Panthers select Oregon RB Kenjon Barner

[Who Said What?]

After this draft I am really starting to believe that most people on here do not watch college football. They just read a scout page and want to argue about a kids college career.

You forgot to mention the hours of four minute youtube highlight tape they comb over too.

[rmoneyg35]

I don't understand why people don't like this pick. Has anyone looked at his career rankings? he is top 10 in just about everything unless I read this wrong.

Check out the link.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/kenjon-barner-1.html

[rayzor]

i think this pick up pretty much ensures that the read option isn't going away and it has the gettleman stamp of approval.

cam may not run as much and we may not use the read option as a base, but if you want to be a run heavy team and stay relevant, you've git to incorporate the read option. honestly i can't see why anyone who likes run heavy old school football wouldn't like the read option because it is a run heavy offense that's just plain more effective because it gives more possibilities for whats going to happen on any given play, can get huge chunks of yardage, and can help put more points on the board quicker. but that's a whole other discussion.

some of the knocks against barner are his lack of blocking skills in pass pro and his being too quick to pop to the outside instead of running between the tackles.

in pass pro i think he isn't all that good, but honestly i just think he was the focal point of so much of that offense he really didn't have a chance or opportunity to do much blocking. he was always on the move as a ball carrier, safety valve for the QB, or as a decoy to stay in the backfield. he just didn't spend much time there and honestly i think his talents would have been wasted there blocking. he's just too much of a threat to stay in the backfield. he can do more for the QB by just giving him a reliable target out of the backfield and drawing attention to himself.

i do think that the knock against him not running between the tackles is unjustified, tho. sure, he bounces outside a lot, but he runs up the middle a lot as well. you watch this guy play much and you'll see him taking it up the middle finding the tiniest of holes and breaking through to get big yards and/or get into the end zone.

watching him play the kid has unbelievable vision and a great knack for finding and even setting up opportunities for himself. i don't care what his 40 time shows (not that running the 40 yard dash really matters unless you're trying out for a track team) the guy is incredibly quick and a burner. he's just electric and an opportunist and can get by just about anyone and he's great about making something out of nothing. it's like watching a quicker dwill. he's not as powerful as williams and he doesn't have that killer stiff arm, but he's quicker and just as smart of a runner (or easily could be just as smart).

as a receiver the guy is great. he catches with his hands incredibly well and is great at getting to the ball when it's thrown or placed awkwardly. he didn't line up as a receiver much, but he did it enough to know that he could do it well. i didn't see him get jammed much from what I've watched, but i saw it happen and i saw him handle it well mainly because he's got the ability to get around it and get where he needs to be in a hurry. out of the backfield, tho, is where he's the most lethal. it isn't just screens and slants, but he can do some really deep routes as well. he needs quite a bit of work in learning the route tree, but i think he would be able to, esp. given time with proehl (which he and the RBs all needed to have anyway). he's got great hands tho and is just as magic as anyone with the ball in his hands.

two things that really impress me, tho, that i haven't heard or seen much said is his nose for the end zone and just how much of a workhorse he is.

he got into the end zone 23 times last year. 21 as a rusher. the year before when he was really sharing the load and was essentially a backup to james he got into the end zone 14 times, 11 rushing. the kid just has a nose for the endzone. he can make things happen between the 20s as a rusher or receiver, but he can also make things happen in the red zone and on the goal line. he won't power his way through, but he can find his way in there. he just makes it happen. all he needs is just a little space somewhere and he can find it.

another big thing for me was just how much he was used. i mean he is a workhorse of the highest order. 278 carries last year is crazy. only 12 players had more than that. he had 3 games last year that he carried the ball more than 30 times. and he did that averaging 6.4 yards per carry. over 1700 rushing yards and over 2000 yards total. the guy just flat works and he does it well.

sure, a lot had to do with the system but a system will only work as well as the players you have and their ability to fit it. barner was picked by kelly because he fit what kelly wanted to do. he was fast, could accelerate quickly, turn on a dime, spot holes and hit them really fast and could be used in a lot of ways out of the backfield. he was a perfect fit for kelly's offense and he excelled because of it. the point is, he did well because they made the most of his talents. they didn't ask him to be someone other than who he was. they had a role in mind for him that suited his immense abilities to make things happen when he has the ball. that's what we're going to do here. he won't be the focal point by any means, but he has just too much talent to not be used.

i think he'll be a situational player, but they'll try to find and even create as many situations for him as possible...at least i hope they do anyway. he's nit an every down back, but he's a guy that can and should be worked into what we do on offense because he'll be able to make good things happen when he does.

[rayzor]

his game against the trojans...

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=wp5NpPWCCAg (imagine that against the falcons and the saints)

2012 highlights (12 minutes worth...no dumb music)

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=pR89jyXcKDw

2011 highlights (7+ minutes worth...no dumb music)

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=AXVSOr0gMyY

[dksmith17]

i do think that the knock against him not running between the tackles is unjustified, tho. sure, he bounces outside a lot, but he runs up the middle a lot as well. you watch this guy play much and you'll see him taking it up the middle finding the tiniest of holes and breaking through to get big yards and/or get into the end zone.

watching him play the kid has unbelievable vision and a great knack for finding and even setting up opportunities for himself. i don't care what his 40 time shows (not that running the 40 yard dash really matters unless you're trying out for a track team) the guy is incredibly quick and a burner. he's just electric and an opportunist and can get by just about anyone and he's great about making something out of nothing. it's like watching a quicker dwill. he's not as powerful as williams and he doesn't have that killer stiff arm, but he's quicker and just as smart of a runner (or easily could be just as smart).

the criticism is not necessarily that he can't run between the tackles and/or has bad vision...

I think its more that he seeks to avoid contact too often and can't break tackles. Combine that with poor pass pro, an upright running style, and a running style that lacks a sense of urgency (according to scouts at least) and it seems logical that his game won't translate well to the next level.

[nosuchthingasapanther]

the criticism is not necessarily that he can't run between the tackles and/or has bad vision...

I think its more that he seeks to avoid contact too often and can't break tackles. Combine that with poor pass pro, an upright running style, and a running style that lacks a sense of urgency (according to scouts at least) and it seems logical that his game won't translate well to the next level.

i'm still scratching my head at a lot of the scouting reports on barner. it's as if they didn't watch him play, saw that he was in the draft, and one person tossed together some half assed report that everyone else decided to jump on like it was gold.

[Frank Hollywood]

his game against the trojans...

http://m.youtube.com...h?v=wp5NpPWCCAg (imagine that against the falcons and the saints)

2012 highlights (12 minutes worth...no dumb music)

http://m.youtube.com...h?v=pR89jyXcKDw

2011 highlights (7+ minutes worth...no dumb music)

http://m.youtube.com...h?v=AXVSOr0gMyY

Couple things I noticed...

-Dude is FAST

-has a knack for finding holes (lol)

-Seems to go down very easily

-Doesn't appear very strong, he won't overpower anyone.

[CPF4LIFE]

He can break tackles for someone his size, i saw it a couple times in his videos.

[Frank Hollywood]

He can break tackles for someone his size, i saw it a couple times in his videos.

He did break some, but seemed to go down very easily at first touch for most plays.

[rayzor]

but you have to catch him first.

btw, i don't see it as avoiding contact, i see it as avoiding getting into situations where you can be tackled and looming for the path of least resistance to get the most gain on that run...and i don't have a problem with that. not everyone needs to be a battering ram to get where they want to go.

and running upright? he's scoping the field always looking for holes not just in front of him, but downfield. i saw someone say that he runs the ball like a returner and i think that's pretty much on target. he's looking for the best way to get down field and he's quite good at it.

i think he dropped because 1) RBs just aren't worth an early pick because you can get good ones in pretty much any round so they just don't carry the value and 2) because he doesn't run or is built like a traditional RB. he's a tweener like sproles, harvin, and austin. if he was a wideout he would have gone earlier, but he was an RB and used predominantly like one while in oregon. he's just like those other three, tho, because of how many ways he can be used. he's just not prototypical in size or usage...at least not yet. and by that i mean we're going to see more smaller and quick hybrid rb/wrs coming out and getting used more in the pros.

[dksmith17]

i saw someone say that he runs the ball like a returner and i think that's pretty much on target.

thats fair

I guess the difference is whether or not you think that style translates to NFL success. It appears the consensus among the scouts is that it typically doesn't.

[rayzor]

thats fair

I guess the difference is whether or not you think that style translates to NFL success. It appears the consensus among the scouts is that it typically doesn't.

i think scouts are typically slow to adapt to new things and trends or just to thinking outside the box.

i absolutely think it will translate to the NFL. it all depends on the usage and situations. if he's asked to run like more traditional RBs, he's going to fail. if his natural talent is honed some and he's allowed the freedom to run that way it should succeed.

there's just a couple things i think needs to be really worked on...his route tree and his blocking. the rest i feel would just need to be fine tuned and used the right way.