Reuben Droughns

After a lackluster 2006 (3.4 YPC), Droughns joins a Giants’ backfield open for competition. With Tiki Barber retired, incumbent Brandon Jacobs is the odds-on favorite to start, with Droughns taking over third-down duties and getting about 10 carries per game. Droughns is an serviceable receiver and does an excellent job of picking up blitzes, so he should fit into this role. Droughns was successful at the goal line last year, converting four of six chances, but Jacobs is a beast around the stripe as well, so Droughns doesn’t figure to score many touchdowns in 2007.

Droughns demonstrated last year that he wasn’t just a product of the Broncos’ run-blocking scheme, racking up another 1,200-yard season on the ground as the Browns feature back. Like Clinton Portis he saw his YPC tumble (4.5 to 4.0) outside of Denver, but he showed that he could carry the load under less than ideal conditions. At 5-11, 215, Droughns is an undersized power back, a downhill runner with some speed but not much shiftiness. Where that lack of size became an issue for Cleveland was in the red zone – Droughns scored just one touchdown inside the 20 last season on 40 touches (after converting on 5-of-43 touches in 2004 with Denver), numbers you can’t blame entirely on the offensive line. Sheer luck will see him do better than that in 2006, especially if the offense can provide him with more opportunities, but if any team could use a short-yardage specialist to vulture red-zone TDs it would seem to be the Browns. Perhaps the biggest recommendation for Droughns is that the Browns really have no one else. William Green and Lee Suggs have both split the bit as feature backs and the team didn’t address the position in any significant way during the offseason. For 2006 at least Droughns should still be the man in Cleveland.

After Quentin Griffin went down in Week 5, Droughns came out of nowhere to go on a seven-game tear during which he amassed 876 rushing yards, 131 receiving yards and four touchdowns. But a neck stinger and a surging Tatum Bell ended that, and Droughns was traded to Cleveland in March where he’s slated to compete for and likely split carries with Lee Suggs. To complicate matters, Droughns threatened to hold out for a new contract, but he was later spotted working out at the Browns’ facility in May. Droughns is a good athlete with a decent burst to the hole and enough speed to get outside, but at 5-11, 207 pounds, he’s smaller than Suggs. Still, he’s a more physical, between-the-tackles runner than Suggs, so he could see most of the action in short-yardage and goal-line situations. Just keep in mind that drafting backs coming off a good year with the Broncos is like drafting pitchers after leaving the Atlanta Braves – they rarely repeat the success they had under those ideal conditions.

Droughns, who carried the ball only six times for 14 yards in 2003, will be the primary blocker for whoever emerges from the summer camps as the starter at tailback.

Droughns isn't the biggest fullback in the NFL and his workload was minimal in 2002 when he received four carries for 11 yards while scoring one rushing TD. He also had five receptions for 53 yards and one receiving TD. His value is strictly as depth at the fullback position.