

one of the best channels on all of YouTube. It's aptly named the Film Room. He is Brett Coleman. Brett, what's up man, I'm doing wonderful. Thanks for having me on. Excited to talk Dolphins just because you guys have so many picks to work with this draft. We've had so many comments just like that on the podcast. I even talked to Pete Prisco of CBS Sports and he was talking about how he wants to be the GM of the Dolphins because of the great position they're in heading

into free agency and the draft now. And that's where we get our focus here on this particular podcast episode. But first I want to get into the weeds on one of the Dolphins free agent signings because you produced a video right about fourteen minutes in length after Jordan Howard's rookie year, and I'll be honest with you, Brett, after watching it, I'm thinking this guy might be the Steel of free agent. See it's episode thirty seven titled

how Jordan Howard ran over the entire NFL. And I want to get into all three phases of the position because you did such a good job detailing each of those. And let's go ahead and start with the running portion of his game. That clip where you break down his read of his interior offensive line against the Lions and creating confusion in the run fits for the linebackers, that's just elite content, man. So for our listeners, can you tell us about those innate traits that make Howard such

a dangerous runner as a ball carrier? And you know what, what helped him to run for so many yards as a rookie. And to be honest, I think he played pretty well um in Philly too. But what he has is unbelievable vision and almost like a slippery nous in

between the tackles. He's very good at setting up blocks, meaning just kind of using his eyes, a little kind of shoulder movements, little jab steps to kind of influence linebackers into fitting themselves in of gaps that he doesn't want to go into, so that he can hit the actual gap he does want to go into front side, particularly on zone runs, where even just the smallest little kind of shaker jab can kind of get linebackers to panic like you're cutting back all the way, uh, and

then you just kind of squired out the front side, which he did all the time. In Chicago. We did a little bit in Philly as well. And and that's really the value that he brings. You can run outside zone with him all day long and be comfortable. You can run inside zone with him, you can run a little bit of power stuff. He's not super quick in terms of stop, start, bounce outside, but I mean you can get other backs around him that can do that better.

But just in terms of like a workhorse seventeen eighteen, carries a game salted away in the fourth quarter kind of back, there's very few, I think in the league that I would rather have, uh than a veteran Jordan Howard that's been there, done that and really knows what he's doing. And his production through the first four years of his career has been among the best backs in the NFL in terms of pure volume, and you mentioned the power that he offers. His short yardage conversion rate

is very good. And the other aspect of his game that I think allowed him to get onto the field to make such a significant impact as a rookie was that quality pass protection. And Brett your video had two clips against the Colts that I just loved from that rookie year and even three years into his career now there are a few guys in the league that can declete blitzers the way Jordan Howard can. And you know that that kind of versatility on third down. We always

like to talk about three down backs. That doesn't just mean you know, a running back you can put in the slot. That means a running back that you can trust in six man protection. If you want to run like a five step drop passing concept or dare I say a seven step drop passing concept, it's really hard to block that with five guys and hold the ball of that long and third long situations, you need a running back they can pick up a blitz. You need a running back that can actually give a good ship

and help out your tackles. And Jordan Howard has since he came into the league, honestly, has been one of the best at that. UM. I liken him to kind of like prime Frank Gore, where you know Frank wasn't a dominant receiver, but he was so smart and so good in pass protection that he was a three down

back throughout his career as well. UM And so I think again, is he a dominant receiver, No, but he is a three down back because of his blocking versatility that can kind of open up the passing game and let you run a lot of deep passing concepts because of that, and as a pass catcher in terms of what he offers when he is out into the route making plays in the passing game, does that vision that he offers, because, like you mentioned, watching some of his

tape that end zone angle on the ALL twenty two, it's like watching a great anticipatory passer in terms of the way he sets up those blocks. Do you see some of that in the screen game as well? Absolutely, especially on those little leak screens where you know you can get two or three guys out in front of him on the edge and at that point it basically just becomes a moving zone run. You know, you press outside, cut inside, And he's done that his entire career as

a runner. You know, now you're just kind of doing it on the move outside the numb but it's the same principle, and so I think he can be a very very good screen runner specifically for that reason. He is Brett Coleman. He hosted Create, Hosts Rather Created, and as the lead analyst on the Film Room YouTube channel Check that Out. Is Jordan Howard episode number thirty seven is is fantastic and transitioning now into the draft, you mentioned that Howard could be paired with another back from

this draft class. He was a fifth rounder once upon a time, and this class looks to have guys throughout that can really contribute in some former fashion. Right away in your number one, let's go ahead and start up top here, Brett, I want to know who falls into your top tier of backs and what is it about

those players that makes them special? You know, I'm trying to find the order that I want to put DeAndre Swift, Jonathan Taylor, Cam Akers, and Clyde Edwards Hilaire in, but it kind of it varies team by team in terms of what they need. You know, Jonathan Taylor, I think is a brilliant pure runner. He reminds me a lot of Arian Foster, but with more juice. Just an excellent dead Lake cut. He's a really good zone runner, but

has a lot of power as well. Again, maybe a little bit not the most dynamic receiver, but he still has good hands. I think he could still do a lot of the checkdoun option. You just won't be running like you know, seam routes with him like you would with some other guys. Uh. DeAndre Swift is a phenomenal outside zone runner. I mean his ability to stop and cut up field really without even kind of wasting and

a momentum is special. And also he brings I think a little bit more to the screen game or to the receiving game than Jonathan Taylor. Cam Akers is a little bit more versatile and that I think he's a better receiver even than DeAndre Swift. Maybe not quite the same top end um acceleration out of a cut. I think he he doesn't kind of preserve momentum as well

as maybe Swift does. But I think in terms of having quick feet in like gap scheme runs, stop, start, bounce outside, he's a lot better than Swift at those. And also he carries with him a lot of versatility as a receiver. He played quarterback in high school, so you can kind of maybe get a little bit tricky with him with some double pass stuff. Um. And I think you know, any Dolphins fans that also happened to be Seminole fans realize how let's just say inconsistent their

offensive line was last year. Uh And and he kind of made something out of nothing on a lot of runs. So I'm a really big fan of cam Ankers. I think he's gonna be a better pro than he was

in college. And then the darling of the class for me is Clyde Edwards Hilaire, who is not as fast as any of those guys, is not as big as any of those guys, but I'll be darned if he isn't just so explosive and has such good vision in short area quickness that I think he could still be just as productive, if not more productive, than all of them, especially if he's in an offense tailored to him. He almost kind of reminds me of like a like a

Devonte Freeman, or like a super charged James White. You know, they ran the Saints offense last year to l s U and he played not just the mark Ingram roll, but the Alvin Camaro role as well, and did so brilliantly. I love the way you answered that question initially because it really provides a perfect segue into this next idea that kind of goes off the script here for our

rundown bread. But you mentioned this glut of running backs that you're kind of struggling to separate in terms of general team need, and you can obviously do that by specific team here talking about the Miami Dolphins, obviously on the Drivetime podcast part of the Miami Dolphins official podcast network. And I'm curious to get your take, like, where would you start that group of players in terms of when they start coming off the board, because usually it's gonna this.

These things tend to have runs, right Like you're gett a running back that goes off and then the next one comes off a couple of picks later, and you get a run on these guys. Where do you think that run might start? Is it going to be the first round or do we wait until day two to

hear the first back called on the draft night? If if they go in the first round, and that's a big if, if they start going that high, I actually think Miami at twenty six would be kind of an ideal star place and that would be the third first round pick for Miami, So you know they can get probably a quarterback at number five if they don't end up trading up. Um at number eight teens, you can kind of go best player available. It's dealer's choice, really,

you can do whatever you want there. Um but then at twenty six, And the reason why I might take a running back for them at six is because then you get the fifth year option and then a franchise

tag on top of that. You can control that contract for a running back for six years and have them be really cheap compared to what other backs that get paid are going to be making, and probably have just as good, if if not better production, especially when looking at some of the talents at the top of this class. So just from a pure team management standpoint in getting value for contracts and controlling premium players for as long as possible, I don't hate the idea of taking a

running back at solely for that reason. And then after that, you know you've got potentially the Packers, you know they want to allocate money for Aaron Jones or do they want to draft a potential long term replacement a year early? The forty Niners, we know how much you know they're they're pure bp A. So if DeAndre switch is the best player on their board, they might go with him. Then the Chiefs also needed running back too, so I think in the twenties is when we start to see

them go, but particularly Miami might be the first one. Yeah, that's a super interesting discussion in terms of where that run starts and how you allocate your resources to a position that, by all you know, by all honesty, has been devalued across the NFL landscape the last few years, and that six years of club control could really maybe be the answer to how you deal with the idea that teams may become more scared of that second contract

for running backs. But I want to go back now into this draft class with you, Brett and talk about I think a notable omission from that group of players, some guys that might be available on Day two for you, some value picks, And the one that really stood out for me was j K. Dobbins out of Ohio State. Does he top that next tier of backs? And who are some other guys in that group that you like on Day two? Absolutely? J K Dobbins, I think is fantastic.

You know, if all of those guys are you know, one A, one B, one C, one D. He's to A easily for me, very very versatile. He's got a lot I don't know what he did in the off season, but he just looked faster in twenty en um. I mean he runs so so hard. Uh. He does everything the coaches asked of him. Every single Ohio State coach will run through a wall for that kid. They love him up there in that program. Again, he's another one

of those three down backs. And it doesn't mean that I don't think that he can be ultra productive in the NFL like the others I do. It depends on what team he goes to, but um, I think he would probably be like the to a by the slimmest of margins to all the other guys in that top four. You also look at Zack Moss, who I think it's probably gonna go on day two, and he is just a freight train from Utah. Um will will his skill

set kind of clash with Jordan Howard a little bit? Yeah, potentially, because then you have two backs that I think you can kind of slam between the tackles all day long, and two backs that I think get better the more carries they get, So splitting carries between them might be interesting, But just in terms of value, like, yeah, he's probably gonna be the top player on the board for a

lot of teams, uh, solely for his between the tackles value. Um, I also look at you know, Benjamin from Arizona State. You're gonna get a lot later. He's a little bit smaller, um, maybe more of a pure third down back, but he's really good. I mean, he's scrappy as all get out in pass protection. I saw him down at the Senior Bowl just taking on linebackers way bigger than him and stoning him. I don't even know how the physics of that work, but he's scrappy, UM, really good receiver out

of the backfield, quick in the open field. A J. Dillon again is another hammer from Boston College. A lot of people kind of compare him to Derrick Henry. Um. I mean, there's just so many in this class where even if you don't spend a first, second, or third round pick, you're you're gonna end up getting a pretty good contributor running back all the way until probably the six or seventh round of this class. Well, are there some more guys we can talk about in that range?

I'm curious because you mentioned some of those. You know, the A. J. Dillon is the Derrick Henry comparison coming into the NFL, and maybe there are some more guys that can contribute as flex out receivers or guys that maybe they really excel and pass protection or something that's just a little more one dimensional. Do you have any guys in that day three range, maybe even you d f a range that you think, Okay, this guy can do this very very well. We can bring him into

our program. He can excel as he kind of learns his rookie season to do that in the NFL and give us some special teams work as well. Oh uh, Antonio Gibson would probably jump out to me. He's kind of a hybrid receiver running back. He's played both positions at Memphis, and I heard kind of an interesting comparison for him this week, and that's Deebo Samuel where you don't really you don't really subscribe to a certain position

with him. He's just just a weapon. You know. You can put him in the slot, you can put him in the backfield. He's got four or four speed, he's got ball skills. I mean, even if you keep him at running back again, because he has experience at receiver, he can run the entire route tree and and do it a lot better a lot of other running backs. He's six oh two thirty with again, just blinding speed.

I don't exactly know where his position in the NFL is going to be, but I almost think that's an advantage just kind of in this new age NFL where you just you put him on the field and you

figure it out. Uh. And I think the Dolphins staff is actually in a pretty good position to do that, just because you have a lot of guys that are experienced in experimentation on that staff, especially on the defensive side of the ball, but in the offensive side of the ball, to where it's like, hey, just give me a guy who's an athlete with a versatile skill set and we'll figure it out. So Antonio Gibson to me is really intriguing as probably a Day three guy who

could be a key contributor honestly from day one. And does he have returned ability in his game? And if if not or if yes, who are some other guys that might be able to come in and contribute in the kick return game. Oh, you know, that's a good one, particularly at running back. Let me go through my list here and see who kind of pops up. J. J. Taylor from Arizona I think is an interesting one. I mean, he's small, he's five, but he is super quick in

the open field. Yeah, I mean you can see where it's he plays bigger than he is, but I mean he's so quick, so explosive in short areas. I think he can work definitely as a punt return er. Um Man, I'm trying to go through my whole list here and see who else we got. Uh Wu Olney Lui from TCU. He's a he's honestly going to be a fullback. But I think in terms of special teams on coverage units, he's really really good. He's a very good athlete. He's again he's this is gonna be like a seventh round

U d f A type guy. But special teams unit are made up of those guys where it's they give me a big, strong athlete that that it has experienced in punt coverage and next thing you know, they end up playing for your team for ten years because they harnessed that skill set. So I mean, oh, Jamichael Hasty

two out of Baylor, ultra quick. Again, not the biggest guy, five eight, about two hundred pounds, but he's got really good fee an he has return experience as well, So all through probably after round five there's gonna be a million of them where if you're trying to fill out special teams, if you're trying to find a third down back, to be trying to find a return man, there's a

lot of them in this group. I like you to mention of the fullback there, because the Dolphins technically have three players on the roster who played fullback last year in Chandler Cox who is rostered as a fullback, Christian Wilkins, who kind of touchdown passed as a fullback last year, and the Land and Roberts running through guys faces with the Patriots last Yep, he comes over to Miami as a linebacker. Obviously. He is Brett Coleman, the creator, an

analyst and host of the Film Room on YouTube. Go subscribe to that. It is appointment viewing for all football nerds. I promise you're gonna learn something every time Brett talks and every time Brett makes a video. You can find him on Twitter at Brett Coleman. That's spelled k O L L M A n N. It's that second end that will get you. Brett, thanks a bunch of doing this, man,

thank you for having me. And there he goes. Brett Coleman breaking down this running back class and telling you why Jordan Howard was a great free agent signing for your Miami Dolphins. We have plenty of draft content coming your way this week and next week and basically leading up to the draft. On April Thursday, eight o'clock Eastern time, going to be a virtual situation, and remember, the Miami Dolphins Facebook account will have a live virtual draft session

for fans to join. Ask questions. We're gonna have film analysis, player interviews. We're gonna have a Q and a session. You're gonna see plenty of me on that broadcast, on that virtual display of Dolphins fans gathering from all over the country, all over the world to celebrate the annual party, the annual holiday that is the NFL Draft, and us, your Miami Dolphins, lead the way with four team picks in this upcoming draft. On tomorrow's podcast, we're gonna have

Trevor Sikima of the Draft Network. He's gonna break down wide receivers. On Thursday, we're going back to the Fins flashback. We're gonna break down the two thousand two Dolphins and Broncos game, my all time favorite Dolphins game. Personally. We're gonna have a Ronde Gadston on to talk about that football game. Then we return on Friday as we're gonna talk to Benjamin Solak of the Draft Network about the quarterbacks of this year's draft class. You won't want to

miss that. He has put in the time and the hours and the long process of charting all the top quarterbacks in this year's draft class so we can have a comprehensive view of the best quarterbacks in this year's draft class. You won't want to miss that. Next week, we're gonna have Ben Finel of the Eye and the Sky podcast with fran Duffy and the Philadelphia Eagles. They do all kinds of great draft work there as well.

He's gonna join me to talk about defensive backs. Working on rounding out the rest of the schedule for the defensive line of linebackers, but we'll have that figured out for next week. And of course check out Miami Dolphins dot com and the social accounts for our draft video preview with yours truly and John con Jemmy. We're gonna have you guys covered all throughout the month of April

here on the Drivetime Podcast. The Audible podcast and every official gathering where you get your Miami Dolphins content and news. Ask for today's podcast, that's gonna be my time you all. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple, podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your episodes from. Go ahead and leave

us a rating, leave us a review. Follow me on Twitter at Wingfield NFL, follow the Dolphins at Miami Dolphins, and check out the fish Tank podcast with Seth and Juice and the Audible with John and kim Bo Camper, and of course, Miami Dolphins dot com. Until next time, fins up