Written by 247Sports Staff at 247Sports.com
247Sports has released its second annual preseason All-American Team, opening up voting to its vast network of team-based publishers and reporters. The team is listed below in the form of three graphics, weaved in with our five biggest takeaways.
1) Barkley vs. Guice will be one of the hottest debates of 2017
If you read the replies to any tweet about Saquon Barkley or Derrius Guice, you’re guaranteed to find LSU and Penn State fans duking it out over which running back is better. Last year, we saw a similar dynamic between Myles Garrett and Derek Barnett and it appears as though Barkley-Guice is going to be one of the hottest positional supremacy debates of 2017. Unlike last year, when there were five or so running backs with legitimate claims to being the best back in the country, Barkley and Guice stand head and shoulders above peers. The only other backs in the country to receive votes in this poll were Nick Chubb and Royce Freeman. Guice received the most votes for an offensive player, making him the second-most popular overall choice after Derwin James.
2) We have an upset at QB!
Lamar Jackson is the defending Heisman winner and just last week was named the best player in the country per our College Top247 rankings. But he’ll have to settle for second-team honors for our All-American team, which is selected by a wider pool of voters, who decided Darnold — by a margin of one vote — was the most deserving quarterback. Jackson’s stats were more absurd in 2016 (51 total TDs, 5,114 total yards) but Darnold was close as a passer: More scores, better completion percentage, better QBR, better QB rating, and just below Jackson in yards-per-attempt and interception percentage. Darnold finished the season better, making the Rose Bowl his personal coming-out party — 453 yards, five touchdowns and one of the prettiest passes you’ll ever see — while Jackson sputtered down the stretch. Projecting towards the coming season, both lose a good amount in the passing game, though Darnold’s USC Trojans reload with a higher-rated incoming crop of receivers than Louisville. Given that plus his year-end trajectory, it’s totally reasonable to have Darnold as the first-team quarterback.
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