The McGinn series has come out where personnel guys from different teams tell Mcginn what they think of these prospects. And their takes historically are more predictive of where these player go compared to mocks. They have Sampson as the 11th rated back, behind Tuten which I found interesting. One of them wondered if Sampson slides to the 5th. I doubt it but at a minimum feels slam dank he's there to be had in the third.
Look I like Sampson but i am not really married to any of these RBs, I'd be happy with a whole bunch of them. Judging by the scout's takes, a number of good running backs could be had in the third, Skattebo included. But i also really dig Hampton, Giddens, Kaleb Johnson. Tuten, Blue, Harvey, intrigue me.
Sampson is interesting. He was the first guy i think I landed on here after Henderson. But the deeper I dove into him, I found him to be a big enigma including for a dude that's fast, he doesn't have many 15 plus yard runs. One of the lowest in this group. One of the scouts goes "decent burst through the line of scrimmage but struggles with long speed." That comment bears out. Compare to Henderson for example. Henderson has much better hands as to pass catching (Sampson has a number of drops) and fumbles. Henderson is more explosive. More big runs. Henderson burns light boxes, Sampson not so much.
But Sampson for a small guy is feisty and can get you first downs. Tough runner. He's good closer to the red zone which is something you wouldn't expect for a smaller back. And has potential to be a better back IMO in the pros.
As far as fumbles go, ESPN has Skattebo at zero, some have him at 1. A couple of dudes on twitter said he had a ton. Warren Sharp who did a statistical profile on the running backs including highlighting fumbles -- didn't say a word about Skattebo having an issue with it but did mention Sampson. But I don't know one way or another with the mixed info on the subject.
As far as Sampson doing it with a non top notch O line. Not sure about that. At a minimum, he faced some light boxes and they kept him clean where he had some runway before getting hit more so than any other RB in this group. To quote Sharp "Sampson faced 6.3 defenders in the box per rush, the 2nd lowest in this class." Playing in Tennessee's open offense, he ran against a light box (6 or few defenders) on 60.9% of his runs but only produced a first down or touchdown on 22.9% of his runs against light fronts (third lowest).
"Tennesse elevated some of his counting stats. He was hit at or behind the line of scrimmage on only 26% of his runs, the lowest rate in the class."
NEW YORK — For the fourth consecutive year, Tennessee's offensive line has earned a spot on the Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll, recognizing the nation'...
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Tennessee Offensive Line Lands On 2024 Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll
FootballOctober 10, 2024
NEW YORK — For the fourth consecutive year, Tennessee's offensive line has earned a spot on the Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll, recognizing the nation's most outstanding offensive line units.