Sarge's Rap Sheet #5: Ryan Grant

Last year, Ryan Grant burst on the fantasy scene after injuries piled up and was the hero of the Packers first round win against the Seahawks. Does last years surprise equal this years safe bet at your RB2 spot? Lets look a bit deeper into Ryan Grant and find if the juice is worth the squeeze.


The Stats:

6-1, 218lbs, 4th year in the NFL, 2nd as an active player, with New York Giants and Green Bay Packers

The Early Years:

Born December 9, 1982 in Suffern, New York, Grant grew up in Nyack and attended Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey. He then transferred to Clarkstown South High School in West Nyack. A year later, he transferred back to Don Bosco Prep. In 2000, Grant was the USA Today New Jersey Player of the Year. He rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and a whopping 26 TDs in Don Bosco Prep's run to an 11–1 record and the state championship game In high school, Grant also played basketball and ran track, where he was timed at 10.7 seconds in the 100 yard dash. Grants athletic achievemetns caught the eye of Notre Dame

College Career:

Grant played in only 5 games during 2001, the last for Coach Bob Davie. He recorded just over 100 total yards and 1 TD as the Irish went 5-6. Grant almost immediately impressed new Irish front man Ty Willingham, who stated:
Things looked up from Grant after that point. With Julius Jones out, Willingham started Grant in every game in 2002, and Grant responded by rushing for over 1000 yards and 9 TDs, with a then career high of 190 yards rushing and a touchdown in a win over Air Force.
Grant split carries with Julius Jones in 2003, starting the first five games. After being able to only manage 242 rushing yards, he was sent to the bench in favor of Jones. Grant did not start any of the final seven games, leaving him with 510 yards for his junior campaign.


Grant's senior season saw him named a team captain for the Fighting Irish, but he was back to sharing the duties with Darius Walker. Playing in nine games, Grant only managed to pass 100 yards once, with 112 yards and 2 touchdowns in a win over Navy. A hamstring injury virtually stalled Grants final season out, as Darius Walker was the man from then on. Grant finished the year with 515 yards and 5 touchdowns. Grant ran for a total of 2,220 yards and 18 touchdowns at Notre Dame.


2005 NFL Draft:

Scouts basically paid no attention to Grant and he knew going in he would be a UDFA at best, and would need to call upon the work ethic Ty Willingham loved to have a chance of making the pros. Grant ran a 4.43 40 at the combine, but the rest of his numbers didnt really catch anyone's eye.

Grant was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent.

Professional Career:

Grant spend the 2005 NFL season on the New York Giants practice squad. Hoping to make the 53 man roster in 2006 Grant suffered a freak career threatening injury at a nightclub. Someone bumped into him; when he went to brace himself, his left arm went through several champagne glasses, severing an artery, tendon, and the ulnar nerve in his left arm. Grant almost bled to death and doctors at the time told him he may not regain the use of his left hand. With time, Grant made a miraculous recovery.

Grant was traded to the Green Bay Packers on September 1, 2007 in exchange for a future sixth-round draft pick. This time, Grant made the 53 man roster as the third-string running back behind Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn for the first six games of the season. Injuries hit the Pack backfield, and when Wynn suffered a shoulder injury that ruled him out for the week 8 game against Denver, Grant took over in the second quarter and ran for 104 yards in a 19–13 win.



He scored his first NFL rushing touchdown on November 11 in a 34–0 win blowout win over the Minnesota Vikings. Grant started each of the last ten games for the Packers, and by the end of the season, he was averaging an impressive 5.1 yards per carry and had amassed five 100 yard games and 8 rushing TD's. His mark of 929 yards in the final ten games of the season was second in the National Football League for that time period to the original backfield pimp, LaDainian Tomlinson, who had 944. Grant was voted the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week for the games played on November 11–12. He ran for 119 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, making him the first running back to pick up 100 yards against the Vikings' second-ranked rush defense all season. Grant won the award for a second time that season for games played between December 6–10, rushing for 156 yards, a career high, and a touchdown in a 38–17 demolition of the Oakland Raiders.

In the Packers' divisional playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks, Grant coughed up the football twice in the 1st four minutes that led to Seahawks TDs. The next 56 min were the Ryan Grant show, as he went on to rush for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns, both of which set franchise records for Packers' post-season games, in the Packers 42-20 win. Organizational praise for Grant's performance in the Seattle game came from several, including Mike McCarthy and Brett Farve, who said:
The following week, Grant rushed for only 29 yards in a loss to eventual Super Bowl Champion New York (Giants).




2008 and Beyond:



At the end of the 2007 season, Grant became an exclusive rights free agent, meaning the Packers have exclusive rights to sign him, but if they choose not to, he will be eligible to sign with any team. June 1, in the Green Bay Press Gazette, it was announced that Grant is scheduled to get a deal to remain a Packer.



So what does this all mean to you? Think you found a great #2 RB? Maybe...Maybe not. Lets look at all the facts. Turmoil follows this guy. He's never been stable with a head coach or a team for longer than a couple of seasons. Since high school he's only reached 1,000 yards in the regular season one time.


The Green Bay he returns to doesnt have Brett Farve. I dont give a damn how good Aaron Rogers or Brian Brohm turn out to be, they are NOT Brett Farve, and defenses do not have to respect the Packers aerial attack like they did last year.


When he is on, he's on fire, but he isn't always on. Though its not likely to fall through, Ryan Grant is still not technically under contract with Green Bay. What can he do when he is facing 8 guys in the box, and the target is on his chest as the "big man" in the backfield versus a guy thats waiting in the wings....

Is Ryan Grant worth that second round draft pick? I think there are better options out there, but now your armed with the whole story, you make your choice.



Sarge

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2008 Black Knights Football - 12 wins isn't enough

All offseason I've been wary of this guy for multiple reasons. The fact that he's never been productive over even an intermediate amount of time. The fact that Brett is gone. The fact that Ryan Grant is no longer a stranger to defenses.
Even though all those things may be true, Rodgers should step in nicely. He has all the tools to do so and this should keep defenses fairly honest. I think Grant is a MAJOR stretch in the 1st round and even early 2nd round. Perhaps if he can be acquired around 2.7+ he might not be such a bad RB2 after all.
You still won't see me picking him though....I'm going with my MoJo gut.

My ONLY concern for Grant is how Rodgers does. If he can at least keep defenses honest, and not allow 8 or 9 in the box, then there is no reason not to expect the same or better from Grant this year. Off line in GB is solid, the defense is solid, have really good wrs. So the offense if Rodgers clicks will make great opportunities for Grant IMO

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Expert on nothing, opinionated on everything...

I think the lack of responses here speaks loudly to the "unknown" factor due to the loss of Favre and how this will effect the franchise.

He outperformed guys who will be taken in the first round this year, but what happens in Green Bay now? I think it is more than just whether they can get good quarterback play. Where does the leadership come from? This team has leaned on Brett Favre as their clear leader for the past 450 years, and now that is gone. Who fills that important role as a leader?

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Long Live Sports Outlaw!

This is a different Packers team. There is no Brett Favre. He may have lost some of his talents, but he was a gunslinger Qb which made you respect the passing game no matter what. With Rodgers taking the snaps this season, teams will be looking to tee off on Grant and force Rodgers to beat them. And until he does, Grant is going to get hammered.

tru dat

First, I agree with you, as I stated above in my response to this thread.

But I will add a caveat here. If I was going to start a rookie Qb, or a young QB with little experience, this is the exact situation to do it. He will have 2 very solid vet receivers in Driver and Jennings, some real talent in Jones available at #3, he has a solid TE in Lee. Add to that a very young, but very solid O-line, and you have a great situation for a young Qb. I think Grant could be just the ticket here...as Rodgers can throw...and with his recievers they will carry him. My concern is more on Rodgers himself. He hasn't been able to stay healthy, and as of now the #2 is Brohm, who I am high on...but is a complete unknown in the NFL.

Well then again regarding his injury history, do we think it may be due to the "game speed" that he has not really played at in a few seasons?

Will the Pack need Grant to be more of a receiving threat?

It's a tough call on this. I didn't even put him on my draft sheet for this season after Favre retired. I think his success was because of Favre. Now with Rodgers, I think defence will box up Grant and stiffle him and he won't get the numbers this season. Maybe next season or the season after because I think the offence will need at least this season to come together.

I can't believe the Packer have been projected to finish first in their division this year.

i guess im just not ready to invest a top 20 draft pick into a guy that wasnt talented enough to be on any nfl roster for the rest of his life before last season. i watched the guy, and he was clearly a product of a great green bay system. now the system is still in place, sure, but will teams be respecting the passing game enough to make it work as well? i just dont buy it. im not even sure grant will be the teams leading RB by the time the season is over. i think anyone who drops a high pick into his stock is going to come away very disappointed.

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Hired Guns: Wheaton Thunder
SO CFFL: Royale with Cheese
CFA: Wheaton Thunder

This is how I am feeling at this point as well.

In addition, I am expecting a big QB controversy monster to pop up at the first sign of this offense struggling.

Thanks for for reassuring me guys. I agree totally.
Ryan Grant was selected 6th overall in our draft this year...which I thought was way too high. Drafted ahead of him:

1 RB Darren McFadden
2 QB Derek Anderson
3 RB Rashard Mendenhall
4 RB Jonathan Stewart
5 WR Wes Welker

wow. depending on scoring / rules i guess, even i would take grant ahead of most or possibly all of those players.

"Unknown Factor" is right. I am on the fence about Grant, which basically means he is not on my radar. If I've got my RB 1-2 and WR 1-2 and Grant is still around I would probably consider drafting him as an RB3.

A lot of people seem to see doom and gloom for the Packers offense with Favre gone, but I personally don't think it will be as bad as everyone thinks. During the Dallas/Green Bay game last year comments were made in the chatbox about how Rodgers looked ready to take over the offense......then he got hurt. I believe he has the talent, he has been in the system for four years, I think the only question/concern will be, can he stay healthy?

What youve got to take into account is Rodgers skill set and Favres are totally different, and we did not prepare to face Aaron Rodgers, we prepped for Brett Favre.

Not discounting what he did, but lets see him when an experienced NFL coordinator has game planed just for him

I agree as a Dallas fan I am tired of hearing what Rodgers did against us we didn't game plan at all for him and look how bad Favre looked in that game and that game would have been a lot worse if not for T.O.'s dropped touchdown that fell right into Packer hands for a INT.

I didn't say anything bad about the Cowboys...all I did was mention what was said in the chatbox (some by Dallas FANS) to prove a point about Rodgers.


I will go sit in the corner and take a timeout now because I came close to saying something derogatory about the Cowboys....

Shame on you Mick. Im going to have to take your year 2008 DFA 1st round draft pick.

Wow...how things have changed in the Packers landscape since this piece was initially written.