Senior Bowl Spotlight – Charles Sims, RB WVU – 2014 NFL Draft
Byron Lambert, Rosterwatch.com

Charles Sims, RB West Virginia University

Height: 6’0″
Weight: 213 Pounds
Projected 40 Time: 4.47 (estimated/reports)
NFL Comparison: Darren McFadden, Donald Brown, Matt Forte, Johnathan Franklin

Player Notes:
Sims is a five year Senior, who red-shirted his 2010 sophomore season for academic reasons. He spent the first four years of his career at The University of Houston lighting up the Conference USA, before transferring to West Virginia for his final season of eligibility. Since Sims had already graduated from UH, he was eligible to play immediately. Sims continued his success on the football field as a Mountaineer, completing his collegiate career with a strong 2013 season in the Big 12.

Scouting Notes:

A player with a proven running style, having sustained the same success with the same style he had at Houston, while at West Virginia. Evidence, he should continue being effective in his transition to the NFL.

Darren McFadden and Donald Brown are the best comparisons for Charles Sims’ running style (feel free to skip to the video below). Matt Forte has been another popular comparison among industry experts- although we believe Forte is a more powerful athlete than Sims. Johnathan Franklin also deserves to be in the conversation. Size-wise, Charles Sims is in the middle of this group.

As long time Darren McFadden observers, we see Sims as strikingly similar. He’s not quite the explosive athlete that DMAC is, otherwise the similarities are undeniable- and there are a lot of them:

– Doesn’t have the quickest first step, but explodes downhill out of his third step
– An upright runner with a North/South slashing style
– Likes space, whether it’s up the gut or to the edge
– Doesn’t shy from contact, but can be ineffective fighting traffic at the line of scrimmage
– Not a great stop/starter or lateral mover
– Very effective on delays and draw plays
– He’s best downhill in a man/power scheme, where he’s great at following lead blockers
– Bursts through line of scrimmage onto second level defenders before they can react
– Runs with power, but lacks leg drive to push the pile
– Good open field speed
– Questionable feet
– Proficient receiver

Darren McFadden-type runs from video above
1st play of TCU tape :03
1:32-1:48 of TCU – 2 more Darren McFadden-type runs – follows his blocks- shows some patience to suck def in then bounce outside behind pulling guard 1:40 mark.

Naturally, with all of the Darren McFadden comparisons- our first order of business when scouting Charles Sims in Mobile will be to find out if he has skinny chicken legs. Bird legs have been a real problem for McFadden in the NFL.

The other question, with his tall, stiff, and upright running style, will be how Sims fits in a zone blocking scheme. Fantasy owners know what type of catastrophe that was for McFadden. Fortunately, the offensive staffs at WVU and UH put some zone runs on tape for us to evaluate.

It’s clear the outside zone plays aren’t his strongest suit. He lacks patience, and he may not have the best vision on outside-zone plays. However, there are plenty of successful, positive yardage zone plays on his college film to suggest that Sims can execute them on an occasional basis at the next level. We don’t think he’s quite as stiff or top-heavy as Darren McFadden, so we believe he has better potential to quickly plant his foot and rotate upfield on stretch plays.

As a pass blocker, Sims is nonchalant. He’s not violent at the point of attack. He is willing, however. Most times, he proves to be fairly effective just getting in the way of the blitz.

We will also be interested to find out more about Sims’ injury history. He hasn’t been a classic workhorse-type back over his career. We will be looking to see if he can carry the load.

Currently, we project Charles Sims to have Round 2-3 Pre-Senior Bowl NFL Draft Grade. From a fantasy perspective, we fully expect Sims to have an impact in year one or two. He’s squarely on our dynasty radar.