NFL sleeps on Borghi, continuing trend with local RBS
Step aside, Mr. Irrelevant. There’s a new NFL draft tradition brewing here in the Centennial State, and it may be an even better determinant of future success than Mel Kiper’s Big Board:
NFL personnel departments sleeping on Colorado prep running backs.
Max Borghi — TBD
It started five years ago with Eaton High alum Austin Ekeler, a Western Colorado product who understandably flew under the radar playing at the Division II level.
Then it continued a year later with Denver South’s Phillip Lindsay, who somehow failed to turn heads after tearing apart the Pac-12 his last two seasons with the CU Buffs (3,476 total yards and 32 TDS).
Now, it’s Pomona grad Max Borghi’s turn.
Despite putting together a fouryear run at Washington State that included a career average of 5.8 yards per carry and three seasons with 12-plus touchdowns, Borghi went undrafted last weekend, just as Ekeler and Lindsay had before him. (He later signed as a free agent with Indianapolis).
And, just like his predecessors, the Grading the Week staff has a sneaking suspicion multiple teams will later regret it.
Could we interest you in back-toback 1,000-yard seasons and a Pro Bowl nod? That’s what Lindsay did in his first two years with the Broncos. How about two years with more than 1,500 total yards and double-digit touchdowns? Ekeler pulled that off after taking Melvin Gordon’s job with the Chargers.
Throw in the two Colorado prep tailbacks who actually were drafted the previous five years — Valor Christian’s Christian Mccaffrey (2017, Panthers, 8th overall pick) and Falcon’s Kalen Ballage (2018, Dolphins, 131st) — and the picture only becomes clearer: It’s rarely a bad idea to add a Coloradan to your running back room.
Could Borghi — whose versatile skillset is similar to that of Ekeler and Mccaffrey — follow the same trajectory if given the opportunity by the Colts? That’s a big “if” given the Colts’ loaded RB depth chart (that Jonathan Taylor fella is pretty good), but we’re certainly not going to bet against him.
The hit rate on Front Range running back prospects is too good to ignore.
Brendan Rodgers — A
A week ago, the Grading the
Week staff lobbied rather loudly for Brendan Rodgers’ demotion to Triple-a.
Then the Rockies second baseman promptly went 6 for 16 with two doubles, a home run, four runs and eight RBIS over his next four games. Obviously, we will be taking full credit.
All kidding aside, it feels safe to say whatever was ailing Rodgers during his 4-for-51 April has been put to rest.
While it remains troubling that a cornerstone of Colorado’s future has a body of work that suggests extreme streakiness — also, he’s still hitting .149 this season — it’s also impressive that he could pull himself out of it so quickly.
It’s not easy overcoming a prolonged bouts of failure … as the Grading the Week staff knows all too well.
Connor Ingram — A
Nashville goaltender Connor Ingram saved many things during his extraordinary Game 2 performance against Colorado on Thursday night inside Ball Arena:
• 49 Avalanche shots
• The Predators’ bacon (mostly)
• Private Ryan (maybe)
• The possibility of a Game 5
One heck of a performance. And yet, still not good enough to beat the Avs.