Ryan Mathews

February 17, 2010 at 2:20 pm | Article by Justin Neff |

Ryan Mathews, RB, Fresno State, 5’11”, 220 lbs., 4.45 forty, 22 years old

Pre-NFL Draft Fantasy Profile: Mathews, a Junior from Fresno State, is coming off of an unbelievable season that many people did not even notice simply because he did not get a large amount of exposure. His 1,808 yards was second in the NCAA to only Heisman finalist, Toby Gerhart. Along with his yardage, Mathews also pounded in 19 TDs, raising his 3 year total to 39, and averaged a whopping 6.6 yards per carry during his final season with the Bulldogs. He isn’t much of a pass blocker and won’t break off a lot of long touchdown runs, but neither did Edgerrin James throughout his career, and he’ll almost certainly be in the Hall of Fame one day. Mathews brings great intelligence and ball-carrier vision into the NFL, and little things like those will get him on the field, especially in the red zone. He doesn’t catch the ball particularly well, but he has that ability to constantly churn his legs and fall forward, which will wear down defenses.

Mathews will be a nice power compliment to a team with a speed back already in place, and will almost certainly vulture some goal-line carries as soon as his rookie year. He will most likely have some value as soon as his rookie year based on short-yardage TDs alone. He may not rush for more than 500-600 yards, but will probably notch somewhere around 5-8 TDs.

I look for Mathews to land somewhere like Houston, Cleveland, or Buffalo. Gary Kubiak has already acknowledged that the running game needs to be addressed in April, and while Jerome Harrison blew up at the end of last season, lets be honest, it’s easier to trust your ex-girlfriend you haven’t seen or heard from since 2004 than it is to trust any Browns RB right now. Mathews would be a nice compliment to any of these running games, as they already have a “lightning” aspect to them, and he could bring a little more “thunder.” He will be good value to anybody drafting around eighth or ninth in rookie drafts.

Post-NFL Draft Fantasy Outlook: Coming in May!

Justin Neff is a featured writer for NoOffseason.com. He covers the NFL Draft, and will write a weekly column during the 2010 NFL season.

Return to our 2010 dynasty rookie big board.

Discuss the 2010 NFL Draft on our forums.

Want free rankings? We can give you some of the best free 2010 rankings you’ll find available. If you’re looking for a little more, however, we offer customized player rankings to your league format and scoring system, as part of our Ultimate Strategist Package!