NC State Wolfpack: Matt Dayes Looking for a Chance
NC State Wolfpack football star Matt Dayes is hoping to have a new team to play for after next week.
When it came to the past few years of NC State Wolfpack football, there seemed to be this growing refrain of ‘run the ball’ with many different guys. It did not even need to be running backs, and as it went on the position designations sort of went out the window. At the end of it was Matt Dayes, a guy could run and catch. Was he a running back? Maybe. Sometimes.
Now Dayes has left his band of running companions behind and is ready to be drafted. There are no lack of running backs in this draft. That means Dayes has lots of competition. Already the underdog storyline is being laid out. He is too small, not heavy enough, not agile enough, can’t react fast enough. Little taps that can bring down your draft stock.
Fortunately Dayes has his numbers. Over a thousand yards rushing in a platoon oriented running scheme and ten touchdowns. Thirty catches in the passing game for 267 more yards. He did these things also without Jacoby Brissett, who was off winning the Super Bowl with the Patriots. With Brissett, Dayes had arguably the best season in college football two years ago before an injury stopped him short.
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Now he sits and waits to be picked. He’s rated as a fifth rounder, but he is ranked higher than either T.J. Logan or Elijah Hood. Dayes has a game that fits the modern NFL running back. Teams that like Christian McCaffrey could find some similarities even if McCaffrey is the superior athlete of the two. The Patriots had James White. The Packers had Ty Montgomery. Who will get Dayes?
I could see the Raiders or the Ravens looking at Dayes in the fifth. Both teams have quarterbacks that could use bailout options in certain passing situations. Raider football traditionally runs the defense deep and see what you can get. Dayes could live on the short stuff, finding first downs in vacated turf.
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A fifth round draft grade for a running back can mean that maybe you don’t get drafted. If that is the case for Dayes, then free agency will at least give him the opportunity to find his own fit.