Jamaal Charles, 2008 NFL Draft Prospect
 | Running Back 5' 11" 200 lbs. Speed: 4.38 Texas Junior (declared) |
NFL Draft Dog 2nd Team All-American Jamaal Charles will enter the 2008 NFL Draft as a junior. The speedy Texas Longhorn running back finished his junior season (2007) ranked 9th in the NCAA with 1,619 yards and 18 touchdowns this season. He also recorded an impressive 124.54 yards per game average.
Charles is one of the first "elite" juniors to officially declare for the draft. He received his grade from the NFL advisory council, and while it is hasn't been made available to the public, it was reportedly in the 2-3 round range.
"We appreciate everything Jamaal has done for Texas and want to wish him all of the best," Texas Coach Mack Brown said. "He has been a great player for us and more importantly a tremendous person, student and representative of our program."
I like how Charles finished games in the fourth quarter, he averaged 6.2 yards per carry this season. He had an early season fumbling problem, including a devastating fumble at the goal line in a 28-21 loss to Oklahoma, but he finished very strong, averaging 180 yards over the final five games.
Charles had a career-high 290 rushing yards in a 28-25 win over Nebraska in which he had 216 yards and three long TDs in the fourth quarter. He also had 161 yards and two touchdowns in Texas' Pacific Life Holiday Bowl win over Arizona State. He also emerged as a better receiver during that stretch, in which he caught 9 passes for 121 yards.
Charles has only average size at 5' 11" 200 pounds, but he has blazing speed, he was a four-time All-American in track for the Longhorns and ran a career-best 10.23-second 100 meters to win the Big 12 title as a freshman in 2006. Not only fast, but he has the strength to move the pile and break tackles. Once he hits the secondary, he will not be caught from behind.
Jamaal Charles' 3,328 career rushing yards rank fourth in school history, trailing only Ricky Williams, Cedrick Benson and Earl Campbell. Former Texas running back Selvin Young, a 2007 rookie standout with the Denver Broncos, is the latest example of a Texas running back making it big in the NFL. The positive history of Texas running backs in the NFL (minus Cedrick Benson) will only help Charles' status in the 2008 NFL Draft.
Update: I think Charles is way under-rated, very few NFL Draft anylists have Charles graded as a first round prospect. Not me, I have him rated ahead of Arkansas's Felix Jones and I also have him in the first round of my 2008 NFL Mock Draft. Along with all of Charles's success on the field he has the one thing that can't be taught, raw, blinding, breathtaking, touchdown making speed. Charles had a monster workout at the 2008 NFL scouting Combine running a mind boggling 4.38 seconds in the forty. Only three other running backs are faster than Charles, Chris Johnson (4.24), Darren McFadden (4.33) and Anthony Aldridge (4.36), and except for McFadden, Charles he has the best size. he has value late in the first round and will be an absolute steal if he should slip into the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft.