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April 20, 2016Breaking: Browns deal No. 2 pick to Philadelphia
April 20, 2016The 2016 NFL Draft is just a week and one day from today, meaning teams are all but done with their evaluations of the 2016 draft prospects and are making their final decisions on what route they will go in the draft. The draft is the biggest event of the NFL offseason, giving teams the chance to improve their roster with new talent. Starting with the defensive prospects, I have been releasing my top five NFL Draft prospects at each position. Today, we take a look at the running backs group. For reference, here were my top five running backs in last year’s draft.
The Browns do not have a huge need for a running back, but the team could definitely look for one to team up with Duke Johnson. This year’s class of running backs is pretty good with an elite talent at the top. The group is littered with talent, with the likelihood teams can find talented backs later in the draft. The Browns could find a quality back with one of their later round picks. So, with that, let’s take a look at my top five running backs in the 2016 NFL Draft.
2016 NFL Draft Prospects Rankings:
Safeties | Cornerbacks | Inside Linebackers | Edge Rushers | Interior Defensive Linemen | Offensive Tackles | Interior Offensive Linemen | Tight Ends | Wide Receivers | Running Backs
1. Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State
Ezekiel Elliott is not just my top running back, but also one of the top overall players in the entire draft. He has good size and build at 6-foot, 225-pounds. In 13 games as a junior, he rushed 289 times for 1,821 yards and 23 touchdowns, while also catching 27 passes for 206 yards. The Ohio State Buckeye is one of the more complete running backs to come out of college in the last several years. As a runner, he showcases power, speed and agility. He runs with good pad level and forward lean; keeping his legs churning through contact and always going forward. He can plow through tacklers and get many more yards after first contact. To complement his power, the back possesses speed to break away from defenders and agility to make tacklers miss. He has good vision to find the hole as he runs with conviction to advance through the defense quickly. Plus, what makes him a complete back is his ability as a blocker and a receiver. Elliott is a really good blocker, playing toughness and strength to stymie a rusher’s advance. Many times in his career, he was used as the lead blocker on runs, opening up holes for his teammates. He also is a quality receiver with soft hands. He can line up out wide and play as a receiver in some formations.
But, Elliott does have some areas to work on in his game. He tends to look for contact too often, which could lead him to possible injury in the NFL. As a blocker, he can be too aggressive and dive at a defender rather than square him up. He also can get too quick and lose his footing rather than staying balanced on his cuts. In the end, Elliott is by far my top running back because of his rare combination of power, speed, agility, toughness and size.
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2. Devontae Booker, Utah
Devontae Booker has a combination of power and quickness that makes him one of the hardest running backs in the draft to tackle. In 10 games as a senior, he had 268 rushes for 1,261 yards and 11 touchdowns, while also catching 37 passes for 318 yards. The Utah Ute has impressive power and balance. He may not have the size of a prototypical back, but he has the bulk and frame that helps him with that power and balance. He can break contact, churning his legs and getting low to drive through the tackle. He has strong legs to keep his balance through the contact and keep the run alive. At the end of runs, he plays with good pad level, leaning forward to muster more yards even when falling down. To go along with his power, he possesses excellent feet to make defenders miss. He makes quick and powerful cuts to elude tacklers and explode out of the cut to get back to full speed. He can perform multiple elusive moves in one play, keeping his balance and speed off of each move. The running back has great vision to find the holes even when they have not developed just yet. He has patience to allow the blockers to get into position and make the hole, but when he does make a decision, he explodes through that hole. He is very good at getting through tight avenues, while keeping his balance and speed. He is an excellent receiver with good hands and route running ability to line up out wide as a receiver. Even with his small build, he is an able blocker in pass protection.
But, Booker does have some flaws in his game. He does not possess top end speed, which could limit his big play ability to out run a defense. He also has had a fumbling issue in college, so getting better at ball security will be very important. His size could also be an issue in the NFL. He is only 5-foot-11, 219-pounds, so he does not have ideal running back size. This could cause him to be more injury prone or hurt his power advantage in the bigger NFL. But nevertheless, Booker has a great combination of vision, power and elusiveness that will make him a successful running back who can make defenders miss in the NFL.
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3. Derrick Henry, Alabama
Derrick Henry has a rare combination of size and athleticism for a running back. In 15 games as a junior, he rushed 395 times for 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns, while also catching 11 passes for 91 yards. The first and best attribute you notice when watching the Alabama star is his impressive size for a running back. At 6-foot-3, 247-pounds, he is bigger than most defensive backs and the same size of many linebackers. He runs with immense power and strength, making it difficult for just one defender to bring him down. He runs easily through arm tackles. He is a downhill runner who, when he gets full steam, is a man who is extremely tough to stop. What makes him even more unique is his impressive speed for a man his size. He has breakaway speed with long strides to run past defenders and pull big play runs. He has light feet for a player his size. Henry plays with good vision to find the holes, showing patience to follow his blockers through the hole. As a blocker, he is a strong player who can match up against the bigger rushers and withstand their power. Even though he was not used a lot as a receiver, he showed in glimpses that he has solid hands to also catch the ball out of the backfield. He is a player who plays just as well in fourth quarter as the first, seemingly looking just as strong throughout the entire game.
But, Henry has some deficiencies in his game. Because of his size, he has a tough time to make defenders miss with any kind of agility. He has a tough time adjusting to defenders taking his avenue to run, showing hesitation and slowness to redirect, ending up being taking down for little to no gain. He does not have the quickness to move in small spaces, requiring space to rev up his speed, making him unable to start and stop his feet and keep his top speed. He is also prone to be tackled more easily at the feet because of his height and great balance. As a blocker, he is strong enough to block rushers, but his technique and quickness to react to the oncoming rusher needs work. As I stated earlier, he will need to work on being a receiver because he has just not had enough opportunities to be one in college. His workload could be an issue to in terms of his career longevity. But, Henry has the rare size and power to bring down, with the opportunity to come right away into the league and be a short yardage back.
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4. Paul Perkins, UCLA
Paul Perkins is one of the best runners at eluding defenders and making them tackle air. In 13 games as a junior last season, he rushed 237 times for 1,343 yards and 14 touchdowns, while also catching 30 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown. The UCLA Bruin is an elusive player, with great twitch and agility to fake out defenders. He makes hard cuts, stopping on a dime to change directions. He explodes off the cuts, getting back to top speed in just a couple steps. He explodes through holes when he sees an opening. Paired with his elusiveness and explosion is his good balance to stay upright during these moves. He can perform these sharp moves, while staying balanced to explode of the moves. He has excellent vision to find the holes and hit them immediately. When he sees a gap developing, he does not hesitate to run through it. His vision and cutting ability are a great combination. He has solid speed, with the ability to get to the edge and also pull big runs, speeding past defenders in the second level. He has good hands as a receiver out of the backfield. He is a solid blocker, especially as a chip blocker.
But, Perkins does have the deficiencies in his game. At just 5-foot-10, 208-pounds, he does not have the ideal size for a running back. His lack of size hurts him in terms of power as a runner. He does not showcase much power in his running style, unable to break a lot of tackles with pure strength. He will not be much of pile driver and could be limited as a short yardage back because of his inability to power his way though tacklers. His lack of size could also hurt him as a blocker when he has to match up against the bigger rushers in the NFL. His smaller size could also lead to possible injuries in the bigger and more physical NFL. But nevertheless, Perkins has the elusiveness and explosion to make defenders miss and make big runs in the NFL.
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5. Kenneth Dixon, Louisiana Tech
Kenneth Dixon has a combination of balance and elusiveness that makes it tough for defenders to tackle him. In 11 games as a senior last season, he rushed 197 times for 1,070 yards and 19 touchdowns, while also catching 34 passes for 467 yards and seven touchdowns. The Louisiana Tech star is a player who can make defenders miss, even making multiple defenders miss in one play. He has a sudden and strong cutting ability to elude tacklers and make them look foolish. He is a quick player in small areas. He combines these cutting abilities with great balance. He comes off of his cuts with level balance to get back to top speed. Even with his slight size, his balance makes him tougher than his size would indicate. He can take on contact and bounce off the defender, staying upright to extend the run. He has shown the ability to spin and continue with the run without getting off balance. His vision is pretty good, following his blocks well and staying patient to find the right hole to run through. As a receiver, the running back exhibits excellent hands along with good route running ability to even line up wide as a receiver. As a blocker, he is a willing blocker who shows effort and toughness to take on the rushers, succeeding a lot of times with cut blocks.
But, Dixon does have some issues in his game. Physically, he is a smaller player at 5-foot-10, 215-pounds, so the pounding of the NFL could take a toll, leading to possible injuries. His lack of size also limits his power and also could hurt him as a blocker against the bigger NFL rushers. He has struggled with ball security in his college career, fumbling 13 times over the past three seasons, according to NFL.com. He does not have elite breakaway speed to run past the defense and leave them in the dust. He can be a little too fancy, cutting too many times rather than attacking the hole. But in the end, Dixon’s balance and elusiveness will help him be a tough running back to take down in the NFL.
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11 Comments
My sleepers:
Jordan Howard – Indiana
C.J. Prosise – Notre Dame
Keith Marshall – Georgia
Beep boop beep boop beep boop…and the Sashimetric Computalator picks….
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Keenan Reynolds – Navy
Great writeup, Joe. This was the first article I happened to see once it was confirmed the Browns were moving down to No. 8. All of a sudden, that Zeke scouting report becomes a lot more interesting :). I’m not a huge college football fan, so there’s no Buckeyes homer-ism when I say that, other than Todd Gurley, Elliott looks like the most complete RB to come out of the Draft in years. I actually can see a scenario when Ozzie breaks our heart and takes Zeke at #6, but if he’s there at #8, I say grab him.
Yes, RB is literally one of the few non-screaming needs on this team and yes, RB is a risky positional pick for the top 10. But I have three letters for ya: B…P…A!
All that said, I wonder how Zeke fits in the backfield with Duke Johnson, whom I also like. When you take a RB that high, you almost have to use him as a three-down back; Duke is a perfect third down, change of pace back. On the bright side, though, I’d like to see Hue line both guys up 10-15 plays a game and actually give opposing DC’s something to stay up nights thinking about. When’s the last time that happened?
All the love for Jordan Howard on 4/20 as he is a former Blazer (not the Gordon kind).
Joe made sure Dixon isn’t a sleeper (he’s really good).
Wendell Smallwood, WVU is my other guy. Really think he will do well.
Since RB tends to have a super-duper sleeper guy do well…
Marshaun Coprich, Ill-St (also a former blazer, but the Gordon kind)
I should have put Smallwood on the list.
Howard is getting hammered for his measurables, but damn, did the critics actually WATCH him play?
Here is their lead scout now:
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well done , JOE … i didn’t get to watch perkins play at all , but you are right , i see some barry sanders-esque movement by this kid.
I would love to see the Bronco’s Draft Ezekiel Elliot (Ohio State)and Darrel Henry of (ALabama)to go with CJ Anderson and Hillman already Bronco’s concentration on a Run Ball Control Offense and Clock Killer also keeping the ball out of High Scoring offensive hands.The offense would then also compliment one of the best Defenses in the NFL.with its secondary allowing its pass rushers to break up plays and hurry and sack the QB giving him no place to go but to the turf.
I chose the RB’s I did that would best fit a ball control clock eating Running game RB’s that were reliable 5+ yard per carry players.True there are better break away runners.But all get opportunities like that I want the RB that gets the Ball 3rd and 3 and makes the 1st 98%of the time.To keep the chains moving in the right direction.I want RBs that rarely fumble or lose control of the ball especially on goal line stands.