1. Bijan Robinson, Texas

5’11”, 215 pounds; JR

 

The number one running back recruit in the country for 2020, Robinson had an absolutely ridiculous high school career, rushing for over 2000 yards in three straight seasons and becoming the first guy to be named the top player in the state of Texas twice. As a freshman with the Longhorns, Bijan racked up 899 yards and six touchdowns on just 101 touches, averaging 8.2 yards per carry. In year two, he truly exploded onto the scene, with just over 1400 yards and 15 touchdowns in ten games, which earned him first-team All-Big XII accolades. And he was even better last year, repeating those honors, while being just six yards shy of 1900 total and reaching the end-zone 20 times, making him a first-team All-American, despite some inconsistencies for that Texas offense overall.

 

+ Can get skinny and slice through lanes at full speed, but also slow-play and then kick into gear once he sticks his foot in the ground, gaining pace through that plant

+ Displays appropriate vision and understanding of concepts, to run from the pistol or shotgun, from single-back, split or I-formation sets, gap or zone schemes, read pullers and be a gadget player on top of it

+ Can alter tempo, cut down his stride and make subtle shifts to his running path smoothly

+ When having to avoid instant penetration, there’s no wasted movement or panic, showcasing the reactionary quickness to avoid that road-bump without going completely off track

+ Has that sudden burst to leave defenders behind in the dust, whether it’s linebackers having him squared up in the hole or DBs slow-playing him out in the flats and trying to wait for him, and he rarely allows tacklers to get a straight wrap on him

+ Shows that ability where he’s surrounded by bodies but somehow appears totally calm, makes his move and just has everybody reaching for air

 

+ Has the speed to split safeties trying to converge on him in two-high looks or pull away from the pack, when he just gets a seam

+ Naturally strings those moves together in sequence, including the lazy/dead leg and those types of in-and-out moves, And he has some of the greatest effort plays you will ever see from a back, where he is all wrapped up, but he refuses to go down

+ Just a very creative runner, Some of the dramatic head- and foot-fakes by Bijan as well crossing over some guys as if he’s on a basketball court with great curvilinear movement, are just things that you don’t really see from other backs at that size at least

+ May not truck a lot of guys necessarily, but he can really drive through contact and churn out extra yardage, Plus his ability to stiff-arm somebody near the sideline and ride that guy for several is pretty crazy

+ Broke 79 tackles on only 195 carries in 2021 and added eight more broken tackles on 26 receptions, This past season, he forced 104(!) missed tackles (a PFF single-season record) on 257 attempts and racked up 1077 yards after contact (along with 41 explosive runs)

 

+ Looks so natural catching the ball, which was something I also noted throughout his combine workout (along with what I saw on film)

+ Doesn’t have to slow down when he has turn over the shoulder or slightly reach behind him for the ball – PFF didn’t charge him with any drops and the only questionable ball I can remember was a failed underhand catch on a low ball off an out route

+ The Longhorn coaches made it a priority to find ways of getting the ball in his hands with space, with a lot of swing and seam routes, but also some quick screens when split out wide

+ Can be a legit fifth receiver when you flex him out wide or into the slot in empty sets, with the quick-twitch out of his breaks, but also can attack vertically as part of the pattern on streak and wheel routes

+ Showcases good patience and active feet to square up second- and third-level rushers, along with the quickness to go from being in the A-gap to get a piece of somebody coming unblocked off the opposite edge

+ Lands some forceful chips before releasing into his routes and legitimately slowed down quite a few of the better edge rushers that way

 

– When having built up momentum and approaches tacklers, Robinson can gain yards through contact effectively, but in tight spaces, you see linebackers wrap and drive him backwards more than you’d like

– You want a dynamic player like this to bring his style to the table, but there’s a little too much tip-toeing behind the line going on with Bijan at this point

– Not always super disciplined with executing run schemes and following the way it’s drawn up, as well as just making sure he gets back to the line of scrimmage, when the defense has won the battle

– Puts his body in vulnerable positions, including getting flipped in the Texas Tech game last season, where it initially looked like he might have broken his neck, and part of that led to his six fumbles since the start of the 2021

– Doesn’t consistently strike up and through the target as a pass-protector, allowing them to slip off his blocks, more so as somebody who gets in the way of blitzers

 

This guy is a human highlight reel, who can zoom past the defense in a hurry if you give him a lane, but even when nothing is there, he can create magic. Robinson did it over and over again these past two years, even though everybody in the stadium knew where the ball was going a lot of times. Becoming a more commanding pass-protector will be his biggest area of improvement, but he has the size and natural gifts to as close as we have to a true workhorse/featured back in football today, and he’s the best prospect at the position I’ve scouted since Saquon Barkley. Because of how the NFL undervalues the position, he won’t nearly go as often, but this is a top-five overall prospect in this class.

 

 

 

2. Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama

5’11”, 200 pounds; RS SO

 

A former top-100 overall recruit in 2020, Gibbs immediately produced for the Georgia Tech program as a true freshman, recording nearly 1000 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns on just 121 touches (eight kick returns). Then he was named a second-team All-American player at the all-purpose spot in 2021, thanks to 1211 yards from scrimmage on 178 touches, averaging 6.8 yards per and reaching the end-zone six times. Following that, he transferred over to the SEC, where he really was the main offensive weapon for Alabama and was named first-team all-conference, combining 151 carries and 44 catches to 1370 yards and touchdowns from scrimmage, averaging 7.0 yards per touch.

 

+ Very much reminds me of Georgia’s James Cook last year, in terms of somebody that if you give him that lane to explode through, he may bang his head on the goal-post soon after

+ This kid is like a sportscar, that can switch gears with no issues at all and make defenders look silly

+ You see Gibbs move laterally on zone concepts and then look like he’s shot out of a cannon as he decides to get vertical and hit the crease, And defenders routinely appear be a little late to come off blocks as he gets into the defensive backfield

+ Has some of the most impressive feet in the draft class and an ability to cut on a moment’s notice, as well as bob and hesitate before slicing through (small) creases

+ For being right around the 200-pound size, Gibbs gladly follows concepts between the tackles and does a nice job of slightly hesitating behind pullers before acceleration through creases

+ His start-stop quickness is off the chart, to where it seems like he’s going full speed, then momentarily moves laterally to make a defender miss and be right back in top gear

+ Moves with the control to almost shuffle sideways to allow the play to develop and then explode through the hole

+ There are moments where it appears he’ll be brought down for no gain, but he somehow torpedoes through a narrow lane, where he slithers off arm-tackles from the side

 

+ That wiggle he has leads to defenders rarely getting a straight shot at him, constantly dipping underneath defenders after forcing them to leverage him a certain way and just reducing the surface area they can hit

+ Showcases tremendous balance and ability to stay on his feet as he slices underneath blockers in space and there’s some contact, defenders are trying to trip him up and such

+ Times up well when he swipes down with the ball not holding the ball, as tacklers are reaching out for him

+ He may look undersized, but Gibbs breaks more tackles than you’d expect, thanks to the way he dips and pulls his shoulders up through contact when he can’t avoid guys

+ Overall, he forced 69 missed tackles on 232 career attempts with the Yellow Jackets, and he made somebody miss on every fourth carry this past season, along with 15 runs of 15+ yards

 

+ Has some of the softest hands you’ll find from a college running back – dropped only two of 105 career catchable targets

+ At Alabama, he quickly became the top option in the pass game, whether it was on slide, angle and option routes underneath or even down the field quite regularly

+ Was flexed out wide at least 5-10 times per game and his burst off the ball combined with the way he can stop on a dime, got him open on hitches constantly

+ Quickly recognizes and gets to the right solutions on secondary routes and despite his heavy usage in the pattern, Gibbs averaged an impressive 1.83 yards per route run

+ Has that instant acceleration once the ball touches his hands and instantly turns upfield after the catch, while showcasing good feel for space and recognizing defenses around him, Catching passes out in the flats, you see guys trying to run him down whiff as he turns up the sideline

+ You’ll be hard-pressed to find a play, where he catches the ball underneath with space and the first tackler brings him to the ground

+ Getting him out in space with a convoy on screen games screams house-call

 

– Is constantly looking for the big play and can miss some obvious front-side lanes every once in a while

– Gets a little too cute when he gets the ball on tosses, sweeps, etc. and tries to foot-fake somebody tracking him one-on-one, to get taken down for a loss

– Slips every once in a while when he tries to press a crease hard and his momentum is too far out in front as he’s trying to make his cut

– Definitely runs tougher than his size would indicate, but this is not somebody who’ll get the best of straight-up collisions in the hole with linebackers or sustain a big blow from the side

– Close to a zero when locked into pass-protection, just not having the anchor strength to stymie the charge of blitzing linebackers

 

When you draft Gibbs, you understand that he’s right around 200 pounds and will never carry the ball 18-20 times per game. I don’t think he’s built to do that, but that would also be a disservice to the style of player he can be for you. The component he can add to your passing game as a matchup asset and just the dynamic open-field skills is highly valuable. Yet, at the same time he is highly capable of reading and executing run schemes between the tackles at a high level, where he packs that instant acceleration to slice through the second level and create explosive plays. He just had an outstanding showcase at the combine, with a 4.36 in the 40, and he looked so smooth in all the on-field drills, to remind people he’s still worthy of consideration for a late first-round pick.

 

 

 

3. Zach Charbonnet, UCLA

6’1”, 220 pounds; SR

 

A top-50 overall recruit in 2019, Charbonnet had a pretty good debut campaign with Michigan, with 149 carries for 726 yards and 11 touchdowns, but then barely saw the field as a sophomore and transferred ahead of the 2021 season. At UCLA he had a fulminant start and put together a strong 12-game season, running it 202 times and catching 24 passes for 1334 total yards and 13 touchdowns, making him a second-team All-Pac-12 selection. Last year, he improved to first-team and earned the AP spot on the second-team All-American squad, by putting up 1680 yards and 14 TDs, increasing his average yards per carry (7.0) and reception (8.7).

 

+ Runs with incredible balance and force, but also has impressive feet in tight space to navigate traffic

+ Stays true to the run concept and trusts the blocking for the most part, while manipulating defenders to run themselves to the wrong side of blocks

+ Shows the patience and awareness to maximize his lanes to run through, leaning towards where a defender is leveraged and then slicing underneath it, And he’s become better at changing up his pace and navigating through tight areas

+ Can drop his hips and execute jump-cuts after getting the defense to commit as well as anybody in the country

+ Operates from a wide base and sink in his hips as he’s approaching the line vertically and picks his spots with plus vision and short-area agility

+ Has a way of contorting his body to avoid getting hung up in traffic and navigating around it without running himself into a safety waiting for him

 

+ Will never go down without a fight, A lot of times you will see him with his back to the pile and push off the ground to move forward

+ Charbonnet’s ability to bang his shoulder into the chest of tacklers and the relentless leg-drive allow him to consistently churn out extra yards through contact

+ Rarely takes away his own momentum, pulls his legs through wrap attempts and if you do get in his way after he was able to build up steam, the likelihood is that you’ll get run over

+ This guy’s balance is pretty insane, I’ve seen him be completely airborn around tacklers at times and still land on his feet to keep moving

+ Packs a wicked stiff-arm, which I’ve seen him beat defenders on the edge in one-on-one tackling situations with, as he decides to cut back and works around them

+ Last year he averaged 4.2 yards after contact and forced 52 missed tackles

+ Has some shocking pull-away burst, to where he’s gaining ground on safeties, and his 26 carries of 15+ yards ranked fifth among draft-eligible RBs

 

+ Showcases some pretty soft hands to not bobble catches at all, which had him only dropping two of 39 catchable targets in 2022

+ Instantly gets upfield after securing the catch and knifes through defenders converging on him on multiple occasions

+ Sets up screen plays tremendously well and understands how to utilize linemen out in front accordingly

+ Carries play-fakes in a very deceptive way and lands some solid chips from the side before releasing into check-downs

+ Does a nice job of striking through the inside shoulder of blitzers and forcing them to take a wider path consistently

 

– When going (completely) horizontal and having to make that instant cut upfield as he spots penetration, Charbonnet doesn’t have that ability to plant hard off one leg, but rather patters his feet and loses time in the backfield and at times get tackled for loss because of it

– Watching him after some of the dynamic movers at the position in this class, there’s a lack of lateral suddenness to swiftly change lanes or make people miss in tight quarters

– Almost exclusively was used on swing routes and flare-outs when part of the pattern – we don’t really have any sample size to look at for him being used down the field

– The few times he did actually was assigned with routes that include a break, he seems to lack the quick-twitch to consistently separate, When UCLA flexed out defense, they simply locked Charbonnet on the outside and had him just stand there basically on one-step hitches

 

Charbonnet may not have the same kind of dynamic skill-set as the two guys in front of him, but I would argue he’s best pure runner in this entire class. He’s a legit 220+ pounds and enforces himself physically on defenses, but he’ll make guys miss and run away from them in a hurry, if you don’t respect that part of his game. His usage in his pass game was very simplistic, but there’s nothing wrong with his hands from what I’ve seen on tape and if he can still work on sustaining blocks in blitz-pickup, he can be a legit three-down back. These last two years, he’s earned PFF rushing grades of 91.9 and 92.3 respectively, to strengthen his case for being a top-50 selection.

 

 

 

4. Zach Evans, Ole Miss

5’11”, 200 pounds; JR

 

The number one overall recruit in the state of Texas, Evans had one of the weirdest enrollment periods I can remember, pushing his announcement back several weeks and ultimately ending up at TCU – their first-ever five-star recruit. He was on track for a big 2021 season, with 648 yards through six games, before getting shut down with a toe injury. Then he decided to transfer to the SEC and join Ole Miss, where he turned 156 touches into 1055 yards and ten touchdowns.

 

+ Just watching the way he can move on the field, you understand why was once looked at as the number one overall player in the country

+ Has that instant acceleration and does not shy away at all from crashing through narrow creases at full force for tough yardage

+ This guy always seems to be going 100 miles per hour, He has tremendous explosion through the hole and can tightly navigate around blockers with ridiculous curvilinear movement, as well as pull his legs through the reach of tacklers

+ You’ll see him run over defensive ends at the line of scrimmage and drive the pile forward in short-yardage/goal-line situations better than most backs at 220-230 pounds

+ The way he can cut on a dime, slide inside of pursuing defenders and then the quick acceleration to beat guys to a spot is crazy

+ In some instances, where you see him completely stop his momentum and redirect, you feel like this guy has ankles of steel, plus then he gets back to full speed so rapidly that defenders can’t track him

+ You see the burst to get around the corner consistently, and as safeties feel like they have the outside leverage working up the alley, he often times makes them wrong be beating them to the sideline – that’s why Ole Miss tossed him the ball multiple times ever game

+ For as naturally talented as he is, Evans’ ability to recognize penetration, hug blockers and stay true to the run design are beyond what you’d expect from a somebody with less than 300 collegiate carries

 

+ Offers legit home-run speed to blow through the second level and then give the safety one little head-nod, before forcing that guy to flip his head and chase after him

+ I certainly wouldn’t call Evans a power back, but with how he torpedoes downhill, he can pull through wraps and consistently twists himself forward if he’s built up momentum for a couple of extra yards

+ Displays insane contact balance, to bang off bodies and somehow stay on his feet

+ There are some ridiculous touches on tape, where he’s stumbling and you think he has to go down, but he touches the ground, re-gains control and keeps running, Plus, he consistently pulls himself forward when possible to end his runs

+ Will get you those tough yards by consistently pulling his knees up through contact, and packs a beautiful spin move to work off contact

+ Uses the inside arm very well to swipe down as defenders try to reach out for him making lateral cuts, to not get slowed down by them, as well as extend and almost push off edge defenders as he tries to work around them

+ Forced 36 missed tackles and had 17 runs of 15+ yards on just 144 attempts this past season

 

+ Catches the ball with ease, whether it’s securing pitches or catching the ball on swing routes without ever slowing down

+ You can really take advantage of Evans’ explosiveness in the screen game, with the way he can hide behind his linemen momentarily before hitting the jets and outracing defenders to certain spots

+ Plus, once he gets to the open field when kicked into gear, he can cross the bend his path and cross the field, to kill multiple pursuit angles on one play

+ Working across the formation as a personal protector, you see some impressive reps from Evans, where he cuts through the legs of the free rusher and brings him to the turf

 

– Still needs work on a lot of the finer details of the game, You see Evans overrun plays and not display the patience to set them up conceptually, allowing defenders to work over blocks because he doesn’t press holes and not altering his tempo

– Relies so heavily on his speed and certainly won’t be able to just run around people as frequently at the pro level

– Freshman Quinshon Judkins took on more of the carries for Ole Miss (289 vs. 156 touches) and handled the third-down role more regularly for this team

– We basically have no evidence of Evans “winning” as a route-runner, with one touchdown on a wide-open wheel route off a gadget play and otherwise mostly swing routes, and with how many RPOs the Rebels ran, we have very little tape of him as a pass-protector in true dropback sets

– Fumbled five times on just 320 career touches, due to swinging the arm that holds the ball too far away from his body

 

In a running back class that to me has a pretty clear top-three (in defined order) and a bunch of names in that next tier, where it heavily depends on which flavor you’re looking for, I think Evans stands above the rest. Other than Bijan, he’s about as talented as anybody at the position, with things you simply can’t teach. The violence and contact balance he runs with are pretty insane, launching himself through tacklers from all directions unlike really any backs around the 200-pound mark. Ball-security and exact deployment in the pass game are question marks, but Evans is instant electricity when he touches the ball and he’s a more mature decision-maker inside the trenches than he gets credit for.

 

 

 

5. Devon Achane, Texas A&M

5’9”, 185 pounds; JR

 

A four-star recruit in 2020, Achane showcased his explosive skill-set right away in a limited capacity with the Aggies, averaging 9.6 yards and scoring five touchdowns on 48 touches, Over the last two years, he became more of a featured player, alongside Isaiah Spiller as a sophomore and then even more heavily last year, rushing 226 times for 2012 yards and catching 60 passes for 456 yards, with 21 combined touchdowns, Last season he was recognized as a first-team All-SEC running back AND all-purpose player

 

+ Texas A&M ran quite a bit of invert veer and sweeps with a QB counter option, because Achane’s speed to beat flat-footed edge defenders and stack linebackers towards the sideline was such an asset

+ Yet, his ability to stop his feet and then re-accelerate to beat defenders to the spot is incredible, Like you think somebody’s about to get him all the way and they just don’t

+ Has the shiftiness to have his feet pointed to the outside and slide inside of blockers/tacklers as he sees that lane opening up all of a sudden

+ Those lateral hops and ability to alter his running lanes without dramatic movement are very effective, as well as those little one-step stutter steps to give blockers that extra split-second

+ Can turn his upper body and reduce his surface area for defenders to grab as he’s working across the line of scrimmage, getting really skinny through the hole

+ Already does a nice job of forcing linebackers to wait on the backside with subtle hesitation and then attacking the front-side

+ Looking at guys with Achane’s level of speed, they usually tend to rely on it in a way where they try to beat guys down the sideline constantly, but he will cut inside of defenders with outside leverage, even though he knows a hit from one of the guys in pursuit is coming

+ Was a highly productive rusher this past season, despite running (somewhat surprisingly) behind one of the worse O-lines in college, where there was traffic in the backfield quite regularly

 

+ Officially the fastest running back in the class with a 4.32 in the 40, but I didn’t actually need a number to know that anyway

+ You frequently see safeties spin around and have to sprint after him, once they realize the angle they chose working down from depth won’t cut it

+ Once he gets rolling, he can bounce off guys trying to dive at his legs, and somehow finds ways to get his feet back onto the ground, He’ll get his burned turned momentarily but still not get off track a whole not

+ Looks like he greased up at times with the way he squirts through creases between the defenders and you just see guys slipping off him

+ And he makes some of the sharpest cuts of anybody in this class, without ever slipping it feels like

+ Forced 53 missed tackles on 173 attempts through his first two seasons with the Aggies and earned PFF rushing grades over 90.0 in each of those, while getting to 53 this past year on 196 carries

 

+ With his skills in space, Achane is a legit threat if you get the ball to him on routes towards the flats and in the screen game

+ You can use that speed vertically as well though, blowing by linebackers on streak/wheel routes in man-coverage or splitting the safeties as they widen in cover-two, He beat Alabama’s Christian Harris (third-round pick by the Texans) for a big play on one of those in 2021

+ Attacks through the inside half of the man in pass-pro and at least forces those guys to take the long route

+ There are so many backs his size that cheat effort in pass-pro, while Achane does give up his body and get in front of charging blitzers

+ He has a few nice cut-blocks against mugged-up A-gap blitzers on tape

 

– On the very small end of the spectrum with short arms (29 inches) and small hands (8 ½-inches), and he doesn’t appear like he’ll be able to add a lot to his frame

– Doesn’t really have the pure strength to drive through bodies and churn out those tough yards, while being twisted to the ground quite regularly

– When the play is dead, I’d like for him to just run into the backs of his linemen and maybe get a yard, rather than stutter in the backfield and lose a couple

– Achane doesn’t really snatch up blitzers and control pass-pro reps, rather than just doing enough to not get quarterback killed for a couple of seconds at least – was responsible for nine pressures

– He officially “only” had three drops last year, but his catch radius is limited and he tends to cradle the ball instead of catching it away from his body – had a couple of passes go off his hands, where he had to reach out in front of him

 

Similar to what I mentioned with Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs, there’s a certain path you should take in order to maximize Achane’s skill-set. The difference between the two is that the latter doesn’t have quite as natural hands and will play at 10-15 pounds less. So I don’t see him ever being a legit RB1 in the NFL. However, while I thought he still had more of a track body in 2021 and that was also his play style to some degree, with a ton of one-read runs from shotgun, I think his micro-movements and ability to make most of run schemes has really improved, and not many guys will ever run away from SEC defense as consistently as we’ve seen him do. To me he’s somebody who can deliver real splash with touches in the early teens, but we don’t see many backs at his size be major contributors in the pros typically.

 

 

 

6. Tyjae Spears, Tulane

5’10”, 190 pounds; RS JR

 

A three-star recruit in 2019, Spears saw very limited action in four games as a true freshman and then ended his upcoming season with an injury three games in. In his first full year (12 games) he just cracked 1000 scrimmage yards along with nine touchdowns. Then in Tulane’s Cinderella 12-2 season in 2022, he exploded for over 1800 total yards and 21 TDs, earning himself the title of AAC Offensive Player of the Year and carrying them to a huge moment in the program’s history, in their Cotton Bowl win over USC.

 

+ Was the driving force of Tulane’s miracle 2022 season, when he nearly had as many scrimmage yards as the next three players on the team had combined

+ Has that instant acceleration to shoot through holes and beat defenses around the corner for big plays routinely

+ Effectively curves off either foot accelerate through curvilinear movement, At times you’ll see him aim to the outside, bend underneath a block on the edge without turning his body and after a couple of steps go wide again

+ Despite being labelled undersized, Spears incredible balance allows him to wiggle out of tackles and stumble back onto his feet

+ You see him just give that little shimmy and have linebackers reaching for air as he works around them near the line of scrimmage and not lose any speed

+ Packs this gliding jump-cut almost, where he aims downhill and doesn’t actually pause, but seemingly just turns his body to get out to the edge, Yet he can also stick the inside foot in the ground and open the other toe 90 degrees to bounce out there

 

+ Has game-breaking acceleration to get around the corner and then the break-away speed to finish off LONG runs

+ Almost floats sideways as he’s navigating around defenders in open space without losing much speed

+ Yet he can also pull his shoulder away and cut off one foot outside his frame to make those more dramatic moves to win in one-on-one situations

+ His dead-leg move is as good as you’re ever going to see from a college back, and he doesn’t need to have his feet aligned perfectly to make different cuts and pulls his feet out of the trash constantly, as defenders try to trip him up

+ Regularly launches or pulls himself forward and reaches the ball out to maximize yardage gained

+ And he breaks way more tackles than you’d think, as guys slip off him and he keeps himself alive constantly, leading to an insane average of 4.55 yards after contact (1052 total)

+ Had one of the most insane touchdown runs you will find from last season against UCF, splitting a couple of tacklers at the line and then putting moves on guys in the open field before turning on the burners

+ Put on a show against USC in the Cotton Bowl, rushing for 205 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries, en route to a huge win for that program in a phenomenal season for them

 

+ At Tulane, it was a lot of swings and streak routes, but watching Spears at the Senior Bowl, you saw that quick-twitch and ankle flexibility translate to crossing up linebackers one-on-one on angle and option routes

+ You saw the Green Wave line up Spears out wide and in diamond sets, so they could put the ball in his hands on slip screens, or hit him on swing screens off motion, to take advantage of his dynamic ability in space

+ Does well to identify the biggest threat as a personal protector on pass plays

+ Despite giving up 30-40 pounds on most linebackers, Spears doesn’t mind launching his body into those guys when used as a lead-blocker for his quarterback or even kicking out edge defenders in split-back sets

 

– Tends to overrun pullers at times, when he should “hide” behind their inside shoulder, to create an angle to ultimately slice underneath the block

– Does rely heavily on his speed to bounce runs designed to hit inside or try to beat back-seven defenders towards the sideline, who aren’t properly leveraged outside – which he was able to in college

– Spears isn’t really going to churn out those tough yards in traffic and push the pile forward

– You’ll see him bang into bigger bodies in pass-pro, but Spears doesn’t have the strength to actually sustain those blocks, That’s why he was largely subbed off in obvious passing situations

– Wasn’t ask to run any type of intricate route tree at Tulane

– Suffered two torn ACLs already heading into the NFL

 

When you talk about highlight reels, it feels like you come back to Bijan at the top all the time, but you can argue Spears is the most fun back to watch in this entire class. He has cat-like quickness, sick open-field moves and legit homerun speed, but he runs hard and breaks way more tackle than you’d anticipate from a guy who probably played around the 190-pound range at Tulane. He’ll need to become a more disciplined runner between the tackles and continue to prove he can be a real matchup piece in the pass game as he did at the Senior Bowl to some degree, but it was encouraging to see him have the same kind of juice and make some of the better players in the country look foolish after weighing in just above 200s.

 

 

 

7. Sean Tucker, Syracuse

5’10”, 210 pounds; RS SO

 

Just inside the top-1000 overall recruits in 2020, after some good production his first year with the Orange, Tucker turned himself into a first-team All-ACC and second-team All-American player as a full-time starter, recording 1751 scrimmage yards and 14 touchdowns on 266 touches, averaging 6.6 yards per. He also broke the team’s single-season rushing record along the way (1496), which is highly impressive considering the RB bloodlines for that school. In 2022, he averaged one yard less per carry (5.1) on similar workload, but did still reach the end-zone 13 times and more than doubled his career receptions with 36.

 

+ Bings some serious track background, where he focused more and more on short-distance and you see that explosiveness show up on his tape, Yet he maintains great balance and doesn’t get too far over his skis

+ Displays natural tempo in a zone run scheme, where he can stick his foot in the ground and shoot through lanes, but he also understands how to press creases on more vertical concepts and stay square, in order to force linebackers to the wrong side of blocks

+ Quick to transfer information from his head to his feet, as he spots defensive penetration and dips underneath quickly

+ Does well to plant his base with parallel feet, open up the hips and allow himself to bounce outside, There’s a lot of turning of his body and manipulating defenders with his body-language, as he’s trying to take the optimal running path

+ However, what I really appreciate about Tucker is how efficient a runner he is before he gets to the second level, where he obviously has the speed to rip off big plays, You don’t see him dance behind the line or stop his feet much

+ You saw him take advantage of his quarterback turning himself into a blocker after carrying out fakes on zone-read plays and was able to get around the corner on the backside fairly regularly by stopping, pivoting and hitting the burst again

 

+ Tucker’s ability to build up momentum and bounce off defenders is on display regularly

+ He uses his off-arm well to swipe down the reach of would-be-tacklers and allows himself to get around the corner by straight-arming at the facemask of edge defenders

+ Has outstanding balance to stay on his feet, Even when they are barely on the ground anymore, as he’s being pulled down, yet Tucker keeps churning them

+ You regularly see him blow through arm tackles as if they’re turnstiles and plenty of tacklers bounce off his large quads

+ Will contort his body a little bit and use curvilinear movement to get through that second level, with defenders trying to converge on him

 

+ Was more involved as a receiver in 2022, And while it was largely swing and flat routes, just allowing him to catch the ball on the move and being able to use his speed is a recipe for success, where he didn’t seem to fight the catch point at all

+ De doesn’t seem to fight the ball, even though he may allow it to get further into his body, and he doesn’t waste any time to get upfield

+ Just ran by a couple of linebackers on wheel routes this past season

+ Isn’t going to wow you with dramatic moves in the open field necessarily, but what he’s really good at – and you see this at times when he bounces runs out to the edge as well – is pointing the toe fully, as he’s widening and working around defenders after catching the ball underneath, in order to beat to beat them to the sideline with his speed

+ Syracuse also got him involved in the screen game to some degree, where if you give him a crease with blockers out in front, it becomes very dangerous for the opposition

 

– Playing behind a lesser offensive line in 2022, Tucker showed some impatience and lack of a plan to set up his rushing lanes, while trying to do too much by himself at times

– As fast as he may be, Tucker should try to get downhill at times and take that one-on-one with the safety, rather than trying to outrace linebackers engaged with a blocker and running towards their leverage, And as an open-field runner, he also largely relies on his speed, rather than showing the ability to make people miss and set up a series of moves

– Considering how much he’s been on the field for the Orange, Tucker’s 28 receptions combined between 2020 and ’21 is pretty underwhelming, They didn’t ask him to go vertical other than a couple of times last year, or run any type of option routes for them

– Dropped five of 42 catchable targets this past season

– At this point, Tucker isn’t much of an asset as a pass-protector, not showing much of an awareness to scan the pressure and beat rushers to the spot

 

Tucker was one of my favorite rushers heading into 2022. The balance he runs with and the hip mobility he possesses, combined with the explosion he packs and the power he can build up are top-tier. Unfortunately, some of that mature running style disintegrated due to a lack of trust in the O-line. If he can he coached up to return to his former decision-making process on running lanes that will close quicker at the NFL level, I think he can be a very productive player still. He does have the size to help you in protection, although he’s far from it conceptually at this point, but I’m encouraged by seeing him contribute more as a receiver in 2022.

 

 

 

8. Eric Gray, Oklahoma

5’9”, 205 pounds; SR

 

A top-200 overall recruit in 2019, Gray combined for just under 1700 scrimmage yards and 11 touchdowns through two years with Tennessee, before he transferred to Oklahoma ahead of the 2021 season. Even though he couldn’t cut much into Kennedy Brooks’ workload and only touched the ball 101 times, he did convert that into 641 yards and four TDs. And then when it was his backfield, he finally put up the numbers we wanted to see all along, turning 213 carries (6.4 yards per) plus 33 receptions (6.9 yards per) into five yards shy of 1600 total and 11 TDs last year, which earned him first-team All-Big-12 accolades.

 

+ Sets up GT power exceptionally well, to create a crease between the two pullers and blowing past those guys

+ Explodes through the hole and rips through the lanes in front of him

+ Does an outstanding job using his blockers, hesitating behind them and leading defenders the wrong way, He will peak around his teammates and get at least one opponent to follow that way

+ Very deceptive overall with his body language and can make those hard cuts while his head still looks the original direction

+ And he’s a master at staying square to a lead-block or slow-playing it and then using subtle cuts at the last moment to tightly get around them before kicking into gear

+ Has those really quick feet to make subtle adjustments to his running path and weave through defenses, Yet the way he can stop and cut on a dime when needed, has also improved during his time with the Sooners

+ You like the ability to plant and get vertical, but on off-tackle runs, the ankle flexibility to curve and widen off the inside-foot might be even more impressive

 

+ Puts safeties in hell when he gets into those one-on-ones with them working down from depth, seemingly always having a plan and putting sudden moves on them to make them miss

+ This guy’s curvilinear movement and ability to accelerate whilst bending his path in the open field is tremendous

+ His dead-legs and side-way jump-cuts to slice inside of defenders are excellent

+ Keeps himself alive as a runner and bounces off some big hits, kind of running like a wild horse

+ Offers a strong lower body and you see tacklers slipping off him regularly, as he spins off contact, and regularly carrying guys on his back

+ When there’s two defenders converging on him from either side, Gray will lower his pads and split them or at drag them ahead for a couple of extra yards with consistency

+ Forced a missed tackle every 0.27 rushing attempts (58 on 212 total)

+ OU used him as a wildcat QB quite regularly last year, to take advantage of his vision and attack downhill on power-based schemes

 

+ Does a great job of carrying out play-fakes and keeping the eyes of defenders on him, while his quarterback is already out the back-door or starting his release

+ There are no actual struggles with slightly off-target ball-placement and Gray hauled in all 34 of his catchable targets this past season, while rarely slowing down for passes and bringing in some tough grabs along the way

+ When he gets a chance to catch the ball out in the flats and make stuff happen with it, he can truly shake defenders out of their boots

+ Was released up the seams from a backfield alignment a few times, where he has the actual speed to get behind the linebackers and split the safeties in two-deep coverages

+ Brings some thump when picking up blitzers and doesn’t mind banging into D-tackles, when helping out his linemen, either

 

– You’ll see him Gray locked in on running to the most space, rather than understanding how defenders are leveraged and how he can use the angles of his blockers to his advantage

– When there’s traffic in the backfield on vertical concepts, he tends to completely stop his feet at times

– Has to do a better job of keeping his eyes up in protection and not getting his feet stuck when he throws his punch, And he can get too aggressive whilst stepping up and whiff on blitzing linebackers, who know how to side-step backs

– Doesn’t have the break-away speed to finish off long runs at the next level

 

Expectations were high for Gray when he got to Tennessee and especially transferring to Oklahoma. While he did flash as a backup his first year with the Sooners, he really became an every-down stud back last season. The pacing and foot quickness are tremendous and he runs with the force of guys closer to 230 pounds. There are some technical nuances he needs to improve upon to be a reliable pass-protector, but he has all the tools to be an every-down starter at the NFL level. Fans love to see those big-time homeruns, yet coaches will appreciates how consistently Gray makes “his man” miss which run concept can’t account for, along with the fact he catches every ball thrown his way.

 

 

 

9. Roschon Johnson, Texas

6’2”, 225 pounds; SR

 

A four-star recruit in 2019, Johnson’s production throughout his career with the Longhorns – during which he was stuck behind a tremendous talent in Bijan Robinson mostly – was very steady. Across his four seasons in Texas, he averaged 112 touches per year for 652 yards and 6.5 touchdowns. Now he’s looking to become more a featured option at the next level, with little track on his tires but plenty of talent.

 

+ Very mature runner, who stays true to concepts and makes his blockers look good, by leading box defenders to where they’re expected to be

+ Light on his feet and has more wiggle than you’d expect for a guy with legit power back size

+ Patiently strings out lateral schemes and allows blockers to lead up in the hole before he kicks into full gear

+ Can slow his feet effectively in tight areas without taking away his own momentum, but also drop his base and come to a full stop in a moment’s notice, when needed

+ Efficiently integrates jump-starts and jump-stops on the fly as he’s processing information

+ Presses combo-blocks with square shoulders and navigates around them very effectively, without any excessive footwork

+ Bends his path exceptionally well and seems to gain speed almost better than if he’s just going straight a lot of times, Andor a big guy, his burst around the corner when edge defenders cheat inside catches defenses by surprise

+ Drops and pulls his pads through contact to grind out those tough yards between the tackles

 

+ Running a 4.58 in the 40 at the combine may not look great on the surface, but Johnson’s 1.52 ten-yard split was right on par with former teammate Bijan Robinson (tied for third-best among RBs)

+ His 32-inch arms are freakishly long at six-foot even and uses them very well to push off defenders with the stiff-arm

+ It also helps him to touch down or just use it as a tool to get back to balance after stumbling

+ Will dish out a pretty nasty dead-leg move against safeties racing down too hard, in order to make them whiff

+ Shows one of the most graceful spin moves, despite being a taller guy, to re-gain his balance without losing speed and to work off contact effectively

+ Runs with an incredible level of determination overall – constantly churns his legs and twists his body to grind out extra yardage through contact, rarely gets dragged down and pushes the ball five plus yards with regularity

+ You love the way he pulls his knees up and frequently picks his feet out of the grasp of attempted tackles – forced an insane 46 missed tackles on just 94 carries this past season

 

+ Has generated some important first downs when having the ball flipped to him at the last moment as a check-down option

+ Doesn’t waste any time getting upfield after the catch and is ready to drop the pads on some poor DB

+ With how light Johnson is on his feet, he also effectively slides in front of rushers as a pass-protector and is able to guide them off track with regularity when they get to get around him

+ Was originally recruited as a quarterback and while he only attempted two passes in his collegiate career, he was regularly deployed as the guy taking the snap from wildcat sets with Bijan and the very few times he did actually drop back, he looked like a guy with balanced feet and who can make something happen if plays aren’t there

 

– Does present a larger surface area with more of an upright running style

– His speed may not allow him to clear holes as consistently at the next level and he won’t take plays to the house by burning angles a whole lot

– Not a creative player in the open field – You don’t see him flat-out make defenders miss one-on-one and some teams may look at him as just an early-down runner

– His value in the passing game is a real question mark, not catching more than 14 passes since his freshman year and dropping five of 61 catchable target for his career

 

Johnson was one of the more pleasant surprises of this entire class to me. You see those backups come in fresh and hit some big plays later in games, but when you really sit down and watch the film, you realize that not many backs would’ve keep this kid off the field as much, unless it truly is an elite talent like Bijan Robinson. Other than UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet, you can argue Johnson is as good a power-back as we have coming out this year. He’s much more light-footed than a lot of the plodding bruisers you typically associate with that description, but when it’s time to drop the pads, he will bring the thunder. Johnson showed some legit juice during the first day of Senior Bowl week, but then had to miss the rest with an injury unfortunately. Otherwise his stock would probably be even higher now.

 

 

 

10. Israel Abanikanda, Pittsburgh

5’11”, 215 pounds; JR

 

A top-500 overall recruit in 2020, Abanikanda touched the ball 30 times for just over 100 yards as a true freshman, before racking up 848 yards and eight touchdowns on 147 chances in year two. Making up for the loss of quarterback Kedon Slovis and carrying the Panthers offense, he finished the year with 1577 yards and 21 touchdowns from scrimmage, averaging 6.0 yards per rush, which made him a first-team All-ACC selection.

 

+ Very patient runner, who allows his blocking to get set up, decelerating behind pullers and then hitting the hole hard, with the long speed to finish off homeruns

+ He’s not somebody you can have soft edges or undisciplined contain defenders against, because he’ll punish you for it

+ You rarely see college backs incorporate as many subtle stride and running path adjustments

+ Does a nice job of leading linebackers to shooting a gap and then cutting behind the blocker, where there’s now nobody on the second level

+ Quick to spot penetration and edge defenders crashing inside, with his feet immediately opening up in order to bubble around

+ Yet he also doesn’t need to fully plant with the outside foot to get vertical after aiming towards the corner, bending off the inside leg and pulling his body forward

+ Recognizes when defense overplay his speed to the edge and can slide back inside after aiming that way originally

 

+ Avoids being squared up by tacklers thanks to subtle movement, such as swiping away their reach with the off-arm, spinning off wraps, etc. as he’s navigating through traffic

+ In particular, you see a lot of guys slip off him, as they try to sling their arms around him from the side as pursuit defenders

+ When he does need to meet somebody head-up in the hole, the Pitt RB will pull his shoulders up through contact and keep his feet churning, And he’ll lower the boom on a DB at the sideline in emphatic fashion when he gets a chance to

+ Yet, if he clears the second level, he has the jets to bang his head on the goal-line out of nowhere, leading to several long TDs last season

+ Broke Tony Dorsett’s single-game rushing record at Pitt, with 36 carries for 320 yards and six touchdowns against Virginia Tech

 

+ Ibanikanda’s usage as a receiver was fairly simplistic, but his approach to catching the ball shows no issues, And when he catches the ball in space, he can use some little shimmies, that don’t look like much, but somehow he typically gets away from that first tackler

+ Displays good awareness of bodies around him in the screen game, when to run through the catch basically or to pirouette back around to go underneath a block, and his acceleration helps in ripping off good chunks that way

+ You like his approach as a pass-protector, stepping up, getting into a wide base and lifting up through contact, in order to gain control

+ His feet stay active and he’s looking to re-fit his hands in that regard

 

– I’d say Abanikanda is a little bit of a stiff runner and not somebody who will wow you with dynamic cuts and sudden burst necessarily

– Not up to par with the premiere collegiate backs in missed tackle rate, at just 0.19 per rushing attempt

– Will hesitate a little too much at times and cut down his stride-length running zone concepts, which will lead to more no gains and TFLs at the next level – needs to become more decisive since his skill-set would make him an attractive target for a one-cut system

– Was basically purely limited to swings, flat routes and the occasional wheel in terms of Pitt’s pass game

– When they did spread the field and put him in the slot, you saw a bunch of out routes and rounded breaks in general

 

Maybe if you’re looking for one of these smaller, shifty backs with experience as pass-catchers in space, Abanikanda is not your kind of flavor, but for many of the teams that have adapted wide zone principles or if you’re looking to get downhill with oldschool iso-runs behind a fullback, this guy’s speed to create explosive plays is very appealing. With his workload doubling this past season compared to 2021, Abanikanda did have three fumbles, which is something he’ll need to clean up. However, I believe his micro-movements and subtle shifts in tight quarters has really improved and he could be one of the most productive backs from this year, if he somehow makes it to day three and gets drafted by Miami for example, as a bigger, probably more steady version of Raheem Mostert.

 

---

 

Just missed the cut:

 

 

Kendre Miller, TCU

6’0”, 215 pounds; JR

 

A three-star recruit in 2020, Miller was a very effective part of a committee through his first two years with the Horned Frogs, going just over 1000 rushing yards and ten touchdowns, whilst averaging 7.4 yards per carry. This past season as a junior, he was close to that mark again, until having to grind out games against some of the better defenses down the stretch and getting a bit banged up. Yet, he still racked up a career-best 1515 yards and 17 touchdowns from scrimmage on 240 touches, putting his name next to Texas’ Bijan Robinson as the two RBs making first-team All-Big 12.

 

+ Showcases a lot of patience and vision for lanes opening up late

+ Incorporates different tempo and gets defenders leverage to one side of blockers, before slicing underneath them

+ The way he changes up his footwork on the fly and hesitates behind blocks makes him very effective at setting up wrap-around pullers for success

+ Displays reactive quickness and creativeness to avoid penetrators and general traffic behind the line of scrimmage

+ Miller is not afraid to take on linebackers in the hole and grind out those tough yards, when the situation demands it (short-yardage, goal-line, etc.) or there just isn’t anything else there

+ Even when he has to make those quick reactions and doesn’t have his feet perfectly underneath him, Miller typically finds a way to somehow stop his momentum and/or shift his body away from tackling attempts

+ Plus, he seems comfortable navigating tighter spaces, where he torques his body and swipes guys past with the off-arm, to keep himself alive, before quickly re-accelerating, He kind of looks like Aaron Jones when his momentum is towards the outside and he slides underneath defenders with both feet off the ground rather than having to stutter them

 

+ Offers great agility and feel for making people miss, plus then he can quickly turn those into big plays after beating the deep safety one-on-one, It’s apparent that he peaks at those third-level defenders working upfield and sets them up before actually getting there with his footwork and body-language

+ Has a way of running slaloms around traffic and not really have to lose a lot of speed, when coming some space to build it up

+ Displays impeccable balance and ability to keep plays alive, as it looks at times like he’s shot when taking a hit from the side and somehow stumbles his way back on his feet, using his off-arm to re-gain balance regularly

+ Uses spin move to avoid getting wrapped up as effectively as anybody in this class, and if you try to get low on Miller, you’re likely going to be hugging air, as he goes over the top

+ Being too aggressive with your angles and not breaking down, typically means this guy will swipe you by and keep on going without much effort

+ Forced 70 missed tackles last season

 

+ Miller may not quite have that homerun speed, but when he kicks it into another gear after navigating around traffic, you see him gain ground on some fast DBs

+ When you give him chances in the screen game, he does well to navigating around bodies wearing the same or opposite jersey

+ Has a way of eluding traffic and releasing into the flats pretty cleanly

+ I would define him as more of a body-catcher, but I feel like whenever they flipped him the ball out in the flats, he at least got a couple of yards out of it

+ Had huge games against Oklahoma, Kansas State (during the regular season), Texas Tech and Texas in 2022, to bring home those key wins during an undefeated Big-12 regular season

 

– Doesn’t quite have that one elite athletic trait that jumps off the screen

– While I do appreciate the patience, he tends to stop his feet a little bit too much and there are plays that I just want to see his take his head down and at least get positive yards

– When legitimately one-on-one with a linebacker in the hole or a safety buzzing down to the flats after catching a swing route, Miller doesn’t show that truly special stuff to make them miss

– His usage in the pass game was pretty simplistic at TCU, running a bunch of swing and flat routes, or going on chip-releases and hooking up over the middle

– There are barely any one-on-one reps in blitz pick-up on tape, to evaluate him off

 

Miller is a very interesting prospect. He has kind of unique footwork and navigates compressed space a little different than most other guys. That way he can also make people miss on the second level and not allow tacklers to square him up generally, but he sneaks up on you with those 215 pounds and he’ll make you feel those at contact. With very limited production as a receiver (29 catches for 229 yards) and not the same type of dynamism in the open field as some other guys from this class, Miller may not find himself on as many highlight reels, but his future coaches will appreciate the consistent yardage he amounts as a runner.

 

 

Tank Bigsby, Auburn

6’0”, 210 pounds; JR

 

A top-50 overall recruit in 2020, Bigsby immediately took over the backfield in that COVID-shortened season, when he rushed for 834 yards and five TDs on 138 attempts across ten games as a true freshman (leading the SEC in scrimmage yards from week three on). In year two, he converted 244 touches into 1283 yards and ten TDs from scrimmage. Last year he touched the ball 35 times fewer, but averaged half a yard more and once again got into the end-zone ten times.

 

+ Brings great power and explosiveness to the table, as kind of an oldschool SEC running back, who you can imagine just being faster and stronger than anybody he’s played in high school and things are still similar at the collegiate level

+ Can make those subtle shifts of his running lanes whilst his whole body is tilted forward and he can still pull his shoulders through contact

+ For a power back, you see him shoot through some tight creases and run with his pads over his knees consistently

+ Utilizes jump-stops and jump-cuts to navigating around blockers or make linebackers miss in the hole exceptionally well

+ With how low he runs and the way he doesn’t have to accelerate navigating through crowded spaces, he can rip off some good chunks where other runner would just run into the backs of his linemen

+ Over the first half last season, Bigsby averaged less than half a yard before contact behind an O-line that struggled to create movement, yet he still produced and increased that average with a couple of break-away runs over the latter half of the year

 

+ Bigsby engages into contact with excellent pad-level and never goes down without a fight, which is why he’s been one of the best YAC performers in college football thanks to that

+ Routinely propels himself forward, over the body of tacklers, and he clears arm-tackles as if they’re nothing when having built up momentum

+ For a guy his size, the ability to stick his foot in the ground and go East-West to get around defenders in space is excellent

+ Had 95 missed tackles between 2020 and ’21 (first among returning SEC RBs) and bested that with 61 this past season, when he averaged 4.2 yards after contact

+ Turned 37(!) of his 179 carries into explosive plays (10+ yards), with 740 of his 970 rushing yards coming after contact

 

+ Finds a way to haul some pretty challenging passes in terms of their placement

+ Has the burst to make something happen with after catching dump-offs, beating defenders towards the sideline frequently

+ Didn’t get too many chances, but could be a big-play threat for an offensive coordinator who wants to feed him in the screen game

+ Willing to put his body in front of edge rushers, even though he could afford to stay low and strike up more effectively

 

– Because he is a top-tier athlete, Bigsby at times tries to get through a lane or bounce outside right as he takes the handoff, rather than pressing creases and allowing blockers to gain proper positioning

– Overall, he needs to become a more efficient in-between the tackles runner and use micro-movements to affect plays, which I’m not sure if he has the quick-twitch to

– Not much a creator when plays aren’t set up properly and lacks dynamic movement in space

– When he is perfectly corralled, as he tries to make something happen, you see him pitter-patter instead of just “tank”ing through and at least not turning it into a negative play

– Doesn’t approach passes very naturally, sort of just putting his hands in position (three drops on 33 catchable targets in 2022)

 

Ten years ago, Bigsby may have been the second running back to come off the board. He’s got good size, runs hard and if you give you a lane, he has the speed to take it the distance. However, he’s not the greatest “problem solver” at the position and lacks a certain creativity with the ball in his hands. That paired with not being the most natural pass-catcher reduces his value in today’s game. With that being said, he can still provide plenty of value as a physical early-down runner with explosive speed, plus better ability to come to a stop or cut off one foot than you’d expect for his playing style.

 

 

 

The next few names:

Mohamed Ibrahim (Minnesota), Chase Brown (Illinois), Kenny McIntosh (Georgia), Deuce Vaughn (Kansas State) & Jordan Mims (Fresno State)