This is a deep group of RB prospects and I actually think there are quite a few guys who will become starters or co-starters (for lack of a better term) pretty quickly. I have 6 guys listed here but I didn’t include Dylan Sampson (Tennessee), Cam Skattebo (Arizona St.), Ollie Gordon (Oklahoma St.), RJ Harvey (UCF), or a number of others. It’s a very good RB class. There’s going to be a 5th or 6th round RB in this draft that plays an important role for his team next season.
Running Backs
1. Ashton Jeanty (Boise St.): I’ll give Jeanty his due as an excellent running back and he earned the distinction as the top RB in this class, but it’s not as big of a gap as a prospect between him and the next two guys as you might think. Jeanty is on the shorter side being about 5’9 but that gives him his low center of gravity and makes him really hard to take down. He bounces off of tacklers because he has great contact balance and then can break away. He has great vision and does pretty much everything you want a RB to do very well. My biggest concern is the sheer amount of carries he has taken in his college career and if that might come back to haunt him.
2. Kaleb Johnson (Iowa): Patience, vision, and speed. Kaleb Johnson’s calling cards. He’s about 6’1 and 225 lbs. and yet he can run away from almost everyone. Johnson’s upright running style seems like it would make him an easy target to take down in traffic but unless you get to him behind the line of scrimmage, his upper body strength and elite stiff arm make him a terror in traffic. He also has elite and deceptive speed and absolutely crushes pursuit angles making him hard to catch if he gets the corner on an outside run. If he goes to a zone blocking team in the NFL, his patience to let his blocks set up, his vision to find the right hole, and then his elite speed to the edge are going to make him a dangerous weapon.
3. Omarion Hampton (North Carolina): Hampton is ranked ahead of Johnson for a lot of people and it’s understandable. He’s 6’0 220 lbs. and he has speed and plenty of power. He was a bit of a forgotten man as North Carolina didn’t have a great year and he didn’t have quite as many big plays like Johnson had. Hampton is going to be a starting RB in the league for quite a long time. His contact balance is excellent and he is a really tough runner. He’s got the speed to make you pay if you let him get the corner.
4. TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio St.): Speedy, big play weapon. Henderson isn’t the guy you’re going to hand the ball off to 25 times in a game, but you want him to touch the ball at least 15. He has electric speed that can change the game for you. He is at his best in space with the ball in his hands. He’s going to be compared to Jahmyr Gibbs a thousand times between now and the draft and the team that takes him is hoping he’s exactly that guy.
5. Quinshon Judkins (Ohio St.): Is there any wonder Ohio St. won the National Championship. Judkins transferred in this season from Ole Miss to be the power complement to Henderson’s speed demon. Go watch the National Championship game and you’ll see what it looks like when Judkins takes over. He’s 5’11 210 lbs. and uses every last ounce of that size to punish teams, oh, and he’s not slow, he has speed too. He’s quite the consolation prize if you miss out on one of the top fours players here.
*Other player of note: Damien Martinez (Miami) transferred to Miami after having a pretty good career going at Oregon St. He’s 6’0 230 lbs. and moves really well for a man that size, actually he moves well for a guy 30 lbs. lighter than that. He didn’t get off to a great start at Miami as he struggled early but he came on later in the season. He’s big, powerful, and has enough speed to hurt you. He went to the Senior Bowl and while there weren’t a lot of standout moments for the RBs down there, Martinez looked good. One thing he did very well that catches the eye is his pass blocking improvement during practice at the Senior Bowl. If you’re going to be a mid-round RB with the size Martinez has, teams are going to want you to be a good pass blocker. Martinez looked good doing that.
The Hott Read 