Buchsbaum's top 10
(as of March 10)

1. Thomas Jones
2. Ron Dayne
3. Jamal Lewis
4. Shaun Alexander
5. J.R. Redmond
6. Travis Prentice
7. Sammy Morris
8. Trung Canidate
9. Reuben Droughns
10. Aaron Shea

Positives: Good size. Exceptional running skills and vision. Runs with great patience yet without hesitation. Knows how to set up and use his blockers. Makes very quick and good decisions. Mind and body work together so there is no hesitation. Sees the cut-back lane. Has a burst of speed. Can make the first man miss and at times will string moves together. Above-average power and strength. Excellent balance and body control. Has learned how to finish his runs. Generally catches the ball well. Unlike many backs, he does a good job of catching the ball down the field. Quickly turns back into a runner after the catch. Has improved blitz pickup, blocking and toughness. Scores touchdowns. Has gotten into the endzone 40 times in the past two years. Generally comes up big in big games. Although he does not switch the ball from arm to arm to keep it further away from tacklers, it is not regarded as a negative because he is not a fumbler.

Negatives: Still is not the toughest, most physical back around. Does not seem to extend himself if he sees that there is nothing there for him. Runs much better to the outside than to the inside. Will run a little tall and narrow-based on occasion. Does not have the great finishing speed to take it to the house and can be run down from behind.

Summary: A natural runner with size, pass-catching skills and a burst of speed. Has gotten tougher and better every year. Has a good chance to start in the NFL and could start as a rookie if he improves his running between the tackles.

Positives: Breakaway runner with an inordinate number of long runs for touchdowns. Averaged more than 50 yards per TD run in ’97 and ’98 combined. Has initial quickness, acceleration into the hole and an extra gear. Will run with good vision at times and can see the cut-back lane.

Negatives: Lacks size and has a thin lower body. Has often come out in short-yardage and goal-line situations because he is not a very powerful runner. Is more of a feast-or-famine type who will carry for a handful of yards and then break a 50-yarder. At times, Canidate looks as though he’s an alley runner who needs a hole and does not do a great job of juking tacklers and making them miss. Average receiver and below-average blocker. Has not been that durable.

Summary: Canidate is the type of back who will go a long way if he hits the hole right and has a lane to run through, but he is not the type of back who can create on his own or run over defenders. He’s a little like the Falcons’ Byron Hanspard when Hanspard came out of Texas Tech, but Canidate is not as big or powerful.

Positives: Huge, massive, powerful runner who is very hard to wrap up because he is so wide and thick. Patient runner with excellent vision who sets up and uses his blockers very well. Has very quick feet for a big back and exceptional power when he gets his shoulders turned and starts running downfield. Is built low to the ground and looks like a huge snowball coming down a steep hill once he gets it into gear. Lost weight and was quicker to the corner and shiftier in ’99. Had a great college career.

Negatives: Has had a problem controlling his weight in the past. When he gets too heavy, he loses the agility and quick movements that make him special. Very limited exposure in the passing game and as a blocker. Patient, gliding runner who needs some time to get rolling. Can be stopped if hit early, before he gets his shoulders turned and starts running down the field. Has had a lot of minor injuries in the past. May restrict what a team does on offense. Is at his best if featured in the I-formation. Did not run at the Combine because he was not in great shape.

Summary: Sort of a cross between Jerome Bettis and Natrone Means when he weighs 253 pounds or less. Dayne has excellent feet for a big back and tremendous power once he gets rolling, but he is just another back if hit before he gets into gear and is not a quick, takeoff type of runner. Will have to be a featured back, play in the I-formation and control his weight to be at his best.

Positives: Adequate size. Quick with quick acceleration. Runs hard inside and has a burst through the hole. Has good running vision. Seems to compete well. Can catch and block OK. Has always produced on every level.

Negatives: Looked as though he lost something in ’99 after the injury. Did not show a lot of moves and did not seem able to string multiple moves together. Ran too upright and got bounced back too much. Has shown a tendency to fumble. No longer appears to have breakaway speed.

Summary: Gained over 1,000 yards in ’99 but was not the back he was before his injury. Could come back since he was just one year away from a serious knee injury that required screws and two surgeries.

Positives: Exceptional work ethic and intelligence. Has gotten bigger, stronger and better every year. Quick-darting, north-south runner with very good explosiveness through the hole and good speed. Runs with a low center of gravity and has exceptional balance and body control. Quick-footed and nifty. Can cut and make tacklers miss. Is not a Barry Sanders but can string moves together. Very smart and aware player. Catches the ball nicely and can be used on punt returns because his hands are so sure. Will block. Is goal-oriented. Graduated in three years. Has been durable and dependable.

Negatives: Is not powerful enough in the lower body and hips to break tackles after contact the way Walter Payton did and Emmitt Smith did in his prime and still does to a degree.

Summary: Similar to Smith in a lot of ways, although he does not have as much strength and power to break tackles after contact as Smith had in his prime. But he is a more natural pass catcher than Smith ever was and is a good step faster.

Positives: Before his first knee injury, Lewis looked like a potential franchise back with a rare combination of size, speed, power and an explosive burst. He has good running vision and instincts, toughness, determination, terrific balance and body control, quick feet and very good hands.

Negatives: Was not the same back after his injury. Was a step slower, less durable and much less powerful. Did not show the same running vision and ran into piles instead of picking holes. Was never a patient runner but became a more impatient runner who oftentimes did not give his blockers time to do their job. Got so muscular that his muscles almost seemed to get in his way at times. As a result, he had a hard time with fumbles and did not catch the ball as well as he did as a freshman.

Summary: Will go high because of what he was and what he still may get back to being. But if he had returned to Tennessee for his senior year and regained the form he showed in ’97 and early ’98, he would have been a top-five pick in 2001.

Positives: Good athlete and on-field competitor. Very versatile. Looks equally at home at running back or fullback. Shows no signs of a player with academic problems when it comes to learning. Excellent pass-catching back with very good hands. Catches the ball down the field like a wide receiver. Above-average running skills and power. Isn’t a multi-move runner but has enough elusiveness to make the first man miss.

Negatives: Is not as big or powerful as scouts want at fullback. Is not the blocker scouts want at fullback. Does not have the moves or speed of a great tailback. Off-the-field work ethic has not always matched on-the-field work ethic.

Summary: A good, solid back with excellent receiving skills for someone who can play either running back or fullback, but he is not quite what you want at either spot.

Positives: Good size, speed and strength. Very hard worker. Could not catch a cold when he came to college and now is a decent receiver who will catch the easier throws when he does not have to do much adjusting. Non-fumbler. Strong and powerful runner with good speed in the open field. Can run inside with authority and has the speed to get outside and break some long runs. Was extremely durable and productive throughout his college career.

Negatives: Gets into trouble when he gets too fancy and does not run hard and hit the hole hard. Is not very elusive. Does not have great make-you-miss moves or cutting ability. Has been clocked as fast as 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash but does not have sudden, explosive speed. Average blocker. Has improved pass catching a lot but will never be a natural catcher. Has trouble catching balls thrown outside the frame of his body when he must adjust to the ball.

Summary: As long as he runs north-south — and hard — he is a good, solid back. But I don’t know if he can be a special difference maker.

Positives: Excellent all-around athlete. Can run, catch, return punts and kickoffs and fill in in the secondary. Very deceptive runner who does not look like a jitterbug but varies his speed nicely, has many gears and rarely gets hit squarely. Has very good hands and a quick first move that will often make the tackler miss. Fine receiver. Pro-caliber skills as a return man. Can run outside and is not bad inside, although he is not going to be his own blocker. Makes big plays.

Negatives: Is not a heavy-duty inside runner. Runs a little narrow-based and tends to bend at the waist after contact. Lacks power and generally goes down when hit low and hard. Has shown some questionable judgment off the field. Is not that durable.

Summary: Could be a good all-purpose and third-down back who plays on passing downs, returns kicks and punts and fills in at safety. More of a slash, change-of-pace runner than a juke-and-make-you-miss or heavy-duty inside thumper.

Positives: Great size. Very good hands and pass-catching skills. Versatile. OK running ability. Improving blocker. Can play fullback, tight end or H-back. Had an impressive Senior Bowl week.

Negatives: Has had shoulder problems and at times blocks as though his shoulder is still bothering him. Is not a crushing blocker. Runs more upright than scouts would like a fullback to run.

Summary: Versatile player who could make it as a fullback, tight end or H-back. Really helped himself at the Senior Bowl.