I can’t get that question out of my mind.
It feels completely unfair to even throw out the term “bust” when a guy has only had 19 carries in the NFL. It goes against everything I typically stand for when it comes to evaluating players.
But Rashard Mendenhall hasn’t once looked anything other than a mediocre running back during his first two seasons and that scares me.
Hit “Read more” to see why Mendenhall worries me so much.
Chris Johnson. Matt Forte. Steve Slaton. Tim Hightower. Ray Rice.
These are all running backs taken after (well after in some cases) Rashard Mendenhall in the 2008 draft. Mendenhall was the consensus number one running back of that class, which has turned out to be a very good group of RBs.
Running backs are the dime a dozen position in the NFL. There’s usually a lot of decent RBs out there that can be had for cheap. So when you use a first round pick on a RB, I think it’s fair to expect big things. The Steelers didn’t draft Mendenhall to play second fiddle behind Willie Parker for more than a year or two. He was supposed to be the guy.
As excited I was about the pick, Mendenhall hasn’t nearly lived up to the expectations. It’s painful at times for me to watch him this preseason because he just looks lost at times. He’s not sure when to hit the hole or when to cut. It looks like he’s still playing at college speed.
Obviously, the Steelers offensive line hasn’t helped the situation. More times than not, Mendenhall is greeted by a linebacker or two behind the line of scrimmage. I understand that plays a big role.
But for a guy built like a tank with all of the pedigree and acclaim he had coming out of Illinois, he hasn’t looked like a great NFL running back at all. He’s yet to flash any of the power or speed that the Steelers thought they were drafting. Guys like Isaac Redman and Justin Vincent run the ball with attitude and urgency. You can see that they aren’t timid. Mendenhall doesn’t have that “it” factor in my eyes yet.
Hopefully this preseason is still a period of adjustment for him. Maybe once he gets used to the rhythm of the NFL game he’ll be fine.
But I’m getting close to readjusting my expectations. At this point, I probably wouldn’t take Mendenhall over any of the guys on the list above.
This could be my fault, but when he was drafted I thought the Steelers were getting a Pro Bowl-type back and he’s certainly looked a lot more like Najeh Davenport than Adrian Peterson so far.
Has Rashard Mendenhall lived up to your expectations so far? Is it still way too early to decide if he’s a good player?
