#Dave Meggett

[junker-town]

5’8 Darwin Thompson thinks he can be the Chiefs’ Barry Sanders

The Utah State one-year wonder could be an NFL Draft steal thanks to his strength and explosiveness.

Don’t call Chiefs sixth-round pick Darwin Thompson a small running back.

A 5’8, he’s not one of the taller offensive prospects to come out of the 2019 NFL Draft, but lumping him in with situational backs like Tarik Cohen and Darren Sproles sells him, well, short.

“I’m not gonna grow anymore,” Thompson told me over the phone one week before the draft. “I’m 23 years old. 5’8 is what you’re gonna get out of me, but when I come to your team, I will carve out my role to be a one-, two-, three-down back. I’ll initially start off as a three-down back — that’s what a lot of people see me as — but Ray Rice stood 5’8, 199 [pounds] coming out of college. Jerick McKinnon is 5’8, 5’9.

“There’s a lot of great backs who stand 5’8 who can play all three downs.”

Thompson, who garnered zero Division I scholarship offers out of high school, took some winding backroads to the NFL’s doorstep, but he knows he can be the next one on that list.

He spent two years building his game at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M before earning a scholarship offer to Utah State. He made the most of his lone year in the FBS, helping power the Aggies to an 11-win campaign last fall — only the second in school history. Thompson turned in a 1,044-yard, 14-touchdown season on just 153 carries, crashing through unprepared defenses with a blend of speed and power that erased any presumptions that came with his stature.

His advanced stats profile was even better, painting him as one of the most successful draft-eligible backs out there. And now, despite a limited college football resume, he’s ready to be one team’s mid-round steal at the 2019 NFL Draft.

Thompson shined in his Division I debut thanks to a mountain of hard work

Thompson doesn’t look like a third-down specialist on tape, and the Aggies didn’t treat him like one. At 200 pounds and with the weight room bonafides that approach (and maybe exceed) Saquon Barkley’s, he’s got the power to blast his own tunnels through the line of scrimmage.

Unbelievable lift by @DTRAINN5 today...dude is 195 lbs. and handled 500 lbs. with ease on the Front Squat today...no belt or support of any kind and a FULL SQUAT #frontsquat #fullsquat #depth #freak pic.twitter.com/4FPDUzL3NN

— David Scholz (@coachscholz) July 20, 2018

(That tweet is from 10 months ago, and he’s only gotten stronger since.)

While it’s easy to typecast him as a Cohen or Dave Meggett-style situational weapon, Thompson’s aggressive style and power at the line of scrimmage showcase a player who can turn a sliver of opportunity into a tsunami of big gains.

Thompson’s approach with the ball is simple. He’s here to look for holes and create the angles that push would-be tacklers slightly off his line. Then once he’s unbalanced a linebacker or defensive lineman’s center mass, he runs right the hell through them.

That made Thompson Utah State’s top option on both outside and inside zone runs. When Utah State faced goal-line situations in its biggest non-conference game of the year against Michigan State, it was Thompson, playing in his first FBS game, who got the call in two of the team’s plays from inside the two-yard line. He scored on both carries.

While he was useful in short-yardage situations, he absolutely thrived when his Utah State blockers cleared enough room for him to roast linebackers at the second level.

“It’s two things: vision and weight room,” Thompson said about his ability to turn three-yard gains into first downs. “The foundation really starts in the weight room for me. I’m not tall, so I have to make up for the height somewhere. That’s in the weight room.

“Once I hit the second level I know it’s go time. I should be able to beat any safety’s angles if I’m running fast enough. They’re going to throw an arm out there and I’m gonna run right through that arm.”

“My pops always taught me ‘never let an arm tackle bring you down, never let the first guy bring you down.’ That’s my intention when I run the ball.”

Thompson’s receiving chops add to his draft credentials

Thompson gashed defenses for 6.8 yards per carry in his lone season in the Mountain West, but he was even more dangerous as a screen pass safety valve who ran through opposing secondaries, especially as he added to his FBS resume. Over the final half of the season, he averaged more than 22 yards per catch.

As SB Nation’s Bill Connelly wrote while breaking down this year’s crop of running backs, Thompson’s receiving prowess was the cherry on top of a stacked sundae of NFL-caliber skills.

He rushed for more than 1,000 yards in barely 150 carries. He rushed more than 20 times per game just once but had seven games with 90-plus yards all the same. His 50.3 percent success rate was fifth among the prospects we’re tracking here.

His explosiveness was better than that of everyone but the two most explosive college backs in this batch (Memphis’ Darrell Henderson and Stanford’s Bryce Love), too.

... his receiving numbers were also among the class’s best, too. After a slow start (9 yards per catch through seven games), he caught 11 balls for 243 yards and two scores over the second half of the season.

“That goes with me being more comfortable as the season went on. When I got the ball in space, I knew exactly what I was gonna do just due to preparation throughout the week and practice,” said Thompson.

“I’m not sure if [Utah State] gameplanned around me ... maybe they knew what plays to call when I was out there. I just like to make people miss in open space. That’s where my bread and butter is, open space.“

Thompson is both overlooked and a stat nerd’s darling

Thompson’s year in Logan pushed the Aggies to one of the best seasons in program history, but it failed to put him on the NFL’s radar. He was one of the biggest snubs from this year’s NFL Scouting Combine, depriving the event of one the nation’s top athletes.

Instead, he was left to show out at Utah State’s pro day, where he put together a 4.50- second 40-yard dash, ripped off a 39-inch vertical leap (which would have been third-best among tailbacks at the combine), a 10’6 broad jump (fifth-best), and put his blocking potential on display by cranking out 28 reps on the bench press at 225 pounds (second-best).

This was, objectively, an impressive showing. Just not for Thompson.

“Throughout my training I put up better numbers as far as my vertical, my broad jump, and my bench,” Thompson opined. “Those are the three main workouts where I put up better numbers in training. I would say the RB drills in general were my best workout of the day. My footwork and being able to show how quick I am in and out of cuts, catching the ball, running routes — that was probably the best [exercise] at my pro day.

“If I could go back and do it all over again, I would go eat my heart out. I don’t know what it was about being back in Logan, Utah, but everything was a little off. It was a good day, but not my best day.”

Those numbers, even if Thompson wasn’t thrilled with them, back up the advanced stats profile that has made the Utah State back’s name synonymous with “late-round steal” leading up to the 2019 NFL Draft.

Pro Football Focus rates him as a top-10 draft-eligible tailback and paints him as the most dangerous receiving threat out of the backfield to come out of college football this spring. Connelly’s profile is even more glowing, suggesting the Aggie “might be the most valuable back here” and dubbing him a Rudi Johnson All-Star, invoking the former Bengals back who also played only one year of FBS football after a star-building turn in junior college.

With his blend of explosive running and the ability to carve defenses up as a receiving threat, Thompson looks like a perfect fit for an NFL that trends harder and harder toward college-style spread offenses each year. That’s an assessment with which the All-Mountain West honoree agrees.

“On the couple of visits I’ve gone on, that’s my main question. What separates rookie from rookie,” Thompson told me. “And they always say the playbook. My biggest thing is growth. I want to grow my mind as a student-athlete and a student of life. Growing from JUCO to Utah State, there really wasn’t much change. I always carried my business in junior college. I wasn’t your average JUCO kid ... I was always about my business as far as learning plays.

“When I got to Utah State, it was the same offense that the league is really transitioning into — the spread. I think you’ll see a lot more value in the running back position as that gives running backs more running lanes; even more in the NFL with the hashes being so close. Just imagine Barry Sanders in today’s offense. He would kill the game.

“That’s what I plan on doing.”

[curedcollection]

Heading back to the @providenceflea this Sunday. Dave Meggett jersey in a size 48. You can catch it at the flea this weekend. #patriots #davemeggett #supreme #supreme4sale #vintage #vintagetees #vintagepvd #Polo #vintagepolo #tommyhilfiger #bandtees #raptees #pvd #providence #ri (at Providence Flea)

[thecontinuouscardboardfire]

Super Bowl Squares

Two and a half years later...using Patriots cards (and 1 stand-in) for Super Bowl Squares.  And then burning them the next day.

BURNS 732 through 751

-1991 Pro Set Dick MacPherson -1989 Pro Set Tony Eason -2000 Fleer Mystique Terry Allen -2016 Panini Donruss Stephen Gostkowski -1991 Upper Deck John Stephens -2018 Topps Carlos Gonzalez (BECAUSE I COULDN’T FIND A WILLIE MCGINEST) -2002 Bowman Rohan Davey -1993 Upper Deck SP Pat Harlow -1998 Upper Deck Terry Glenn -1989 Topps Traded Gary Jeter -1990 Pro Set Rod Rust -1993 Playoff Shawn McCarthy -1995 Playoff Absolute Dave Meggett -1988 Topps Tony Collins -1995 Score Marion Butts -1992 Wild Card Chris Singleton -2003 Upper Deck Rohan Davey -1990 Fleer Kenneth Sims -1991 Fleer Ultra Hart Lee Dykes -1993 Topps Stadium Club David Howard

[fanapparelsouvenirs]

vintage logo athletics new york giants dave meggett #30 size 46-48 Large BUY IT NOW – vintage logo athletics new york giants dave meggett #30 size 46-48 Large

[bradydisciple]

@BradyDisciple Live Tweets from the Couch

those giant shoulder logos are the worst thing ever associated with the Patriots, and yes I remember a certain tight end & Zeke Mowatt & Dave Meggett among the rest

— Tony LoConte (@BradyDisciple) February 27, 2019

from Twitter https://twitter.com/BradyDisciple February 27, 2019 at 03:17PM via IFTTT

[underthecapblog]

December 21, 1996 - The Patriots score 20 unanswered fourth quarter points to climb out of a 22-3 hole at Giants Stadium. A late Dave Meggett punt return touchdown and a Ben Coates receiving touchdown gave New England a 23-22 victory in the season finale, and a first round bye in the playoffs.

[watchingthesuperbowl]

Notes taken during Super Bowl XXXI

PREGAME

This is a Fox broadcast. Their first Super Bowl, if I recall correctly.

Coin toss: Super Bowl-winning coaches: Ditka, Flores, Landry, Noll, Seifert, Stram

Patriots call heads. It's heads. They'll receive the opening kickoff.

New England coach Bill Parcells to sideline reporter Bill Maas: "I told them don't worry about winning the Super Bowl. Just worry about beating the Green Bay Packers."

Packers head coach Mike Holmgren: "It's different being a head coach. I had to worry about everything all week." Holmgren was an assistant on two 49ers Super Bowl teams.

Holmgren says whichever quarterback plays best will be the winner.

Madden: I talked to Favre before the game and asked him if he's nervous. He said of course I'm nervous. How could I not be?

FIRST QUARTER

Hey, the Fox Box! Cool.

Patriots in white. Very 1990s uniforms.

First play, Curtis Martin for no gain running right. I had forgotten he was on this team.

I've never actually seen this game before - I listened to it on the radio as I drove across Ohio.

Madden: Patriots trying to spread out to run the ball. Hasn't worked in the very early going. New England gets one first down and Tom Tupa will punt it to Desmond Howard.

Good kick, better return. Howard gets out to the Packers' 45. 51 yard punt, 32 yard return.

This is apparently a recording from the Boston Fox affiliate. They run a crawl saying The X Files can be seen after an hour-long local postgame show. Because I'm sure that all of Boston was worried about that right now, as the Patriots played in the Super Bowl.

Favre's first pass, goes deep and hits Andre Rison in stride down the middle. Rison is behind everybody and he scores untouched. Rison torched DB Otis Smith on a post pattern. 7-0 Packers after a 54-yard TD pass.

Madden: Because the Packers had two tight ends, the Patriots safety stepped toward the line of scrimmage and Smith had no help deep down the middle.

Madden: Parcells told me he was worried about the Packers getting big plays.

Second play of the next drive, Bledsoe is picked off by Green Bay's Doug Evans. Evans jumped a route and stepped in front of Terry Glenn. He bobbled it, but got control just as he landed out of bounds.

Patriots running seven-DB defense, so Favre throws underneath and lets Dorsey Levens run with it. 19 yards on the play, but it was third and 20. They'll try a field goal and Chris Jacke splits the uprights. 10-0 with 8:42 left in the first quarter.

Patriots getting their screen pass going. Bledsoe to Keith Byars for around 30 yards. Next play, Bledsoe to Curtis Martin for 20 more.

Bledsoe throws deep to Shawn Jefferson in the end zone. Craig Newsome grabs Jefferson's helmet while the ball is in the air. That's a no-no. Pass interference is called. First and goal from the one, and on the first play Bledsoe throws a play action pass to Keith Byars. A quick touchdown drive and it's now 10-7.

Packers go three and out. Former Kent State Golden Flash Michael McGruder nearly picks Favre on third down.

Patriots ran 11 passes in first 15 plays, 10 of them for less than 10 yards. And as soon as Fox talks about that, he goes deep to Terry Glenn. Glenn makes a diving catch at the Green Bay 5.

Next play, Bledsoe rolls right and throws a strike to Ben Coates in the end zone. I'm not used to Bledsoe being this mobile. The guy was a human statue in the pocket when he played in Buffalo. Anyway, it's now 14-10 Patriots, still in the first quarter.

Fox graphic: 24 total points in the first quarter makes this the highest-scoring first quarter in Super Bowl history.

First play of the Packers' next drive, Andre Rison is wide open downfield and Favre misses him. Would have been an easy touchdown with a better throw. Instead, it's 2nd and 10.

Tedy Bruschi sacks Favre on third down and the Pack will punt.

Good punt by Craig Hentrich (57 yards) and a nice return from Dave Meggett (20 yards). Patriots take over at their own 33.

Patriots go three and out. Tyrone Williams nearly intercepts Bledsoe deep on third down, but doesn't catch it. Probably doesn't matter much, they'll receive a punt.

Promo for the NHL on Fox, next Saturday. Wayne Gretzky and the Rangers take on Philadelphia.

First quarter ends on a shovel pass to Dorsey Levens. Gets a couple yards. 14-10 New England after one.

SECOND QUARTER

Madden: First quarter had everything. Not much pass rush though.

Packers go three and out. Patriots running a 3-1-7 defense on third down. Hentrich will punt. Not a great kick. Patriots take over at their 42.

First quarter total yards: New England 131, Green Bay 70.

First quarter rushing yards: New England 8, Green Bay 5.

Now the Patriots go three and out and kick it back to the Packers.

Average yards on first down: Green Bay -1.8

Not anymore. Perfect throw deep to Antonio Freeman. Hits him right on stride and Freeman is untouched the rest of the way. An 81 yard touchdown pass, the longest TD pass in Super Bowl history. 17-14 Packers.

Madden: Lawyer Milloy was a pass rusher in college, still learning to play defensive back. Blew the coverage on Freeman.

Bledsoe has ALL DAY to find a receiver and can't. He throws it away on first down.

Combined yardage: 278 yards passing, 16 yards rushing

Patriots go three and out. Tom Tupa will punt. Pass rusher LeRoy Butler bowls over Dave Meggett, who attempted to block him on third down.

Brett Favre: 5-9, 158 yards, 2 TD.

Green Bay total yards: 152. Green Bay first downs: 2.

Favre to Rison coming across the middle, gets to the New England 23.

Madden: It's possible to get too hung up on running. If you've got Andre Rison on one side and Antonio Freeman on the other, you might as well keep throwing.

Patriots defense in the postseason: 5 red zone opportunities, 0 touchdowns allowed.

3rd and 13, Packers coach Mike Holmgren is frantically trying to call timeout, but doesn't get it. Favre overthrows Andre Rison in the end zone and they'll have to settle for three points. 20-14 Green Bay, mid-second quarter.

Holmgren really wanted that timeout.

Summerall: Budweiser beat Bud Light 27-24 in the Bud Bowl.

Madden: This could keep being a high-scoring game unless someone goes on top by a couple of touchdowns. Then they'd go conservative.

First play of the New England drive, Bledsoe with a great pass downfield to Ben Coates. Patriots approaching midfield.

Second and ten, Bledsoe has plenty of time and lofts one deep. I'm sure he wasn't trying to throw an interception, but if you were, you'd throw it just like that. The DB (Prior) caught it as if he were catching a punt.

Turnovers: New England 2, Green Bay 0.

Madden: Parcells said if they don't create any turnovers, they won't win.

Packers run a slant to Freeman, at first it looks like a nice defensive play, but the replay shows it's clearly pass interference. The officials see it and throw the flag.

Next play, Favre goes deep down the middle of the field to Antonio Freeman. Favre wanted Andre Rison, but has to settle for a 20 yard completion, down to the Patriots' 34.

Packers keeping the ball on the ground as halftime approaches. Controlling the clock. Edgar Bennett takes it to the New England 10 as we hit the two-minute warning.

Summerall: There are more Packer fans here than Patriots fans. Brett Favre's hometown is 60 minutes from New Orleans.

Levens runs it to the New England 2. Clock ticking, under 1:30.

First and goal, Favre rolls left and keeps it, just barely getting to the pylon. That's another touchdown and it's 27-14 Green Bay.

Cutaway: Brett Favre's dad standing and cheering. Madden says Favre's dad was his high school coach. They ran a wishbone offense - Favre always says when he runs, it's his dad who taught him. Less so when he passes.

Halftime show: James Brown. Cutaway of Brown on a golf cart awaiting halftime.

Not now James, we’re busy.

Patriots looking good on their two-minute drill. They get to midfield with 41 seconds left and two timeouts.

Third and 2 from the Packers' 43. Bledsoe throws incomplete and they'll go for it on fourth down. :26 left in the half.

Incomplete pass on fourth down. Green Bay takes over on downs and you'd have to think Favre takes a knee here.

Maybe they should have. Looks like Favre wants to chuck the pigskin deep, but he's sacked. That's the last play of the half. 27-14 Green Bay after 30 minutes.

HALFTIME

Madden: Three momentum swings. Packers went up 10-0, New England scored two quick touchdowns to make it 14-10, then it was Green Bay's turn. Pack scored 17 consecutive points.

Patriots have 14 rushing yards.

THIRD QUARTER

Packers receive the kickoff. Desmond Howard returns it to the 24.

Summerall: Mark Chmura is Brett Favre's roommate. NFL players had roommates at this point?!?

Madden: Holmgren is one of the best second half coaches. He's great at making halftime adjustments.

Cutaway: Groundskeepers checking the goalposts. Maybe the height is off? They don't do anything and leave. Madden thinks Antonio Freeman knocked it out of whack when he dunked the ball over the goalpost after scoring a touchdown. A replay shows that's probably not true, but Madden doubles down on the crazy.

Third and 1 from the New England 37, Packers give it to Levens up the middle. He's short. They'll go on fourth down because Holmgren isn't a chump. Doesn't work. Levens gets stuffed in the backfield and the Packers get the ball. It was the right move, regardless of the outcome.

Summerall: Players are all wearing stickers on their helmets that say "Pete", in honor of the late Pete Rozelle. I'd like to get Jim McMahon's take.

Patriots do nothing with the ball and punt. 8:07 left in the quarter.

First play of the Green Bay drive, Otis Smith comes on a corner blitz. Blindsides Favre and sacks him at the Packers' 4. 2nd and 17.

It is not good when your quarterback is faced with this.

Green Bay goes three and out and punt from their own end zone. Dave Meggett returns it to the Patriots 48.

Madden: Patriots have passed on 14 consecutive plays. And of course, they run immediately after Madden mentions this.

Third and 5, Bledsoe to Coates. Ball hits him in the hands, bounces away, hits LeRoy Butler, bounces away, and Coates grabs it for a first down. Replay shows Butler was mugging Coates in coverage, but no flag is thrown.

Patriots run a fake reverse and a deep throw. Bledsoe barely misses Curtis Martin.

Patriots moving the ball well. Third and short, Martin runs for around 8, gets inside the Green Bay 20.

First and 10 from the 18, Curtis Martin blows through the middle of the Green Bay defense. A flag is down, is it a touchdown? It is. Penalty is on the defense. Declined, obviously. 27-21 Packers, late third quarter.

Well, that didn't last long. Desmond Howard goes 99 yards for a Packer touchdown on the ensuing kickoff. 33-21 Green Bay on the longest kickoff return in the history of the Super Bowl. Green Bay will go for two. Got it. Favre to Chmura in the back of the end zone. 35-21.

The parting of the white sea.

Summerall: Packers nearly released Howard at the end of training camp, but they kept him because they needed a kick returner.

A fight breaks out in the end zone after the two point conversion. No flags thrown.

Fox graphic: records set tonight.

Summerall: Packers DE Reggie White has never won a championship on any level, ever.

Reggie steamrolls a chump

Packers have the ball as we reach the end of the third quarter. Madden says they'll go conservative now and try to chew clock.

After 3: Green Bay 35, New England 21.

FOURTH QUARTER

Fox graphic: Patriots have outscored opponents 41-0 in the fourth quarter of their last six games. Packers have outscored opponents 81-7 in the fourth quarter of their last eight games.

Third and nine from midfield, Patriots blitz and Favre chucks it deep and out of bounds. Hentrich punts and Meggett fair catches at the 20. 35-21 with 14:03 left.

Patriots lose three yards while going three and out. Tupa will boot it back to the Pack.

Cutaway: Green Bay backup QB Jim McMahon. I had no idea he was on this team when I joked earlier about his reaction to the Rozelle stickers on the helmets. 

Madden: Jim McMahon practices dropkick field goals before the game. Made a 55 yarder.

Packers mostly keeping the ball on the ground here. Clock at 10:05 after Mark Chmura drops an easy pass that would have been a first down. Instead, the Packers punt. Meggett fair catches at his 13 with 9:57 on the clock.

Fox shows foreign broadcasters. Summerall says Marv Levy is on the air in "some country". (It was the UK.) Morten Andersen is on the Danish broadcast.

Patriots slowly moving downfield. They try to hurry up and Bledsoe gets picked on a long pass. Packers get the ball.

Madden says Parcells probably won't be back with the Patriots. Might go to the Jets, might sit out a year.

Green Bay running clock again. Under 7:00 now. Feeding it to Edgar Bennett.

Madden: (Patriots RB) Keith Byars said if we lose, I'll feel terrible, but I'll be happy for (Packers and former Byars teammates with the Eagles) Reggie White and Keith Jackson. Reggie White says he won't feel good for Byars if the Packers lose. This is almost certainly a joke.

Madden: Reggie has been as tight this week as I've ever seen him.

Promo: After the game, an all-new X-Files.

Patriot defense beginning to become frustrated here. DB Willie Clay smacks the ball out of Antonio Freeman's hand after the play, then goes after Freeman. 15 yard penalty and a first down.

Madden: I'm voting for Brett Favre for MVP. Summerall didn't want Madden to say who he was voting for, but Madden said it anyway.

Green Bay burning clock and moving the ball. Clock is now below 5:00. Tick, tick, tick.

Third and long, Andre Rison almost makes an insane catch against the DB's shoulder. Just barely misses the catch and Chris Jacke is on for a field goal. Wide right. Still a two-possession game, Patriots have the ball with 3:56 left. 

This close to a great catch.

Packers rushing three and they sack Bledsoe anyway on third down. Three and out, they punt. A weird decision with 3:20 or so left. You need two touchdowns. You need the ball.

Fox graphic: AFC East teams are 3-8 in the Super Bowl. Have lost the last 7.

Packers punt immediately after the two minute warning. Patriots have the ball near midfield with 1:49 on the clock.

First down, Reggie White sacks Bledsoe. His third sack of the day.

Third and 19, Bledsoe completes a short pass, but it's nowhere near enough for a first down. They throw again on fourth and when Craig Newsome decks receiver Vincent Brisby, the ball pops out and into the hands of linebacker Brian Williams. Ballgame. The Packers have the ball, up 14 points, with less than a minute left and the Patriots have no timeouts.

Packers break out "Super Bowl XXXI champions" gear on the sideline as Brett Favre takes a knee.

MVP is Desmond Howard. Summerall thought Madden should have voted for Howard instead of Favre.

Howard is the first special teams player ever to be named MVP. 244 return yards.

Somehow Mike Holmgren escaped the icewater bucket. His clothes are still dry as the teams meet at midfield.

Final score: Packers 35, Patriots 21

POSTGAME

Players kneel to pray after the game, led by White. Curtis Martin and Don Beebe are in the prayer circle too.

Tagliabue hands the trophy to Mike Holmgren, who immediately hands it to president and CEO Bob Harlan. 

Ron Wolf: Holmgren kept telling me to sign Desmond Howard, we always wanted him.

Wolf: To the fans of Green Bay, this is as much yours as it is ours.

Holmgren: Huhmbled by this experience, most unselfish group of players I've ever been around, my coaches did a great job. Coach Lombardi left a wonderful legacy and now we're trying to do our part.

Holmgren: Favre audibled on the first touchdown play. I didn't call it, that was all Brett.

Reggie White: Thank you, Jesus. It's not about us, it's about what God has done.

Favre: Want to thank our fans, thank the city of New Orleans. Worked hard for this, our fans stuck with us, it's been a long road and you all stuck with us.

Howard: Not surprised I played so well. You have to have confidence in yourself. Have to thank Ron Wolf for seeing through BS and giving me an opportunity.

Fox analyst Howie Long: Before the game, said Desmond Howard was the #2 impact player on the Packers behind Favre. Howard was an inch away from the CFL, today he's a Super Bowl MVP.

Ronnie Lott: Back in July, Favre said he'd lead the team to a Super Bowl victory and he did it.

[junker-town]

Meet the 5’8 running back ready to be the 2019 NFL Draft’s biggest bargain

The Utah State one-year wonder could be an NFL Draft steal thanks to his strength and explosiveness.

Don’t call Darwin Thompson a small running back.

A 5’8, he’s not one of the taller offensive prospects who will hear their names called at the 2019 NFL Draft, but lumping him in with situational backs like Tarik Cohen and Darren Sproles sells him, well, short.

“I’m not gonna grow anymore,” Thompson told me over the phone one week before the draft. “I’m 23 years old. 5’8 is what you’re gonna get out of me, but when I come to your team, I will carve out my role to be a one-, two-, three-down back. I’ll initially start off as a three-down back — that’s what a lot of people see me as — but Ray Rice stood 5’8, 199 [pounds] coming out of college. Jerick McKinnon is 5’8, 5’9.

“There’s a lot of great backs who stand 5’8 who can play all three downs.”

Thompson, who garnered zero Division I scholarship offers out of high school, took some winding backroads to the NFL’s doorstep, but he knows he can be the next one on that list.

He spent two years building his game at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M before earning a scholarship offer to Utah State. He made the most of his lone year in the FBS, helping power the Aggies to an 11-win campaign last fall — only the second in school history. Thompson turned in a 1,044-yard, 14-touchdown season on just 153 carries, crashing through unprepared defenses with a blend of speed and power that erased any presumptions that came with his stature.

His advanced stats profile was even better, painting him as one of the most successful draft-eligible backs out there. And now, despite a limited college football resume, he’s ready to be one team’s mid-round steal at the 2019 NFL Draft.

Thompson shined in his Division I debut thanks to a mountain of hard work

Thompson doesn’t look like a third-down specialist on tape, and the Aggies didn’t treat him like one. At 200 pounds and with the weight room bonafides that approach (and maybe exceed) Saquon Barkley’s, he’s got the power to blast his own tunnels through the line of scrimmage.

Unbelievable lift by @DTRAINN5 today...dude is 195 lbs. and handled 500 lbs. with ease on the Front Squat today...no belt or support of any kind and a FULL SQUAT #frontsquat #fullsquat #depth #freak pic.twitter.com/4FPDUzL3NN

— David Scholz (@coachscholz) July 20, 2018

(That tweet is from 10 months ago, and he’s only gotten stronger since.)

While it’s easy to typecast him as a Cohen or Dave Meggett-style situational weapon, Thompson’s aggressive style and power at the line of scrimmage showcase a player who can turn a sliver of opportunity into a tsunami of big gains.

Thompson’s approach with the ball is simple. He’s here to look for holes and create the angles that push would-be tacklers slightly off his line. Then once he’s unbalanced a linebacker or defensive lineman’s center mass, he runs right the hell through them.

That made Thompson Utah State’s top option on both outside and inside zone runs. When Utah State faced goal-line situations in its biggest non-conference game of the year against Michigan State, it was Thompson, playing in his first FBS game, who got the call in two of the team’s plays from inside the two-yard line. He scored on both carries.

While he was useful in short-yardage situations, he absolutely thrived when his Utah State blockers cleared enough room for him to roast linebackers at the second level.

“It’s two things: vision and weight room,” Thompson said about his ability to turn three-yard gains into first downs. “The foundation really starts in the weight room for me. I’m not tall, so I have to make up for the height somewhere. That’s in the weight room.

“Once I hit the second level I know it’s go time. I should be able to beat any safety’s angles if I’m running fast enough. They’re going to throw an arm out there and I’m gonna run right through that arm.”

“My pops always taught me ‘never let an arm tackle bring you down, never let the first guy bring you down.’ That’s my intention when I run the ball.”

Thompson’s receiving chops add to his draft credentials

Thompson gashed defenses for 6.8 yards per carry in his lone season in the Mountain West, but he was even more dangerous as a screen pass safety valve who ran through opposing secondaries, especially as he added to his FBS resume. Over the final half of the season, he averaged more than 22 yards per catch.

As SB Nation’s Bill Connelly wrote while breaking down this year’s crop of running backs, Thompson’s receiving prowess was the cherry on top of a stacked sundae of NFL-caliber skills.

He rushed for more than 1,000 yards in barely 150 carries. He rushed more than 20 times per game just once but had seven games with 90-plus yards all the same. His 50.3 percent success rate was fifth among the prospects we’re tracking here.

His explosiveness was better than that of everyone but the two most explosive college backs in this batch (Memphis’ Darrell Henderson and Stanford’s Bryce Love), too.

... his receiving numbers were also among the class’s best, too. After a slow start (9 yards per catch through seven games), he caught 11 balls for 243 yards and two scores over the second half of the season.

“That goes with me being more comfortable as the season went on. When I got the ball in space, I knew exactly what I was gonna do just due to preparation throughout the week and practice,” said Thompson.

“I’m not sure if [Utah State] gameplanned around me ... maybe they knew what plays to call when I was out there. I just like to make people miss in open space. That’s where my bread and butter is, open space.“

Thompson is both overlooked and a stat nerd’s darling

Thompson’s year in Logan pushed the Aggies to one of the best seasons in program history, but it failed to put him on the NFL’s radar. He was one of the biggest snubs from this year’s NFL Scouting Combine, depriving the event of one the nation’s top athletes.

Instead, he was left to show out at Utah State’s pro day, where he put together a 4.50- second 40-yard dash, ripped off a 39-inch vertical leap (which would have been third-best among tailbacks at the combine), a 10’6 broad jump (fifth-best), and put his blocking potential on display by cranking out 28 reps on the bench press at 225 pounds (second-best).

This was, objectively, an impressive showing. Just not for Thompson.

“Throughout my training I put up better numbers as far as my vertical, my broad jump, and my bench,” Thompson opined. “Those are the three main workouts where I put up better numbers in training. I would say the RB drills in general were my best workout of the day. My footwork and being able to show how quick I am in and out of cuts, catching the ball, running routes — that was probably the best [exercise] at my pro day.

“If I could go back and do it all over again, I would go eat my heart out. I don’t know what it was about being back in Logan, Utah, but everything was a little off. It was a good day, but not my best day.”

Those numbers, even if Thompson wasn’t thrilled with them, back up the advanced stats profile that has made the Utah State back’s name synonymous with “late-round steal” leading up to the 2019 NFL Draft.

Pro Football Focus rates him as a top-10 draft-eligible tailback and paints him as the most dangerous receiving threat out of the backfield to come out of college football this spring. Connelly’s profile is even more glowing, suggesting the Aggie “might be the most valuable back here” and dubbing him a Rudi Johnson All-Star, invoking the former Bengals back who also played only one year of FBS football after a star-building turn in junior college.

With his blend of explosive running and the ability to carve defenses up as a receiving threat, Thompson looks like a perfect fit for an NFL that trends harder and harder toward college-style spread offenses each year. That’s an assessment with which the All-Mountain West honoree agrees.

“On the couple of visits I’ve gone on, that’s my main question. What separates rookie from rookie,” Thompson told me. “And they always say the playbook. My biggest thing is growth. I want to grow my mind as a student-athlete and a student of life. Growing from JUCO to Utah State, there really wasn’t much change. I always carried my business in junior college. I wasn’t your average JUCO kid ... I was always about my business as far as learning plays.

“When I got to Utah State, it was the same offense that the league is really transitioning into — the spread. I think you’ll see a lot more value in the running back position as that gives running backs more running lanes; even more in the NFL with the hashes being so close. Just imagine Barry Sanders in today’s offense. He would kill the game.

“That’s what I plan on doing.”