Note: This is a free preview of a 2014 Draft Sharks Player Profile. DS Insiders will have access to over 300+ of these -- along with detailed projections -- in June.

Trent Richardson

Richardson’s 2013 campaign was 1 of the worst by a RB in NFL history. His 3.0 yards per carry ranked 46th out of the 48 RBs last year with 100+ carries. Richardson finished 23rd in the league with 188 carries but just 34th with 563 rushing yards. Since the NFL merger in 1970, only 3 RBs (Adrian Murrell, James Jackson and Jonathan Wells) have finished with more carries and fewer yards in a season than Richardson did last year.

The inability to break long runs might have been Richardson’s biggest problem. Just 1 of his 188 carries went for more than 20 yards. 49 different players recorded more 20+ yarders last year. 31 of those guys did it on fewer attempts than T-Rich.

Perhaps the most damning number for Richardson’s 2013 season is 5.3. That was Donald Brown’s yards-per-carry average running in the same offense behind the same offensive line as Richardson. That’s the same Brown who was shaping up as a monumental 1st-round bust prior to last year.

That’s all plenty of reason to cross Richardson off your cheat sheet before your fantasy draft even starts this summer. But that’d be a bit rash. It’s still too early to throw in the towel on Richardson.

He wasn’t exactly put in a favorable situation last year. He was shipped from Cleveland to Indianapolis after Week 2. Learning a brand new offense in the middle of the season is a serious challenge, even for a RB. Richardson never seemed comfortable with the Colts, dancing behind the line and doing far too much east-west running. It looked like he was thinking more than just running.

Richardson was also operating behind a shaky offensive line. The Colts finished 23rd in Pro Football Focus’ run-blocking grades. Football Outsiders ranked the group 15th in adjusted line yards. Richardson was stopped for no gain or a loss on 21.8% of his carries – sign that the line was allowing too much penetration into the backfield. Of course, Brown managed that 5.3 yards-per-carry average behind the same line.

Richardson at least posted some peripheral stats that provide some optimism heading into this season. He forced 31 missed tackles, according to PFF. That ranked 15th among RBs. Richardson’s missed tackle rate of .20 per carry ranked 7th – just ahead of Eddie Lacy. Richardson also finished 7th in PFF’s Elusive Rating, which measures a RB's production beyond the blocking he receives. Richardson was better than Lacy, Jamaal Charles and Matt Forte in that stat.

Those numbers suggest that Richardson is still an effective power back. The questions are whether he can settle into Indy’s offense and whether he can regain his explosion. We say “regain” because Richardson was an explosive back in college. He averaged more than 5 yards per carry in all 3 of his seasons at Alabama. He busted off runs of 52, 53, 57, 65, 71 and 76 yards, with many of those coming against tough SEC defenses.

The Colts intend to get answers to those questions in 2014. The team made virtually no effort to retain Brown and will give Richardson every opportunity to win a feature role this summer.

“Wait until he has the rest of this season, wait until he has an off-season with us, goes through a training camp with us,” HC Chuck Pagano said late last year.

GM Ryan Grigson chimed in after the season ended: “Showed some progress. It's all about comfort level and confidence. We have patience. He's not going anywhere … Trent fits all the things we're trying to do here. I know he's not satisfied. Glad he's not. But glad he's here. Happy with Trent.”

Of course, anything less than an endorsement from the higher-ups would have been surprising considering the Colts gave up a 1st-round pick to acquire Richardson last year.

Richardson has made learning the Colts offense his top priority this offseason.

“Learn the system, not just memorizing it,” Richardson explained. “Learning the whole concept of the system. There's a difference between having it memorized and feeling comfortable with the system.”

Also on Richardson’s plate will be recovering from shoulder surgery. He went under the knife shortly after the Colts’ playoff loss to the Patriots. It was "just a scope" and "shouldn't hurt" Richardson’s offseason, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Health is certainly a concern for Richardson, though. He underwent knee surgery before his rookie season and then dealt with rib, finger and ankle injuries that year. His calf was an issue for much of this past offseason.

Draft Sharks Bottom Line:

We’re certainly not betting the house on Richardson bouncing back in 2014. And he’s not a guy we’d want to rely on as a top-2 RB on our fantasy squad. But every player is worth considering at a certain price. For Richardson, that price is in the middle rounds of drafts as a RB3 or flex. This guy was considered an elite prospect just a couple years ago. And he’ll be given every chance to capture a feature role on an up-and-coming offense.

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