*In the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft, the San Diego Chargers sent their 1st round (28 overall), 2nd round and 4th round picks, as well as ILB Tim Dobbins, to the Miami Dolphins for the #12 overall pick to select Ryan Mathews. They also picked up the Dolphins' 4th round and 6th round picks.*
I've been trying to be unbiased with these little write-ups before allow for the grading, but I have to be honest here: I love this pick. In the spirit of comparing our new picks to ex-Chargers, which I've done with just about all of them, Ryan Matthews is like LaDainian Tomlinson.....only with a little less shake-and-bake and a little more power. Which, if we were tweaking anything about LT's game, is probably the way many of us would've preferred it.
The scouting reports on Mathews are heavy on the pros and light on the cons, as with most first-round draft picks. The pros: inside/outside runner, patient, keeps feet moving, instinctual/smart runner, powerful, picks up yards after the first hit. Sounds like everything you want in a running back, and add in the fact that he's young AND was a Chargers fan already....this sounds like a dream come true.
Ready for the cons? He's not Barry Sanders or LaDainian Tomlinson (he's not going to juke many people out of their shoes), and he's not Chris Johnson ("Does not have top-end speed" is something we heard enough times with LT to realize it's not a big deal).
My one big con that's not listed often is that the kid carried the ball a ton in college and therefore has a lot of mileage on those legs. However, that's more of a "second contract" gripe than a right-now gripe. For the next few years, I think the Bolts have themselves exactly the right RB for this offense.