Rookie Report Card: Isaiah Crowell and Zach Mettenberger

Dan Meylor

mettenberger

I’ve decided to put my own spin on the concept of a rookie report card this year. Going forward, the Rookie Report Card is exactly what it sounds like, a report card.

Not only will I cover my expectations for the player coming into the league and how he’s performed at the NFL level to this point, I’ll actually give him a grade in three categories. Those categories are performance to date, 2014 potential and long term upside. Each week I’ll cover at least two rookies and try to always include the biggest performers from that particular week.

The series continues with a closer look at two of my favorite rookies, Isaiah Crowell and Zach Mettenberger.

Isaiah Crowell, RB CLE
Week 12 Stats: 12 carries, 88 rushing yards, two touchdowns
Season Stats: 90 carries, 446 yards, seven touchdowns, five receptions, 46 receiving yards

Crowell was my favorite running back prospect going into the NFL draft and I was perplexed that more didn’t share the same opinion. There were two very commonly heard reasons why most weren’t on Crowell’s bandwagon, off the field issues and the lack of talent he played against for most of his time in college.

[am4show have=’g1;’ guest_error=’sub_message’ user_error=’sub_message’ ]

A five star recruit coming out of high school in Georgia, Crowell signed with the home state Bulldogs. Then as a freshman he tallied 850 yards on 185 carries (4.6 YPC) and five touchdowns while also adding another score as a receiver. For his efforts on the field, he was named SEC Freshman of the Year. Unfortunately though, it was his off the field actions that got more attention. Crowell was dismissed from Georgia after being arrested for multiple felony firearms charges that were later dropped.

Then Crowell enrolled at Alabama State where in two seasons, he piled up 1,963 yards on 329 carries (6 YPC) and 30 rushing touchdowns. Equally as important, he kept his nose clean while playing in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Although he played against lesser competition for a majority of his college career, it’s hard to come away unimpressed after turning on the film of Crowell from his time in college. No matter if you watched him in his freshman year in the SEC or his two seasons playing in the Football Championship Subdivision, he consistently showed an impressive combination of power and speed and incredible vision to find rushing lanes. Also regularly displaying the ability to change directions without losing any speed, he was able to cause missed tackles both in the backfield and when he broke into the secondary.

While at Alabama State, Crowell was easily the best player on the field no matter who the Hornets were playing. He always hit the hole at full speed, challenged linebackers at the second level and showed a nose for the end zone and a gritty determination when taking on contact inside the five yard line.

As I said before, I couldn’t believe more people weren’t high on Crowell. When he went undrafted though, I was even more dumbfounded.

Since signing with the Browns after the draft, Crowell has clawed his way all the way to the top of the Browns’ depth chart at running back. In 11 games he’s piled up 446 yards on 90 carries (5 YPC) and seven touchdowns. Along the way, he impressed so much that he (along with fellow rookie Terrence West) made Ben Tate expendable.

So far as a rookie Crowell has displayed all the impressive traits that made him such an intriguing prospect coming out college. He’s used his extraordinary vision to find seems in the defense, attacked the line of scrimmage and showed great burst at the second level to beat linebackers and defensive backs to punch.

Perhaps even more impressively though, Crowell has shown improvement in the places where he was once criticized. Regularly thought of as a lazy pass blocker coming out of college, he’s been a very willing and relatively effective protector of Brian Hoyer, only allowing one hit on the quarterback so far on the season according to Pro Football Focus. Crowell has also been criticized for taking plays off and not always giving full effort but all reports out of Cleveland have indicated he’s been one of the hardest working players on the roster at practice and on Sundays.

Strictly talking about his week 12 performance against the Falcons, it’d be difficult for even the biggest Crowell naysayer to not be impressed with his showing. On his first touchdown of the game he took the handoff up the middle, shook the unblocked defensive tackle in the backfield and made an impressive cut up the field to go into the end zone nearly untouched from 11-yards out. Then on his second score he took the pitch to the right, reversed field off left tackle and zigged through the Atlanta defense while throwing a pair of stiff arms in route to an impressive 34-yard touchdown run.

For the rest of the year, it looks like Crowell and West will split carries. Over the last three weeks, Crowell has gotten 38 carries while starting two games and West has handled 45 totes while getting a start of his own. It appears the Browns will feed the hot hand so there’s some risk with depending on Crowell but he looks like a good bet to be a RB2 for the rest of the season.

In the long run, Crowell has all the traits of a tailback that a team can build an offense around – at least on first and second down. He’s got better burst than West, is more explosive at the second level and is a more accomplished goal line runner. He should become the Browns’ primary running back sooner rather than later and should continue to put up RB2 numbers in standard leagues for years to come with the potential to become a low end RB1 if he gets 18 to 20 touches per game.

Before going too crazy over Crowell and his upside, there are things to be slightly concerned about as fantasy owners. For starters he’s shown no ability to be an asset as a pass catcher, catching just five passes on the season. His lack of production could prove to be a non-issue in the future but it’s highly doubtful which limits his upside to a low end RB2 or flex play in PPR leagues. He’s also shown a propensity to fumble and his slippery fingers have put the ball on the turf twice in 95 touches already as a rookie. As long as he can limit those mistakes, he should be a fixture in your fantasy team’s starting lineup for at least the next few seasons.

Rookie Report Card
Player: Isaiah Crowell
Performance To Date 2014 Potential Long Term Upside
B- B B+

 

Zach Mettenberger, QB TEN
Week 11 Stats: 20/39 passing, 345 yards, two touchdowns, one interception
Season Stats: 80/136 passing, 1,103 yards, seven touchdowns, five interceptions

Despite having so many red flags going into the draft including an ACL tear that he suffered just a year ago this month, a diluted drug test at the scouting combine that raised the eyebrows of many talent evaluators and a back condition that could develop into a problem for him in the future on top of the off the field issues that go him kicked off of Georgia’s campus, Mettenberger was my favorite passer throughout the offseason.

Mettenberger was impressive in his time at LSU, especially after Cam Cameron came onboard as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator. After completing 207 of 354 passes (58.8%) for 2,609 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior, he shined in Cameron’s pro-style offense as a senior. He racked up 3,082 yards and 22 touchdowns while only throwing eight interceptions in his injury shortened final year on campus.

While watching Mettenberger as a senior at LSU, it was easy to come away impressed. He showed a great command of the pocket, always stepping up rather than fleeing backwards or to the outside, and displayed a very strong arm that could throw even the toughest of routes including a deep out with plenty of zip.

If there was a question mark with Mettenberger and his prospects as a future NFL starter, it was his incredibly long delivery. At times it would take him so long to release a pass that defenders would have time to catch an open receiver or a clean pocket would shrink fast and it would affect his accuracy. Although it was a concern, I felt Mettenberger could speed up his delivery once he got the NFL.

Selected in the sixth round of the draft by Tennessee, there was little doubt Mettenberger would get a chance to show what he could do at some point during his rookie year. That opportunity came in week eight and since that time, he’s shown signs that he could have a future as a starting NFL quarterback.

Completing 58.8% of his passes with a 7:5 touchdown to interception ratio, Mettenberger has been good but certainly not great. His slow delivery has been a problem at times as he’s now taken five sacks in two of his four starts and his six turnovers are a bit concerning.

With that said, he’s shown the ability to forget his mistakes and make big throws after those slipups. After throwing an awful pick-six to William Gay on the opening drive of the Titans’ Monday night loss to the Steelers in week 11 he drove the Tennessee offense right down the field for a touchdown, throwing a pair of beautiful passes to Kendall Wright on the drive. Then he burned Gay with a perfectly placed deep pass to Nate Washington for a touchdown before halftime.

On Sunday, Mettenberger once again had his ups and downs. He only completed one of his six attempts in the first quarter against the Eagles, but threw a 40-yard touchdown to Justin Hunter on the first play of the second quarter. While the ball was tipped by a defensive back, it was well thrown and likely would have gone for the score even if it wasn’t touched by the defender.

At this point, Mettenberger is exactly where most thought he would be at this point in his rookie season. He’s getting starts and has looked good at times, but he’s made rookie mistakes and has been predictably inconsistent. He should only be considered a QB3 at this point and due to his lack of consistent weapons on offense and the growing pains he’ll continue to go through, shouldn’t be depended on for fantasy owners – even in the deepest of leagues.

Even though my expectations are limited with him, I’m really looking forward to seeing Mettenberger play throughout the rest of the 2014 season. He showed improvement in week 11 against the Steelers only to take a step back this past week. Good matchups against the Giants, Jets, and Jaguars are coming up on the Titans’ schedule so he’ll have the opportunity to make strides. If he can show progress and limit his mistakes, he could enter 2015 as Tennessee’s starter under center. With a full off-season preparing as the number one guy, his raw skills could develop into something useful for his dynasty owners.

I believe Mettenberger has low-end QB1 upside. It won’t come to fruition until at least next year (and may take longer), but his rocket arm and confidence will lead his dynasty owners to good things as long as they’re patient with him.

Rookie Report Card
Player: Zach Mettenberger
Performance To Date 2014 Potential Long Term Upside
C C B+

 

[/am4show]

dan meylor